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Public commenters urge supervisors to stop Project Blue; Board of Health urges retroactive due diligence
Summary
Public commenters and a Board of Health recommendation put pressure on the Pima County Board of Supervisors to apply due diligence to ‘‘Project Blue’’ before the county closes a land sale; no formal board vote to halt the sale was recorded.
Public commenters urged the Pima County Board of Supervisors on the reopen call to the public to halt a pending land sale tied to a large data center known in the transcript as Project Blue, and the county’s Board of Health recommended that the county apply a due-diligence policy retroactively so Project Blue would be covered before closing.
John Ralston, who said he lives in District 5, told the board he opposed the Beal land sale and “Project Blue,” arguing that large-scale data centers create unacceptable social and surveillance harms. “Please stop Project Blue,” Ralston said, disputing claims about the project’s benefits for water, energy and jobs.
An unidentified public commenter with experience in higher education and nonprofits told the board the county currently has only a land-sale agreement and no legally binding commitments from the project proponent, and urged the board to secure enforceable, written guarantees. The commenter acknowledged union-backed arguments in favor of local jobs but warned that promises from sales teams can differ from implementation.
Supervisor Allen reported on a recent Board of Health meeting and said the Board passed a motion advising the Board of Supervisors to apply the county’s due-diligence process retroactively so Project Blue would be encompassed before the county closes on the land sale. Allen said board members should expect an inbox item about that recommendation soon.
The board did not record a formal vote to stop the land sale during this meeting. Chair Scott and staff noted procedural deadlines for zoning items elsewhere on the agenda and continued other items to preserve statutory timelines; any enforceable commitments would require written, binding agreements and further actions by the county.
Next steps: staff or the county administrator will provide follow-up materials and the Board of Supervisors will receive any due-diligence proposals or inbox items before considering formal action.
