Land Use Committee
Memorandum
TO: LAND USE COMMITTEE MEMBERS DATE: SEPTEMBER 14, 2026
FROM: COUNCILMEMBER FALCONE WARD: ALL
SUBJECT: PROHIBITION OF DATA CENTERS AS A LAND USE IN THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE
ISSUE:
Proposed plan of action for prohibition of data centers.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Direct the City Attorney's Office to prepare an ordinance amending the Riverside Municipal Code and applicable provisions of the City’s development regulations to prohibit data centers as an allowable land use within the City of Riverside; and
2. Direct the City Manager, Community & Economic Development Department, and City Attorney’s Office to take all necessary steps to implement the ordinance, including identifying and updating applicable zoning, land-use, and development regulations to ensure that data centers are not established as a permitted, conditionally permitted, or otherwise allowable use within the City.
3. Direct staff to bring the proposed ordinance and associated amendments before the Planning Commission for consideration, followed by the City Council for final approval.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside has long distinguished itself through thoughtful land-use planning, investment in neighborhoods, environmental stewardship, and the protection of the community’s quality of life. As Riverside considers the next generation of development, the City has an opportunity to establish clear policies regarding land uses that may place substantial demands on the City’s infrastructure and natural resources without providing a corresponding level of community benefit. Data centers are large-scale facilities designed to
house computer servers, networking equipment, and associated mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Although these facilities can represent significant private investment, their physical characteristics and infrastructure demands can be substantially different from those associated with traditional commercial, industrial, office, or employment-generating development.
The rapid growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital services, and other technology applications has created increasing demand for large data-storage and computing facilities throughout California and the United States. These facilities can require substantial electrical capacity, extensive cooling systems, backup power infrastructure, large buildings with limited traditional employment, and significant quantities of land. Riverside is a growing community with finite land, water, electrical, transportation, and other public infrastructure resources. The City must therefore carefully evaluate whether certain land uses are consistent with its long-term planning objectives before allowing those uses to become established. This proposed ordinance would establish a clear and proactive policy that data centers are not an appropriate land use within the City of Riverside. Per Municipal Code Section 19.150.020, uses not listed in the permitted uses table are prohibited unless the Community & Economic Development Department Director determines that the use is similar and no more detrimental than a listed permitted or conditional use. Since the Municipal Code is silent on data centers, staff’s current interpretation is that data centers are considered prohibited. The proposed ordinance would amend the Riverside Municipal Code and applicable development regulations to explicitly establish that data centers are prohibited as a land use within the City of Riverside.
DISCUSSION:
Protection of Limited Land Resources
Riverside has a limited supply of developable land within its municipal boundaries. The City must make deliberate choices about how that land is used and what types of development are appropriate for the community. Large data centers can occupy substantial sites while producing relatively few permanent, on-site jobs compared with other employment-generating uses that could occupy similar areas. Allowing significant portions of Riverside’s limited commercial and industrial land supply to be devoted to facilities with comparatively low employment intensity may reduce opportunities for businesses, manufacturers, research institutions, offices, and other uses that provide broader and more direct economic and community benefits. The proposed prohibition would preserve Riverside’s land inventory for uses that more closely align with the City’s economic development, employment, and community objectives.
Electrical Infrastructure and Energy Demand
Data centers are energy-intensive facilities. Their operation can require significant and continuous electrical capacity, including substantial peak demand associated with computing equipment and cooling systems. Riverside has not made significant investments in its electric utility system and remains with only one connection to statewide electrical grid. On numerous summer days our electrical capabilities are currently overloaded, thus requiring the City
Council to be more willing to scrutinize and/or disapprove any potential development that is an energy-heavy venture. The responsibility to maintain reliable and affordable service for existing residents and businesses must supersede any new ventures. Large, energy-intensive facilities can create infrastructure requirements that extend beyond the immediate development site, potentially requiring substantial upgrades to transmission, distribution, substations, and other utility infrastructure.
Water Consumption and Cooling Requirements
Many data centers require substantial mechanical cooling systems to maintain the operating temperatures necessary for sophisticated computer equipment. Depending upon the technology employed, cooling systems may require significant water resources. Water is a particularly important consideration in California despite Riverside’s ample supply. Riverside must continue to protect its long-term water supplies and prioritize responsible water management for residents, existing businesses, agriculture, public facilities, and other community needs. Just because the supply is currently ample compared to other California cities does not mean the City Council should squander it. At a time when the region continues to confront water-supply uncertainty and changing environmental conditions, the City should be cautious about approving new land uses that could create substantial additional demands on water resources.
