Ord. No. 13-26 N.S.
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 13-26 N.S.
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858, OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA ESTABLISHING A 45-DAY TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW DATA CENTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF RICHMOND PENDING COMPLETION OF A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE CITY’S
GENERAL PLAN, ZONING ORDINANCE, RELATED LAND USE REGULATIONS
AND A PUBLIC PLANNING PROCESS TO EVALUATE WHETHER AND UNDER
WHAT REGULATIONS DATA CENTERS MAY BE PERMITTED, AND DECLARING
THE URGENCY THEREOF
WHEREAS, the increasing demand for data centers associated with the expansion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing has resulted in growing development interest throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, warranting careful evaluation of the potential impacts on local land use, electricity demand, water resources, infrastructure, and community priorities before these facilities are approved; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the increasing interest in data center development may have significant implications for electricity demand, water resources, public infrastructure, land use compatibility, noise, air quality, aesthetics, and other factors affecting the public health, safety, and welfare of Richmond residents that warrant further study before data centers are established within the City; and
WHEREAS, the City is evaluating whether its General Plan and Zoning Ordinance adequately regulate data centers as a distinct land use; and WHEREAS, the City's Zoning Ordinance does not contain land use regulations specifically addressing data centers or standards to evaluate and mitigate their potential impacts, including but not limited to energy consumption, water demand, noise, air quality, visual character, neighborhood compatibility, and other effects on surrounding properties and the quality of life of Richmond residents; and
WHEREAS, data centers differ from traditional industrial and office uses because they may involve substantial electrical infrastructure, emergency backup generation, battery energy storage systems, cooling infrastructure, utility demands, operational noise, and other characteristics not specifically addressed by existing City regulations; and WHEREAS, a temporary moratorium will provide the City with time to undertake a public planning process to determine whether data centers should be permitted within Richmond and, if so, consider appropriate amendments to the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and other applicable regulations to ensure that future data center development is consistent with the City's planning objectives and community priorities; and
WHEREAS, Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes the City to enact local land use regulations under its police power, and Government Code sections 36937 and 65858 authorize urgency and interim zoning ordinances when the required findings and voting thresholds are satisfied; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65858 authorizes the City Council to adopt an interim urgency ordinance prohibiting uses that may conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal when necessary to protect against a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare while the City studies and evaluates if and under what regulations to allow for data center development.
Ord. No. 13-26 N.S.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of Richmond does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1: That the above recitals are true and correct and are adopted as the City Council’s findings.
SECTION 2: Purpose and Authority.
In the interest of promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the residents in the City of Richmond, it is the purpose and intent of this ordinance to place a temporary moratorium on the issuance of any new permit, license, or other entitlement for any data center in the City of Richmond. The City Council adopts this ordinance pursuant to Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution and Government Code sections 36937 and 65858 as an urgency measure prohibiting any use that may conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the city is considering or studying.
SECTION 3: Findings.
A. Data centers present operational characteristics materially different from traditional office, warehouse, research and development, and industrial uses, including but not limited to significant electrical infrastructure demands, emergency backup generation, battery energy storage systems, specialized cooling infrastructure, operational noise, utility demand, and other land use characteristics requiring careful evaluation.
B. The City Council finds that the City's current zoning regulations do not establish a distinct land use classification or development standards governing the establishment and operation of data centers.
C. The City has initiated a planning effort to evaluate whether amendments to the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, development standards, infrastructure and utility policies, environmental review procedures, and related regulations are appropriate to regulate data centers within Richmond or, alternatively, whether such uses should be prohibited.
D. The City Council finds that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare because, absent a temporary moratorium, applications for the establishment, construction, conversion, or expansion of data centers could be submitted, processed, approved, and vested under regulations that do not specifically address the operational, environmental, infrastructure, and public-safety characteristics of such uses. The City Council further finds that approval of additional subdivisions, use permits, variances, building permits, or other applicable entitlements for data center development during the City's study would result in or exacerbate that threat.
E. Data centers may impose large, concentrated, and continuous electrical loads and may require upgrades to substations, transformers, transmission or distribution facilities, and backup generation systems. The City has not yet completed the technical and policy review necessary to determine whether and under what conditions such demands can be accommodated without adversely affecting grid reliability, infrastructure capacity, emergency operations, or existing utility customers.
F. Data centers may also involve substantial potable or recycled water demand, cooling and wastewater infrastructure, lithium-ion batteries, fuel storage, emergency generators, hazardous materials, and continuous mechanical equipment. The City has not yet adopted data-centerspecific standards addressing water efficiency and drought response, fire and hazardousmaterials response, noise, air quality, heat, vibration, and compatibility with nearby residential and other sensitive uses.
