Schedule the hearings! Stop trying to fast track these data centers.
I will again share the credible reports and resources that you all need to read and absorb.
DATA CENTERS
California, along with most other Western States (or parts thereof) have a semi-arid climate.
Our water is scarce, NOT plentiful. This should be on the mind of every politician, business person, and citizen of California, but we all choose to ignore the fact that we frequently experience drought years and that groundwater does not magically recharge. As I am sure you are aware, El Niño is supposed to produce widespread drought in 2026, as reported by the World Meteorological Organization (https://wmo.int/media/news/wmo-likelihood-increases-of-elnino). For some context, please take some time to watch the documentary titled "Beyond the Mirage:
the Future of Water in the West" that I've linked to below:
https://www.pbs.org/video/beyond-the-mirage-the-future-of-water-in-the-west-3x6JD1/ This documentary is available on PBS.
During the budget presentation for the District 2 residents, you (Mayor Mahan) stated that you think the water usage/demand for data centers is overstated. The following reports that have been compiled by non-profit entities with NO stake in rush to build data centers. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/drained-by-data-the-cumulative-impact-of-data-centerson-regional-water-stress In addition to the fact that we do not have enough water for all these data centers, I am certain that you have all seen photos or videos of how data centers affect the quality of the water near data centers. It has been widely reported by news outlets. Representative AOC held up a mason jar full of brown cloudy water that was taken from a home tap near a data center.
My question to Matt Mahan and each council member is "Would you live near a data center?" You (Mayor Mahan) also mentioned that you have a deal with PG&E to rebuild San Jose's power grid. That may be great, but it will not address the long-term stress of all that energy usage on the local climate (they create heat sinks locally) and on a broader scale. See the following article:
https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-center-energy-needs-are-upending-power-grids-andthreatening-the-climate Here is a link to entire series of EEESI's reports on impacts of data centers. https://www.eesi.org/data-center-impacts
Each one of these reports needs to be REQUIRED READING for each one of you. If you are unwilling to read these objective sources, I would go so far as to state your you are not doing your job.
8/6/26, 10:41 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/id/AAkALgAAAAAAHYQDEapmEc2byACqAC%2FEWg0AyL5PtjZab0STtTtuW3muswAL 2/4
Do you really trust the tech. oligarchs? Do you trust PG&E? Promises are so easy to make, and they are even easier to break. I, for one, am very skeptical of all the sweet deals you made with industry and PG&E as you and the council shove these unwanted data centers down our throats. I am sure that I am not alone in my skepticism.
FLOCK CAMERAS
Secondly, I want to push back on some of the use of Flock cameras in San Jose.
You stated that they have helped solved crimes, and that sounds good on the face of it. I do not recall that you (Mayor Mahan) provided any specific statistics. I could be mistaken.
You did state that they are not pointed at houses of worship or schools, and I certainly appreciate that consideration. You also mentioned that the data is only retained for 30 days.
That is somewhat of a safety measure, but some creepy person with access to the camera data can still stalk another person.
I simply do not understand the need for these ghastly surveillance machines that are attached to a vast network. I understand that you and the council may think you have an iron-clad safe agreement with the Flock camera company, but these billionaires have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted. Why would you trust them? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/06/flock-cameras-privacyconcerns I have lived in San Jose for the past 30 years, and I am not in favor of these drastic changes.
Let's stop installing Flock cameras in San José. And let's not build any more data centers.
Enough is Enough.
Finally, ask yourselves if the average citizen in San Jose or in the United States is asking for AI to take over our economy? I heard you state at the budget meeting that AI is coming whether we want it or not. But why must the majority of citizens accept what the billionaire oligarchs are telling us what the future holds?! They are in the minority, but they have all the power. It's ridiculous. They can all run and hide (their bunkers) when the consequences of their irresponsible treatment of the planet and our privacy come to pass.
You are all on social media. Do you really trust Alex Karp, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and the rest of the nitwits trying to ruin our democracy? I want to see numerous hearings scheduled for the residents of San Jose.
Thank you,
Carolyn Donlin
On Sun, Jun 21, 2026 at 1:15 PM District 2 Leadership Council wrote:
D2 Residents,
I've had numerous residents voice concerns regarding the numerous data centers being built in D2-- noise, electricity requirements, water, etc. If you're interested, paste this link into your browser to see the applicable San Jose Planning, Building & Code Enforcement webpage. 8/6/26, 10:41 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/id/AAkALgAAAAAAHYQDEapmEc2byACqAC%2FEWg0AyL5PtjZab0STtTtuW3muswAL 3/4
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-buildingcode-enforcement/planning-division/environmental-planning/environmentalreview/active-eirs/equinix-data-centers Documents available:
Energy Efficiency Report
Air QUality Assessment
Environmental Noise Assessment
Acoustical Study
David Wilkins
Secretary D2NLC
Be happy. Be kind. Be grateful.
