Rio Vista City Council Meeting Agenda – October 1, 2026 Page 1 of 2
RIO VISTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026
5:30 P.M. – SPECIAL MEETING
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1 MAIN STREET
RIO VISTA, CALIFORNIA 94571
ZOOM* MEETING ID (CLICK TO JOIN): 986 3115 4749
5:30 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
2. PUBLIC COMMENT (Special Meeting Item Only – up to 3 minutes per speaker)
3. DISCLOSURE OF EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS
City Council Members should disclose any communications they have had on applicable agenda items at this time.
4. ACTION ITEMS
4.01 Public Hearing: Urgency Ordinance 006-2026 Data Centers – Consider extending Urgency Ordinance 006-2026, imposing a temporary moratorium prohibiting data center uses within city limits to allow for evaluation of the public safety, health, and welfare and environmental impacts and the enactment of further and appropriate regulations concerning the same
5. ADJOURNMENT
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. *The public may participate and provide public comments in person or via Zoom Meeting. Please be advised that when all Council Members are attending the meeting in person, the Zoom option is provided as a courtesy to the public. If, for any reason, there are technical difficulties, the City Council meeting will continue in person, provided there is quorum at the meeting.
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Pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, including without limitation, California Government Code Section 65009 and or California Public Resources Code Section 21177, if you wish to challenge in court any of the above decisions
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Edwin Okamura
Vice Mayor Rick Dolk
Council Member Sarah Donnelly
Council Member Lisa Duke
Council Member Walt Stanish
Rio Vista City Council Meeting Agenda – October 1, 2026 Page 2 of 2 (including any action regarding planning, zoning and/or environmental decisions), you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing(s) described in this notice/agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the City at, or prior to, the public hearing.
CERTIFICATION OF POSTING – I, Jennifer Schultz, City Clerk for the City of Rio Vista, declare that the foregoing agenda was posted and available for review on September 30, 2026, on the City’s website and at City Hall, 1 Main Street, Rio Vista, California, in accordance with Government Code §54954.2(a). /s/Jennifer Schultz
Jennifer Schultz, City Clerk
4918-8688-9936.1 013398.013
SUBJECT: URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIO
VISTA EXTENDING THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM
PROHIBITING DATA CENTER USES WITHIN CITY LIMITS FOR AN
ADDITIONAL 10 MONTHS AND 15 DAYS TO ALLOW FOR
EVALUATION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH, WELFARE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THE ENACTMENT OF FURTHER
AND APPROPRIATE REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE SAME [FourFifths Vote Required] DATE: October 1, 2026
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council consider a ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day extension of the 45-day temporary moratorium on data center land uses. Should fourfifths of the City Council vote to enact this urgency ordinance, the Ordinance would become effective immediately for an additional period of 10 months and 15 days, unless extended.
DISCUSSION
At its August 4, 2026 regular meeting, the City Council directed staff to work on a temporary ordinance that places a moratorium on data centers for consideration at the next possible city council meeting and to concurrently begin working on an ordinance to prohibit data centers within the city limits of Rio Vista. Adoption of an urgency ordinance requires a four-fifths vote of the City Council. As part of the moratorium ordinance, the Council must find that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare of City residents.
On August 18, 2026, City Council adopted a temporary 45-day moratorium on data center uses within the City of Rio Vista. City Council also directed staff to draft a permanent ban on data center uses to be considered for approval by the Planning Commission.
Data Centers provide the necessary computing hardware—servers, storage systems, and networking equipment—for the digital economy. However, communities nationwide are experiencing the repercussions from accelerating Data Center land uses, including:
increased demands for energy and water consumption; increased noise; crime and security issues; diminished air quality; pollution; aesthetic impacts; and decreased property values and quality of life to surrounding neighborhoods.
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Agenda Item #4.01 October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 1 of 10 4918-8688-9936.1 013398.013
Existing utility infrastructure, especially in smaller communities, is often unable to support Data Centers’ intensive demand for electricity, water, and sewage systems.
Currently, the City of Rio Vista Municipal Code (“OMC”) does not explicitly regulate, nor define, Data Center land uses. By extending the temporary moratorium, Council and Staff would have the necessary breathing room to study, deliberate, and determine the acceptable scope of data center land uses within City limits. Meanwhile, the City shall not approve any use of any property within the City's jurisdictional boundaries as data center as long as the ordinance is in effect. The proposed extension of the 45-day moratorium will enable Staff to more comprehensively evaluate impacts, gather public input, and ultimately draft zoning regulations for City Council consideration.
Per Government Code section 65858, an urgency ordinance may initially be enacted for a period of up to 45 days. The City Council thereafter may extend the ordinance up to a maximum of two additional times: first, for a period of 10 months and 15 days; and second, for a period of up to one year. In total, the urgency moratorium may last up to two years. As a condition for adoption of the proposed urgency ordinance, the City Council shall issue a written report (which will be prepared by the City Manager, or designee, for review and approval by the City Council) describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to adoption of the ordinance, no later than ten days prior to the expiration of the urgency ordinance or any extension. The report is included as Attachment B.
Extension of the 45-day moratorium is necessary to provide staff sufficient time to study, deliberate, and determine the acceptable scope of data center land uses within City limits. Moreover, the extension is necessary to mitigate or avoid the adverse impacts to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Rio Vista caused by data centers, and there is no feasible alternative to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the impacts as well or better, with a less burdensome or restrictive effect, than the adoption of the proposed interim ordinance.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN
While this item is not specifically addressed in the strategic plan, it is in alignment with Objective 3: Increase Community Engagement, Transparency, and Effective Communication, as the adoption of an urgency ordinance allows for increased transparency regarding data centers.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The provisions of this ordinance are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) because the ordinance involves continuing administrative activities and policy making, and thus is not a project under CEQA pursuant to Section 15378(b)(2) of the CEQA Guidelines. To the extent the adoption of this Ordinance constitutes a project, the City Council finds pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15061(b)(3) that the project October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 2 of 10 4918-8688-9936.1 013398.013
is exempt from environmental review because it can be seen with certainty that the extension of the moratorium would not have any significant impact on the environment.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Adoption of this Ordinance extending the 45-day temporary ban on data centers would not result in a direct fiscal impact on the General Fund.
ALTERNATIVES
Do not take action on the Ordinance, allowing the 45-day temporary ban to expire; provide staff with further direction.
SUBMITTED BY
Kristina Miller, City Manager
ATTACHMENT
A. Draft Ordinance
B. Report Prepared by City Manager
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 3 of 10
ORDINANCE NO. XXX-2026
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RIO VISTA IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM PROHIBITING
DATA CENTER USES WITHIN CITY LIMITS TO ALLOW FOR
EVALUATION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH, WELFARE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THE ENACTMENT OF FURTHER
AND APPROPRIATE REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE SAME
WHEREAS, “Data Centers” provide the necessary computing hardware—servers, storage systems, and networking equipment—to power the digital economy; such hardware enables large-scale software systems to handle traditional computational workloads, supports cloud-based storage and web services, and provides the massive processing capabilities required for generative artificial intelligence; and WHEREAS, the Rio Vista Municipal Code (“RVMC”) does not specifically regulate Data Center land uses, nor has the City previously approved any Data Center use permit within its jurisdictional limits; however, the RVMC prohibits any uses that are not expressly allowed; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the RVMC prohibition against uses that are not expressly allowed, at its City Council meeting on August 4, 2026, the City Council directed staff to draft an urgency ordinance temporarily prohibiting the use of any property as data centers within the city limits of Rio Vista; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the City of Rio Vista’s police power, the City Council of the City of Rio Vista has the authority to enact and enforce ordinances and regulations for the public peace, morals, and welfare of the City and its residents; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858 provides that, without following the procedures otherwise required prior to the adoption of a zoning ordinance and for the purpose of protecting the public safety, health and welfare, the City Council may adopt, as an urgency measure, an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses which may be in conflict with “a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the City Council, planning commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time”; and
WHEREAS, consistent with the above authority, and in response to conditions and evidence of which it has recently become aware, the City Council desires to adopt a moratorium prohibiting the use of any property within City limits as a Data Center to allow for evaluation of the acceptable scope and development standards of such uses within City limits, if any; and
WHEREAS, for the reasons more fully described within, the City Council determines, by at least a four-fifths (4/5) vote, that this Urgency Ordinance is a matter of City-wide importance, is a reasonable and necessary measure designed for the immediate preservation and protection of the public health, safety, or welfare of the Attachment A
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 4 of 10
community; and is in accordance with the public purposes and provisions of applicable State and local laws and requirements.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIO VISTA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. MORATORIUM FINDINGS.
