A developer wants to build a massive data center on Geer Street in Cromwell, Connecticut, right beside the town’s brand-new middle school and a public park. Cromwell’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Mayor James Demetriades have the power to pause this project and make sure residents get a real say before it moves forward.

Global Common LLC, a Long Island-based company, is advertising a data center campus of about 1.2 million square feet on a 159-acre site. Attorney Jake Dressler, whose firm has an office nearby, said that is “roughly the size of the Westfarms Mall,” according to the Hartford Courant. The company says the campus would run on fuel cells fed by natural gas from pipelines crossing the property and could eventually reach more than 300 megawatts of computing power.

The land is already zoned for data centers “by right,” according to Global Common’s website, and the company says it will need only a site plan approval, not a zoning permit. It plans to file in early 2027. Neighbors worry that leaves little room to address noise, air quality, wetlands, traffic, and years of construction steps away from where children learn and play.

At a recent hearing, residents asked for a one-year moratorium on data centers so the town could study the risks first. The commission voted 5-2 against it.

Cromwell’s leaders can still act. The Planning and Zoning Commission can bring the moratorium back, and town officials can require full public hearings and independent health and environmental studies before any data center is approved next to a school.

A decision this big should not happen without the community. Sign the petition to tell Cromwell officials to protect the kids, the park, and the neighborhood, and stop the Geer Street data center before the plans are locked in.