Sahuarita residents expressed concerns over a proposed data center known as Project Gravel during a meeting Tuesday night at the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ.
The 160-acre eight-building proposed data center has left residents with questions about potential impacts to their health, as well as water and energy usage.
Some participants walked away from the meeting ready to protest any future developments.
Brianna Coronel, a lifelong Sahuarita resident, said she came to the meeting out of curiosity. She’s also concerned about how Project Gravel would threaten local wildlife.
“I don't think it's something that we're against the development of — new businesses here. It's just something so large,” she said. “I just want to understand, like, what's the plan?”
New details on the project emerged last week when the Arizona Daily Star reported the data center would be fully built by 2029 if approved. Pima County has not responded to AZPM’s request for documents on Project Gravel.
But this isn’t the first instance of big industry heading into the small town of Sahuarita. Mining there predates the town’s founding.
Earlier this year, residents protested the sale of another 160-acre property Canadian company Hudbay Minerals will develop into the open-pit Copper World mine.
Good Shepherd church pastor Randy Mayor said he’s been holding monthly meetings like these since June.
“We already have mines in our backyard. Now we're going to have mines in our front yard and we're going to have data centers in our side yards,” he said. “Is that really the community we want?”
Mayor said he plans to hold a community rally in October.
“These data centers are like a stealth operation. It's hard to identify who they are, who is financing them, and it's hard to get town council people to talk about it,” Mayor said. “The community needs to get caught up on these things and be engaged.”
The next Sahuarita Town Council meeting is slated for Oct. 12.
Noor Haghighi contributed to this article.
