Scottsdale officials say there have been no inquires to the city about building a data center but there are already two smaller ones already in city limits.
Scottsdale could soon have an ordinance governing data centers on where they can be built, noise limitations and water usage.
The Scottsdale City Council voted unanimously during its Oct. 20 meeting to guide City Attorney Luis Santaella to come back with some regulatory options.
“It’s incumbent on us to look ahead, and when a data center does decide to come apply to put in an application for a data center in a neighborhood, which I can think of one off the top of my head,” said Mayor Lisa Borowsky, who put the issue on the agenda. “We all are aware there is a potential for a data center, every industrial zoned area could be one.”
Planning and Development Services Senior Director Erin Perrault and Economic
Development and Tourism Senior Director Kevin Burke said there have been no inquiries about putting a data center in the city. Burke went on to say Scottsdale doesn’t have the sites available for the large data centers everyone is concerned with.
That lead Councilman Adam Kwasman to object to the discussion all together.
“Can we all just admit this is not an issue in Scottsdale and close this right now?” he said
“Now it’s just grandstanding and wasting everyone’s time.”
But Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said she was approached during her election bid for a third term on council by employers of the Baker Development Corp. — a Chicago firm with its headquarters in Scottsdale — about building a data center in the city.
Employees of the firm also donated $3,500 to her campaign, which she gave back.
Campaign finance reports also show the same employees donated $3,500 to Councilman Barry Graham’s and $3,600 to candidate Raoul Zubia’s election efforts. Graham and Zubia are in a three-way runoff with Michelle Ugenti-Rita for two seat available on the council next year. Whitehead won her seat outright in the July primary race.
In the meantime, there are already two smaller data centers in Scottsdale.
The first is at 8521 E. Princess Drive and is approximately 74,000 square feet, has electrical capacity of more than 5.8 megawatts and uses about 55,000 gallons of water per day, according to Borowsky’s office.
A second facility at 7499 E. Paradise Lane is about 99,000 square feet, has electrical capacity of more than 11 megawatts and uses approximately 3,500 gallons per day, according to Borowsky’s office.
Perault defined a data center as “a facility that includes computer servers and IT equipment to store, process and transmit digital information continuously. These centers also include electrical infrastructure, cooling systems that are required, back-up power — that can be generators, batteries and substations on the site — and communications facilities.”
Scottsdale currently has no ordinance regulating data centers.
Many Valley residents have spoken out against new data centers in their communities because of concerns about noise, the amount of water they consume and the demands they put on the electrical grid.
Data centers became a hot-button issue in the Valley in 2025 when the AI boom started creating demand for them.
The Chandler City Council unanimously rejected a data center in 2025.
Then Mesa Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-0 on May 13 to recommend that city’s council approve a 2.3 million-square-foot data center housed within seven two-story buildings on 170 acres.
Then the Glendale Planning Commission voted 4-2 in September to recommend that city’s council rezone a 160-acre site to allow three, 330,000-square-foot data centers and 18 natural gas power generation turbines on land near Luke Air Force Base. The Glendale City Council is slated to make a final vote on the issue Oct. 28.
Goodyear began revamping its own zoning rules, in part due to data centers, in July.
Gilbert began codifying restrictions on data centers in August, and Peoria began updating its data ordinance in September
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has called for a moratorium on new data centers in the state, though Gov. Katie Hobbs has opposed it due to the economic benefits they can bring.
Andy Biggs, Hobbs’ Republican opponent in the gubernatorial race, has vowed to eliminate tax incentives for data centers, according to reports from Capitol Media Services.
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Graber joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in February 2023, starting his career as a staff writer covering the City of Scottsdale and was named news editor of the Scottsdale Independent in 2024.
Community: He serves on the altar guild as well as being an usher at St. Mathews Episcopal Church in Chandler.
Education: He earned his BA in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the University of Arizona. He then earned an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Oregon.
Random Fact: He enjoys reading novels by Russian authors.
Hobbies: Playing classical guitar, reading, fishing, going to the gym, watching sports and spending time with his family.
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