G. The City Council further finds that completion of the public planning study described herein is necessary before determining whether to permit data centers and, if allowed, to establish permanent regulations governing the location and operation of data centers within the City.
Ord. No. 13-26 N.S.
Considering these findings and all evidence in the record, including, but not limited to, the staff report accompanying this Urgency Ordinance, the City Council finds that this moratorium is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare and satisfies the requirements of Government Code sections 36937 and 65858.
Section 4: Environmental Review/California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
This ordinance is intended to preserve the status quo, and it will not cause a direct physical change in the environment, nor a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The enactment of this ordinance, therefore, does not constitute the approval of a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it is exempt from CEQA. (Pub. Res. Code §21065, CEQA Guidelines §§15060(c)(2)(3); 15061(b)(3); 15064(d); 1537(a); 15378(a))
Section 5: Definitions.
As used herein the following definition shall apply:
A. “Data center” means a facility, campus, building, structure, or portion thereof used primarily or substantially for the housing, operation, or support of computer servers, server racks, datastorage devices, networking equipment, switching equipment, or similar electronic equipment used for commercial remote data storage, processing, or transmission; cloud computing; colocation services; artificial-intelligence model training or inference; high-performance computing; blockchain operations; digital-asset mining; cryptocurrency mining; or other similar high-intensity computing activities. A data center may include associated cooling equipment, generators, fuel storage, battery energy storage systems, fire-suppression systems, substations, and other utility or security infrastructure supporting the primary use.
B. “Subordinate-use data room” or “server room” means an enclosed room, suite, or other accessory space containing computer servers, data-storage equipment, network-switching equipment, telecommunications equipment, and related supporting equipment that is used solely in conjunction with and is incidental and subordinate to a lawfully established primary use on the same lot or site. Such a room may not be used for independent commercial, wholesale, or thirdparty data processing, storage, or transmission and is not a data center for purposes of this ordinance.
Section 6: Application.
A. During the term of this ordinance, the establishment, construction, conversion, or expansion of any data center shall be prohibited in all zoning districts and lands within the City of Richmond. The City shall not approve or issue any application for a use permit, variance, building permit, license, certificate of occupancy, subdivision map, parcel map, tentative map, general plan amendment, zone change, specific plan, development agreement, site plan review, grading permit, or other permit or land use entitlement for any data center.
B. This moratorium does not apply to a subordinate-use data room or server room, as defined herein.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, any person who lawfully holds an existing permit, license, and/or land use entitlement for an existing and lawfully operating data center in the City of Richmond as of the effective date of this ordinance may continue to operate under the standards governing such permit, license, and/or entitlement under existing law.
Nothing herein shall limit the authority of the City to revoke or suspend any existing license, permit, and/or entitlement as authorized under existing law.
Section 7: Term of Ordinance.
This ordinance shall be in effect from the date of adoption for a period of forty-five (45) days, unless it is extended pursuant to Government Code section 65858or other applicable law, as approved by the City Council.
Ord. No. 13-26 N.S.
Section 8: No Mandatory Duty of Care.
This ordinance is not intended to and shall not be construed or given effect in a manner that imposes upon the City or any officer or employee thereof a mandatory duty of care towards persons and property within or without the City, so as to provide a basis of civil liability for damages, except as otherwise imposed by law.
Section 9: Severability.
If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. This City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof and intends that the invalid portions should be severed and the balance of the ordinance be enforced.
Section 10: Effective Date and Publication.
This ordinance, passed by at least a four-fifths vote of the City Council, is declared to be an urgency ordinance for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety and shall take effect and be enforced immediately upon adoption pursuant to Government Code sections 36937 and 65858. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published or posted as required by Government Code section 36933.
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Ord. No. 13-26 N.S.
I hereby certify that the foregoing Urgency Ordinance of the City Council of Richmond was duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting thereof held September 15, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Bana, Brown, Jimenez, Wilson, Zepeda, Vice Mayor Robinson, and Mayor Martinez.
NOES: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
ABSENT: None.
PAMELA CHRISTIAN
CLERK OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND
(SEAL)
Approved:
EDUARDO MARTINEZ
Mayor
Approved as to form:
SHANNON MOORE
Interim City Attorney
State of California }
County of Contra Costa : ss.
City of Richmond }
I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of Urgency Ordinance No. 13-26 N.S., passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Richmond at a regular meeting held on September 15, 2026.
Pamela Christian, Clerk of the City of Richmond