1 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
___________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
ORDINANCE NO. ________________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER CARROLL FIFE
INTERIM ORDINANCE, ADOPTED AS AN URGENCY MEASURE
PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858,
ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL
OF ANY LAND USE ENTITLEMENTS AND/OR AGREEMENTS TO
ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OR OPERATION OF DATA CENTERS IN
THE CITY OF OAKLAND, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY UPON
ADOPTION
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland (City) has the power to regulate the use of land and property within the City in a manner designed to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code section 65858 authorizes the City Council, in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare, to adopt as an urgency measure an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated General Plan, Specific Plan, Planning Code, or zoning amendment that the City is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65858 further requires that City Council find that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, and that the approval of additional use permits, building permits, subdivisions, variances, or any other applicable entitlement for data centers would result in that threat to public health, safety, or welfare; and WHEREAS, data centers are commonly referred to as facilities used primarily for the storage, management, processing, and transmission of digital information, which houses computer or network equipment, systems, servers, appliances, and other associated components related to digital data storage and operations; and
WHEREAS, the proliferation of the artificial intelligence sector has led to an increase in the development of large-scale data centers across multiple states; and WHEREAS, as of January 2026, there are nearly 4,000 data centers in the United States, and California has the third largest number of facilities with close to 300 data centers;1and WHEREAS, data centers are associated with increased energy and water consumption, among other environmental impacts;2and
WHEREAS, data centers consume significant amounts of electrical power and water; require extensive mechanical cooling infrastructure; rely upon diesel or other fossil-fueled backup generators, battery energy storage systems, transformers, and fuel storage; generate persistent noise, heat, and vibration; and are associated with increased energy and water consumption, among other environmental impacts; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, it is estimated that data centers consumed 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), which amounts to over 4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and data centers are expected to consume up to 12% of electricity consumption in the United States 2028;3and WHEREAS, Union of Concerned Scientists have noted that without safeguards “… data center growth could undermine grid reliability, slow the clean energy transition, and raise costs for ratepayers;” 4and
WHEREAS, reports find that large data centers consume an exorbitant amount of water, up to 5 million gallons per day, to prevent servers from overheating, and these developments are increasingly a threat on freshwater supplies;5and
WHEREAS, the City infrastructure, including its electrical grid, water supply system, and emergency response system, were not designed to accommodate the high electrical and water demand, and hazardous-materials risks associated with data centers, and the City has not yet evaluated whether this existing infrastructure, associated policies, and emergency services are sufficient to serve such facilities without impairing service to existing residents, businesses, schools, and hospitals; and
WHEREAS, the resource intensive nature of these facilities and the current lack of adequate and transparent environmental impact review detailing the full extent of their environmental impacts leaves communities vulnerable;6and 1 https://www.wri.org/insights/us-data-center-growth-impacts 2 https://earthjustice.org/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ai-datacenters?utm_campaign=EJ2601aware&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_term=dataterms&utm_ content=&sourceid=1048973&ms=EJ2601_260424_aware_adgoogle_dataterms_xai_&safelist=y&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23451447027&gbraid=0AAAAAC4pjV vvAkHAiCiU2-IYozPan3_ZC&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl-2L8-vplQMVdBtBh1t0RheEAAYAyAAEgIH6vD_BwE 3 https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/lbnl-2024-united-states-data-center-energy-usagereport_1.pdf 4 https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/data-centers-in-california.pdf 5 https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption 6 https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2026/05/california-data-centers-water-transparency/ WHEREAS, residents of the City, particularly in West Oakland and East Oakland, bear a disproportionate burden of air pollution as recognized by the West Oakland Community Action Plan adopted pursuant to Assembly Bill 617 and by the City’s adopted environmental justice and climate policies, including the Environmental Justice Element of the General Plan and the Equitable Climate Action Plan (“ECAP”), and the concentration of diesel backup generators, fuel storage, and continuous mechanical cooling associated with data centers in or near such communities could and would exacerbate existing environmental and public health inequities; and WHEREAS, data centers commonly generate comparatively low employment opportunities 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 resources; and WHEREAS, there are current efforts at the state level regarding providing transparency of likely impacts and better regulation of data centers, including the passage of Senate Bill 1168 (McNerney), Senate Bill 887 (Padilla), Assembly Bill 2619 (Papan), Assembly Bill 1577 (BauerKahan); 7 and
