By Eric D. Miller April 2026

Let’s be very clear from the start.

We are not against data centers. We are not against responsible economic growth. We are not trying to stop all progress in Indiantown.

What we are against is the uncontrolled placement of hyper-scale data centers — massive 2-million-square-foot-plus facilities — directly in our front yards, in a small rural community that was never designed or zoned for that level of industrial intensity.

There is a difference between smart, measured development and dropping an industrial giant into a residential and agricultural area with inadequate protections. That is the line we have been drawing from the beginning.

Here is what we know from public records, independent studies, and documented facts:

Environmental Risks Are Real and Permanent A recent Cambridge University study (April 2026 preprint) shows that hyperscale data centers create significant urban heat islands and altered micro-climates, with average temperature increases of 3.6°F and localized spikes much higher, extending several miles outward. These effects do not disappear when construction ends — they remain as long as the facility operates. In a rural community like Indiantown, that means hotter summers for residents, impacts on Booker Park, and added stress on our already limited water resources. These facilities can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day for cooling and rely on large banks of backup diesel generators that emit pollutants. The burdens are long-term; the benefits are often short-term.

The Scale Does Not Fit Our Existing Code Our current Industrial zoning was never written for hyperscale data centers. A facility the size of Silver Fox 606 simply does not belong in the same category as a normal warehouse or light industrial use. That is why we have consistently asked the Village to create a new, specific overlay district with strong, enforceable standards for water use, heat mitigation, noise, traffic, emergency power, and environmental safeguards. This is not an extreme demand — it is responsible planning.

Transparency and Conflicts of Interest Are Serious The Economic Council of Indiantown (ECI) was launched in 2025 as a private, paid-membership group with closed meetings and no public records. Several public officers simultaneously sit on the Planning & Zoning Appeals Board and hold leadership or active roles inside the ECI. We have documented the gratis Loudoun County data-center trip received by Danielle Williamson, the participation of Kevin and David Powers, and the documented financial ties between Commissioner Stacy Hetherington and Nelson Ferreira (principal of Silver Fox 606 LLC and an ECI member). These overlaps create the exact appearance of continuing conflicts that Florida Statute Chapter 112 was written to prevent.

We are not making accusations. We are asking for basic transparency: full disclosure of ECI records, clear recusals where conflicts exist, and independent review before any more approvals move forward.

What We Are Asking For Is Reasonable We support smart growth. We support jobs. We support economic opportunity for local families. What we do not support is rushing hyper-scale industrial projects into a rural community without the proper tools in place to protect residents.

That is why we continue to call for two straightforward, legally available steps:

1. Create a new overlay district specifically for hyperscale data centers so the Village can set real protections tailored to their unique scale and impacts.
2. Form a citizen-inclusive task force with meaningful seats at the table for affected residents and community volunteers. Give that task force a minimum of 12 months to call independent experts, review full environmental data, examine future-use language in agreements, and ensure thorough public input.

The State of Florida has already strengthened our hand. Senate Bill 484, passed in March 2026 and awaiting the Governor’s signature (effective July 1, 2026), explicitly preserves local authority to regulate large-scale data centers through comprehensive planning and land development rules. The tools exist. The statutory authority is coming.

The only thing still missing is leadership — leaders willing to use the authority we have to protect the people who actually live here.

We are not extremists. We are neighbors who will live with the traffic, the heat, the water strain, and the changed character of our town long after the temporary construction jobs and ribbon-cutting photos are gone. Our children will grow up here. Our health and quality of life are on the line.

We are not against data centers. We are against hyper-scale data centers in our front yards without the safeguards our community deserves.

Let’s do this the right way — with transparency, independent review, and real protections for the residents who call Indiantown home.

Why Indiantown’s Code is to weak for a Hyper Scale Data Center

Here is an expanded reason why we do not support the projects

Why the “Shiny Coin” proponents are in such a hurry.