It's all in your hands.
8/6/26, 10:41 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/id/AAkALgAAAAAAHYQDEapmEc2byACqAC%2FEWg0AyL5PtjZab0STtTtuW3muswAL 4/4
David R Wilkins, Co-President and Secretary
cc: Matt Mahan, San Jose Mayor
Pamela Campos, Councilmember, District 2
Jennifer Maguire, San Jose City Manager
Christopher Burton, Director of the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Toni J. Taber, San Jose City Clerk
1 TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1 OVERVIEW
10 COMMON HARMS
44 NEXT STEPS
Nothing is for free.
Everything has come at a cost.
Protect the home, the sanctuary,
the ship of life that
Nature, Earth and God provide.
Trella M Davis
1 Overview
Quick primer of Data Center currently known environmental resources uses and harms (at site location impacts only). Data Center = DC
What are Data Centers: Data Centers (DCs)
are super-large dense financial value facilities
containing computer servers and GPUs or
TPUs used for cloud computing, data storage,
data analytics, generative AI, and streaming
services. While technically DCs have been
around for 80 years starting with Mainframes conventional modern DCs have been around since the 1990s for Cloud and
Hyperscale starting in 2006 with Google in
Oregon.
DC Resources Use Quick Overview: Writing a
single 100-word email with ChatGPT
consumes approximately the volume of a
standard bottle of water, uses 0.34 watt of
electricity (the amount to use an LED bulb for
2 minutes) and produces about 4.32 grams of
CO2 and other Green House Gases. This is just
the start.1 Materials mining, electronics
manufacturing, construction of physical site,
resources use and various wastes there is a
mind-bogglingly array of negative
environmental impacts. It is difficult for most
people to relate to the amount of resources
DCs and especially AI and Hyperscale DCs
use so understanding personal application
and relatable examples is critical for those
looking to evaluate them or understand what
is really behind the tool.
Image Source:
https://www.hecweb.org/2025/06/28/measuri
ng-the-environmental-cost-of-artificialintelligence-and-their-data-centers/ 1 https://www.hecweb.org/2025/06/28/measuring-the-environmental-cost-of-artificial-intelligenceand-their-data-centers/ 2 Overview Most DC Developers, Commercial Real Estate
Brokers/Agents, and pro-Data Center
municipalities, may not understand or not
want to know the negative resource impacts
and their various immediate, as well as short
and long-term harms of unsustainable DCs
development. In the US, DCs now consume
nearly 5-6%+ of national electricity use and
that could rise to as much as 12% by 2028.2
Perspective: 2026 20% of US Winter Wheat
crop failed in part due to reduced adequate
water access. Current US corn production is
down by 3% in part due to due to climate
drought and water access availability
problems. Corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and
other major commodities are all shrinking (in
North America, South America, Europe, and
throughout Asia) to due increasing drought,
extremes in weather, rising temperatures,
increasing demand and now more expensive
input costs of fuel, electricity, water, and
fertilizer. DCs are a growing and major
industry to heavily worsen these types of
climate and water scarcity problems.
Basic Operations Overview: All DCs strive to
full operation of five nines or 99.999% at
24/7/365. Most DCs can function with 10-50
staff (this includes security and other exterior
personnel contracted, human employees
and AI agent employees). Many DCs use AI
and AI agents to monitor, troubleshoot and
do other DC non-physical jobs like cyber
Image Source:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizingall-of-the-worlds-data-centers-in-2025/ 2 https://earthjustice.org/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ai-data-centers & https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/naacp-asks-court-for-emergency-action-to-stop-illegal-airpollution-from-xais-data-center-power-plant 3 Overview security. Also, DCs use non-location/fully
remote staff either US or foreign based. Many
share local physical human employees or
contractors across multiple sites. Many US DCs
use 2-5 million gallons of water per month for
cooling, generate massive amount of e-waste
monthly (servers are swapped every 1-3
years) and DCs have 30,000 to 200,000+ to
millions depending on site or campus size),
issue highly contaminated wastewater, and
use electricity anywhere from small 5 MW,
medium 20 MW, large 100 MW to campuses
500+ MW. Perspective, a single 50 MW facility
uses the equivalent amount of electricity as
about 40,000 U.S. households.3
DC Harm Health Quick Overview: DCs create
health risks and harm to their builders, workers,
visitors, neighbors, and communities (both
immediate and potentially far away). Air,
water and electricity impacts can cause
harm many miles to hundreds of miles away.
The most commonly measured risks to
neighbors and communities (people, animals,
plants, farms, ranches, waterways, air quality,
etc.) who are not at least 10 miles away, are
many. 7000 feet (1.4 miles) is the minimum
safe distance from EMFs, noise, and LF Low
Frequency vibration. It is 5 to 10+ miles but up
to several hundred, especially if living
downwind, for gas particulate matter / toxic
emissions, and 10-100 miles for water
pollution/direct discharge/Grey Watering.
