As part of the City of Flagstaff’s ongoing efforts to tighten data center regulations without running afoul of Arizona law, the Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the possibility of creating a broader, more general Resource Intensive Industrial land use that would cover both data centers and, conceivably, a wider array of industrial applications.
Flagstaff has been considering data center bans and restrictions throughout much of 2026. Most of that discussion has centered around tightening restrictions under updated Conditional Use Permit requirements or imposing an outright ban. (AZBEX; March 27, April 10)
Staff identified what it referred to as “a gap in the code that could allow data centers to be classified as Heavy General Industrial uses, a broad category that lacks tailored standards for addressing potential community impacts.” Staff then introduced a proposal to define “data centers” under a structure that included infrastructure components like servers, cooling systems and other features.
Planning and Zoning recommended a total prohibition in March. According to the executive summary prepared for the Oct. 14 meeting, in April, “City staff provided the City Council with a comprehensive presentation addressing questions and concerns about data centers. Following the discussion, staff requested a continuance to refine the proposal and address the wide range of identified issues.”
In the intervening time, staff has worked to refine the proposal and allow the City to define and regulate data center development in a manageable and operable way. According to the summary and presentation materials, “Staff is recommending a broader and more effective approach for regulating high-demand industrial land uses such as large-scale data centers. The proposed Resource Intensive Industrial land use framework directly addresses the core issues highlighted throughout the City’s review process, including significant demands on water, energy, noise management, air quality, emissions, and site design. By shifting from a standalone data center definition to an RII classification, the City can establish a category specifically intended for emerging high-demand industrial users, including data centers.
“This approach avoids risks associated with overly narrow regulations or an outright ban, such as potential state-level preemption, and preserves stronger long-term local control over land uses that significantly impact public resources. It also prevents complications associated with amending multiple industrial zones or creating highly specialized use categories that may unintentionally affect other industrial operations.”
The risk of motivating the Arizona Legislature to enshrine data centers as a protected development type or impose statewide definitions more expansive than those imposed by some municipalities and counties has been a primary reason jurisdictions have, so far, generally avoided imposing outright bans.
The proposed language Flagstaff is currently considering reads, “An industrial land use, including manufacturing, characterized by exceptionally high demands on utility and public service systems, including electric loads of 1 megawatt or more; water use exceeding 2,000 gallons per acre per day on average or 5,000 gallons per acre per day at peak; and wastewater discharge greater than 1,000 gallons per acre per day on average or 3,000 gallons per acre per day at peak. These uses typically rely on specialized infrastructure, operate continuously, and create significant, sustained pressures on electrical, water, wastewater, and communications networks. Activities in this category are defined by one or more of the following: intensive resource consumption; elevated carbon or heat emissions; specialized water or sewer needs; heightened emergency response or security requirements; hazardous material storage; and/or nuisance noise impacts.”
The apparent intent is to identify data centers by nearly every possible criterion except their equipment use and market function. Since other industrial uses, such as advanced manufacturing, have at least the potential of meeting those same operational conditions, the zoning category, in theory, does not single out data centers exclusively.
Staff presented two broad questions for discussion, followed by several specific questions to consider. The broad questions were:
- Does the Commission agree with taking a broader regulatory approach to resource-intensive industrial land uses? and
- Where should the RII land use be allowed within the City of Flagstaff?
The more specific scenario questions were all presented with possible pros and cons for consideration. These included whether to permit RIIs by right in any or all existing industrial zones, allowing RIIs only as a conditional use in any or all existing industrial zones, and, perhaps most significantly, “Should the proposed development standards be absolute, or should flexibility be provided at Council discretion?”
Staff then provided an absolute and a flexible example, as follows:
Absolute Example:
Mechanical cooling systems shall utilize air-cooled heat rejection systems only. The use of evaporative or water-based heat rejection systems, including but not limited to cooling towers, evaporative condensers, adiabatic systems, and water-cooled chillers, is prohibited.
Flexible Example:
Mechanical cooling systems utilizing air-cooled heat rejection systems are preferred. The use of evaporative or water-based heat rejection systems may only be used when water efficiency methods are employed that significantly reduce the amount of water used for cooling as determined by the City Council.
The meeting was planned as a discussion session, and post-meeting materials and video were not yet available when this article was written.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Multiple jurisdictions around Arizona have imposed increasing levels of restrictions on data center zoning and development recently. AZBEX has covered the issue extensively, and much of our reporting is available at this link. Data center restrictions are also a growing trend in Nevada. Our Nevada sister publication, NVBEX, has also covered the issue. That coverage is available here.