A developer wants to build a massive data center on 221 acres of desert in Sahuarita, Arizona — and it would sit right across the street from a 55-plus neighborhood, blocks from five schools, and just a quarter-mile from Northwest Hospital. This isn't an empty industrial lot far from people. It's the middle of a community that families and retirees call home.

"This isn't some remote industrial site miles from people. Your Rancho Resort is directly across the street. Five schools are within a half-mile. Northwest Hospital is less than a quarter-mile away," according to Rev. Randy Mayer, pastor of Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, in an open letter to the developer published by the Green Valley News.

Nearly 100 residents turned out on a 100-degree night to say they don't want this in their backyard. They're worried about the noise, the traffic, and the strain a hyperscale facility like this would put on the neighborhood's electricity and water — resources that are already stretched thin in the desert. Families who moved here for good schools and a quiet, safe place to raise their kids shouldn't have to live next to industrial-scale machinery running around the clock.

The Sahuarita Town Council has the power to reject this project before it ever breaks ground. Local leaders should listen to the people who actually live here, not a developer looking to rezone land in the middle of a family neighborhood.

Sign the petition to stop the Sahuarita data center — before construction starts and this community loses the neighborhood it built.