TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to impose a 120-day moratorium on data center permits in unincorporated Pima County.
During the moratorium, the county will stop accepting or processing permits for new data centers. County staff will use that time to rewrite zoning rules for data centers, because current rules were not written specifically for modern facilities.
County leaders expressed concern about the safety, health, and well-being of residents and the environment. They say large data centers could strain local resources, especially water supply, electricity, and air quality, and contribute to heat and noise.
Supervisor Andrés Cano of District 5 voted in support of the measure.
"I support our county setting clear standards so that if and when these projects come to Pima County, these standards will protect our natural resources, our neighborhoods and the people that already live here," Cano said.
Supervisor Rex Scott of District 1 voted against the moratorium.
"I will be opposing this resolution for the same reason that I supported the amendments to it, and that is legal counsel the board has received from the county attorney's office," Scott said.
Reed Spurling, a member of the No Desert Data Center Coalition, spoke during the call to the audience in support of the moratorium.
"We in the coalition want them to put this moratorium on data centers so that none of these proposals can get into our county in the time while they're making stricter rules for them. We want the rules to be stricter than they are, and ultimately we want the outcome of this process to result in a full ban on large data centers in Pima County," Spurling said.
Spurling said the issue is about something so much bigger than data centers.
"It's about land, water, money, and power, both electricity power and political power. There are corporations that are trying to control those things outside of any democratic process, and we can stop them," Spurling said.
Once the updated rules are drafted, they will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission and later return to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
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