A fiercely opposed AI data center rezoning, development plan and agreement in Chandler were unanimously rejected Thursday night by city council.

The 7-0 vote surprised even one of the people who voted to reject a proposed artificial intelligence data center plan Dec. 11.

Mayor Kevin Hartke said in his seven years as mayor, along with several more years on Chandler City Council, he’s seen many unpopular developments approved.

“I honestly didn’t know how this was going to go tonight,” Hartke said after the meeting, which drew a capacity crowd to council chambers. “The developer did a lot of work to try to make this happen. I just don’t think that, from my position, and others, that this center reflected the values that Chandler’s going in the future. It didn’t align with our general plan

See Full Page