Palm Beach Rejects Data Center Near Mar-a-Lago After Backlash
Palm Beach County commissioners rejected a proposal late Wednesday to build a digital infrastructure hub to house AI data centers and warehouses, voting in line with the ardent opposition from local residents.
The facility, known as Project Tango, would have filled dozens of acres of land about 20 miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. It faced backlash from residents who feared it would cause power and water bills to spike, an echo of tensions playing out across the country as tech giants sprint to build data centers.
Read More: AI Backlash Builds in President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Backyard
The 5-1 decision represents a show of strength in Florida’s efforts to rein in the tech industry. Project Tango is the most high-profile plan to come up for approval since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation preventing large data centers, which need massive amounts of energy to operate and vast supplies of water to keep cool, from passing on their utility costs. The measure also gives local governments authority over data-center zoning.
“If Project Tango really wants this to happen and the companies that are behind it, they will listen and then they will come back and try and go after this again if they can,” said Matthew Cimaglia, founder of Quantum Coast Capital, which invests in early-stage technology companies using quantum computing out of West Palm Beach.
Data centers have emerged as a rare area of bipartisan consensus in Florida, where Republicans have a stranglehold on government and Democrats have struggled to shape major legislation.
PBA Holdings was looking for approval to increase the size of the over 2 million square-foot project, which was already authorized for use as a data center roughly a decade ago when the site was rezoned.
The vote concluded a 12-hour meeting that included presentations from the owner, noise and water experts, as well as opponents including local residents. The marathon hearing was contentious from the start, with Mayor Sara Baxter recusing herself due to her public opposition to Project Tango.
“No matter how much I want to fight, I believe it is my duty and obligation to not put the county at risk of a very large lawsuit,” she said.
Commissioners had to stop proceedings on multiple occasions to ask attendees to stop heckling speakers or to hold their applause. More than 80 people signed up to address commissioners before they voted.
The county’s staff recommended approving PBA’s application with a number of conditions attached. Palm Beach County’s zoning director Wendy Hernandez said staff wouldn’t recommend approval without those conditions.
While some members of the commission said data centers are necessary, they also raised concerns about the project’s location near homes.
“It’s just not the right location for this type of technology,” said Commissioner Maria Sachs, who voted against the proposal.
Photo: The Project Tango site in Palm Beach County is located near a public elementary school, left, and a housing development. (Photographer: Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS/Getty Images)