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Flagstaff planning commission recommends ban on commercial data centers after heated public comment
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend Proposal 2 to City Council, a zoning-text amendment that would bar commercial data centers in city limits, after staff outlined legal risks and dozens of speakers raised concerns about water, energy and neighborhood impacts.
The Flagstaff City Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 on April 4, 2026 to recommend that the City Council adopt Proposal 2, a zoning-text amendment that would prohibit commercial data centers within city limits.
Staff warned commissioners that an outright ban or very prescriptive local rules could invite legal challenges under Arizona’s property-compensation provisions (referred to in the hearing as Prop 207) and that the city’s code changes could be preempted by state law. "If that claim is viable, we would either waive the claim or we would go to court, and if the court did not find in our favor, then we would have to compensate the property owner for the loss of value," staff told the commission.
The recommendation followed more than an hour of commissioner questions and public comment focused on water, energy use,…
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