Mona residents question approval process for proposed $10B data center

MONA, Juab County — Mona residents took their concerns about a proposed data center to Juab County leaders on Tuesday.

Residents say they were blindsided by the project, particularly the conditional use permit that cleared the way for the development.

There is no data center yet, but residents came to Tuesday's county commission meeting hoping to get answers. They say the issue is about more than the proposed data center; they want to know how the project was approved and whether the public had a meaningful opportunity to weigh in.

The proposed project would include about 3 million square feet of data center space and represents a reported $10 billion investment.

Mona residents say they only recently learned about the project after the county approved a zone change and conditional use permit.

Taylor Flake, a spokesperson for Mona Cares Neighborhood for Responsible Development, said residents believe the approval process should be revisited.

"Our elected officials, the county commissioners, did not approve of this," Flake said. "This was approved by planning bureaucrats — unelected bureaucrats — (who) approved the largest project in the history of Juab County — a $10 billion project (that) wasn't even approved by county officials. So, we're going to ask them that this be made right, and we're allowed to have a public hearing."

The county said the proposed data center was discussed by the public planning committee.

Flake and other residents said the public hearing lasted just four minutes and that neither Mona residents nor city leaders knew about the project beforehand.

Residents came to Tuesday's meeting asking how the zone change was presented to the public and how the conditional use permit was approved. They also want a say in what happens next.

Juab County Commissioner Clint Painter said the county followed the state's requirements for notifying the public.

"As far as no notifications, I do apologize," Painter said. "We do follow the letter of the law when it comes to it. We posted it in the three locations that the state says that we have to. Actually, we posted in four because we post in the newspaper."

Residents said they want a public hearing before additional decisions are made about the project.

"We want to have a public hearing before, not after, the decision is made, and we think we have a strong case to be made that this is not right for our little community," Flake said.

Meanwhile, county commissioners said they are unclear whether they have the authority to cancel the conditional use permit and put the project through the county process again.

Painter said commissioners will look into whether they have that authority.

"As of right now, I do not know, but we will ask that question," he said.

Residents say they plan to keep pushing for transparency for whatever comes next.

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