Report to City Council
ID: 26-0407 Page 1
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Steve Quintanilla, City Attorney
AGENDA DATE: October 20, 2026
TITLE: URGENCY ORDINANCE IMPOSING AN INITIAL 45-DAY
MORATORIUM ON APPROVAL OF LAND USE
ENTITLEMENTS AND/OR AGREEMENTS FOR
CERTAIN DATA CENTERS PURSUANT TO
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 (REPORT OF:
CITY ATTORNEY) (DISTRICT: ALL DISTRICTS)
TITLE SUMMARY: Urgency Ordinance Imposing An Initial 45-Day Moratorium On Approval Of Land Use Entitlements and/or Agreements
For Certain Data Centers Pursuant To Government Code
Section 65858
DISTRICT: All Districts
Recommendation(s)
That the City Council:
1. ADOPT the proposed Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 2026-XX imposing an initial 45- day Moratorium on the approval of any land use entitlements and/or agreements to allow the operation of certain Data Centers in the City of Moreno Valley.
SUMMARY
After hearing a report by Electric Utility Division Manager Jason Niccoli and input from the public at a duly noticed Study Session of the City Council held on September 8, 2026, the City Council directed City staff to prepare a Moratorium on Data Centers for the City Council’s consideration at a subsequent City Council meeting.
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DISCUSSION
California Government Code Section 65858 authorizes the City Council to adopt, as an interim urgency measure, an Interim Urgency Ordinance (“Moratorium”) 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 period of time. California Government Code Section 65858 further requires that in order to adopt such a Moratorium, the City Council must find that there exists a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare, and that the approval of additional use permits, building permits, subdivisions, variances, or other entitlements related to the prospective prohibited land use would result in such a threat to public health, safety, or welfare.
City staff is currently studying and intends to study potential amendments to the 2024 MoVal 2040 General Plan, Title 9 (Planning & Zoning), the City’s Zoning Atlas, and development standards, infrastructure policies, utility allocation procedures, environmental review thresholds, and performance standards related to the establishment, expansion, and operation of Data Centers and high-intensity digital infrastructure uses to determine appropriate regulatory standards that should be adopted to eventually permit or conditionally permit Data Centers, or alternatively, enact a permanent ban on Data Centers.
City staff believes that a “Data Center” as defined hereinbelow, without appropriate study and standards, could impose substantial and potentially irreversible impacts on local water supplies, electrical infrastructure, air quality, and community character, and that absent immediate action, applications for new Data Centers or conversion of existing structures into Data Centers may be submitted, processed, and vested under existing regulations before the City completes the necessary studies and adopts updated regulations specifically tailored to address the unique operational, environmental, infrastructure, and public safety impacts associated with Data Centers. As such, City staff believes that an immediate Moratorium is necessary to preserve the status quo while City staff evaluates and considers appropriate amendments to the 2024 MoVal 2040 General Plan, Title 9 (Planning & Zoning), the City’s Zoning Atlas, and development standards, utility allocation policies, environmental review procedures, and public safety regulations that should be considered and adopted if the City Council decides in the future to permit or conditionally permit them, or whether the City Council should adopt a permanent ban based on the unmitigable impacts of Data Centers.
Definition of Data Center
For purposes of this Moratorium, “Data Center” is defined as a structure or site used primarily for the storage, management, processing, and transmission of digital data and that houses computer or network equipment, systems, servers, appliances, and other associated components related to digital data storage, processing, and related operations, such as, but not limited to, air handlers, power generators, water cooling and storage facilities, utility substations, back-up batteries, fire suppression systems, ID: 26-0407 Page 3
enhanced security features, and other associated utility infrastructure that exceeds 100 Megawatts of instantaneous electrical demand.
City staff recommends that the Moratorium not apply to the following:
Data Centers developed, constructed, and operated by the City of Moreno Valley or other public agencies; and
“Associated Data Rooms” or “Server Rooms” which consist of enclosed rooms, suites, or other accessory spaces containing computer servers, data storage equipment, network switching equipment, telecommunications equipment, and related supporting equipment, including cooling, electrical, backup power, and security systems, used solely in conjunction with and incidental to the primary land use on the same lot or site, and which shall not be used for third-party digital data processing, storage, or transmission.
Purpose of Moratorium
The purpose of the Moratorium is to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City of Moreno Valley from the current and immediate threat that Data Centers operating within the City’s jurisdictional boundaries would present to the residents of the City of Moreno Valley during the time City staff is studying potential amendments to the 2024 MoVal 2040 General Plan, Title 9 (Planning & Zoning), the City’s Zoning Atlas, and development standards, infrastructure policies, utility allocation procedures, environmental review thresholds, and performance standards related to the establishment, expansion, and operation of data centers and high-intensity digital infrastructure uses to determine whether Data Centers should be permitted or conditionally permitted with appropriate regulatory standards or, alternatively, whether Data Centers should be permanently prohibited due their unmitigable impacts.
