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Glendale council approves pre‑annexation agreement for Project Bacara amid safety and environmental objections
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Summary
After more than an hour of public comment warning of noise, air pollution and aircraft safety risks, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved a pre‑annexation development agreement for Project Bacara, with staff noting annexation, zoning and site approval will come later.
The Glendale City Council on April 28 unanimously approved Resolution R26‑42, a pre‑annexation development agreement with Baccarat Eagle Land LLC that allows the annexation process and future zoning and design review for a proposed industrial project described by speakers as data centers co‑located with a utility‑scale natural gas power plant.
The agreement — described by staff as a step that "sets the stage for future actions" rather than a decision on annexation or land use — covers a roughly 160‑acre property in the city's municipal planning area. Director of Development Services Randy Huggins told the council the property sits within the 80‑LDN noise contour of Luke Air Force Base and that the pre‑annexation package includes an exhibit for a military compatibility permit. Huggins said the site will receive water and wastewater services from EPCOR Water and that final site plans and zoning will be considered only after annexation and separate city processes.
Opponents urged the council to deny the agreement during an extended public comment period. "Luke Air Force Base has described [this project] as an explosive hazard to the mission of Luke Air Force Base," said Hillary Weber, a research assistant at Arizona State University who said she had reviewed the base's March 13, 2026 letter and Arizona statute ARS 28‑461, arguing utilities are generally not permissible in high‑noise or accident‑potential zones. Weber and others also raised what they said were gaps in recent environmental measurements and alleged emissions modeling omitted PM10 and PM2.5 from diesel generator scenarios.
Resident Roy Dunbar said the project would sit within roughly a half‑mile of hundreds of homes and within a mile of about 1,500 homes, and warned of noise, pollution and safety risks tied to frequent F‑35 overflights. "The location poses an unacceptable risk to those of us who will live nearby," Dunbar said, and reported the Project Bacara Opposition Group had collected more than 7,000 petition signatures.
Representing the developers, Ed Bull said the council's action was limited to a pre‑annexation agreement and is not annexation, rezoning or site‑plan approval. Bull said Luke Air Force Base "at the highest levels" issued a letter dated March 13, 2026 signed by a brigadier general that the project can be compatible if the base's conditions are met. He said the project team had submitted environmental analyses and worked with state and county review bodies, including the corporation commission's line‑siting committee and county permitting agencies.
Council members pressed the developers and staff on technical points: whether the site included natural gas storage (the developer said there would be no natural gas storage on site but that natural gas via an underground pipeline would be the primary fuel for turbines, with propane as a short‑term backup), the configuration of above‑ground propane tanks (described as partially submerged with a reinforced concrete lid), and what studies had been done on heat, emissions and historic aircraft incidents.
Council member Lupe Conchas, while expressing health concerns for children and pregnant women over potential emissions, reiterated that the current vote concerned only a pre‑annexation agreement. "This is just a pre‑annexation development agreement," Conchas said before casting a yes vote. After roll call, Mayor Kontzmann said the record includes the Luke Air Force Base letter as an exhibit and that compliance with its conditions is part of the permit recommendation.
The motion to approve R26‑42 was made by Council member Leandro Baldenegro, seconded by Council member Lauren Tomachoff, and passed unanimously. Council members and staff stressed that annexation, zoning, military compatibility permit approval and site plan review remain separate processes before any construction or operational approvals.
What happens next: approval of the pre‑annexation agreement allows the developer to proceed with annexation steps and for EPCOR to complete a sewer application with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Land‑use and environmental permits, and the county's pending military compatibility review, remain active and will influence later approvals.
