> I also think Americans have the right to decide what happens in their neighborhoods.

I agree with this.

At the same time, all of the data center proposals in my state are in remote locations nowhere near any residences. They’re still the target of protests.

I don't know that local control is an unalloyed good. The interstate highway system would never have been built if we followed this as a principle, for example. For another example, Californian voters consistently vote for state level increases in housing, yet locally consistently vote against increasing housing in their community.

At some point national and state level goals must supercede local control if progress is to ever be made.