Boulder City voters delivered a decisive rebuke to data center development Tuesday, rejecting a ballot question that would have allowed the facilities on city-owned land in the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area. Unofficial results showed nearly 71 percent of voters opposed the measure, which asked whether data centers should be considered an acceptable use for the 107,400-acre parcel.
The vote adds to a nationwide trend of voter resistance to data centers. According to The Washington Post, at least 38 jurisdictions across the country have passed bans or restrictions on the facilities. Local opposition has been fueled in part by the Bureau of Land Management's approval of the first data center on public land in the nation, located miles outside downtown Boulder City. The BLM used an unusual maneuver to transfer an environmental review from a solar project to the data center without additional public input, a decision later appealed by the city and environmental groups and now back under review.
The practical impact of the ballot question was limited, as much of the transfer area is already constrained. Roughly 86,000 acres must be preserved for the desert tortoise, while other portions are occupied by a solar farm and a natural gas plant, leaving only a small acreage potentially available for development.
In other election results, Mayor Joe Hardy won re-election with almost 77 percent of the vote. Incumbent City Councilmembers Steve Walton and Cokie Booth led their respective races with about 31 and 27 percent. A second ballot question authorizing the city to use certain funds for capital improvement projects appeared to narrowly pass with nearly 53 percent approval.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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