Compromise Proposed for Data Center Location in Imperial County
A compromise proposal has been made to Imperial County and City of Imperial officials regarding a controversial data center project. The solution involves relocating the data center to a 95-acre industrial site away from residences, de-annexing that site to the County, and annexing a 75-acre residential-adjacent site to the City for public use. It also includes a tax-sharing agreement between the county and city to distribute the significant revenue from the data center.
A letter to Imperial County Supervisors and City of Imperial Officials proposes a "win-win" compromise for a controversial data center project. The proposal aims to address residential concerns while preserving a major economic opportunity for Imperial County, California.
The core of the compromise suggests relocating the data center from its current 75-acre site at Aten and Clark Road, which is near residential homes, to a 95-acre site at Imperial Avenue and Clark Road. The new site is over a half-mile from residences and is surrounded by industrial uses. The proposal includes de-annexing the 95-acre site from the City of Imperial to revert to County control, while the 75-acre site would be annexed by the City for public use as a park or soccer fields, with the data center developers deeding it to the City at a cost of $7 million.
Financially, the compromise includes a tax-sharing agreement where the County would receive 80% and the City 20% of the millions of dollars in tax revenue generated by the data center. This arrangement could also be incorporated into a settlement for pending litigation related to the project. The proposal also highlights the data center's commitment to zero-impact water solutions, contrasting it with the Imperial Irrigation District's (IID) significant water and electricity transfers outside the Valley, which do not generate local jobs or tax benefits.