The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a proposal to ban data center development on a 4-3 vote during its recent meeting.
City staff recommended creating a Conditional Use Permit process for data centers instead of enacting a total ban. Regardless, commissioners still moved forward with a recommendation to ban data center development in the city.
AZBEX has extensively covered expanding data center restrictions throughout the state. Click here to view our previous coverage.
In its recommendation for the ban, commissioners stressed the resource consumption and noise production tied to data centers.
The Flagstaff City Council will discuss and vote on the proposal in early May. It has the option to approve the CUP requirement, approve the outright ban or deny both.
A presentation will be held before Council on April 21, with an official vote planned for May 5.
There has yet to be a single developer who has announced plans to build a data center in Flagstaff. Those who oppose the band but are in favor of restrictions fear the Arizona Legislature could limit the power local governments have on data center regulations. This could supersede an outright ban, but the CUP requirement may still have potential.
The CUP proposal would restrict the amount of noise a data center can produce, prohibit evaporative cooling systems and require decommissioning plans.
Prohibition, on the other hand, would alter Flagstaff’s zoning code to define data centers and ban them as a primary use. This could still allow data center components within a development, as long as they occupy less than 10% of the overall footprint. (Source)