Backup Generation and Air Quality
Data centers generally require backup power systems capable of maintaining operations during electrical interruptions. Depending on the facility, this may include substantial quantities of emergency generators and associated fuel-storage infrastructure. The potential installation and operation of large-scale backup generation systems raises additional considerations regarding air emissions, noise, fuel storage, emergency preparedness, and compatibility with surrounding land uses. Riverside has a responsibility to protect public health and maintain a high quality of life for its residents. Preventing the establishment of data centers avoids introducing these potentially significant impacts into the City.
Noise and Neighborhood Compatibility
Data centers can operate continuously, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Mechanical cooling equipment, ventilation systems, generators, transformers, and other infrastructure can generate ongoing noise. Unlike many traditional office or commercial uses, data centers may require mechanical systems to operate continuously regardless of the time of day. This can create compatibility concerns when facilities are located near residential neighborhoods or other sensitive uses. A citywide prohibition provides a straightforward and predictable policy rather than relying on project-by-project mitigation to address fundamental land use compatibility issues. Approving projects on a case-by-case basis sets the city up for lengthy enforcement processes if/when developments do not comply with restrictions such as a requirement for reduced noise, environmental harms, energy demands and more. An overarching policy is the more prudent and legally astute approach that treats all forms of data center development the same without abilities for loopholes.
Economic Development and Employment
Riverside should continue to welcome investment and technological innovation. However, economic development should be measured not only by the value of a private investment or the size of a building, but also by the lasting benefits provided to the community. The City’s limited commercial and industrial land should be prioritized for businesses and institutions that create meaningful employment opportunities, expand the local tax base, support small businesses, promote entrepreneurship, without harming the environment, resource supply, and quality of life of residents. Riverside cannot be the land of “cheap dirt” as has been claimed in the past. The proposed ordinance does not represent opposition to technology or innovation.
Rather, it recognizes that a data center is fundamentally an infrastructure-intensive facility and that Riverside should reserve its limited land resources for land uses that better advance the City’s long-term economic and community objectives.
Long-Term Infrastructure Planning
Land-use decisions made today can affect municipal infrastructure for decades. Once a large- scale facility is constructed, the associated infrastructure demands and land-use pattern can be difficult or impossible to reverse. A proactive prohibition allows Riverside to establish its policy before the City becomes subject to development pressures associated with the rapidly expanding data center industry. It also provides greater certainty to property owners, developers, and the community regarding the types of development the City considers appropriate.
Proposed Ordinance
The proposed ordinance would amend the Riverside Municipal Code and applicable development regulations to establish that data centers are prohibited as a land use within the City of Riverside. The ordinance should define “data center” broadly enough to encompass facilities whose primary purpose is the centralized housing, operation, processing, storage, or management of computer servers and associated information-technology equipment, including facilities commonly described as data centers, server farms, cloud-computing facilities, computer training facilities or similar uses and names. For purposes of determining whether a facility constitutes a data center under this ordinance, classification shall not be based on the total square footage of the facility. Rather, a facility shall be considered a data center when more than fifty percent (50%) of the facility’s primary operations are devoted to data center functions, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence computing, cloud computing, cloud storage, centralized data storage, server operations, data processing, or similar information- technology functions. The ordinance should also address associated accessory or ancillary uses to prevent a prohibited data center from being established through an alternative land use classification or by characterizing the data center as an accessory component of another use, such as a job training facility.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
CONCLUSION:
Riverside has an obligation to plan for the community it wants to become, not simply react to development trends after they arrive. Data centers are an increasingly important component of the modern digital economy, but their substantial energy, water, land, infrastructure, and operational requirements make them fundamentally different from many traditional commercial and industrial uses. Riverside has finite resources and must make deliberate decisions about how those resources are allocated. The City should prioritize development that creates lasting employment, strengthens neighborhoods, supports local businesses, and makes efficient use of existing infrastructure. Prohibiting data centers as a land use will allow Riverside to preserve its limited land and infrastructure capacity for uses that more directly advance those objectives.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Philip Falcone
Councilmember, Ward 1