Thornton v. City of Kuna (Gemstone Technology Park Data Center Rezone Challenge)
Neighboring landowner Layne Thornton and his Toledo Dairy entities petitioned for judicial review after the Kuna City Council approved, on a tie-breaking 3-2 vote in April 2025, a rezone clearing the way for Diode Ventures' 620-acre, $1B+ Gemstone Technology Park data center campus, arguing council member Greg McPherson should have recused himself given his employment by Thornton. Fourth Judicial District Judge James Cawthon denied the petition in May 2026, finding no 'immediate or direct' economic conflict; Thornton and the Toledo entities appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court in June 2026, leaving the project on hold.
Why it matters
One of a growing wave of neighbor-driven suits nationally that challenge a data center's local approval process on procedural or conflict-of-interest grounds rather than attacking the underlying land use directly -- a tack that can freeze a multibillion-dollar project's groundbreaking for years regardless of the merits. Developers assembling large rural data-center or industrial campuses via a narrow council vote should scrutinize every voting member's employment and business ties before the hearing, since even a losing recusal argument can stall permits through an appeal.
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