PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved a key permit Wednesday for a controversial data center project in the West Valley.
Project Baccera would put two data centers and a gas power plant on a 160-acre site in unincorporated Maricopa County off Olive Avenue and Litchfield Road near Luke Air Force Base.
The supervisors voted 4-1 to issue the project a military compatibility permit, which state law requires for development near military bases.
“We’re not here today, really, to discuss ... ‘Should this remain vacant land?’” said Supervisor Debbie Lesko, who voted in favor of the permit. “We’re here for this military compatibility permit.”
Supervisor Mark Stewart agreed.
“It’s about whether or not the military is OK with this being next to the Air Force base, and they are,” he said.
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Supervisor Steve Gallardo was the lone “no” vote.
“I really do not believe that this is the appropriate location for this project,” he said. “There are so many outstanding questions.”
According to the developer’s presentation to the board, data center buildings will be on 110 acres of the site, with a 32-acre turbine yard and an APS substation on 12 acres.
Ed Bull of Baccera Eagle Land told supervisors they accepted all of the conditions Luke Air Force Base listed in their letter of compatibility.
“It’s a huge investment in the county,” he said. “It is a part of what we need to not only operate as citizens, but operate as a part of our country’s economy and national defense and so on and so forth.”
Opponents pack meeting
Supervisors received approximately 440 emails in opposition, and 22 people spoke out against Project Baccera at Wednesday’s meeting.
Beth Mortensen, who lives half a mile away from the site, told supervisors she was concerned the developer had not adequately addressed safety concerns about the storage of propane at the site.
"I’m very disappointed,” she told ABC15 after the vote. “Through this whole process, I have not really felt that we've been heard or had an opportunity to say our side of the story.”
April Butler, who lives less than a mile away from the proposed data center, has lived in the area for six generations.
“The health issues that we could get from this one, they're not only going to affect me, they're going to affect my whole family,” she told ABC15 after the vote, adding that her father has breathing issues.
Takanock, the project’s out-of-state developer, is here to make money, Butler said, while families like hers could get sick.
"It's too close to homes. It's too close to families. It's too close to communities,” she said, adding that she’s worried steam from the natural-gas turbines could affect visibility for pilots at Luke.
Supporters tout jobs
Bull told supervisors the developer had addressed concerns about the propane storage facility and about air quality. He also said the facility is expected to use less water than it has rights to, saying it will use less water than agriculture.
Three people at the meeting spoke in favor of Project Baccera, saying the data center will create jobs and spur economic growth.
“The data center positions are not only well-paying jobs, but they are careers that offer health insurance benefits and retirement benefits,” said Capand Alizadeh of the Arizona Technology Council.
Butler said the West Valley already has plenty of data centers.
“How many do we need?” she said. “There's like 11 right in that immediate area. There's three big campuses. They're everywhere.”
Opponents say fight isn’t over
Wednesday’s permit vote was one of the final approvals needed for the project.
The Arizona Corporation Commission unanimously approved a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility in February, and the city of Glendale has taken steps to annex the land.
Opponents say they plan to take their fight to the city next.
“We're not done,” Butler said. “We're not done.
