Chandler City Council unanimously rejects proposed data center
Chandler rejects proposed data center
It was a packed house on Dec. 11 at the Chandler City Council meeting where members discussed a controversial plan to bring another massive data center to the Valley, but that plan got a thumbs down. FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.
CHANDLER, Ariz. - The Chandler City Council has rejected a controversial plan to bring a massive data center to the Valley.
After hours of public comment on Dec. 11, with many people voicing their objections, all seven members of the city council voted against the proposed plan.
What they're saying:
Residents holding signs filled the room to speak against the project, which required the city to vote on rezoning a 40-acre site. The development would've included a 400,000-square-foot data center building on the southwest corner of Price and Dobson roads, plus space for five additional structures.
"I'm here to oppose the data center. I don't believe we should be gambling with the working families of Chandler and Arizona's money," resident Rohich Chandrashaker said.
Opponents voiced "grave" concerns over noise, energy usage and the city's water crisis.
Water, power concerns drive opposition to Chandler data center plan
The Chandler City Council held a Dec. 11 meeting regarding the rezoning of 40 acres for a 400,000-square-foot data center. Opponents voiced concerns over water and energy consumption. FOX 10's Megan Spector has the latest.
"The community is coming out in grave concern because we know we have a water crisis; we've seen electric bills going up and up and up," said Elizabeth Lee, another resident in opposition.
Lexsiri Coronado added, "The water and the energy used in Chandler should be reserved for the people and how it's used should be determined by the people."
The other side:
City officials attempted to reassure the public during the meeting.
Simone Kjolsrud, Chandler's water resources manager, stated that the reported 48,000 gallons per day for the data center is an "absolute maximum" and "a very normal amount of water use for that size of a building."
The data center was projected to create 1,000 jobs.
The debate highlights Arizona's challenge in navigating the digital future while managing resources.
Gov. Katie Hobbs weighed in on the broader issue, saying, "I don't know the specifics about that data center, but I know that when the permitting is happening, they're considering all the factors if there's enough water, if enough energy, and they have to make it through all of the city permitting to get to even get there. Part of the reason I launched the state energy task force is to take a look at long term, strategically, how we can support the energy demands that we're gonna continue to see with these large load users coming in."