Chandler's city council chamber was charged with tension as residents filled the room, anxiously awaiting a decision on the fate of a proposed $2 billion data center. Officials had to, somehow delicately navigate the needle between technological progress and the preservation of local resources. The waterfront was a rezoning vote for a 40-acre site, proposed to be transformed into a sprawling digital fortress, encompassing a 400,000-square-foot data center and space for five more buildings. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, Chandler resident Rohich Chandrashaker didn’t mince words, stating, "I'm here to oppose the data center. I don't believe we should be gambling with the working families of Chandler and Arizona's money."
The opposition highlighted that the project wasn't just a simple construction endeavor but a referendum on the city's commitment to sustainable resource use. As the city grapples with an ongoing water crisis and the citizens fear rising electricity bills, residents like Elizabeth Lee warned of "grave" concerns, as she told FOX 10 Phoenix, "The community is coming out in grave concern because we know we have a water crisis; we've seen electric bills going up and up and up." But city officials, like Simone Kjolsrud, Chandler's Water Resources Manager, sought to allay anxieties, maintaining that the data center would use an "absolute maximum" of 48,000 gallons per day—described as a "very normal amount of water use for that size of a building."
Amidst the upheaval, a spokesperson for the city reported a lopsided flood of emails—20 against for every one in favor—sent to the Chandler City Council as the vote loomed ever nearer. Karly Barksdale, a middle school teacher who, according to a 12News interview, articulated her opposition, "This is the first time that I have felt strongly enough about something to reach out... I do feel pretty strongly about this."
Active Infrastructure, the New York-based developer behind the proposal, has earmarked the site at Price and Dobson roads for a data center large enough to swallow seven football fields, standing about nine stories tall. It's a behemoth of a structure promising to seed 1,000 jobs. Meanwhile, former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, lobbying on behalf of Active Infrastructure, warned that decisions over AI data centers might soon escape local hands altogether, as she explained in a Planning & Zoning Commission hearing, "When federal pre-emption comes, (Chandler) will no longer have that privilege," the commission was told as per a 12News report. She continued, asserting the Trump Administration's AI plan might soon preempt Chandler's local decision-making prowess.
As citizens like Jeff Stickelman voiced support, hoping for a revamp of the vacant site into a thriving business corridor, other residents took to the streets. Andy Hoefer and his spouse Carrie disseminated information via door knocking and 2,000 postcards, amplifying their concerns over the lack of studies on the long-term impact of data centers on health and the environment, echoing a sentiment that resonates beyond Chandler, as reported by 12News. With the council's decision on the horizon, the city's future hangs in the balance, caught between economic promise and environmental prudence.
