Overview
- The county commission voted 5-1 Wednesday night to deny the Project Tango expansion after a nearly 12-hour public hearing with more than 80 speakers.
- The denial was made "without prejudice," which allows the developer to revise and resubmit the application while existing 2016 approvals for more than 2 million square feet remain in effect.
- Residents, teachers, and local groups led sustained opposition, citing risks to private wells and the aquifer, high electricity demand, heat and low-frequency noise, and the site’s proximity to Saddle View Elementary School.
- Developer PBA Holdings said the project would create roughly 500 permanent jobs and generate over $500 million in annual property-tax revenue and described a closed-loop cooling system using about 600,000 gallons of water, claims that opponents and some commissioners questioned.
- County Mayor Sara Baxter has imposed a temporary moratorium and directed staff to draft new rules for large data centers, a move that will shape any revised proposal and echoes a wider wave of local and state actions resisting hyperscale developments.