Wilcox Playa data center

A McNeal resident of 20 years urged the board not to move forward with data centers, saying residents feel unheard and questioning what data centers provide desert communities.

A Pearce resident warned that hundreds of heavy server racks could worsen land subsidence and fissures already mapped near the Apache power plant, with taxpayers paying for road repairs.

Asked five transparency questions about the data center application, including whether a public meeting will be required and whether promised property tax relief would be guaranteed.

A Whetstone resident questioned the project's scale — 1,500 to 6,000 megawatts — versus earlier statements, and asked about water use and the applicant's legal identity.

A Willcox resident of 38 years asked the board to hold a public meeting in the Willcox area before any planning and zoning decisions on the county's first data center proposal.

Cited SVEC figures of 1,500 to 6,000 megawatts and the Willcox Basin's overdrafted aquifer, asking the board to require binding water and power conditions and hold a hearing in the north county in the evening.

Said she would follow the data center issue and hopes for concrete guardrails with actual numbers on noise and water, noting Cochise County recently amended its ordinance with specific standards.

A resident since 1984, opposed the mega data center near Cochise, citing sandhill crane migration, water and power consumption, and extreme noise.