The Tucson Mayor and City Council adopted regulations to govern large-scale data centers within city limits following a lengthy public hearing Wednesday.
The city moved forward with the standards after hearing dozens of community speakers call for the outright ban of the facilities out of concerns for public health, property values, natural resources, extreme heat and government surveillance.
“We’re on the precipice of a watershed moment…which side of history are you gonna be on? Are you going to be the one that set a precedent or are you gonna be the one that helped bury us?” said speaker Steve Turner.
In a 6-1 vote the council adopted the standards as well as council member Selina Barajas’ proposed amendment to add a future review to look at potential changes that could be made to the ordinance and council member Miranda Schubert’s amendments to explore legal pathways for an outright ban.
“It does mean that if a data center developer comes around sniffing tomorrow, the Mayor and Council has a final say,” Schubert said.
Council member Nikki Lee was the single nay vote. She said she wanted more time to take public comments into consideration before moving forward with the ordinance.
Protesters with the No Desert Data Center Coalition – a group born out of opposition to the Project Blue data center approved by Pima County last year – showed up to city hall wearing red T-shirts and accessories and carrying signs.
“Folks in the community who have been doing this work for the whole one-year-plus-seven-weeks are really getting burnt out and these data center developers and all of the bro-bots they work with have just seemingly infinite resources to just keep coming back,” said protester Vivek Bharathan.
What are the new rules?
The proposed code amendment defines large-scale data centers as a proposed facility exceeding 25,000 square feet or that uses more than 20 megawatts of energy, which must be permitted through special zoning districts.
A new public review process will require applicants to give sufficient notice to all neighbors within a half-mile of the site and neighborhood associations within 2 miles for a neighborhood meeting, a hearing before the Zoning Examiner and consideration by the Mayor and Council.
In addition to the review, the regulations would also require the facility to:
- Meet the city’s noise code and conduct an independent noise study for all sound frequencies
- Use generators and batteries for backup energy instead of grid power
- Comply with the Large Quantity Water User Ordinance, which requires any potential customer who plans to use 7,480,000 gallons or more of water per month to submit plans to the Mayor and Council for approval, and demonstrate adequate water supply. The use of potable water for cooling is prohibited if not covered by the above ordinance.
- Document energy supply mix at time of application and disclose energy use and mix including renewable energy.
In addition, the height of the buildings will be capped at 50 feet, and the facilities must be located a half-mile from residential zones, homes and school, natural areas, washes and open space.
A Technical Advisory Committee made up of subject-matter experts worked with city officials to develop the proposed regulations
Director of Planning and Development Services Koren Manning said community feedback, including more than 1,100 comments from the public, was also taken into account.
This story has been updated to more accurately reflect which council members introduced the amendments to the proposed ordinance.
