By Keith Regan, Contributing Writer
Northborough–With its new data center on Bearfoot Road poised to open following months of construction, Iron Mountain has a developed a plan to buffer the facility from nearby residential yards. The Board of Selectmen discussed the details of the plan at its July 14 meeting.
The storage and information management company has committed to planting 84 trees 8 to 10 feet tall along a raised, eight-foot berm on its property, satisfying neighbors who were surprised at the extent of tree clearing done in conjunction with the project.
Several of those neighbors turned out to a selectmen's meeting in March when the board was considering a fuel storage permit for the data center's backup power generation system. By then, the facility had largely been constructed and had long been approved by town boards.
Still, selectmen at the time asked Town Administrator John Coderre to work with neighbors and the company on a solution. That coordination resulted in the current plan.
“This is a situation where things worked the way they are supposed to,” said Selectmen Chairman Jeff Amberson. “You don's always hear about these situations where things work out and everyone is happy.”
