URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 836
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
COMMERCE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT
CODE SECTION 65858, EXTENDING FOR A PERIOD OF TEN (10)
MONTHS AND FIFTEEN (15) DAYS THE MORATORIUM ESTABLISHED BY URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 834 ON THE APPROVAL OF ANY
LAND USE ENTITLEMENTS AND/OR AGREEMENTS TO ALLOW THE
OPERATION OF DATA CENTERS IN THE CITY OF COMMERCE
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority granted the City of Commerce (“City”) by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, the City has the police power to regulate the use of land and property within the City in a manner designed to promote public convenience and general prosperity, as well as public health, welfare, and safety; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858 authorizes a city council to adopt, as an urgency measure, an interim ordinance prohibiting land uses that may conflict with contemplated general plan, specific plan, zoning, or development standard amendments that the City is studying or intends to study within a reasonable time; and WHEREAS, on August 11, 2026, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 834 establishing for a period of forty-five (45) days a moratorium on the approval of land use entitlements, agreements, permits, licenses, and other approvals for the construction, operation, or development of data centers within the City; and WHEREAS, Urgency Ordinance No. 834 was adopted based upon findings that the Commerce Municipal Code did not define or otherwise comprehensively regulate data centers and similar high-intensity computing uses, including with respect to their permissible locations, size and intensity, utility demand, water consumption, cooling systems, backup generation, buffering, noise, environmental performance, decommissioning, and community benefits; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further found that data centers and similar highintensity computing uses may require extraordinary electrical demand, substation or transmission improvements, substantial cooling systems, backup generators, water and wastewater capacity, and 24-hour operations, and may create or exacerbate land use compatibility, noise, air quality, greenhouse gas, public health, public safety, heat, emergency response, employment-generation, and infrastructure-capacity concerns; and WHEREAS, Urgency Ordinance No. 834 will expire on September 25, 2026, unless extended pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858; and WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(d), on August 25, 2026, the City Council considered and issued a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions that led to adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 834, and WHEREAS, since adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 834, City staff have continued to study data centers and potential amendments to the Commerce Municipal Code, including review of the City’s existing zoning regulations, the potential land use and infrastructure impacts associated with data centers, and regulatory approaches adopted or considered by other California jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, as part of that work, City staff have prepared Zoning Text Amendment No. 26-01, which would amend Title 19 of the Commerce Municipal Code to establish a definition of “Data Center” and prohibit Data Centers Citywide; and WHEREAS, Zoning Text Amendment No. 26-01 is scheduled for consideration by the Planning Commission on September 21, 2026, after which the proposed Zoning Text Amendment and implementing ordinance may be presented to the City Council for consideration; and
WHEREAS, although substantial progress has been made toward development and consideration of permanent regulations governing Data Centers, additional time is necessary to complete the legislative process; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858 permits the City Council, following notice pursuant to Government Code Section 65090 and a public hearing, to extend an interim ordinance for an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days; and WHEREAS, notice of the City Council’s September 22, 2026 public hearing to consider extension of Urgency Ordinance No. 834 was published on September 11, 2026, in accordance with California Government Code Section 65090; and WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public hearing on September 22, 2026, at which it considered all written and oral testimony concerning the proposed extension; and
WHEREAS, the conditions that supported adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 834 continue to exist because the City has not yet completed adoption and implementation of permanent regulations governing Data Centers; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there continues to exist a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare because, absent an extension of the temporary moratorium, applications for Data Centers may be accepted, processed, and approved under regulations that do not adequately address the potentially significant infrastructure, environmental, operational, and land use compatibility issues associated with such uses; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the approval of additional entitlements, permits, licenses, agreements, or other approvals for Data Centers during the period in which the City is completing its consideration of permanent regulations would result in that threat to the public health, safety, and welfare by allowing the commitment of land, utility capacity, water resources, and related infrastructure before the City completes and implements appropriate zoning regulations; and WHEREAS, allowing such applications or approvals to proceed during this period could also frustrate or impair the City’s ability to implement Zoning Text Amendment No. 26-01 and other permanent regulations presently under consideration; and WHEREAS, additional time is therefore necessary to allow City staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council to complete consideration and adoption of permanent regulations concerning Data Centers; and
WHEREAS, based upon all evidence contained in the administrative record, including the findings supporting Urgency Ordinance No.834, the written report prepared pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(d), the staff report accompanying this Ordinance, and evidence received at the September 22, 2026 public hearing, the City Council finds that extending the interim urgency ordinance is necessary to avoid current and immediate threats to public health, safety, and welfare pending completion of the regulatory actions described herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are herein adopted by this reference. Based on the foregoing recitals, evidence, findings, and conclusions, which are all deemed true and correct, this Urgency Ordinance is urgently needed for the immediate preservation of the public safety, health, and welfare.
SECTION 2: Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858, the moratorium established by Urgency Ordinance No. 834 is hereby extended for an additional period of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days.
SECTION 3: The City Council determines that the provisions of this Urgency Ordinance are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) because this Ordinance continues an existing temporary regulatory restriction and constitutes a continuing administrative activity and thus is not a project, as CEQA defines that term, pursuant to Section 15378(b)(2) of the CEQA Guidelines. To the extent adoption of this Ordinance constitutes a project, the City Council finds pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) that the project is exempt from environmental review because it can be seen with certainty that extension of the temporary moratorium would not have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 4: This Urgency Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption if adopted by at least a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the total members of the City Council. The moratorium established by Urgency Ordinance No. 834, as extended by this Ordinance, shall remain in effect through August 11, 2027, unless earlier terminated, repealed, or superseded in accordance with applicable law.
SECTION 5: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Urgency Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Urgency Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Urgency Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6: The City Clerk of the City of Commerce shall certify to the passage of this Urgency Ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted in the manner required by law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 22nd day of September 2026. ____________________________
Kevin Lainez
Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________
Eduardo Samiento
City Clerk