Residents urge Spokane County to follow city moratorium on data-center talks and to change meeting times

During the Spokane County Board of Commissioners' open public forum on July 14, 2026, two residents urged the county to limit data-center development discussions and to make meeting times more accessible to working people.

Melanie Perry, who identified herself as a West Side Spokane resident, told commissioners she was "still alarmed about the talks that Vista has been having with data center companies and how we don't want that in our city or in our county, like, anywhere because of the threat it put puts on our river and our way of life and our like, the pollution in our air and everything." She asked the county to join the city in placing a moratorium on such discussions while environmental impacts are assessed.

Xanthia Peterson said the city has already passed a moratorium and urged the county to adopt a similar pause so officials can study ecological impacts before development begins. Peterson also urged the board to change meeting times, saying, "the time, for these meetings, Tuesdays at 2PM, is, awful for a lot of, 9 to fivers. They just can't make these meetings, when they're already living paycheck to paycheck." She said more convenient meeting times would enable broader public participation in county decision-making.

What happened next: Chair closed the public forum after two commenters and no additional testimony. The commissioners then moved on to the consent agenda, which the board approved unanimously. No action on a county data-center moratorium or meeting-time change was recorded on the consent agenda.