A. Data Center developments pose a current, significant, and immediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Rio Vista through significantly increased energy and water consumption, increased noise, crime and security issues, diminished air quality, pollution, aesthetic impacts, decreased property values and quality of life to surrounding neighborhoods, and other disturbances, as well as the potential to significantly impact the City and the community's resources.
B. Without a temporary moratorium on Data Center development within the City, the approval of Data Center uses would result in the aforementioned threat to public health, safety, or welfare.
C. Without a temporary moratorium on Data Center development within the City, the City may be required to approve uses for such development— without proper study and deliberation of how to regulate Data Center land uses while also safeguarding against the adverse impacts such uses may have on the City’s utility infrastructure and the quality of life of its residents.
D. The adoption of this Urgency Ordinance is necessary to protect the City and its residents, businesses, and visitors from the potential health and safety impacts of Data Center land uses; and to preserve the quality of life, health, safety, and welfare of the community.
E. Imposition of the moratorium will afford the City time to prepare a comprehensive ordinance for the regulation of Data Center land uses.
F. Preparation of comprehensive Data Center zoning regulations will require study, public hearings, and both Planning Commission and City Council review.
G. In light of 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 prudent and justified in accordance with Government Code section 65858.
SECTION 2. IMPOSITION OF MORATORIUM. For so long as this Ordinance is in effect, including through any extension, the City shall not approve any use for Data Center on any property within the City's jurisdictional boundaries.
SECTION 3. CEQA FINDING. The City Council determines that the provisions of this ordinance are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) because the ordinance involves continuing administrative activities and policy making, and thus is not a project under CEQA pursuant to Section 15378(b)(2) of the CEQA Guidelines. To October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 5 of 10
the extent the adoption of this Ordinance constitutes a project, the City Council finds pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15061(b)(3) that the project is exempt from environmental review because it can be seen with certainty that the adoption of the ordinance would not have any significant impact on the environment.
SECTION 4. REPORT. The City Manager, or designee, is authorized and directed to prepare the report required by paragraph (d) of California Government Code Section 65858 describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to adoption of this Ordinance—for presentation to the City Council—no later than ten days prior to the expiration of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIRED. This 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 and shall be in effect for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days from the date of adoption, unless extended by the City Council as provided in California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 6. PUBLICATION. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this Ordinance and shall cause this Ordinance or a summary thereof to be printed once within fifteen (15) days after its adoption in a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Rio Vista.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Rio Vista this 1st day of October 2026 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
__________________________________
Edwin Okamura, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Jennifer Schultz, City Clerk
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 6 of 10
DATA CENTER REPORT
The following report provides the City Council with a condensed overview of data center industry trends, infrastructure requirements, environmental impacts, and economic considerations.
Data Center Industry Overview
Data centers are specialized facilities that provide the infrastructure necessary to store, process, and transmit digital information. The industry supports cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunications, social media, e-commerce, data storage, softwareas-a-service, government services, streaming, and other digital technologies. Even home internet use is driving data center demand. Industry supports the colocation of data centers near where large populations of people live because it allows for information to process faster. For this reason, in terms of faster access to data, a data center located in Rio Vista or Solano County, which is in close proximity to large populations in the Bay Area and Sacramento, is advantageous to a data center located in New Mexico or Kansas. However, there are significant environmental considerations of such.
Recently there has been significant industry growth associated with AI, cloud computing, big data analytics, increased digital services, and the outsourcing of data management, which all require massive amounts of electricity. The United States represents approximately 40 percent of the global data center market. Northern Virginia is identified as the largest U.S. data center market, with other major markets including Silicon Valley, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, Hillsboro, and the New York tri-state area (City of Santa Clara, 2025).
Data centers range from smaller facilities to very large "hyperscale" campuses. Facility characteristics can vary significantly depending on the type of operation, including building size, electrical demand, cooling technology, staffing, and supporting infrastructure.
The following includes key environmental concerns regarding data centers.
Key Environmental Concerns
Environmental concerns of data centers include the following:
• Energy consumption;
• Air emissions from backup generators;
• Water consumption;
• Wastewater;
• Noise;
• Stormwater;
• Construction impacts;
Attachment B
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 7 of 10 • Sensitive environmental resources; and
• Renewable energy and sustainability measures.
