The assurances had all been made before by representatives of the Johns Hopkins University, but Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen wanted to hear them again.

The university will replace all the trees it cuts down? Cohen inquired. “Yes” was the response.

And the university will provide an off-site parking lot for construction workers and shuttle them to and from the campus? Correct.

And the new building won’t be used as a data center, at least not one of the behemoth energy-sucking kind that has proliferated in the U.S.? Never.

With that, despite hours of testimony from outraged residents, Cohen and three other members of Baltimore’s spending board had heard enough. The group voted unanimously in favor of two items allowing Johns Hopkins to proceed with more work on its planned Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute.

The center, which is slated for the corner of Wyman Park Drive and Remington Avenue on the southwest edge of the Homewood campus, has been the latest flash point in a long-simmering feud between residents and the university.

University officials argue the center, a pair of structures totaling about 500,000 square feet, could put Baltimore on the AI map. Research facilities using state-of-the-art AI could make advancements that turn Baltimore into an East Coast tech hub. DSAI is supposed to employ 140 new faculty and researchers and attract 750 doctoral students, making it the largest AI research center in the country.

Residents have loudly resisted, arguing the university has repeatedly steamrolled neighbors’ concerns. Pointing to the nearby Agora building, still under construction, they say the work has disturbed their peace, created trash and made parking difficult. A new worksite would bring more of the same, they said.

There is little doubt the neighborhood will be disrupted during the four years the construction of the AI center is anticipated to take.

One of the items approved by the Board of Estimates on Wednesday clears the way for a complete closure of Wyman Park Drive and a parking lane on Remington Avenue during the work. The university will spend nearly $52,000 to make improvements to the street, including sidewalks, curbs, streetlights and trees.

The board also approved an amendment to an agreement that requires the university to install a new storm management system in the area and maintain it for 25 years.

The system would replace a swale in the Wyman Park Drive public right of way built by the university in 2015 that school officials acknowledged has not been fully doing the job.

Residents testifying before the board said they had little faith in the university, based on past interactions. Sixty-five residents submitted written objections ahead of Wednesday’s spending board meeting.

“The history shows the university cannot be trusted on this issue,” said Nicole Ucheya, an alum of the university who lives in Remington. “They had their shot, and unfortunately it failed.”

As university officials spoke during the roughly two-hour discussion, Councilwoman Odette Ramos, whose district includes the university, paced in the back of the room. Granted five minutes to speak, Ramos, who has tangled with school leaders in the past over her demands, took a breath to compose herself.

“I have not been shy in saying this is a terrible project,” she said, arguing the proposal has improved slightly due only to the efforts of neighbors. She chastised university representatives for presenting some of the plans to the spending board before allowing residents to see them.

“The lack of transparency on this issue is astounding,” she said.

Other residents worried the facility would essentially be used as a data center, colossal buildings that house computer hardware and store digital information. Such centers have proliferated in the United States, putting a strain on utilities such as electric and water.

“This is not going to be a data center in any way, shape or form,” said Caroline Hecker, an attorney speaking for the university.

Comptroller Bill Henry, one of five members of the board, suggested the university be more specific about what it means by a data center. Henry read definitions of data centers from leaders in the field. Each included activities that could be performed at the Hopkins AI center.

University officials assured the comptroller that their building would not be capable of using the large amounts of electricity and other utilities that commercial data centers use.

“I would encourage you to say you’re not the kind of data center people are scared of,” Henry said.

Cohen, bolstered by assurances from the university, said he was ultimately in favor of the AI center’s mission.

“Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is going to play a major role not just in the future of this city, this state, this country, but the entire world,” he said. “I think it is critically important that the city of Baltimore be the intellectual capital of that conversation.”

Mayor Brandon Scott abstained from the vote due to a conflict of interest and did not participate in the discussion.