Somebody wants a "data processing facility" on 10 acres south of Yuma. Here's what's on file.

For months, Yuma has argued about data centers in the abstract. Water. Power. Heat. Who would build one. Where.

Now there's a piece of land.

It's 10 acres on the east side of Avenue 2E, about 660 feet south of County 14th Street. A little over two miles south of the airport.

On Tuesday, Nov. 24, the Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on two requests for it. One would rezone the land. The other would allow a "communications and data processing facility."

That's the county's wording. It comes from a legal notice the Yuma Sun published Nov. 4. The words "data center" aren't in it.

Here's what I found in the public record. And what isn't there yet.

The two requests

They travel together.

• Rezoning Case No. 26-08 would change the parcel from Rural Area, 10-acre minimum, to Light Industrial, 5-acre minimum.
• Special Use Permit Case No. 26-09 asks to use the land for a "communications and data processing facility" under Section 613.03(A) of the county zoning ordinance.

Both list J.P. Mahon as agent for "Hendrick Harold."

One thing to keep straight. The same notice also lists a Rezoning Case No. 26-09. That's a different property, on West County 16th Street, and it has nothing to do with this. The one you want is SUP 26-09, paired with Rezoning 26-08.

The land

County Assessor data lists the site as parcel 747-01-003. Ten acres. Unincorporated Yuma County. Site address 14255 S. Avenue 2E.

The owner is listed as "HENDRICK HAROLD." Same as the notice. Assessor records often put the last name first, but I haven't seen the recorded deed yet. So I'm using the name exactly the way the county shows it.

According to the same Assessor data, the parcel sold May 14, 2026, for $405,000. The recorded document number is 2026-13814.

The notice also puts the parcel in a 70 dB noise zone. That's an airport noise designation already on county planning maps. It's about jets overhead. It says nothing about how loud a facility would be.

The rules

Yuma County's zoning code doesn't list data centers. Not as a permitted use. Not as a prohibited one.

Light Industrial zoning already allows plenty outright: warehouses, cold storage, utility substations, cell towers. Section 613.03(A) is the catch-all for everything else. It lets the county allow "any industrial, commercial, or institutional uses not allowed under Permitted Uses," as long as they fit the purpose of the district.

That purpose, in the county's words, is light industry "which are not obnoxious or offensive to adjoining properties due to emission of odor, smoke, gas, noise, vibration, or other causes."

No data center category. That doesn't leave the county without a yardstick.

Section 402 of the ordinance covers every special use permit. Before the Board of Supervisors can approve one, it has to reach four conclusions, "based on findings of fact supported by competent, substantial and material evidence presented at the hearing."

In plain English, the Board has to find that the project:

1. Won't endanger public health, safety or welfare. The code's list of things to consider includes traffic, utilities (sewer, water, electricity, garbage and fire protection), soil erosion and protection of water supplies, groundwater included.
2. Follows every rule that applies in the zoning district.
3. Won't substantially change or materially affect the neighbors or the surrounding area.
4. Fits the area, including the county's comprehensive plan.

The applicant has homework too. Under Section 402.02, a special use application is supposed to come with scaled site plans and building floor plans and elevations, "in detail." Plus a written statement, with evidence, showing the use won't have "an inordinately negative impact on nearby properties" or affect the health and safety of people living or working nearby.

So the county's own rules ask the same questions people have been asking. Traffic. Water. Power. Neighbors.

What nobody outside the county file can see yet is how this application answers them.

Who decides

Not the commission. It's an advisory board: 10 members, two appointed from each supervisor's district.

The code lays out two hearings. The commission hears the case first and makes a recommendation. Then the Board of Supervisors holds its own hearing and decides. If the Board approves, the permit doesn't take effect for 30 days.

Nov. 24 is the commission hearing. Not final approval.

The code also says who gets told. The county has to publish notice at least 15 days ahead, which the Nov. 4 notice did. And it has to mail written notice to the owners of every property within 300 feet.

What people are saying

Data centers came up Monday night at the City's Connect with Council session at the MLK Center. KYMA reported that a recent online post about a potential data center in Yuma County was a major focal point.

"We want to be involved. We want our voices to be heard," Andrea Huff, identified by KYMA as chief operating officer at B&G Family, told the station. "We don't want to listen to what's out there on social media."

Two things to keep in mind. The City Council doesn't vote on this. It's a county case on county land. And KYMA didn't name a site, so I can't say for sure the post people were talking about is this application. KYMA did report that the Nov. 24 county hearing is on the data center's special use permit. SUP 26-09 is the only data processing request in the county's Nov. 4 hearing notice.

This isn't new ground for Yuma. In April, the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation held an informational session on data centers that drew protesters to the County Administration Building. Some carried signs that read "You can't drink data." Organizers said then that no data center projects were under formal review in the county.

No record I've found connects that session to this application.

The scorecard

Verified:

• Two requests are on file: Rezoning 26-08 and SUP 26-09, for a "communications and data processing facility." (Published legal notice.)
• The parcel, its size and location. (Notice and Assessor data.)
• The owner as the county lists it, and a May 14, 2026 sale for $405,000. (Assessor data.)
• The standards the Board has to apply. (County zoning ordinance.)
• The hearing: Nov. 24, 5 p.m. (Published notice.)

Not on file, or not public yet:

• Who would build or run it.
• What it would do, and how big it would be.
• How much electricity it would need, and who would supply it.
• Whether it would use water for cooling, how much and from where.
• Backup generators, equipment noise, traffic.
• The staff report. The code has staff prepare one before the commission hears a case. The Nov. 24 agenda packet wasn't online as of Tuesday morning.

My opinion: Two weeks out, the public has a location and a one-line description. The county's own rules require site plans and a written case about the neighbors. Whatever's in that file should be in front of residents with enough time to actually read it before Nov. 24.

If you want to weigh in

• What: Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, Rezoning 26-08 and SUP 26-09.
• When: Tuesday, Nov. 24, 5 p.m., according to the published notice.
• Where: E.F. Sanguinetti Auditorium, 197 S. Main St., Yuma. The commission met at the same time and place in October. Check the final agenda once the county posts it.
• Watch: Commission agendas say meetings can also be seen on Yuma County's government cable Channel 77.
• Need an accommodation: The notice asks you to contact the county at least two working days before the hearing.
• The office: Yuma County Planning & Zoning Division, 2351 W. 26th St., Yuma.

What I'm still looking for

• The application, site plan and written statement the code requires.
• The staff report for Nov. 24.
• The recorded deed, document 2026-13814.
• Who the facility is for, and who would operate it.

When the county posts the packet, I'll read it and update this story.

Where this comes from

• Public hearing notice, Yuma Sun, Nov. 4, 2026 (notice 641011). Official public notice, published in the Yuma Sun and reproduced in full by NoticeRegistry. Source for the case numbers, parcel, acreage, location, agent, owner name, requested zoning and use, noise zone, and hearing date, time and place.
• Yuma County Assessor parcel data, parcel 74701003. Official record, from the county's GIS. Source for the site address, owner as listed, sale date, sale price and document number. I haven't reviewed the recorded deed.
• Yuma County Zoning Ordinance, amended through Feb. 21, 2026. Official record. Section 402 (special use permits: required conclusions, application contents, hearings, notice, 30-day wait) and Section 613 (Light Industrial).
• Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission. Official. The commission's advisory role and membership.
• Yuma County P&Z agenda, Oct. 27, 2026. Official record. Meeting time and place, Channel 77.
• County P&Z agendas page. Where the Nov. 24 agenda should appear.
• Yuma County planning GIS (current zoning, noise zone, airport vicinity). Official map data. Map layers are a reference, not a survey.
• KYMA, "City of Yuma hosts 'Connect with the Council' event," Nov. 9, 2026. Reporting. Monday's discussion, the Huff quote and the hearing.
• AZFamily, "Public meeting in Yuma highlights early pushback to possible data center interest," Apr. 14, 2026. Reporting. The April session.