Pocatello council upholds denial of proposed AI data center after packed meeting
The Pocatello City Council voted to uphold the denial of a proposed AI data center by Lex Developments following a packed public meeting. Concerns included water usage, power, and air quality, with the developer planning to pursue judicial review if denied again. The decision was not unanimous, with one council member warning of potential legal challenges.
The Pocatello City Council has upheld a previous denial by the city's hearing examiner for a controversial AI data center proposed by Lex Developments. The decision came after a lengthy and packed city council meeting where developer Russ Schultz defended the project against concerns, particularly regarding water usage, claiming a closed-loop cooling system. However, Mayor Mark Dahlquist questioned the lack of formal studies and the absence of a committed company for the site.
The council's vote was not unanimous, with Councilmember Dakota Bates casting the sole no vote. Bates expressed concern that the original denial's reasoning, which cited a lack of studies on impacts such as power, water, and air quality, was too vague and could lead to a successful judicial review by the applicant. Despite this warning, the majority of the council sided with upholding the denial, agreeing that the hearing examiner had met the requirements of the conditional use permit process.
Russ Schultz indicated that if this latest decision is denied again, he plans to pursue judicial review. The report also noted that concerns about data center development extend beyond Pocatello, with Payette County being advertised for data centers, and Jerome and Washington counties in Idaho considering or having passed ordinances to restrict data centers to industrial zones.