Pima County Supervisors Vote to Pursue 120-Day Data Center Moratorium

Pima County Supervisors Vote to Pursue 120-Day Data Center Moratorium

TUCSON — The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to direct county staff to draft a resolution imposing a 120-day moratorium on data centers in unincorporated Pima County, a move that followed a nearly hour-long closed-door legal consultation and drew the only split roll call of the evening. The board also voted 4-1 to grant a neighborhood appeal and overturn approval of a 150-foot cell tower in the Diamond Bell Ranch area west of Tucson, and put off a disputed $122,000 contract with the Southern Arizona Education Council after supervisors raised questions about executive pay and inconsistent paperwork.

The data center moratorium item — brought by Board Chair Jennifer Allen — directed the county administrator to work with the county attorney's office to develop a formal moratorium resolution while the county completes a zoning code text amendment process the board initiated in September 2025. Allen cited a surge of applications for a state sales tax exemption on data center equipment in the weeks before Arizona's governor imposed a three-year moratorium on the exemption July 1: "nearly as many applications for the sales tax exemption as there were in the entire thirteen years of that sales tax exemption being in place," she said. At Allen's request, the board spent nearly an hour in executive session with its lawyers before voting. Supervisor Rex Scott voted no, saying his vote was "based on the advice of legal counsel." In a related 4-1 vote earlier in the evening, the board directed staff to revise two county policies governing economic-development due diligence and non-disclosure agreements — also brought by Allen, who said the criteria that trigger the policies need "fine tuning" — with revisions due back to the board by Sept. 8.

The board voted 4-1 to grant an appeal filed by Diamond Bell Ranch residents and overturn the hearing administrator's approval of Conditional Use Permit P26CU00002, which had authorized a 150-foot Verizon wireless tower at 15949 W. Diamond Bell Ranch Road. Allen, who made the motion, said the administrative record failed to document the alternative-site analysis required by Pima County Code Section 18.07.030, including whether shorter or multiple towers had been considered. She quoted the county's own pre-hearing staff report, which said the requested 150-foot height "exceeds what is typically approved for towers located in rural residential neighborhoods" and recommended the hearing administrator consider shorter alternatives. Residents testified about obstructed views of Kitt Peak and the surrounding ranges, potential property-value losses, and the neighborhood's underground-utility requirement, and appellants said they could not determine from the record how staff's own questions about alternatives were resolved. Shelly Neace, president and CEO of tower builder Rocky Mountain Towers, and radio-frequency engineering consultant Steven Kennedy told the board the height was technically necessary to cover a rural area whose nearest Verizon site is 5.29 miles away, and that deed restrictions on surrounding parcels ruled out alternative locations. Scott read the code's alternative-site requirements into the record in questioning whether the application had met them, and said the appellants' arguments summarized his own concerns.

The board voted 5-0 to continue the Southern Arizona Education Council contract to its Aug. 25 meeting. The $122,000 General Fund contract drew criticism during call to the public, where two speakers said the organization's chief executive is paid $91,770 a year — tied by contract, one speaker said, to 95 percent of a county supervisor's salary — while the organization's own tax filings show its two prior executive directors earned between $36,000 and $70,000, including in years when revenue was higher. Allen said she wants to see an annual report now under review by the county's economic development staff, who said a summary memo would be ready by the end of the week, and flagged inconsistencies among the submitted materials, including conflicting staff counts. Scott asked staff to return with funding options beyond the county administrator's Aug. 5 memo, saying he has "a significant concern" that the county is being asked for $122,000 while the City of Tucson contributes less than one-sixth of that amount — and contributed more last year only because two council members kicked in money from their own office budgets.

The board approved Resolution No. 2026-42, the Pima County Legislative Program for 2027, on a 4-1 vote, amended to add three priorities submitted by Heinz: requiring state Peace Officer Standards and Training certification for elected sheriffs and constables, addressing official misconduct under color of law, and strengthening accountability for elected county officers. A fourth Heinz item involving additional constable-related language was held for a future meeting after Cano said the county attorney should preview the language before a vote. Discussion centered on how to focus the county's lobbying agenda with contract lobbyist Michael Racy; Cano cautioned against formally ranking items until after the November election reveals which party controls the Legislature. County Administrator Jan Lesher said she would submit core county items to the County Supervisors Association of Arizona by that Friday's deadline, ahead of the association's early-October policy summit in Flagstaff.

The board also voted 5-0 to approve an asset purchase agreement authorizing the sale of the Ajo Domestic Water Improvement District's assets to Arizona Water Company, capping a transition that began Dec. 2, 2025, when the board assumed the district's governance at its request after it was unable to appoint new board members. The district serves approximately 150 water connections in the Town of Ajo. Arizona Water will next seek a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity expansion from the Arizona Corporation Commission before taking permanent operational control.

The board voted 5-0 to move ahead with disciplinary action against Justice Precinct 2 Constable Francisco Lopez, adopting a motion by Scott to "proceed as discussed in executive session." The board did not state publicly what the action is. The vote came days after the Tucson Sentinel reported that Lopez was cited on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge after sheriff's deputies, responding to a noise complaint, found him drinking with a 21-year-old woman in a parked car on the Southwest Side.

Also discussed:

• Board adopted revised weapons-prohibition policy (Policy C 2.7) 5-0 after Allen amended it to add the Ajo Court, which was missing from the list of covered facilities; she also asked administration to look at extending the policy to county community centers
• In a single 5-0 block vote with no discussion, the board approved 126 vote-center locations for the Nov. 3 general election (location fees totaling about $38,663, per the staff memo), an amended October schedule adding an Oct. 20 special meeting for county administrator interviews, a new County Attorney's Office job classification, cancellation of uncontested school-district board elections, and six addendum items including acceptance of a $256,509.80 estate distribution to Pima Animal Care Center
• Consent calendar passed 5-0 minus one item: Cano requested a separate vote on acceptance of a $509,500 grant for family-planning services in community health centers, which passed 4-1
• Economic Development Strategic Plan 2026-2029 was continued to Aug. 25 at the county administrator's request