Flagstaff City Council Data Center Zoning Code Amendment Work Session
Flagstaff City Council reviewed a preemptive zoning code amendment defining data centers and requiring a conditional use permit, with speakers highlighting that even a small facility can consume 360,000 gallons of water per day.
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Flagstaff City Council Data Center Zoning Code Amendment Work Session
Flagstaff City Council · March 10, 2026
Timestamped Speaker & Testimony Ledger
3 verified timestamped clips extracted chronologically from the closed caption record. Select any clip to play that exact window in the master player or copy a canonical clip link.
- Clip 1 · 0:16 Flagstaff Planning and Development Services Staff Board & Planning Staff Procedural auto captions, uncheckedZoning Water Power & Grid
Staff presents the proposed Flagstaff zoning code amendment requiring a conditional use permit and water impact mitigation for any future data center.
"to build one. According to the presentation, right now a data center could be built in Flagstaff in a heavy industrial zone or could be built in a light industrial zone with a conditional use permit. City staff noted their concerns that under the current code, potential impacts such as the noise and water and energy usage associated with a data center could not be properly mitigated and that the city is unprepared. It was noted that due to state legislation, it would be impossible to completely prohibit a"
- Clip 2 · 1:27 Resident public comment Resident Public Comment auto captions, unchecked
Public commenters cite desert aquifer limits and warn that a single data center can require 360,000 gallons of water per day and 131 million gallons per year.
"scientist focusing on water and environmental diplomacy, was among several citizens who spoke. Russo said that even a small data center uses 360,000 gallons of water per day and approximately 131 million gallons per year. You know, we have had we have spent a great deal of time in the field of water management making sure that our our residents come first and uh"
- Clip 3 · 0:41 Flagstaff City Council Member Elected Official Questioning auto captions, uncheckedZoning Water Power & Grid
Flagstaff City Council members deliberate on municipal siting standards, utility capacity, and the recorded ordinance action.
"center. The amendment aims to adjust where a data center could be built by making it so that it can only be built in a heavy industrial zone with a conditional use permit and to put an exact definition of what a data center is into the city code. This amendment is preemptive. There is no evidence to suggest that a data center is coming or will come to Flagstaff in the near future. The amendment outlines 11 general requirements that a center would need to follow to operate and the seven"
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