Energy and Electrical Infrastructure
Electrical capacity is one of the primary considerations in data center site selection. Large facilities can require substantial electrical loads and may require new or upgraded substations, transmission or distribution infrastructure, redundant electrical connections, batteries, and backup generation.
Access to reliable power is a critical factor in selecting data center locations. The ICF guidelines also identify proximity to transmission infrastructure, substations, and available electrical capacity as important considerations.
The Santa Clara White Paper also addresses concerns raised regarding whether data center growth could affect the existing electrical grid and the availability of power for other customers. They also place upward pressure on electricity prices (Alvarez, Argente, Chow, and Patten, 2026). Due to the significant electrical demand some data centers are now powered or proposed to be powered by nuclear energy.
Upward pressure on an already strained electrical grid in and near Rio Vista is a significant concern due to the City already experiencing regular power outages.
Water and Cooling
Data centers generate significant heat and require cooling systems to maintain equipment temperatures. Water demand can be significant and would be problematic in Rio Vista as the municipal water system does not have the capacity to supply water to a very large user such as a data center. Some technologies can reduce water consumption substantially, while evaporative cooling can require more water.
The ICF identifies recycled water as one potential method of reducing reliance on potable water, however, since Rio Vista does not have a recycled water system water impacts can be significant.
Noise
Since data centers operate continuously, noise considerations may extend beyond normal business hours to operate cooling equipment, fans and mechanical systems, generators, transformers, substations, and other equipment.
Noise is a significant issue considered by jurisdictions such as Loudoun County. Potential mitigation measures discussed include equipment enclosures, sound barriers, soundattenuated generators, setbacks, screening, and operational noise standards.
Increased setbacks is the most utilized approach used or considered where data centers are located near residential or other noise-sensitive uses. However, it is unclear how far these setbacks need to be to mitigate impacts. One model ordinance provides an example of a 200-foot separation from residential or noise-sensitive uses, subject to specified provisions. There are very few commercial/industrial properties, if any, of substantial size within the city limits of Rio Vista that could provide a 200-foot setback.
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 8 of 10 Further geographic information system (GIS) research would need to occur to understand where these properties may be, if any.
Land Use And Zoning
Data centers can be a component of traditional office, warehouse, and industrial classifications. It is critical that the City evaluate incompatible use types. Permitting data centers without understanding incompatible uses could result in significant public health and safety impacts to the community.
Economic Considerations
The Santa Clara White Paper cites industry information indicating 603,900 direct data center jobs nationally in 2023, representing growth from 2017. However, the reports also suggest that jobs may be temporary, specialized, or filled by workers outside the community or county. It also discusses the substantial capital investment associated with large facilities.
At the same time, the reports distinguish between construction employment and permanent facility employment. A large data center may occupy a substantial amount of land and represent significant investment while having relatively limited permanent staffing compared with an office or other employment-intensive use. Tax returns adjusted gross income, and wages increased, however, annual payroll was not statistically significant over longer time horizons indicating a lack of long-term employment associated with data centers (Alvarez, Argente, Chow, and Patten, 2026).
Conclusion
Data centers are a rapidly growing component of the digital economy with specialized requirements that distinguish them from many conventional commercial and industrial uses.
The primary issues identified include electrical capacity, cooling and water use, backup power, noise, insufficient electrical infrastructure, building size and design, setbacks, security, infrastructure. Due to the lack of excess water capacity, existing electrical capacity, and sufficient space within Rio Vista to mitigate for noise impacts, data centers are recommended to be prohibited in all zoning designations until such time that technology advances to mitigate for these impacts.
SUBMITTED BY
Kristina Miller, City Manager
Krystine Ball, Public Works Program Manager
Source materials include the following:
Urban Land Institute. “Local Guidelines for Data Center Development.” Washington, D.C.:
Urban Land Institute, 2024.
Parmar, Diller, Chandramowli, and Clinger, “How to find the ‘sweet spots’ to build” all those data centers”, ICF, https://www.icf.com/insights/energy/data-center-siting.
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 9 of 10 City of Santa Clara, “Working Draft White Paper on Data Centers”, May 20, 2025.
Alvarez, Argente, Chow, and Patten. “Data Centers and Local Economies in the Age of AI: A Shift-Share Approach”, Working Paper 35194, Cambridge, M.A., National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2026.
October 1, 2026, City Council Meeting - Item 4.01 - Page 10 of 10