DCs can and routinely have polluted
ground/well/river/stream/aquifer water so a
safe distance could actually be 50-100 miles
or more. Approximately 6 miles is needed for
Image Source:
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/pressreleases/report-ai-data-center-boomthreatens-us-climate-goals-2025-10-29/ 3 https://www.wri.org/insights/us-data-center-growth-impacts 4 Overview Heat Islanding or Heat Domes as DCs raise area temperatures laterally by 4-16 degrees
Fahrenheit hotter and as much as 67 degrees
vertically hotter. At least 5 miles for a safe
distance is needed for threat of fire,
explosions, attacks, etc. Actual true safe
distances for some risks have not been
determined because this is a newish industry
and that would create unsurmountable
problems for getting approval for DC
hyperscale and campus installations next or
imbedded in urban or suburban areas.
Nearby farms, livestock, crops, wildlife,
pollinators, and humans also have various
problems from inability to sleep, still-births,
asthma, reduced growth rates, and more.4 Risks from Extreme Weather Threats & Earthquakes: Droughts, heat, high heat,
hailstorms, extreme ice/snow, floods, fires, and
tornadoes are all increasing. Expanding and
shifting F5 level tornadoes have become
increasing common in states where never
before common (the entire Tornado Alley in
the US has actually expanded and shifted
significantly towards the East moving into the
Mississippi River valley and the Southeast,
including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee).
Tornado Alleys eastward shift increases the
risk to human life because the new areas
have a higher population density, more
people living in manufactured homes, limited
road networks, and decreased visibility
caused by more and denser trees and hilly
terrain. These states all have an extremely
Images Source: https://www.apha.org/newsand-media/multimedia/infographics/howclimate-change-affects-your-health 4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26185-y & https://www.wsj.com/business/energyoil/a-new-foe-has-emerged-for-data-centers-farmers-4a3eda8f 5 Overview
large density of DCs.5 Google, AWS, and other
tech companies have literally built or are
currently building all along the intersection of
3 earthquake fault lines including the San
Andreas Fault line in Californias Bay Area.6 Low/No Buffer Zone: DCs are dangerously close to or imbedded within towns, cities and
major metropolitan areas. Lets reference a
similar high value-high risk site: Military Bases.
Bases for various security and safety reasons,
prevent future civilian encroachment like
high-density housing creeping too close to a
base. The military partners with local
governments and land trusts to establish multimile conservation buffers around installations.
This insulates the base from complaints about
noise, dust, contaminants, security needs,
attack, and training maneuvers. DCs dont
seem to care about civilian safety buffers
because it vastly increases their infrastructure
connection costs and lowers their
conveniences to pre-built and citymaintained resources. Infrastructure costs elimination is one of the most pressing drivers
for DC development as electricity access and
operations profitability will take much longer
to recover or make what is already extremely
risky financially, impossible.
DC Litigation Boom7: Lawsuits due to public
and private nuisance, environmental harm,
property devaluation, disenfranchisement,
medical harm, workers comp, and more may
not be factored into the Developers costs,
but are quickly becoming the new Gold Rush
Image Source:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/09/s
an-jose-data-center-housing-projecteconomic-benefits/ Proposed Data Center with adjacent housing concept art City of San
Jose, CA
5 https://www.usnews.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/new-tornado-alley-2026-shifting-risks 6 https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/gilroy-amazon-data-center/4091984/ 7 https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/publications/client-alert-emerging-litigation-risks-infinancing-ai-data-centers-boom/# ftn53
7 Overview grey to illegal Non-Disclosure Agreements and with little to no Due Process for review.
Misleading to Fraudulent Information on
Immediate & Long-term Operations: Due to
the never before levels of tech and
investment money being spent, an extensive
amount of real estate brokers and
speculators, electricity/water use agreements
and Behind-the-Meter Benefits flippers,
prominent as well as low scruples DC
developers, private equity investors turning
more utilities into for profit organizations, and
doomsday preaching tech bro cash-laden
leaders have made several renown experts
and designers in the DC industry and well as
financial institutions all label this extremely
heavy speculation as Fake Data Centers or
Phantom Data Centers.11 There are around
5000 DCs across all 50 states.12 Quoting a DC
expert, All the good locations have long
been gone. Meaning doing whatever to
secure a location with as much free resources
and financial supports as fast as possible (by
any means necessary sometimes) has been a
key driver and a substantial strategy to
improve DC development margins and to
attract compute clients.
Current AI Policy and Infrastructures are Not
Aligned for Safety, Sustainability or Quality of
Control: AI safety has now become a
mainstream global concern across genders,
ideologies, religions and cultural groups.
