Spanish Fork citizens file referendum on data center amendment; county works on ordinance to bring protections
Spanish Fork citizens have filed for a referendum on the approved Title 15 Amendment, which established requirements for data centers generating their own electricity. This amendment followed local opposition to a proposed data center by Volition, which is now considering relocating. Concurrently, Utah County is developing a new ordinance to impose protections and requirements on industrial projects, including data centers.
A group of Spanish Fork citizens has filed an application for a referendum to challenge the recently approved Title 15 Amendment to the city's land use code. This amendment established requirements for data centers generating their own electricity and was passed in response to local concerns about a proposed data center project by Provo-based Volition near Spanish Fork Canyon. Though Volition's CEO, Jeff Chavez, has indicated plans to move the project to an industrial area west of I-15 to alleviate neighborhood concerns, the referendum seeks to provide further protection by challenging the amendment itself.
Farrah Pliley, associated with the Box Elder Accountability Referendum group (BEAR), is supporting the Spanish Fork citizens, drawing on her group's ongoing litigation process in far northern Utah where they are appealing the denial of their own referendum application. Pliley emphasizes the importance of citizen voices in these matters.
Concurrently, Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner announced that the county is developing a county-wide ordinance to introduce protections for citizens and the environment concerning industrial projects, including data centers, on county lands. This ordinance, which is currently with Utah County
’s planning commission, would require developers to hold public meetings and send notifications to nearby residents, and would set requirements for energy and water use. The county has seen interest from six potential project groups in the past year, prompting proactive measures to ensure community benefits and mitigate negative impacts.