Mona residents appeal data center approval
Mona residents have filed an appeal to reverse a conditional use permit for a large data center approved in April by the Juab County Planning and Zoning Commission. Residents claim they were not adequately informed about the project before its approval. The appeal challenges the approval, citing a lack of transparency and proper community input.
Residents in Mona, Utah, through a group called Mona Cares, have filed an appeal seeking to reverse a conditional use permit for a data center project. The group claims the permit was approved in April by the Juab County Planning and Zoning Commission without the community's knowledge or sufficient input, describing the project as the size of roughly 20 Costcos.
The appeal, filed today, calls on Juab County Commissioners to reconsider the approval. This action follows a rally held last week and a strong turnout from Mona residents at a Commissioners meeting. Taylor Flake, a rancher living across from the site, discovered the project weeks ago when asked to allow a pipe through his land. He believes the county should have allowed for public input and that their appeal has a strong legal basis.
Juab County Commission Chair Clint Painter expressed concerns last week about the county's ability to legally reverse course on the project without incurring millions of dollars in lawsuits from the developer. Mona Cares argues their appeal is valid because the county did not post the minutes from the April meeting, which formally approved the project, until late August, effectively delaying community awareness of the decision. The news outlet reached out to both the commission and the developer, but did not receive an immediate response.