Local leaders in Tucson have voted not to allow a proposed data center with ties to Amazon known as Project Blue to move forward. The massive 290-acre data center would have been built southeast of downtown.
Mayor Regina Romero and the Tucson City Council were set to vote on the matter next week. But during a packed study session this week, they voted unanimously to abandon that vote and say no to the project.
Audience members with hand-held signs against the project erupted into applause as the vote was counted.
Tesha Banks, a Tucson native who attended the session, said hearing the decision made her cry.
"This feels really good, but what does it actually look like in the future? I feel more trusting of the city government, but not fully trusting, because how did this get so close without anyone knowing about it?" Banks said.
Hundreds of community members have attended meetings in recent weeks hosted by city officials and Beale Infrastructure, one of the companies behind the project. Pima County, Tucson Electric Power and the city of Tucson signed early non-disclosure agreements with Beale, prompting community concerns around transparency.
During Tuesday, Mayor Romero also introduced a motion to create new regulation for large water users in Tucson and zoning requirements that any new data center proposals would have to abide by.
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Tucson leaders unanimously rejected a massive data center dubbed Project Blue last year amid outcry from the community with concerns about water, power and resources that they didn’t want put toward a data center.
