Tucson is drafting zoning rules that would require any large data center to sit at least 400 feet from homes, schools, and other noise-sensitive areas—and no developer could build one anywhere in the city without going through a public hearing and a mayor and Council vote.
Over 550 residents submitted feedback through surveys, in-person meetings at Pueblo High School and Rincon/University High School, and online comments. The most common response wasn’t a request for tighter rules—it was a call to ban data centers from Tucson entirely.
Where they could—and couldn’t—go
Under the draft proposal, large-scale data centers would be permitted only in heavy industrial (I-2) zones through a mayor and Council special exception, or through a planned area development or planned community development.
There is no by-right path. Every application would require a neighborhood meeting, a Zoning Examiner public hearing, and a final mayor and Council decision before anything gets built…