Cities in Pinal County Take Different Paths on Data Centers as Jobs and Infrastructure Shape Economic Development Debate

PINAL COUNTY, Arizona (Oct. 23, 2026) — Data center and energy developers are encountering sharply different receptions across Pinal County, where recent county-level rejections contrast with some cities’ willingness to consider projects that deliver jobs, infrastructure and economic investment.

The divide highlights the importance of local zoning rules, community engagement and a developer’s ability to explain how a project will address power, water and neighborhood concerns.

In unincorporated Pinal County, developers have faced significant resistance. The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission recently voted again to recommend denial of a proposed natural gas power plant with battery storage, despite the applicant’s proposal to reduce generating capacity from 500 to 250 megawatts.

In August, the county’s Board of Supervisors rejected Vermaland’s proposed La Osa Energy Center, originally envisioned as Arizona’s largest data center campus. The rejection followed a proposed reduction from as many as 59 data center buildings to 11.

Within municipal boundaries, however, some communities are keeping a path open for development.

Casa Grande’s Planning and Zoning Commission recently approved a conditional use permit for Grande Valley Data Center, a proposed 954-acre campus by Scottsdale-based LKY Development. The property is south of Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and west of Montgomery Road on land zoned for industrial use.

Plans call for data center buildings, onsite natural gas generation, battery energy storage and supporting utility infrastructure. The proposed cooling system would recycle water through a closed loop, with water service provided by Globe Water Resources.

The permit represents a step in the city’s review process. Additional scrutiny will follow as the development advances.

Casa Grande allows data centers in industrial districts with a conditional use permit, giving officials an opportunity to evaluate power arrangements, water demand, noise and concerns raised by nearby residents.

Speaking at the Phoenix Business Journal’s Pinal County Growth Summit on October 20, Casa Grande Economic Development Director Richard Wilkie said developers need to communicate more effectively about how their projects address those issues.

“They have to do a better job of PR and explaining, educating how they’re addressing this,” Wilkie said. “There’s going to be people that are going to say no anyways. But you just have to try your best to educate them about the pros versus the cons.”

Newly incorporated San Tan Valley has adopted a similar approach. Its zoning code requires a conditional use permit for data centers proposed in industrial districts, creating a public review process.

“It’s not intended to screen anyone out, but to make sure that there is a full public process that’s gone through and that we have the support of the community for that type of development,” Town Manager Brent Billingsley said at the summit.

Maricopa is updating its zoning ordinance to address data centers, with city leaders emphasizing employment and infrastructure as central considerations.

The city “desperately needs more jobs,” Chief Strategy Officer Josh Bowman said. Officials would consider a project that creates employment while delivering infrastructure capable of supporting additional businesses on neighboring properties.

“I would say that we are not actively recruiting, but we’re open to it with those kinds of parameters,” Bowman said.

Queen Creek has taken a more restrictive position. Its zoning ordinance explicitly prohibits data centers, although Economic Development Director Doreen Cott said that policy could change.

For developers, the differing approaches make location and early engagement critical. For communities willing to consider these investments, the discussion increasingly centers on whether a project can meet local operating standards while expanding employment opportunities and infrastructure capacity.

The discussion also offers a point of comparison for neighboring Pima County as it weighs economic development, infrastructure needs and community concerns. Although no Tucson or Pima County representative was listed on the summit’s economic development panel, the questions facing Pinal County cities have broader regional relevance: how to evaluate major investments, explain their benefits and impacts, and establish a clear approval process that gives residents a voice while providing developers a predictable path forward.

Source: Phoenix Business Journal’s coverage of the October 20 Pinal County Growth Summit and related development proceedings.