March 23, 2026
Re: No Approval Without Meaningful Community Outreach for Power the South Bay Project (Agenda Item 2.7)
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and Councilmembers:
We are writing as parents and members of Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley, a local, volunteer-led chapter representing over 2,000 Santa Clara County residents, part of a national movement of mothers and allies working for a livable climate for all children.
We understand the City is planning for future energy demand, and we agree that infrastructure investment is needed. But the Power the South Bay Project involves major, long-term decisions that will shape North San José for decades, and the process needs to reflect that.
First, outreach in Alviso has not been sufficient.
This project is happening in and around Alviso which is an environmentally sensitive, low-lying area that already sits alongside significant infrastructure. The current public outreach approach from LS Power is largely passive through mailing lists and opt-in updates and only three generic frequently asked questions are addressed.
That’s not enough.
These are large infrastructure projects with real, long-term impacts on community health and environment. Outreach should be proactive, in-person, and multilingual, especially in a place like Alviso.
We ask the City to clarify:
● What direct outreach LS Power has done in Alviso to date? ● How many residents were actually reached, in which languages? ● What feedback have residents provided?
Second, we need more transparency on what this infrastructure is actually enabling.
The project is described as supporting future load, but what does that actually mean? Last fall, the City signed a contract with Prologis to develop plans for a very large data center in North San José (see this public reporting about their plans to build 1.7 million square feet of data center space on four separate parcels plus 785,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing space). If those kinds of uses are part of the demand assumptions, the public deserves to understand that.
So a simple question:
What load assumptions drove this project, and what types of uses were considered? And how does this infrastructure improve grid resilience for critical community services?
Third, the CEQA findings themselves raise concerns.
The environmental review acknowledges significant and unavoidable impacts during construction, including air quality impacts near the Northern Receiving Station, and also notes limits on enforceability across agencies.
If impacts are known and unavoidable, then community protections need to be clearly stated and made enforceable.
Finally, there is an equity issue here.
If a project of this scale were proposed in a neighborhood like Almaden Valley, there would likely be far greater awareness and engagement early on.
Communities like Alviso deserve that same level of transparency and outreach.
We are not opposed to growth or infrastructure. But decisions like this should come with clear information, real engagement, and accountability to and mitigation for the communities most affected. We therefore encourage you to defer this vote until significant, culturally-appropriate outreach is done in these communities, and citywide.
Sincerely,
Shruti Gopinathan, Leadership Team Member
Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley