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Cochise County adopts ordinance to regulate data centers after lengthy public hearing
Summary
After hours of testimony and debate, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance 2609 to define and regulate data centers, requiring special-use review, utility and water disclosures, operational standards and decommissioning guarantees; residents urged stronger water and enforcement measures.
The Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt Ordinance 2609 on April 7, establishing a countywide framework to define, review and regulate data centers in specified zoning districts. The ordinance requires a special-use permit, detailed project submittals — including utility demand, water-use projections, noise and fire-protection plans — and gives the county tools to require decommissioning and financial assurances.
Why it matters: County staff said the rules are intended to ensure any future data-center proposal undergoes a site-specific review rather than being processed under generic development rules. “This item does not approve or authorize a data center project,” county planner McLaughlin told the…
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