WHEREAS, there are also congressional bills being considered, including H.R. 9442 (Ocasio-Cortez), the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would impose a moratorium on the construction of new artificial intelligence data centers until legislation is enacted that safeguards the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence; and WHEREAS, outside of state and federal regulatory legislation, more than 300 cities, towns, and counties in the United States, including jurisdictions in California, have placed bans or moratoriums on the construction of hyperscale data centers;8and WHEREAS, the City’s existing Planning Code and development standards were adopted before the development of modern data centers and associated equipment and infrastructure, and therefore do not adequately regulate the resource use, utility demand, operational characteristics, environmental impacts, or cumulative impacts associated with such facilities; and WHEREAS, the City Planning Code does not define “data center” and does not contain development standards, performance standards, siting criteria, buffering or setback requirements, noise attenuation standards, backup-generator operating limits, water-efficiency requirements, energy-demand disclosure requirements, or decommissioning requirements specifically tailored to data centers; and
WHEREAS, technological advancements and their associated impacts included in the form and operation of modern data centers necessitate the update of the Planning Code to meet these advancements; and
7 SB 1168; SB 887; AB 2619; AB 1577
8 https://time.com/article/2026/07/22/community-backlash-ai-data-centers/ WHEREAS, the City of Oakland is currently studying and intends to study potential amendments to its General Plan, Municipal Code, Planning Code, development standards, infrastructure policies, environmental review thresholds, and performance standards relating to the establishment, expansion, and operation of data center uses to determine appropriate regulatory standards; and
WHEREAS, residents of the City have expressed concerns regarding proposed and potential data center development and have requested that the City provide meaningful opportunities for public input before adopting regulations governing this land use; and WHEREAS, the City has received inquiries regarding the potential establishment of data center uses within existing and new buildings in the City, and given advancements in technology, the City reasonably anticipates that absent this moratorium, applications for data centers will be submitted under existing regulations before the City can complete the necessary study and adopt regulations tailored to the unique operational, environmental, infrastructure, and public safety impacts of such uses; and
WHEREAS, the City seeks to balance its commitment to attracting and retaining investment and fostering innovation with the need to thoughtfully prevent negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts on Oakland residents; and
WHEREAS, the City also has an interest in ensuring that significant development or shifts in land uses generate meaningful community and economic benefits, including equitable workforce opportunities and other sustained investments that create tangible opportunities for Oakland residents and the City’s small business community; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the City desires to further the public health, safety, and welfare by temporarily prohibiting the approval of data centers, as defined herein, in the City while it deliberates appropriate amendments to the Oakland General Plan, the Oakland Municipal Code, and/or the Oakland Planning Code; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that, absent immediate action, applications for new data centers or conversion of existing structures into data centers could be submitted under existing regulations before the City completes the necessary study and adopts updated regulations specifically tailored to address the unique operational, environmental, infrastructure, and public safety impacts associated with such uses; and
WHEREAS, the City needs time to study data centers to properly address potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts and to formulate appropriate development standards for the regulation of these uses; and
WHEREAS, the City also intends to use the moratorium period to engage the diverse communities who will likely be most impacted, to better understand and offer proposals to address the concerns expressed by the community about the potential impacts related to data centers to inform the City’s regulatory approach; and
WHEREAS, approval of new data centers under the City’s current regulations during the period in which the City is studying and considering such policy and regulatory changes could result in developments that are inconsistent with or in conflict with the land use policies, zoning standards, infrastructure planning, or other regulations being contemplated, and could thereby frustrate or substantially undermine the effectiveness of any future updates; and WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the approval of additional entitlements, permits, or other approvals for such uses during the period of study 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 can determine and adopt appropriate standards and safeguards; and
WHEREAS, based upon all evidence contained in the administrative record, the City Council hereby finds that this interim urgency ordinance is necessary to avoid current and immediate threats to public health, safety, and welfare pending completion of the studies and regulatory actions described herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OAKLAND DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Urgency Finding. The City Council finds the foregoing recitals to be true and correct and an integral part of the City Council's decision and hereby adopts such recitals as findings. The City Council further finds that there is a necessity to adopt as an urgency measure an interim ordinance temporarily prohibiting the approval of data centers while the City Council studies revisions to the Oakland General Plan, Oakland Municipal Code and/or the Oakland Planning Code because approval of land use entitlements, building permits, grading permits, use permits, variances, subdivisions, and any other applicable approvals for data center development and/or operation during the period in which the City studies appropriate regulatory controls would result in and exacerbate the threats identified herein to the public health, safety, and/or welfare of the City.
SECTION 2. Duration of Ordinance. This Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect for a period of forty-five (45) days from the date of its adoption. This 45-day period may only be extended by the City Council in accordance with the provisions of Government Code section 65858.
SECTION 3. Definitions. The following terms, whenever used in this Ordinance, shall be construed as defined in this section. Words and phrases not defined here shall be construed as defined in the Oakland Municipal Code and/or the Oakland Planning Code.
