Data center opponents submit signatures for voter referendum in Marana

Opponents of a planned Marana data center said they have submitted 2,800 signatures calling for a referendum to overturn a zoning vote that cleared the way for the Project Blue site.

The group, No Desert Data Center Coalition, needed to submit around 1,400 signatures from Marana residents to get on the ballot, putting the Project Blue efforts in Marana into voters hands in November.

Local government officials have to validate the signatures on the petitions before an election can be called on whether to overturn the Town Council’s vote.

“The public referendum will be the first time a community gets to vote directly on a data center in Arizona,” organizers said.

In October, the developer Beale Infrastructure submitted applications to
develop the two sites, each just south of Pinal Airpark Road and west
of Interstate 10 to build a data center campus. The new plan has to
conform to Marana’s data center ordinance, which was put into place in
December 2024.

Last month, Marana’s Town Council voted to rezone the properties—part of an expansive plan to build up to three data centers in Pima County known as Project Blue. The votes came after a protracted public hearing as dozens of people spoke for and against the large-scale data center development.

Proponents hailed the potential for new jobs, including around 4,200 construction jobs over 10 years as well as 400 permanent positions, along with promises that the company’s projected $5 billion investment will generate nearly $145 million in tax revenue for the town over the next decade.

Opponents sharply criticized the plan, arguing the “hyperscale” data centers would drive up electricity rates, increase noise in a landscape largely occupied by farms, and use dramatically more water because, while the developers have promised not to use water to cool the massive number of computers servers, the overall energy use will consume more water at generation plants.

One parcel is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the other is owned by the Kai Family Trust — linked to Marana Councilmember Herb Kai.

The No Desert Data Center Coalition said Wednesday they submitted the signatures just days before the deadline, adding elected officials “failed to protect us.” Formed last summer to oppose the first phase of Project Blue, the grassroots group successfully fought an effort to annex a chunk of Pima County land into the City of Tucson, and has repeatedly threatened legal and political action to halt the construction of data centers in the area.

The referendum was submitted by Jordan Greensdale, senior field director for Worker Power, an Arizona-based non-profit. 

In January, No Desert Data also filed a lawsuit accusing Pima County officials of violating Arizona’s open meeting law. That case will have its first hearing on Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m.

“We will not allow Beale to build harmful hyperscale data centers in our communities,” the group said Wednesday. “Across the country, these massive data centers are being built and leased to further the unnecessary and illegal surveillance of all people, to extract personal data for profit, and to prop up an over-hyped AI industry that has yet to produce meaningful profits or applications at scale.” 

“These projects promise tax revenue and jobs that often never materialize, all while significantly harming the communities where they’re built,” the group said in a published statement. “We believe that our elected officials have a duty to pursue development and job creation that is economically sustainable, environmentally conscious, and ensures cost of living protections for all community members – this project misses the mark on every single one.”

The group argued the project’s energy needs are “massive.”

“Data centers around the country are sending electric bills skyrocketing
for residents and local businesses, and many TEP and Trico customers
are already struggling to pay high bills, especially during the summer
months,” said No Desert Data Center Coalition.

The first phase of the project will need 550 to 750 megawatts of power. One lot will pull power from Tucson Electric Power, while the other lot will pull power from Trico, a co-op, which largely purchases power from other companies.

Trico’s current peak load is around 300 megawatts. To meet the demand from the new data center, the company will have to expand its solar arrays backed by battery storage facilities, and the company will likely seek more power from a natural gas plant, said Trico CEO Brian Heithoff during an interview with the Tucson Sentinel.

Along with the ballot measure, three members of the seven member town council face challenges from opponents to the project.

Sue Ritz, Matthew Rohen-Trapp and Julie Prince announced they are running for town council, Arizona Public Media reported. Ritz, an Army National Guard veteran, spoke against the zoning decision in mid-December, along with University of Arizona student Rohen-Trapp.