By Pinal Post
Key Points
- Council voted 7-0 to approve two waivers of the conditional use permit requirement, settling Prop 207 claims filed by landowners Dale Willis and Vernon Barnes.
- Under Arizona’s Proposition 207, property owners can seek compensation when a new land use law reduces their property’s value. The city’s July 2025 interpretation letter had said the claimants’ proposed data center qualified as a permitted use on their industrial-zoned parcels, and the October 2025 ordinance later added a conditional use permit requirement.
- The claims totaled about $146 million.
- In exchange for dropping the claims, the city gave up requiring that permit on 480 acres west of Ethington Road.
- If a data center is built, binding conditions in the waivers replace what the conditional use permit review would have covered: an 800 net acre-foot water cap, on-site power, noise limits, decommissioning rules and a $5 million community contribution.
- No end user has been identified. The vote does not approve construction. Site plan review and building permits are still required.
- Any new data center elsewhere in Casa Grande still needs a conditional use permit.
CASA GRANDE, AZ — The City Council voted 7-0 on Monday, Aug. 3, to approve the Casa Grande data center waivers, settling roughly $146 million in Proposition 207 claims tied to roughly 480 acres of farmland west of Ethington Road, south of Clayton Road and north of Gila Bend Highway.
The 480-acre site sits on the western edge of Casa Grande, extending northwest from Gila Bend Highway and Ethington Road.
