Residents urge strict data‑center rules and moratorium during Planning Commission meeting

Several citizens used the open‑comment period to press the Planning Commission to adopt stronger standards for data centers or to recommend a moratorium to the Board of Supervisors.

Danae Crosby of Moneta asked whether county staff had studied potential impacts of data centers on wildlife, livestock, insects and human health, saying her FOIA review included letters of intent and NDAs. “I had done research and read through letters of intent and NDAs received from FOIA requests,” Crosby said. Lauren Walke urged that the county create enforceable protections for residents, schools and infrastructure and to separate data‑center rules from the broader Zoning Ordinance update, noting Summit View Business Park as a site discussed in public records.

Other commenters asked for broader stakeholder involvement and stricter procedural rules. Ron Hines pressed for protections that preserve multi‑generational family parcel rights and for large notice areas and environmental reviews for tech infrastructure. Joe Norstrand proposed a model with multiple measures—setbacks, requiring data centers to pay for electrical infrastructure upgrades, water‑efficient cooling, annual reporting of electricity and water use, and removing certain tax incentives—citing New York and New Mexico as examples of states taking stronger action. Several speakers explicitly asked the commission to provide a memo to the Board of Supervisors or to recommend a moratorium so the county can write standards before new projects proceed.