Pima County halts new data centers for 120 days on a 3-2 vote

TUCSON — The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to impose a 120-day moratorium on new data center development in unincorporated Pima County. Supporters said the county needs time to finish rewriting its zoning rules and to weigh public health risks before approving more projects. The board had voted 3-2 on Aug. 11 to have staff draft the resolution.

All five supervisors were present at roll call. The board took up Resolution 2026-56 after an executive session for legal advice. Chair Jennifer Allen made the motion to approve it, and Vice Chair Matt Heinz seconded.

Allen said the moratorium is one of three connected pieces, which she compared to "three legs of a stool." The first is a zoning code text amendment on data centers that the board ordered in September of last year. That amendment is now scheduled to reach the board Dec. 15. The second is a Pima County Health Department framework for assessing data centers' public health effects. The moratorium, Allen said, would give the county time to build the framework into the new zoning rules.

"We need time so that we are not making land use decisions without understanding the full consequences on public health," Allen said. She listed the issues the framework identifies, including:

air quality and backup generator emissions
water use and water stress
noise and waste heat
energy burden
decommissioning and battery management

The board first narrowed the resolution's language on the advice of counsel, with Allen reading the amended text. The moratorium now applies to new data centers whose permits for site improvements such as grading, paving, flood control or building construction have not been submitted. The original draft had referred to permits that had not been issued. Supervisor Rex Scott seconded the change, which was adopted with one vote against.

Heinz then moved to approve the amended resolution with two added directions:

The moratorium will return to the board before the 120 days expire, so supervisors can hold a hearing on a possible extension.
The health department will keep collecting data on data centers' health effects and develop a risk assessment matrix with specific mitigation recommendations and monitoring tools.

Supervisor Andrés Cano added a friendly amendment, which Heinz accepted, calling for an online portal where residents can comment on the health department's work.

Cano said the zoning code "was not written for developments of this scale." He said the health department had raised serious questions about water supply, air quality, heat, noise and energy. "In a desert community already confronting drought and rising temperatures, we as a county have a public health responsibility," he said.

Scott opposed the resolution. He read from the health review's own limitations section, which says the review is not a formal health or environmental impact assessment. He noted that it cites a lack of direct evidence on health effects in communities near data centers. Scott said the resolution's use of the review "paints with far too broad a brush." He said his vote was based on legal counsel from the county attorney's office, which he could not discuss publicly because it was privileged. "Nevertheless, it is legal counsel, not direction," he said, adding that other members could weigh it differently. Supervisor Steve Christy cast the other no vote; he did not speak on the item. Allen, Heinz and Cano voted yes.

During the call to the public, several residents spoke in favor of the moratorium, and some urged the board to seek an outright ban. One speaker said the county Board of Health endorsed the moratorium Aug. 26. That speaker asked the board to require project-specific public health analyses and to keep the Planning and Zoning Commission involved in the code rewrite.

Surplus spending deferred to broader talk

Heinz shelved his proposal to spend about $1 million on a new round of Short-Term Crisis and Emergency Resources grants. The money would have been roughly 10% of the available unrestricted General Fund ending balance, which the May forecast put at $9.99 million.

Instead, Heinz asked to continue the item to the board's first October meeting. He also asked for a study session on how to use the general fund ending balance as a whole. He said the balance is larger than anticipated because staff have stayed within their budgets, and he suggested some of the money could go to employees. Scott seconded after Heinz agreed to include a memo on the fund balance that the county administrator sent the board the day before. The motion passed 4-1.

Cano asked staff to report on whether a third grant round could extend existing contracts rather than go through a new competitive process. The county administrator said staff would be ready to discuss the fund balance at the Oct. 13 study session.

Hispanic chamber grant contract approved

The board voted 5-0 to approve a $250,000 General Fund contract with the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber will run a business safety and beautification grant program for small businesses. Cano said grants would range up to $1,500 for smaller projects and up to $10,000 for larger ones. His motion also lets the administrator pay the contract monthly rather than quarterly to move the money faster.

