Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Data Center Residential Impact topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Farmington residents press council for larger setbacks, more outreach over proposed data center
Summary
Dozens of residents urged the Farmington City Council to require wider setbacks and more mitigation for a proposed large data center near residential neighborhoods, saying 250-foot buffers are insufficient for noise, lights, property values and water impacts.
Dozens of Farmington residents used the council’s citizen comment period to press elected officials for stronger protections and greater engagement over a proposed hyper-scale data center planned near the Fountain Valley Golf Course.
Several speakers asked the council to require larger setbacks — requests ranged from 250 feet (the proposal cited in council materials) up to 500 feet — and to show residents a mitigation plan for lights, noise and water use. “It's more than uncomfortable. It's unsafe,” resident Jeff Shotler said during public comment, adding that residents want to know the council “is working on it” rather than receiving repeated denials.
Other neighbors described what they expect will be long-term impacts on quality of life. Colby Slonick said the proposed setback “is not enough space” and urged the council to “protect our health, our way of life, and our property values.” Jonathan Nygren asked the council to require 500-foot setbacks, stating, “I find it immoral to plant an industrial zone in a residential area.” Several speakers referenced local examples and asked elected officials to visit other data-center sites at night and review their lighting and operations.
Residents also raised procedural and transparency concerns. One commenter who reviewed public records said the city’s email disclosures show internal sharing of residents’ email content and read portions of a letter from the city’s outside attorney describing the city’s handling of private data; that speaker said the number of internally circulated resident emails identified in public documents rose from 30 to about 70. Another resident, Cameron Duncan, asked why non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) were used with developers and whether the city will reveal use of NDAs once projects are underway.
Speakers cited technical worries about water and environmental impacts. Taylor Heitman said a single data center could “more than double the city's water consumption” and questioned whether the community has sufficient water and wastewater capacity for large cooling loads, citing drought risk and wastewater temperature concerns. Heitman also cited reports about light, noise and air impacts from similar facilities elsewhere.
Several speakers urged the council to open additional lines of direct communication and to meet with neighborhoods. Gina Bridal, who lives on Calico Court, asked the council “to check setbacks a little bit farther” and said residents “feel like we're not being heard.” Nate Bridal and others called for clear zoning definitions and strongly criticized the council’s outreach and timetable; Nate Bridal said the council “should define what 'industrial' is” publicly because “you're going to have to define it in front of a judge.”
Council members and staff did not take formal action during the public-comment segment. Council members and the mayor listened while residents spoke, and later agenda items covered unrelated planning and plat approvals.
No council vote occurred on the data-center proposal during the meeting. Residents said they will continue to press the council for setback changes, mitigation commitments, clearer communications about NDAs and answers to water and light-impact questions.
