A proposed 202-acre AI data center in Palm Beach County continues to spark fierce debate over environmental safety, government transparency, and outdated zoning laws.
While developers recently secured preliminary administrative approval to expand its physical space, elected county leaders insist the fight over whether the data center is allowed is far from over.
Earlier this month, on Oct. 7, PBA Holdings, the developers of 'Project Tango,' bypassed a 5-1 county commission rejection from July by utilizing a 2016 master plan. That was a huge win for proponents.
The approval uses previously leftover space to massively expand the data center from 200,000 to nearly 700,000 square feet — roughly the size of 12 football fields — across three buildings.
The plan was in motion before a one-year countywide moratorium on new data centers took effect.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs, who voted against the proposal in July, attributed the developers' successful loophole to "outdated" zoning laws unable to handle the region's rapid business and real estate growth.
"All of a sudden we've gone from, let's say, being an opera to being rock and roll," Sachs told WLRN. "But we're using the rules that we used for years. So, now we see what happens when people use our old rules to do new things."
READ MORE: Residents wanted 'real information' on Project Tango. The land's fraught history explains why
While the county's zoning commission approved the administrative checklist, Sachs said unelected staff should not have the final say on a project facing fierce pushback from local residents.
"Our zoning commission, they are professional staff, but they're not voted on by the people," Sachs said. "They look at administrative things and they check all off, and if they [a developer] meet the requirements, they vote 'em in. But that's not the way democracy works."
Project Tango must still receive final approval from the county commission before any construction begins, Sachs said.
Meanwhile, the county is placing strict conditions on the developer to protect neighbors, including a 60-decibel noise cap and a 100,000-gallon daily water limit in a closed-loop system, and an 850-foot buffer for Arden residential community in Loxahatchee.
Data center taskforce before any final decisions
In a 4-1 vote last week, Palm Beach County Commissioners decided against spending nearly $225,000 to hire a consulting firm to write new data center rules. Commissioner Marci Woodward was the only "yes" vote, and Commissioner Greg Weiss was absent.
The commission will use their Nov. 18 meeting to look at other consulting options and discuss forming a public advisory group, featuring citizen input and technical experts to evaluate the project's environmental and logistical impact before any final decision is made.
"What they're [PBA Holdings] doing clever, it's smart. They're getting approval to expand that area, almost like preparing a table for dinner," Sachs said of the developers' administrative maneuver. "But they can't serve it until they come to us for approval. They may set the table, but it's not coming out of the oven until we approve it."
Sachs expects to finalize a zoning taskforce in the coming months, before the county's 1-year moratorium on new data centers expires.
She's waiting on the task force's findings before declaring her current stance on the data center, stating, "Let's see what the evidence is, let's see what the people want, and then we can go ahead and vote accordingly," she said.