Data Center means a building, facility or structure used for the storage, management, processing, and transmission of digital data, which houses computer or network equipment, systems, servers, appliances, other associated components related to digital data storage and operations, and associated power and accessory infrastructure such as cooling systems, power generators, backup generators, or electrical substations. A data center shall not include a server room or accessory server room as defined below.
Server room or accessory server room means a dedicated enclosed space inside a building containing servers and/or other computer equipment that is incidental, subordinate, or specifically related to the permitted principal use located within the same facility and relies solely on the principal use’s allocated water, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) supply, and electrical supply.
SECTION 4. Temporary Moratorium. For a period of forty-five (45) days from the effective date of this Ordinance unless and until extended in accordance with Government Code section 65858, or until such time as the City Council concludes the review described above and adopts new regulations addressing the approval of data centers, whichever comes first, the City of Oakland hereby declares a moratorium on the approval of data centers (the "Moratorium"). During the term of this Moratorium:
The City of Oakland shall not issue or approve any building permit, occupancy permit, conditional use permit, variance, subdivision map or other land use entitlement, General Plan Amendment, Specific Plan Amendment, zone change, agreement, or permit or regulatory license required to comply with the provisions of the City of Oakland Municipal Code, including the City of Oakland Planning Code, for the construction, operation or development of a data center by any private or public entity on any property within the City during the time that this Urgency Ordinance is in effect, and continuing for the time set forth in any action taken to extend this moratorium.
SECTION 5. Exemptions. The following shall not be considered prohibited uses under this ordinance: server rooms, accessory server rooms, data processing equipment, or information technology facilities that are incidental, subordinate, or specifically related to a permitted principal use and relies solely on the principal use’s allocated water, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and electrical supply. Operation of a server room for purposes unrelated to the permitted principal use on a property is prohibited.
SECTION 6. Implementing Interpretations and Regulations. The City Administrator has the authority to issue interpretations of and regulations to implement this Ordinance.
SECTION 7. Construction. This Ordinance must be broadly construed to achieve the purposes stated in this Ordinance. It is the City Council’s intent that the provisions of this Ordinance be interpreted or implemented by the City Administrator in a manner that facilitates the purposes set forth in this Ordinance.
SECTION 8. Environmental Review. This Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15060(c)(2) because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 9. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the Chapter. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that one or more other sections, subsections, clauses or phrases may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 10. Effective Date/Certification by City Clerk. Pursuant to Government Code section 65858, this Ordinance shall become effective immediately on final adoption if it receives seven or more affirmative votes. The City Clerk shall certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, causing it to be posted, as required by law, and it shall thereafter be in full force and effect.
SECTION 11. Term. For the term of this Ordinance, as set forth in Section 2 hereof, the provisions of this Ordinance shall govern, to the extent there is any conflict between the provisions of this Ordinance and the provisions of any other City code, ordinance, resolution or policy, and all such conflicting provisions shall be suspended.
SECTION 12. Authority. This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the City of Oakland's general police powers, Section 106 of the Charter of the City of Oakland, and Article XI of the California Constitution, Government Code section 65858, and the City's General Plan.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - BROWN, FIFE, GALLO, HOUSTON, RAMACHANDRAN, UNGER, WANG, AND
PRESIDENT JENKINS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
NOTICE AND DIGEST
INTERIM ORDINANCE, ADOPTED AS AN URGENCY MEASURE
PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858,
ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL
OF ANY LAND USE ENTITLEMENTS AND/OR AGREEMENTS TO
ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OR OPERATION OF DATA CENTERS IN
THE CITY OF OAKLAND, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY UPON
ADOPTION
An interim ordinance, adopted as an urgency measure pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858, establishing a temporary moratorium on the approval of any land use entitlements, permits, or agreements for the development or operation of data centers in the City of Oakland (“City”), effective immediately upon adoption. The Ordinance prohibits the City from issuing or approving any building permit, occupancy permit, conditional use permit, variance, subdivision map, zone change, General Plan or Specific Plan amendment, or other land use entitlement, agreement, or regulatory license for the construction, development, or operation of a data center by any private or public entity on any property within the City. The moratorium is based on City Council findings that data center development poses a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare due to significant electricity and water consumption, reliance on fossilfueled backup generators, and persistent noise, heat, and vibration, while the City studies appropriate regulatory controls through revisions to the Oakland General Plan, Municipal Code, and Planning Code. The Ordinance exempts accessory server rooms and information technology facilities that are incidental and subordinate to a permitted principal use on the same property and that rely solely on existing electrical grid capacity. The Ordinance will remain in effect for fortyfive (45) days from adoption unless extended by the City Council in accordance with Government Code Section 65858 and requires seven or more affirmative votes to take effect immediately.