Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers says she is recommending a ban on data centers.
Rogers made that statement during Public Forum at Escambia’s Board of County Commissioners meeting on June 17.
Dozens of people packed the board chambers and spoke to the board for more than an hour opposing data centers.
The fear stems from rumors that economic development leaders were in “active negotiations” with a company that was exploring the possibility of building a data center in northern Escambia County.
FloridaWest Chief Executive Officer Chris Platé repeated to the board what he told the News Journal in May — that he was not in active negotiations with the unnamed company.
He said FloridaWest did sign a non-disclosure agreement with a defense company that was exploring the possibility of building a smaller size data center in the county, which is typical of any business potentially seeking to set up shop in Escambia County, but the company has not been in contact with him in a couple of months and no deal is being discussed or negotiated.
The large crowd at the county meeting erupted in applause when Rogers said, “What I’m going to recommend is a ban on data centers,” in response to the steady stream of citizens who spoke against them.
Commissioners also commented on the issue, saying they did not support data centers, and they agreed to add it to that evening’s agenda for discussion.
This is a developing story and we’ll have more on pnj.com.
Mollye Barrows is the Escambia County Government Impact Reporter at the Pensacola News Journal. She can be reached at mbarrows@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Breaking: Escambia County’s attorney recommends ban on data centers
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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By Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
