Gilbert says it will not provide tap water for data center cooling systems, as the town eyes stricter policies.
The town currently has no established guidelines on data centers within its town code.
The Planning Commission will hear new recommendations from staff at its Aug. 5 meeting regarding rules on sound, building height and other topics.
Metro Phoenix has become a hotbed for data center development in recent years and raised outrage over its development from community members. They were a hot topic in several recent city council elections around the region.
Data centers are large buildings that house IT infrastructure for building, running and delivering applications and services. While the facilities have created an anchor for explosive growth
in technology industries in Arizona, many have criticized the facilities for their water and power consumption and relatively modest job creation.
However, Gilbert has remained largely untouched by data center development compared to its neighboring cities.
Currently, the town only has one data center in operation and does not have any applications for data center development, according to Joanna Guzman, a town spokesperson.
Instead, the town is drafting "potential standards compatible with our community," she said.
Several cities in 2025 adopted new rules regarding data center development, including Mesa, which has one of the densest inventories of data centers in metro Phoenix.
Following the commission’s meeting, the Town Council will discuss the proposed land code changes at its Aug. 11 meeting and is poised to vote on the code changes on Sept. 1.
What Gilbert’s proposed data center rules say
Staff wrote in a town document that it had “identified that data centers and digital infrastructure have become essential components of today’s development landscape.”
The new town code would allow Gilbert to “proactively manage impacts, provide clarity to applicants, and support development objectives,” it stated in planning documents.
Guzman said large-scale data centers are not planned for any of the town's targeted economic sectors. The land development code changes are a way to "ensure that we have appropriate regulations in place should one be proposed within our community," she said.
Gilbert’s proposed land code states it will “not provide potable water” to a data center, cooling systems, humidity control, and other similar operations and systems. Potable water is drinking water.
The town will also not allow open-loop evaporative cooling systems. Those are systems that allow water to evaporate to cool down the center, which causes higher water consumption.
Data centers will only be allowed within light and general industrial zoning districts and will need a special permit approved by the Town Council.
It also cannot be built closer than 650 feet from residential properties and no taller than 55 feet.
The town would also require developers to submit a sound study indicating the project is complying with “applicable noise standards.”
"Our goal is to balance readiness for new technological opportunities while ensuring that any future development aligns with Gilbert’s high expectations for community protection, quality of life, and responsible growth," Guzman said.
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Reporter Maritza Dominguez, who covers Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek, can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert to crack down on, deny drinking water to data centers
