Cheers erupted as city council members in Chandler, Arizona, voted against approving a major data center project on Thursday.
The city council of Chandler, Arizona, voted unanimously Thursday against clearing the way for the construction of an AI data center.
Cheers and applause erupted after the unanimous results of the vote were announced.
Before the vote, several people made comments expressing their opposition to the prospect of allowing construction of the center, and some in the crowd held signs opposing the proposed project.
TIME MAGAZINE PUT AI LEADERS ON ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR’ COVER
Some people held up signs that read: “NO MORE DATA CENTERS.”
Former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema had lobbied in favor of the proposed project.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., at the U.S. Capitol before the Senate approved procedural votes on the House-passed foreign aid package on April 23, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Getty Images)
At an Oct. 15 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, she spoke out in support of moving the project forward, noting that she was there on behalf of Active Infrastructure and that she is co-chair of the AI Infrastructure Coalition.
Active Infrastructure is the developer who pushed for the project.
“Chandler now has the opportunity to determine how and when this new, innovative AI data will be built. If federal preemption takes hold, we will no longer have that privilege,” Sinema warned.
DATA CENTERS THAT RAPIDLY TRANSFORM SMALL TOWN AMERICA
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 at that October meeting to recommend approval of the project’s rezoning.
