Florida neighbors are fighting back against AI data center boom
Iron Mountain is building a data center in Miami’s Westview neighborhood without new approvals because the property was already zoned for industrial use, leaving residents saying they were not properly notified. In Palm Beach County, commissioners rejected the proposed Project Tango AI data center campus amid concerns about noise and community impacts, though developer PBA Holdings has challenged the decision.
Iron Mountain is constructing a data center in Miami’s Westview neighborhood on land already zoned for industrial use. Miami-Dade County required no additional approvals, and residents including longtime Westview resident Ronald Cur said they were unaware of the project until construction was underway.
Resistance has intensified across Florida since a state law took effect allowing local governments to impose stricter data center requirements or reject projects. Palm Beach County commissioners voted 5-1 to reject the proposed Project Tango AI campus after a 12-hour hearing, despite developers’ projections of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue. Developer PBA Holdings has challenged the decision, while a smaller data center may still be built under approvals dating to 2016. The issue has also entered Florida’s gubernatorial campaign, with Democrat David Jolly proposing a moratorium and Republican candidate Byron Donalds supporting local control and the new state law.