Stratos Project opponents file promised referendum appeal with Utah First District Court
Opponents of the proposed Stratos Project in Box Elder County, Utah, have filed a lawsuit to overturn a county attorney's ruling that denied their applications to place the controversial data center project on the November ballot. The Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) group argues that the county's initial approval of the project was a legislative decision, making it subject to a public referendum.
Opponents of the Stratos Project, a proposed multi-billion dollar hyperscale data center in Box Elder County, Utah, have filed a lawsuit in the Utah First District Court to challenge a ruling by County Attorney Stephen R. Hadfield. The lawsuit, filed on June 3 by the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) group, seeks to overturn the county's May 28 decision that denied their applications to put the data center project on the local ballot for the upcoming November election.
B.E.A.R. co-sponsor Brenna Williams stated that the Utah Constitution and Supreme Court precedent grant residents the right to place such important decisions before the people through a referendum. The group disputes Hadfield's determination that the county commission's initial approval of the data center project, contained in Resolutions 26-11 and 26-12, was an administrative rather than a legislative decision, arguing that it significantly reshapes county land governance and tax revenue.
Kevin O'Leary, a Canadian billionaire developer, is the brainchild behind the Stratos Project, which is envisioned to occupy approximately 40,000 acres in the remote Hansel Valley. B.E.A.R. supporters, including co-sponsor Shannon Barton, contend that major land development decisions with long-term impacts and competing public interests are legislative actions, citing the Utah Supreme Court's ruling in Baker v. Carlson (2018). The group hopes for a swift court decision to allow the referendum question to appear on the November ballot.