Supervisor Steve Christy supported the contract. A staff member told him the chamber funding was tied to proceeds from the sale of Project Blue. Christy then offered a friendly amendment to give each of the smaller chambers that received $25,000 from those proceeds an additional $75,000, bringing each to $100,000. Cano declined, saying the two matters were not germane. The county attorney said Christy's proposal could return as a separate agenda item.

Tribal consultation policy adopted

The board adopted Board of Supervisors Policy C 17.1, Consultation with Tribal Nations, on a vote of 3-0 with one abstention and one member absent, after reviewing it in a Sept. 8 study session. The policy provides for at least one annual programmatic consultation with interested tribal nations and project-specific consultation when county actions could affect cultural resources. A revised county land acknowledgment statement passed by the same count.

Allen acknowledged a letter from the San Xavier Allottees Association and said the policy covers government-to-government consultation. She said the county would continue early engagement with the association on transportation and zoning issues.

Sasabe liquor license, Valencia rezoning

Deputy County Administrator Carmine DeBonis Jr. recommended continuing a Series 6 bar license transfer for El Rey in Sasabe. Staff wanted time to confirm either a legal nonconforming use or a conditional use permit, since a bar is not an allowed use in the zone. The applicant said the building has operated as a bar since 1961.

The clerk warned that the state's deadline for a local recommendation is Oct. 6. Heinz then moved to recommend approval, with staff's supplemental material forwarded to the state when available. The motion passed 5-0.

Cano moved to continue both parts of a rezoning case, Co9-04-17, to the next meeting. The case concerns 95.4 acres north of West Valencia Road and west of Mark Road. Cano said that as District 5 supervisor he would have appreciated a briefing beforehand. Both continuances passed 5-0 with the public hearing kept open.

Staff had recommended against closing the case and in favor of a five-year extension. DeBonis said the project would be single-family housing of more than 200 units with no commercial component. A resident whose family has owned property there since 1972 said it was the first notice she had received.

Administrator search timeline

Allen outlined the remaining steps in the county administrator search:

Sept. 30: Virtual interviews with semifinalists.
Oct. 13: Finalist report to the board.
Oct. 14: Finalists announced.
Oct. 19-20: Sessions with department directors, employees and residents.
Oct. 20 or Oct. 27: Board selection.

Also discussed:

The board voted 5-0 to authorize condemnation for widening about 1.3 miles of Valencia Road from Mission Road to Camino de la Tierra, a project partly funded by a federal RAISE grant. DeBonis said only one commercial parcel, at Valencia Road and Camino de Oeste, appears likely to require condemnation. Staff have been unable to reach its owner, and the parcel carries back taxes.
Early ballot drop-off sites and emergency voting locations for the Nov. 3 general election were approved 5-0. Three early voting sites open Oct. 7, one more Oct. 19 and 12 more Oct. 26.
A resolution removing Santa Cruz County from the Southern Arizona Education Council passed 4-1. It shrinks the council from 24 to 21 members and makes the CEO a nonvoting principal officer.
A new proclamations policy, which generally limits meetings to three proclamations unless three supervisors approve more, passed 4-0 with one abstention.
At the administrator's request, the Economic Development Strategic Plan 2026-2029 was continued to Oct. 27. The administrator said staff will try to bring it back Oct. 13.
The consent calendar passed 5-0. It included a $3.8 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant and an $800,000 amendment with the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Remaining addendum items, including a $2.68 million Tucson Mountain Park water line contract with B & F Contracting, also passed 5-0.
A District 2 resident said his property taxes had risen to $3,974 even though the county provides no services to what it classifies as a wildcat subdivision, one platted outside county rules. Heinz asked staff to follow up.

This report was drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 from a live transcript produced by Deepgram Nova-2, then reviewed and edited by Nicholas De Leon with Claude Fable 5.1, and published at 8:55 PM MST on September 22, 2026. Read more about how this is made.