Tensions ran high in Palm Beach County on Wednesday as commissioners met for a zoning hearing on the controversial “Project Tango” — a proposed 200-acre hyperscale AI data-center complex planned near Loxahatchee and Wellington, in the western part of the county.
After hours of emotional public comment from more than 50 residents worried about nonstop low-frequency hums, heavy water consumption and long-term environmental impacts, commissioners ultimately hit the brakes.
The commissioners voted unanimously, 7-0, to postpone the data center application until the April 23, 2026, zoning meeting and to give time for more impact studies, despite high demand from the community to terminate the project altogether.
The project, which was originally approved in 2016 as a regular data-center — and not an AI facility — returned to the commission after developers requested an additional 64 acres, which prompted a new vote.
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Its placement on the consent agenda — which is meant for quick, routine matters — rather than the regular agenda also sparked outrage from the community and even drew criticism from Commissioner Maria Sachs.
Sachs now suggests sending out “certified letters” to get opinions from more community members — and she wants to wait to see how the state handles legislation surrounding AI data centers.
“I want to reject the whole application,” Sachs added.
Sachs echoed widespread opposition to placing AI data centers near communities, aligning with statements made by Gov. Ron DeSantis. This month, DeSantis announced plans for a Florida “AI Bill of Rights” and a companion bill on data centers, aiming to protect privacy, limit AI in insurance and regulate data center siting and costs.
Residents at the county meeting mentioned DeSantis’ positions on numerous occasions, leaning on potential statewide political support.
Victoria Doyle, a lawyer and Lake Worth Beach resident, said during public comment, “I don’t agree with him [DeSantis] often, but he’s absolutely right.”
“Consumers are going to pay for this,” she said.
Residents remain furious
Loxahatchee residents — especially those in the Arden community with its 2,500 homes, including families living near S. Brook Elementary — pushed back hard against the AI data center, citing expected noise from cooling towers, servers and diesel generators, along with heavy water use, pollution concerns and higher utility costs.
The health concerns surrounding these centers have been gaining steam nationally. A petition with nearly 4,000 signatures warned of health risks to children and environmental harm.
“Shut it down,” Arden resident Corey Kanterman told WLRN. Kanterman is part of a team who led a petition against the project.
”No good comes of having an AI data center near you,” he said. “Put them in the location of least impact to the environment and people. This location is not it.”
PBA Holdings’ Project Tango would expand Loxahatchee’s Central Park Commerce Center to 202 acres, including a 1.8-million-square-foot AI data center and over 3 million square feet of total warehouse space.
Project manager Ernie Cox said a noise study is underway and water-cooling plans are still being finalized, touting billions for the local economy.
Recently, a letter from more than 200 environmental and political organizations called for members of Congress for a moratorium on data center construction.
Loxahatche community member Ben Brown told WLRN in a “perfect world, we want to obviously just have this recognized for what it is and completely stopped entirely.”
“That would be a perfect scenario until the recommended and appropriate studies are done,” he said.