Experts and the wider public are united in
their alarm to hatred at emerging risks and
the pressing need to manage AI and the
Image Source:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ Ahi5lPmLL
w Johnathan Ross Groq CEO
11 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/age-fake-datacenters-daniel-golding-dw0je/, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/age-fake-data-centers-part-2-faster-faker-daniel-golding-ngxqe/ & https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/age-fake-datacenters-part-3-customers-speak-up-danielgolding-7i2re/ 12 https://www.datacentermap.com/ 8 Overview
infrastructures and resources behind it. AI
regulation has moved the last 10 years from
open-letters of dire warning13, to financial
maneuvers based on doomsday math, to the
beginnings of enforcement.14
Privacy and compliance teams are
increasingly responsible for translating these
requirements or lax grey area laws into
operational controls, documentation, and
ongoing oversight. Controlling AI
development and how it is used would require
effective and punitive consequences driven
oversight by cooperating governments over
AI development (e.g. limiting and slowing
growth of releasing new models/only
operating with ChatGPT 4.0 level power),
charging token rates that include real cost
plus Green House Gas/Carbon Credits
charges, and reigning in risky to
unmanageable financial debts (that have
massive legal/litigation exposure), global
usage standards (e.g. requiring all AI images
to be labeled as such), private sector (e.g.
disclosing AI content controls, labeling and
age restricted access), or rogue actors (e.g.
from developers to nation-states to vigilantes,
having rules around use and access), and
mutual oversight by governments over each
other (e.g. United Nations, etc.).
Image Source:
https://www.byfounders.vc/insights/what-isthe-existential-risk-of-ai 13 https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ 14 https://tinyurl.com/bk8f95u7 - The Economist, Business of Evils and Evals, The world wants to regulate AI, but does not quite know how, Oct 2023 BLETCHLEY PARK & https://www.cntr-aisle.org/ & https://ainowinstitute.org/publications/data-center-policy-guide 9 Overview There is no single, binding human-lead global AI governance agency as of July 2026.15
Instead, an international evolving ecosystem
of transparent to opaque nation-states,
corporations, organizations, councils,
alliances, and grass-roots initiatives influences
AI policy today.16 AI development is
overwhelmingly concentrated and
dominated primarily in the United States
Silicon Valley by for profit companies both
private and public. These various and
conflicting groups have wildly differing
motivations to guide development and usage
standards, responding to responsible and
criminal AI developments, and working
toward legally binding international
frameworks regarding AI (e.g. halting all AIs
with compute more powerful than ChatGPT
4.0) and the infrastructures behind it
(Developers, Data Centers Placement &
Construction, Electricity Generation &
Delivery, Natural Resource Usage &
Mitigation, Waste & Heat Management).
In 2026, binding AI laws apply across Europe
and with full force by 2027. Germanys Energy
Efficiency Act (EnEfG), in effect since late
2023, mandates binding energy savings
across public bodies, private companies, and
data centers. It requires firms consuming over
2.5 GWh to implement energy-saving
measures, and enforces strict waste heat
recovery, strict power usage effectiveness
Image Source:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/makingsense-ai-regulations-frameworks-part-1-whoaiand-steenbeek-tyu7e/ Image Source:
https://hai.stanford.edu/assets/files/ai_index_r
eport 2026 chapter 9 public opinion.pdf 15 https://www.un.org/global-dialogue-ai-governance/en 16 https://globalaigov.org/ & https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/ai-law-and-regulation-tracker & https://ai-policy-tracker-tracker.vercel.app/ & https://www.loeb.com/en/general/ai & https://www.dlapiper.com/en/resources/ai-laws-of-the-world 10 Overview (PUE) limits, and renewable electricity usage for data centers.17 As for the United States,
many cities, some states and even a bill in US
Federal government are creating DC
moratoriums. Multiple APAC and Latin
American jurisdictions are working towards
binding laws. China specifically has placed
many controls on development and working
towards sustainable infrastructures (Data
centers offshore ocean cooled, renewables
electricity powered, limits on land
displacement/usage, and China only has
based integrated supply chain from raw
materials to chips to GPUs). India seems to be
following a similar path that let the British East
Indian Company gradually take extractive
control starting in 1608 by simply gifting to
those in charge. State level utilities subsidies,
no public oversite, no environmental holdbacks, zero-tax until 2047 for foreign data center companies, construction in drought
and resource strapped areas, land and lowincome communities displacements, and more.18 India does not have AI laws in place
but instead uses existing law and data
controls. Middle East data centers are
primarily in Isreal/Palestine, Saudi Arabia and
UAE (with substantial investments from Saudi
Arabia and UAE) making nearly 200 sites. A
combination of oil-rich Gulf sovereign wealth
funds plus Hyperscale Tech companies
putting in billions have created this
Image Source: https://www.congress.gov/crsproduct/R48555 17 https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2024/02/sustainable-data-centers-thegerman-energy-efficiency-act-what-data-center-operators-need-to-consider-now-and-in-thefuture & https://energypartnership.cn/fileadmin/china/media elements/publications/Energy Efficiency Poli cy in Germany EN.pdf
18 https://www.barrons.com/articles/ai-data-centers-india-75425e19
43 Common Harms
THE SUP E R I N TE L L I GE N CE TE CH
S E E K S I S ALR EA D Y I M B E D D E D I N T HE EAR TH, N ATURE A N D G O D . T HE PR O B L E M I S THE Y O N L Y WA N T A SUP E R I N TE L L I GE N C E
T HE Y CREAT E A N D C O N TR O L .