Urgency Findings
In accordance with California Government Code Section 65858 and in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the City Council is required to adopt findings that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare of the residents unless a Moratorium is adopted.
The following list identifies jurisdictions in California that have adopted urgency findings in support of their respective Moratoriums on Data Centers, which are incorporated herein by this reference to justify and support the Urgency Findings set forth below in this Staff Report.
Baldwin Park
Brawley
Calipatria
Coachella
El Monte
Imperial
Montebello
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Monterey Park
Oakley
In addition to the above, the Staff Report incorporates by reference the impacts of Data Centers identified and addressed in a joint report produced by the Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning and Los Angeles County Public Health, dated August 17, 2026, titled “Addressing the Health and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers,” attached hereto.
City staff recommends that the City Council consider adoption of the Moratorium based on the findings set forth below, which were derived from independent research, the various findings made by the above-referenced California cities which have either adopted similar Moratoriums or complete bans on Data Centers or certain types of Data Centers, and the joint report produced by the Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning and Los Angeles County Public Health, dated August 17, 2026, titled “Addressing the Health and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers.” Emerging Nature of Data Center Development.
1. Advances in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency processing, large-scale digital storage, and high-density computing have resulted in a substantial increase in proposals for large industrial-scale Data Centers throughout California and the western United States.
2. Data Centers differ substantially from traditional office, industrial, warehouse, or research and development uses because they may operate continuously on a twenty-four-hour basis; consume extraordinarily high amounts of electrical power and water; require extensive cooling infrastructure; rely upon diesel backup generators and hazardous materials systems; and generate persistent noise, heat, vibration, and infrastructure demands that are not adequately addressed under the City’s current zoning regulations.
3. The City’s current zoning regulations, zoning atlas, and development standards were adopted before the emergence of modern hyperscale and artificial intelligence-oriented Data Centers and therefore do not adequately regulate the intensity, utility demand, operational characteristics, environmental impacts, or cumulative impacts associated with such facilities.
4. The California Energy Commission has publicly identified Data Centers as a rapidly growing source of statewide electrical demand and has projected substantial increases in electricity consumption associated with future Data Center development.
Threats to Electrical Infrastructure and Grid Reliability.
1. Data Centers may impose extraordinary and concentrated electrical loads on local transmission and distribution systems, potentially requiring substantial upgrades to substations, transformers, transmission infrastructure, and backup generation ID: 26-0407 Page 5
systems.
2. The City’s existing electrical infrastructure is mostly not designed to accommodate multiple large-scale Data Center facilities or high-density computing campuses with continuous baseload demand requirements.
3. To permit Data Center projects prior to City staff determining whether the City’s existing electrical infrastructure (which includes Moreno Valley Utility infrastructure) is capable of providing adequate capacity and conducting the necessary reliability studies, and prior to the City’s existing electrical utility providers (which includes Moreno Valley Utility) making any necessary system upgrades, may adversely affect grid reliability, increase the risk of service interruptions, strain emergency backup systems, and impair the ability of the City’s existing electrical utility providers to serve existing residential, commercial, school, hospital, and public safety uses.
4. Uncontrolled proliferation of Data Centers may contribute to increased utility costs borne by residents and existing businesses through infrastructure expansion, peak demand impacts, and utility cost shifting by the City’s existing electrical utility providers other than Moreno Valley Utility.
Water Supply and Drought Resiliency Concerns.
1. Many modern Data Centers rely upon substantial quantities of potable and recycled water for cooling and climate-control systems, depending on the type of cooling system selected, which is not currently regulated or controlled by the City.
2. The City is located within a region subject to recurring drought conditions, groundwater management obligations, imported water supply constraints, climate change impacts, and increasing long-term uncertainty regarding water availability.
3. The approval of Data Center facilities before completion of water supply and infrastructure analyses may threaten the City’s ability to preserve adequate water supplies for residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, hospitals, fire suppression, and other essential community needs.
4. The existing development standards do not presently include sufficient operational limitations, water efficiency standards, recycled water requirements, drought contingency provisions, or cumulative water demand thresholds specifically applicable to Data Centers.
Public Health and Environmental Impacts.
1. Data Centers commonly utilize large-scale mechanical cooling equipment, industrial ventilation systems, emergency backup generators, transformers, and fuel storage facilities that may create significant noise, vibration, air quality, heat island, and hazardous materials impacts affecting nearby residential and sensitive land uses.
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2. Backup diesel generators associated with Data Centers may create localized emissions impacts during testing, maintenance, or emergency operation and may adversely affect nearby residential neighborhoods, schools, childcare centers, senior housing facilities, and medically vulnerable populations.
