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William Wagon urges Rapid City to require conditional use permit for proposed data center
Summary
At the July 29 Legal and Finance Committee meeting, resident William Wagon urged the city to require a conditional use permit and a written city‑attorney opinion for a proposed large data center, arguing the administration risks bypassing public review and statutory procedures.
At the Rapid City Legal and Finance Committee meeting on July 29, 2026, resident William Wagon told the committee that developers of a proposed large data center were being allowed to proceed "by right" under baseline industrial zoning and urged the city to require a conditional use permit (CUP) and public review.
Wagon accused the city of reversing an earlier approach and said the change would deprive citizens of statutory participation. "The citizens of Rapid City will not be silenced or intimidated into giving up our voice on our neighborhood's future," he said. He named the developer in his remarks as "Secuador Edge" and said the project could have severe impacts on the electrical grid and water resources.
Wagon cited "South Dakota codified law title 11" and a provision he identified as "section 1 16 g‑7," arguing municipal planning must follow statutory definitions and that flipping to a by‑right interpretation would violate good‑faith requirements. He also referenced the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (Senate Bill 137), effective July 1, telling the dais those protections allow citizens to speak without fear of retaliatory suits.
As a remedy, Wagon asked the committee to request a formal written legal opinion from the city attorney explaining why baseline industrial zoning is being applied and to place that opinion in the public record. The committee took no formal action on his request during the meeting and provided no verbal response on the record.
