BOULDER CITY (KTNV) — Boulder City's council voted unanimously Tuesday night to appeal a federal approval for a data center planned for Bureau of Land Management land in the Eldorado Valley desert, just outside city limits.
The appeal targets a June 26 BLM decision that approved the facility on federal land — a move that effectively stripped the city of any authority over the project.
WATCH | Boulder City residents speak out against data center:
"I'm here tonight not to ask you to approve or reject the data center. That decision was taken out of our hands," said Celeste Intrante, one of the dozens of Boulder City residents who spoke during public comment.
"Townsite Solar 2 withdrew its application for our land and instead secured federal right of way from BLM on the parcel next door," she continued.
Another resident urged the council to fight back.
"This was never a good faith negotiation," Grant Turner said. "They had a gun to our heads at all times."
"Given the fact that they have rugged us and moved next door, yeah, like pretty much everybody in this room, I recommend that we fight them tooth and nail," Turner said.
Before the meeting, a group of residents gathered outside to protest.
"Everything has pretty much come as initiatives before the citizens, and then through the council. And that was not the process this time," local Peggy Kelly Durfey said while holding a sign that said "No Data Centers in Boulder City."
The community remains within the 30-day window to appeal the BLM's June 26 approval. The unanimous council vote Tuesday night sets that process in motion for the city attorney to officially file.
