(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a variety of data center developers and end users.)
By Rose Law Group Reporter
In late December of 2024, the City of Phoenix instructed planning staff to begin drafting an ordinance regarding data center uses, including an instruction for a final vote by the Phoenix City Council before the Council recess in summer of 2025. With municipalities like City of Chandler and City of Surprise taking anywhere from 20-24 months to finalize data center ordinance drafts, the pace of the data center ordinance has come as a shock both to the industry and the Village Planning Committees in City of Phoenix.
With the singular draft of the ordinance being produced in late-April 2025 and scheduled for a final City Council vote on June 18th of 2025, this is possibly the fastest the City of Phoenix has scheduled a land use ordinance of this caliber for passage. Additionally, there was an unusual structure that scheduled the stakeholder engagement meetings for after the data center ordinance draft had already been produced and Village Planning Committees began voting. No redrafts incorporating stakeholder and Village Planning Committee input have yet been produced.
Following data center stakeholder and citizen input at Village Planning Committees, the results have shown that 9 out of 14 Village Planning Committees that voted on the issue passed their recommendations with a request for a 60–90-day period for stakeholder input to redraft the ordinance before a final vote by Council. Only 4 Village Planning Committees voted to approve the ordinance as is. The reasons for a longer drafting and stakeholder period for the ordinance have ranged, including concerns about ambiguities, concerns about moratorium issues with the will-serve letter requirements, concerns of protecting current investments in existing developments, and concerns about the development standards in relation to the zoning districts that are listed to permit a data center with a Special Permit.
Final Village Planning Committee Vote Counts for Data Center Text Amendment:
| # of Village Planning Commissions(Out of 15) | Recommendation to Phoenix Planning Commission |
| 4 | Approvals of ordinance text as is |
| 1 | Approved, modified stipulations to be more data center friendly in industrial zones |
| 2 | Approval of the ordinance with recommendation for a 60-90-day stakeholder period for redraft (and other stipulations) |
| 7 | Denial of the ordinance with recommendation for a 60-90-day stakeholder period for redraft (and other stipulations) |
| 1 | No quorum, no vote |
Traditionally, drafting an ordinance for a land use of this level of impact would involve information sessions for the Village Planning Committees, stakeholder engagement, multiple drafts, and an eventual vote by City Council on the ordinance after a 12+ month period. While the reasoning for the Village Planning Commission’s recommendations is varied, the message they’ve made is clear: the proposed City of Phoenix data center ordinance needs more work, more time, and more input before final implementation.