3. The City’s current zoning regulations do not contain adequate buffering, setback, noise attenuation, generator operation, emissions mitigation, or environmental performance standards specifically tailored to Data Center operations.
4. Data Centers frequently generate comparatively low employment densities relative to the intensity of land consumption, infrastructure demand, and utility usage associated with such facilities, thereby raising substantial land use compatibility and public welfare concerns regarding the long-term allocation of scarce industrial land and utility resources.
Fire, Emergency Response, and Public Safety Concerns.
1. Data Centers and associated energy infrastructure may involve substantial quantities of fuel storage systems, electrical equipment, cooling systems, and other facilities that pose unique fire suppression, hazardous materials, and emergency response challenges.
2. The City has identified the need to evaluate whether existing Fire Department staffing levels, training protocols, hazardous materials response capabilities, water pressure availability, and fire suppression infrastructure are adequate to safely serve large-scale Data Center facilities.
3. The approval of Data Center facilities before completion of such evaluations may create immediate and unacceptable risks to emergency response operations, firefighter safety, and neighboring properties.
Need for Moratorium
City staff believes there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare arising from the potential establishment of Data Centers under the City’s existing zoning and development regulations, which were not designed to address the unique and intensive operational characteristics of such uses, since:
1. The approval of additional land use entitlements, building permits, grading permits, use permits, variances, subdivisions, or any other applicable approvals for Data Center development during the period in which the City is studying or intends to study appropriate regulatory controls would result in and exacerbate the threats identified in this Staff Report.
2. Without the immediate adoption of this Moratorium, developers may be able to obtain vested rights or approvals under existing regulations before the City has an opportunity to complete the studies and adopt reasonable regulations necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
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3. A Moratorium is necessary to preserve the status quo while the City evaluates and considers appropriate amendments to the 2024 MoVal 2040 General Plan, Zoning regulations, Zoning Atlas, development standards, utility allocation policies, environmental review procedures, and public safety regulations applicable to Data Centers.
Effective Date
Provided the Moratorium is adopted by four-fifths vote of the members of the City Council, it shall take effect immediately upon its adoption.
Term
Pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the term of the proposed Moratorium shall not initially exceed 45 days from the date of adoption, after which it shall expire and be of no further force or effect, unless and until extended in accordance with Government Code section 65858.
Written Report
At least 10 days before the Moratorium or any extension expires, the City Manager or designee is required to issue a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the Moratorium.
Extensions
The City Council may extend the proposed Moratorium, after a noticed public hearing, for 10 months and 15 days and then again for one year. Any extension shall also require a four-fifths vote for adoption, and not more than two extensions may be adopted.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Moratorium is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; it prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of zoning code revisions and related impact studies.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt the Interim Urgency Ordinance imposing the initial 45-day Moratorium on the approval of any land use entitlements and/or agreements to allow the operation of certain Data Centers in the City of Moreno Valley. Staff recommends this alternative to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City from the current and immediate threat that certain Data Centers ID: 26-0407 Page 8
operating within the City’s jurisdictional boundaries would present to the residents of the City of Moreno Valley during the time City staff is studying the issue.
2. Do not adopt the Interim Urgency Ordinance imposing a 45-day Moratorium on the approval of any land use entitlements and/or agreements to allow the operation of certain Data Centers in the City of Moreno Valley. Staff does not recommend this alternative since it may expose the residents of the City to adverse impacts of Data Centers in light of the lack of any regulations governing the location, development, and operation of Data Centers in the City of Moreno Valley.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact with the recommended actions.
NOTIFICATION
The Agenda containing this item was posted at least 72 hours prior to the October 20, 2026, regular meeting of the City Council.
PREPARATION OF STAFF REPORT
Prepared By:
Steven B. Quintanilla
City Attorney
CITY COUNCIL GOALS
Community Image, Neighborhood Pride and Cleanliness: Promote a sense of community pride and foster an excellent image about our City by developing and executing programs which will result in quality development, enhanced neighborhood preservation efforts, including home rehabilitation and neighborhood restoration.
Positive Environment: Create a positive environment for the development of Moreno Valley's future.
CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
1. Economic Development
2. Public Safety
3. Library
4. Infrastructure
5. Beautification, Community Engagement, and Quality of Life
6. Youth Programs
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Report Approval Details
Document Title: STAFFREPORT_CA_DATA_CENTERS.docx
Attachments: - Ordinance No. 2026-XX to Data Center.docx - DATA CENTER - LA County Report - Data Center Impacts.pdf Final Approval
Date:
Oct 15, 2026
This report and all of its attachments were approved and signed as outlined below:
Patty Rodriguez
No Signature - Task assigned to Steve Quintanilla was completed by assistant Patty Rodriguez
Steve Quintanilla
Anna Chacon
Felicia London, MPA
Launa Jimenez
Brian Mohan
Patty Rodriguez