SK hynix rezone: WL City Council moving closer to yes vote on $3.87B site?

In a new survey, votes of city council on a zoning question for a $3.87B SK hynix facility are still in play. But initial hard no votes are softening, as SK hynix makes its case and neighbors dig in

• Support for this edition comes from Lafayette Master Chorale, presenting Handel’s Messiah at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at St. Boniface Church in Lafayette. Back by popular demand, a performance of Handel’s cherished oratorio returns to Lafayette once again. Celebrate Eastertide by hearing the greatest choral/orchestral masterpiece in history performed by the Lafayette Master Chorale, soloists and orchestra in the acoustically thrilling St. Boniface Church. From the lyrical solos to the rousing choruses, this performance promises a unique chance to hear this monumental work and all of its splendor. Tickets are adults $25/advance, $28/door; students $10; children under 18 free. Purchase tickets at https://www.lafayettemasterchorale.org/concerts-and-tickets.

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SK HYNIX REZONE: WL CITY COUNCIL MOVING CLOSER TO YES VOTE?

Conversations with West Lafayette City Council members Thursday indicate that a pivotal vote coming in a little over a week on a rezoning bid for land where SK hynix wants to build a $3.87 billion R&D and high-bandwidth memory packaging facility is still very much in play.

But as SK hynix and Purdue Research Foundation officials spent two hours in a science fair-style community meeting at the West Lafayette Wellness Center, answering questions about the South Korean company’s CHIPS Act-era plans and making a case against serious blowback from surrounding neighborhoods, council member sentiment seemed to be shifting SK hynix’s way.

During a community meeting Thursday, residents ask PRF and SK hynix representatives about why the company wants to rezone what is called Site B, north of Kalberer Road, and use it for a $3.87 billion chip facility. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

“I think we’ve had a chance to learn a lot in the past few weeks,” Michelle Dennis, one of nine city council members, said outside a room crowded with hundreds of people and displays in the Wellness Center.

Up for a May 5 council vote: A year after SK hynix announced plans to bring the facility to West Lafayette – touted as one of the biggest economic deals in Indiana history – company officials and the Purdue Research Foundation have been working to overcome emerging protests over environmental, traffic noise and the sheer scale of the project. Purdue Research Foundation, working on SK hynix’s behalf, has requested to rezone 121 acres in the Purdue Research Park – north of Kalberer Road, between Yeager Road and Salisbury Street/County Road 50 West – from residential to industrial uses for the facility.

The city council has final say on that request. Though, SK hynix officials have said in recent weeks that if the rezoning request fails, they would move the 430,000-square-foot facility back to what it calls Site A, which includes more than 90 acres on the west side of Yeager Road, several hundred yards from the Site B that is up for rezoning and that the company prefers.

Five votes will be enough to support or sink the rezoning request.

The last time they were polled by Based in Lafayette, days after the Area Plan Commission voted 9-5 on March 19 to recommend denying the rezoning request, three of the nine city council members said they planned to vote no when the request came to them. The six others said they weren’t ready then to commit to yes or no, though some said they were leaning against it.

In conversations during and after Thursday’s packed community meeting at the Wellness Center, here’s where city council members fell ahead of a vote scheduled for Monday, May 5.