Commissioner Beaver urges care on data‑center proposals; county keeps moratorium while impact study proceeds

Commissioner representative Tracy Beaver said the county’s recent moratorium on data‑center permits is intended to allow time for ordinance updates and impact analysis rather than to close the door to development.

"We realized we need to change our ordinances so we can do things, do an impact, you know, all that need is needed before any decisions are made," Commissioner Tracy Beaver said, describing the resolution the board adopted last November and the 12‑month moratorium that followed. She emphasized the need for a thorough review of water, energy and other local impacts before permitting.

A commissioner (speaker 2) raised concerns about heavy water use, asking whether figures indicating "1,000,000 gallons" referred to daily or weekly use. Beaver responded that many data‑center cooling systems operate as closed‑loop systems that recycle water, but she said the county will require studies and protections as ordinances are updated.

Beaver also said her exposure to industry conferences shows the technology is evolving and that the county should neither reflexively reject nor hastily approve projects. "We just need to do the homework and the work that we need to know in order to really know what it is," she said.

The board did not change policy at the meeting; Beaver said area planning will undertake the impact study and draft ordinance changes during the moratorium period. No specific regulatory language or timelines were adopted at the session.