- T R E L L A M D A V I S
44 Next Steps C L AR I TY & S U S T A I N AB L I T Y
Full Clarity: Vague Data Center Developer proposals, and overly limited EIRs are potentially misleading legally fraudulent on environmental impacts for many reasons.
Data Center impact communities resources including soil, plants, water, air, animals, humans, electricity, and society and none of these represent a Trade Secret.
Transparency: NDAs with local or state governments are in fact a document that is legally part of the public record. It can be requested by citizens or courts. Elected Officials or proxy Non-governmental organizations like Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) have little to no legal legs with NDAs and Data Centers. Courts overwhelmingly rule them un-enforceable to outright illegal violation of Due Process, Public Notice Requirements, Public Records Acts, and Freedom of Information Act.
Citizen advisory group for on-going active electorate participation in addition to following Public Notice and Due Process requirements.
Proactive: Data Centers require specific Zoning. No Industrial, By-right or mislabeling should be allowed. Data Centers must have their own unique Data Center Zone criteria. Data Center Moratoriums whether indefinite to 5 years, are critical for understanding the real impacts on the environment and communities as well as the financial viability of the companies that are building/owning them (whose leaders have built dooms-day bunkers in other nations and remote island locations).
Require Revenue Per Acre metric studies to determine best use of land allotments and competitive bidding (almost all DC proposals have no competitive bids).
Requirements & Sustainability: 100% Clean electricity self-generation (partnerships with local farms agrivoltaics, curved low elevation wind turbines, rainwater harvesting), use of salt-ion BESS batteries, removal of generator use, aggressive use of passive cooling and ground cooling techniques, isolated locations for sound, vibration and radiation emissions, zero public tax abatements or grants, committed measurable local employment numbers for construction and operations, complete GHGs and CO2 footprints with full coverage nature-based Carbon Credit offsets, 100% e-waste reuse programs, sorting of other waste streams with verified recycling partners, impacts to city services (health care, fire, police, roads, etc.) fully funded, audited quarterly reporting on shared resource inputs as well as waste outputs, ongoing monitoring based on extensive EIRs that address all areas of negative environmental hazards, and punitive, claw back, or operations stoppage reparations for not meeting agreements, abandoned sites or default on debts. 45 ORDINANCE NO. ______
AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING PROCESSING OF PENDING, AND ACCEPTANCE OF NEW, LARGE COMPUTE, DATA CENTERS or LARGE ENERGY GENERATION FACILITIES OVER 5MW LAND USE APPLICATIONS WITHIN __________________________ TO CONSIDER ADOPTING ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS FOR
SUCH LAND USES
The City Council for the City of ___________________ does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1: This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to State of California Government Code §§ 36937, 65858, and other applicable laws.
SECTION 2: Findings. The City Council finds, determines and declares as follows:
A. The City may adopt and enforce all laws and regulations not in conflict with the general laws and the City holds all rights and powers established by California law.
B. On Date _____________________, the City Council adopted new regulations governing large compute Large energy generation facilities (LEGFs) including Data Centers over 5MW. As codified at City Municipal Code § ______________, LEGFs may only be permitted pursuant to the terms of a development agreement approved by the City Council.
C. While the provisions of the development agreement law (Government Code §§ 6586465869.5) make it plain that any decision regarding LEGFs are completely discretionary for the City Council, additional regulations governing LEGFs provide certainty to the public and private property owners regarding the Citys overall expectations for developing such land uses. Such regulations were first considered by the City Council on date ____________ and should be reexamined to ascertain risks, evaluate financial benefits, seek competitive offers, and protect public health, safety, property values, and welfare. The City requires additional time to study which regulations are in the public interest.
D. To prevent frustration of these studies and the implementation of new regulations, the public interest, health, safety, and welfare require enactment of this Ordinance. The absence of this Ordinance would impair the orderly and effective implementation of contemplated City amendments, and any further authorization of LEGFs uses during the period of the moratorium may conflict with or frustrate the contemplated updates and revisions of the City of __________________.
E. Based on the foregoing, the City finds that that this Ordinance is necessary in order to protect the City from the potential effects and impacts of LEGFs land uses and the accompanying impacts from energy use, noise, air quality, waste, wastewater, water, aesthetic, impacts to the City, and other similar or related effects on property values, other businesses disruptions or devaluations, and the quality of life in the Citys neighborhoods.
