The developer of Project Tango, the hyperscale data center proposed west of Wellington, now alleges that a second Palm Beach County commissioner improperly prejudged the project before its July denial.
The company has already accused Sara Baxter, serving as the county mayor in a one-year rotation, of improperly influencing the commission's rejection of the data center project even after she agreed to recuse herself.
Baxter agreed to step away from the dais during the July 15 discussion and vote at the determination by County Attorney David Ottey. The county's top legal adviser ruled Baxter should not participate in the hearing after she publicly opposed the data center during a town hall meeting she sponsored.
Attorneys for PBA Holdings, the company
proposing the Project Tango data center facility, contend Baxter nonetheless improperly influenced the commission's decision. She represents the district in which Project Tango would have been built.
PBA Holdings is now making similar allegations against Sachs.
The lawsuit filed Oct. 9 accuses Sachs' chief of staff of preparing a "bench memorandum" recommending denial of the project. The lawsuit neither included a copy of the memorandum nor disclosed what it said, other than to allege that it urged denial of the project.
A bench memorandum is normally prepared by a lawyer to summarize legal disputes and significant precedents at issue. Janet Arguelles serves as Sachs' chief of staff.
The lawsuit argues that the memo indicates that Sachs may have made up her mind about how she was going to vote well before the July hearing, which would have been enough to force her recusal.
Sachs declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
The complaint alleges Sachs actively concealed that chief-of-staff recommendation from PBA Holdings, and its disclosure would have provided a basis to disqualify her. The County Commission ultimately rejected the project on a 5-to-1 vote.
PBA Holdings maintains county officials had long promoted the site as well-suited for a data center because of its electrical capacity, elevation and fiber-optic infrastructure. In the lawsuit, the company alleges the county reversed course in response to public pressure.
Residents of the nearby Arden community opposed the project, citing concerns about noise, water consumption and the strain a large data center could place on the area's electrical grid.
Data centers, however, have also drawn support from President Donald Trump, who calls Palm Beach County home. The president has said the facilities are crucial to economic prosperity and communities that reject them will end up "backwards and poor."
Project Tango sought approval for nearly 3.6 million square feet of development, including about 1 million square feet of data-center space and 2.3 million square feet of warehouse uses. The developer argued the proposal remained within previously approved traffic and land-use limits.
Why the developer says the denial was unlawful
The property chosen by PBA Holdings for the data center sits adjacent to Florida Power & Light's West County Energy Facility, a factor the developer says makes it an ideal data-center location.
PBA Holdings also argues the proposal complied with county regulations. The company notes it reduced the size of the data center in response to community concerns and that county planners recommended approval of their project.
The company is seeking a hearing before a special magistrate to challenge the denial. It alleges county officials have improperly delayed the process, forcing it to sue to compel compliance with a state law that requires the hearing.
According to the complaint, commissioners based their denial on issues such as noise, heat emissions, compatibility concerns and public opposition, rather than standards contained in county code.
PBA Holdings says it requested a special-magistrate hearing in early August and that the county was required to agree on a magistrate within 10 days.
"The dispute-resolution process needs to move forward," the lawsuit states. "The County has failed at every turn to comply with these requirements."
The developer says it has already spent millions of dollars on planning, engineering, utility commitments and other project expenses, while the denial threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in additional investment.
PBA Holdings has proposed Alan Lawson, a former Orange County attorney, circuit judge and Florida Supreme Court justice, to serve as special magistrate.
"Is there a reason that you would not want to use someone with that pedigree?" PBA Holdings' lawyers asked county officials in exhibits that were part of the lawsuit.
Asked to respond, a county spokesperson said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Project Tango lawsuit claims Maria Sachs should have recused herself
