The Goldwater Institute says Pima County's four-month moratorium on data center construction violates state law because officials can't demonstrate the facilities pose an imminent danger, according to a statement released September 29, 2026. The conservative and libertarian think tank argues the pause, which the county board of supervisors approved last week while studying new zoning regulations and health effects, breaks two Arizona statutes. A county supervisor responded that the moratorium complies with state law and rests on legitimate evidence of public health risks.
Jon Riches, who handles litigation for the Goldwater Institute, points to two legal conflicts. First, he cites Prop. 207, a voter-approved measure that shields property owners from development regulations that might reduce property values. Second, he references Title 11, which allows moratoria only when a local government can show development creates an imminent threat. Riches notes that a framework jointly published by the Pima County Health Department and Johns Hopkins University for examining data center health impacts acknowledges there's insufficient empirical data to prove how or where these facilities would damage public health. The institute hasn't filed a lawsuit yet but would consider representing an affected property owner, Riches said.
Pima County Supervisor Jennifer Allen disputes the institute's interpretation, saying the Goldwater Institute is misreading the framework, which exists as an internal tool for assessing public health impacts rather than official justification for the pause. "It is a framework for how we can assess. It is not a report, and I agree with the Goldwater Institute that it's not a report that says these are all the imminent threats of data centers," Allen said. She argues the moratorium draws its authority from Title 11's provision allowing development pauses when current zoning codes don't adequately protect public health. Allen says separate evidence shows data centers increase temperatures in surrounding areas, justifying the county's need for time to draft and approve new zoning rules.
The dispute centers on competing readings of what state law requires before a county can hit pause on development. The Goldwater Institute contends counties can't impose moratoria to create new regulations, only to address proven imminent dangers. Pima County officials counter that inadequate zoning protections themselves constitute grounds for a temporary halt. Allen points to heat deaths, particularly in rural communities where residents lack access to cooling shelters, as evidence the county faces a real public health threat that existing rules don't address. The four-month pause is scheduled to end in January, shortly after the county board expects to finish reviewing potential new zoning laws for data centers, according to Allen.