F. The City Council further finds that this moratorium is a matter of local and City-wide importance and is not directed towards any business that currently seeks to utilize City Chapter _____________.
Ordinance No. ___________ Page 2 of 6
G. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is authorized by the Citys police powers. The City Council further finds that the length of the moratorium imposed by this Ordinance will not in any way deprive any person of rights granted by state or federal laws, because the moratorium is a reasonable duration and essential to protect the financial security of LEGFs, financial value of having an LEGFs (as compared to mixed use low-rise development or other development opportunities), public health, safety and welfare.
SECTION 3: Environmental Assessment. Adopting the draft Urgency Ordinance is exempt from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq., "CEQA") and CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq.) because it establishes temporary rules and procedures for minor alterations in land use. The Ordinance is under CEQA Guidelines § 15305. This Ordinance does not authorize any new development entitlements. Any proposed project that will utilize the changes set forth in this Ordinance is subject to environmental review as part of the entitlement review of the project. The Ordinance will not adversely impact the environment.
SECTION 4: Interim regulations. The following provisions are adopted as interim requirements for issuing permits pursuant to the City for LEGFs land uses, and any construction or operation in the City in conflict with these provisions is expressly prohibited:
A. Restricted Activities. For a period of 3 years after adoption of this Ordinance, the City will not process any pending application for a LEGF land use or accept new applications for LEGF land uses.
B. LEGF is further defined at City § ___________.
Ordinance No. ___________ Page 3 of 6
C. Based upon a review of the Citys entire administrative record including, without limitation, from the City Councils previous meetings from the time periods of _______________________, along with a cursory review of information within the public domain, there is a plethora of substantial evidence demonstrating a reasonable argument exists that any proposed LEGF in California may have a significant detrimental effect on the environment necessitating a fair-argument that any application for a LEGF requires preparation of an comprehensive environmental impact report (EIR). Publicly available materials document that LEGFs have high and continuous electricity demand, often supported by diesel or gas backup generation with associated air quality, greenhouse gases, indirect and direct significant C02 footprints, unique and specialized wastewater treatment requirements, light pollution, heat islanding, and noise/vibration impacts; that they may place significant demands on local water supplies for cooling; and that they can drive related infrastructure and land use changes, all of which have been specifically identified as needing robust CEQA analysis. In light of CEQAs requirement that an EIR be prepared whenever there is substantial evidence, in view of the whole record, that a project may cause a significant environmental effect, and the well-established low threshold nature of the fair-argument test, this body of evidence supports a finding that any LEGF proposal in California presents at least a reasonable argument of potentially significant environmental impacts such that an comprehensive EIR is required that provides inputs from affected communities, state and local agencies, and City emergency and security services particularly fire, police, sheriff, EMS and healthcare. Decommissioning impacts and Requirements adequate to for site restoration and remediation through financial bond or escrow account to cover the cost of building and equipment removal in the event of facility abandonment, bankruptcy, or other material changes preventing the City from receiving promised financial revenues and other benefits. The City will review interim and existing United States SEC Climate Risk Disclosure requirements and recommendations for facilities that meet LEGF categories. Additionally, per California Title 24 Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6) and voluntary energy efficiency provisions in CALGreen (Title 24, Part 11) shall be reviewed to inform all subsequent Ordinance considerations.
D. The City Manager, or designee, must review any application for a data center land use entitlement to determine compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance. The City Attorney shall review risks from potential suits for private or public nuisance, medical health claims, blight, property devaluation, etc.
City employees, and City boards and commissions, are directed to refrain from accepting or processing any application for any land use entitlement, including, without limitation, use permits, variances, building permits, licenses and certificates of occupancy, necessary for constructing, placing, or operating LEGFs, and to refrain from processing any land use entitlement for any pending applications already received. These prohibitions will remain effective for 3 years following adoption of this Ordinance.
E. The City Manager and City Attorney are directed to draft regulations that prohibit LEGFs within the Citys jurisdiction. Noticing for a public hearing to consider adopting such proposed regulations should occur forthwith to ensure timely public input (via Public Hearings and Citizen Advisory Committee) regarding such regulations and provide certainty to private property owners contemplating LEGFs developments regarding the Citys expectations and regulation of such land uses. Non-Disclosure Agreements or NDAs related to City developments are in fact a part of public record and can be requested by citizen or court.
Ordinance No. ___________ Page 4 of 6
SECTION 5: Construction. This Ordinance must be broadly construed to achieve Ordinance No. ________ for the purposes stated in this Ordinance. It is the City Councils intent that the provisions of this Ordinance be interpreted or implemented by the City and others in a manner that facilitates the purposes set forth in this Ordinance.
