This fall, Boulder City voters will be asked a deceptively simple question with very large implications: should data centers be allowed on a vast stretch of city-owned desert in the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area, or should that land remain largely off-limits in the name of conservation and water security?
What’s on the Ballot
Ballot Question 1 asks whether “data center facilities” should be added as an approved land use in the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area, but only in portions outside the multi-species habitat conservation easement. Under Section 144 of the Boulder City Charter, voters have to sign off before any new use is allowed in the transfer area.
According to the Boulder City ballot packet, a “Yes” vote would not authorize construction of any particular project. Instead, it would simply give the City Council permission to consider lease proposals for data centers in the area.
The transfer area covers roughly 107,400 acres. City factsheets indicate that about 87,000 of those acres are already locked up as protected desert tortoise habitat. Finance materials show Boulder City bought the land in 1995 for about $1.28 million and now estimates that energy and related leases could generate roughly $1.336 billion over the next 70 years, along with up to $100,000 per year in property-tax revenue.
Developers’ Pitch and Cooling Promises
One potential player has already stepped forward. A company tied to the Townsite Solar 2 name has told city planners it could build a data center campus in the area while sharply limiting water use by relying on reclaimed wastewater or switching to air (dry) cooling, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal…