LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Clark County commissioners approved a set of zoning and development items Wednesday for a Switch data center project in the southwest valley area after public commenters urged the county to slow data center growth and require more transparency about energy, water and community impacts.
The agenda items involve a proposed data center project generally located east of Edmond Street and north of Warm Springs Road in the southwest valley.
Switch representatives told commissioners the project, described as the LAS 19 facility, would include a roughly 56,000-square-foot building — less than half the total square footage previously approved for the site under earlier industrial entitlements, they said.
Steven Roberts, Switch’s vice president of construction development, said the facility would use a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume water on a daily basis beyond restrooms and kitchenettes.
He said an earlier approved industrial project on the site could have used evaporative cooling, estimating about 5,000 gallons per day.
Roberts also said the site would be fed by existing electric infrastructure, including an Audet substation Switch built with NV Energy, with underground cabling.
Switch withdrew several requested waivers related to landscaping during the hearing, saying it would install landscaping required by county code along the perimeter security wall and on the campus.
The remaining issue focused on Warm Springs Road frontage and a request tied to an attached sidewalk near an existing wall built about 20 years ago.
Commissioners discussed requiring additional protections for pedestrians along Warm Springs Road. County staff proposed, and Switch agreed to, a condition requiring the company to coordinate a cost contribution to Public Works for the design and construction of a barrier separating the sidewalk from travel lanes along Warm Springs Road adjacent to several parcels.
MORE ON FOX5: Henderson City Council to consider ordinance pausing data center applications
Public commenters — including representatives of the Sierra Club and environmental justice advocates — criticized the project as part of what they described as rapid, AI-driven data center expansion that could strain Nevada’s electric grid and affect utility affordability.
Several urged the commission to follow the Enterprise Town Advisory Board’s recommendation to deny the design review and some of the requested waivers, citing concerns about landscaping, heat, resource use and safety.
Commissioners said the board’s role in the hearing was land use.
Commissioner Michael Naft said the county has adopted sustainability standards in its development code and noted the Switch application scored 6.5 out of 7 points on the county’s sustainability point system.
Naft also said the project would be dry-cooled with near-zero water consumption for building operations. Naft also confirmed it is a collective understanding that the facility would be supported by 100% renewable sources.
Natalie Mitchell, Switch’s senior vice president of government affairs and campus development, said the company has been supported by 100% renewable energy since 2016 and said Switch has a nationwide footprint of full-time workers, including about 1,200 based in Clark County.
Commissioners voted to approve the agenda items, with the landscaping waivers withdrawn and a Public Works condition.
According to Commissioner Naft, the condition added will require Switch to coordinate with the Clark County Public Works Department and financially contribute to the design and construction of a Warm Springs Road sidewalk safety barrier, with the work timed to move in conjunction with an ongoing project in the area.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