SECTION 6: Enforceability. Repeal of any provision of the City ___________ does not affect any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred before, or preclude prosecution and imposition of penalties for any violation occurring before this Ordinances effective date. Any such repealed part will remain in full force and effect for sustaining action or prosecuting violations occurring before the effective date of this Ordinance.
SECTION 7: Validity of Previous Code Sections. If this entire Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, any repeal or amendment of the City ____________ or other city ordinance by this Ordinance will be rendered void and cause such previous City ______________ provision or other the city ordinance to remain in full force and effect for all purposes.
SECTION 8: Severability. If any part of this Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the city council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or applications and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 9: Publication. The City Clerk is directed to certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance; cause it to be entered into the City of ___________s book of original ordinances; make a note of the passage and adoption in the records of this meeting; and, within fifteen (15) days after the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, cause it to be published or posted in accordance with California law.
SECTION 10: Report. Pursuant to Government Code § 65858, the City Manager, or designee, must prepare a report for City Council consideration describing the measures taken to address the conditions which led to adoption of this Ordinance. This report must be provided to the City Council so that it may be considered and issued not later than 30 days before this Ordinance expires.
SECTION 11: Effective Date. This Ordinance will become effective immediately upon adoption pursuant to Government Code §§ 36937 and 65858 for the immediate preservation of the public prosperity, health, safety, and welfare.
Pursuant to those statutes this Ordinance is adopted by a four-fifths vote.
Ordinance No. ___________ Page 5 of 6
SECTION 12: Expiration Date. After adoption, this Ordinance will be repealed by operation of law on date _____________ unless a subsequent ordinance is adopted by the City Council that extends this date.
Ordinance No. ___________ Page 6 of 6
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ day of ___________.
____________________________ [NAME], Mayor
ATTEST: ________________________________ [NAME], City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: ________________________________ [NAME], City Attorney State of California
State Of California )
County Of ___________ ) §
City Of _____________ )
I, [NAME], City Clerk of the City of ____________, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Urgency Ordinance No. __________ was duly passed, approved and adopted at its special meeting held on ______day of __________ by the following vote:
Ayes: Council Members:
Noes: Council Members:
Absent: Council Members:
Abstain: Council Members:
Recusal: Council Members:
Dated this ________ day of [MONTH, YEAR].
_________________________ [NAME], City Clerk
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. sustainable economic development, and improving the quality of life for residents? As demand for data centers grows, how is the City balancing the economic benefits of these facilities with the need to protect residents, preserve neighborhood quality of life, safeguard natural resources, and ensure that existing infrastructure can support this growth without shifting costs or burdens onto local communities? These facilities can provide important economic opportunities, but they also have the potential to place significant demands on our electrical grid, water resources, transportation infrastructure, and surrounding neighborhoods. I would appreciate any information you can share regarding the Citys policies, environmental review process, mitigation requirements, and long-term planning efforts to ensure that future data centers are developed responsibly and in a manner that benefits both the City and its residents.
Thank you for your time and for your service to the residents of District 2. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
John Leipelt
Chairman, San José District 2 Neighborhood Leadership Council President, Basking Ridge Neighborhood Association
8/6/26, 10:49 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
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This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. infrastructure is completely incompatible with the residential and recreational character of the Silver Creek Valley community.
4. Noise Pollution from Industrial Cooling
Data centers require massive, continuously running industrial chillers and exhaust fans. The low-frequency acoustic hum generated by these systems operates 24/7. When multiple data centers are clustered tightly within a few miles of each other, these low-frequency hums overlap and amplify. Due to the topography of the Silver Creek foothills, this collective drone acts like a megaphone, bouncing noise upward into residential bedrooms.
Conclusion
The families and residential neighborhoods of this community were established long before this aggressive wave of data center applications. The City of San José should prioritize land use for housing and community-serving infrastructure, rather than expanding heavy digital factories into residential zones.
I request to be formally added to the public notice registry for all future hearings, environmental determinations, and public comment windows regarding File No. SP26-016. Ankit Shah Resident of Marshwell Way (Silver Leaf), San Jose, CA 95138 8/6/26, 10:39 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
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3. Elimination of Setbacks and Constant Noise Pollution During the approval processes for this corridor, traditional industrial setback requirements were systematically rolled back, allowing these massive server buildings and generator yards to encroach directly upon residential fences. As a result, our neighborhood is subjected to a relentless, 24/7 low-frequency acoustic hum from industrial cooling fans and chillers. This constant industrial rattle vibrates through our homes, disrupts sleep, and degrades the quiet enjoyment of our neighborhood.
4. Grid Monopolization vs. Residential Conservation
The continuous multi-megawatt draw of the Great Oaks corridor places an immense strain on our local electrical grid. It is fundamentally unjust that local families are asked to conserve energy, dim lights, and adjust thermostats during peak summer heat waves to prevent blackouts, while corporate server farms are permitted to draw massive amounts of continuous power directly from the Santa Teresa substation backbone.
Conclusion
Our families, residential neighborhoods, and local schools were established in South San José long before these aggressive mega-data centers arrived. We refuse to let our community be treated as an industrial sacrifice zone for tech industry profits. I demand that the city enforce strict property setbacks, mandate a swift transition to zero-emission battery backups, and halt any further expansion of the Great Oaks data center corridor.
Please add my email to the public notice registry for all future hearings, environmental determinations, and council sessions regarding the Great Oaks data center corridor.
Sincerely,
Ankit Shah
Parent and Resident of Marshwell Way (Silver Leaf), San Jose, CA, 95138 8/6/26, 10:38 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
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This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. or PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, these 39 engines are legally permitted to operate simultaneously for emergency backup power. The District has failed to model a worstcase Acute Hazard Index (HI) scenario that simulates the localized impacts of all 39 engines (99 megawatts of total operational load) burning California Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) at full load during a multi-day grid failure event.
3. Demand for Real-Time Fenceline Particulate and NOx Monitoring Computer-simulated air dispersion models (AERMOD) are highly sensitive to user-defined variables and frequently underreport real-world environmental exposure. Because Equinix was permitted to scale back traditional property setback restrictionsbringing industrial exhaust stacks closer to the residential boundaries of the Santa Teresa neighborhood and local school pathwaysthe community can no longer rely on self-reported developer models. BAAQMD must condition any ongoing or future Permit to Operate on the mandatory installation of continuous, real-time fenceline monitoring stations. These stations must measure and publicly log Diesel Particulate Matter (PM and PM 2.5) and Nitrogen Oxides along the residential fence line.
4. Transition Mandate to Zero-Emission Technology
The persistent reliance on fossil-fuel diesel generation fails to meet the standard of Best Available Control Technology for Toxics (T-BACT) in an era where utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) and green hydrogen fuel cells are commercially viable. The District should enforce a strict glide path requiring Equinix to phase out its internal combustion diesel engines in favor of zero-emission backup technology to eliminate local inhalation risks entirely.
Please confirm receipt of this technical opposition and add my email to the mandatory Public Notice Registry for all engineering evaluations, draft permits, and public comment windows associated with this site.
Ankit Shah
Resident of Marshwell Way (Silver Leaf), San Jose, CA, 95138 8/6/26, 10:36 AM Mail - City Clerk - Outlook
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Climate Advisory Commission
July 16, 2026
Dear San José Transportation and Environment Committee, City Councilmembers, and Office of the City Manager:
Currently, the City of San José is aggressively pursuing data center buildout yet has no comprehensive plan to protect the public and the environment from potential adverse impacts, nor a commitment to power all of the proposed data centers with 100% clean energy.
We recognize and appreciate the direction of the Rules and Open Government Committee to the Office of the City Manager to establish uniform standards for data center developments over the coming months. However, we are seriously concerned that this process will leave out important input from San José residents. In particular, there is no plan to meaningfully engage and represent the communities surrounding proposed data center sites like those in Alviso that are already facing socioeconomic and environmental adversity. We do not have confidence that this process will bring about robust safeguards for our people, environment, and climate, rather than just a streamlining of existing rules that does little to ensure that all data center development is safe, healthy, and sustainable.
Thus, we urge City leadership to pursue a deeper, more comprehensive approach. We recommend that the Transportation and Environment Committee and subsequently the City Council take action to:
1. Publish a public dashboard of all existing, approved, proposed, and pipeline data center projects in San José that includes, for each project: location, ownership, estimated megawatt (MW) demand, amount and type of water used or expected to be used, backup generation type and capacity, actual General Fund revenue to date, and permanent jobs created by operating facilities. This dashboard should be live before any new development agreements are executed.
2. Establish standards that include quantitative thresholds, not aspirational language, for energy use, emissions, air and water pollutants, backup generation, and water use.
Climate Advisory Commission
3. Ensure that the stakeholder process for developing standards includes structured, equitable, and accessible participation of local communities, including a variety of stakeholders such as neighborhood associations, CBOs, environmental groups, and independent technical experts in areas where data centers are currently sited or proposed. Data center standards should be crafted with and by the San José community, rather than by the City government with only periodic public engagement.
4. Ensure transparency and gain the confidence of the public by prohibiting City staff, Councilmembers, and the Mayor from signing nondisclosure agreements with data center developers.
Without these steps, large-scale data center development as promoted by our City government risks reversing the past decade of progress on the climate crisis, locking in fossil-fuel reliance for decades more, harming public health and environmental quality, and increasing electricity rates for residents and businesses.
It is far more important that new technologies be adopted well than that they be adopted quickly. No one can in good conscience guarantee to the public that the rapid growth of data centers in our city will not adversely impact our health, environment, climate, and pocketbooks. Yet, experts can confidently predict the number of lives that could be harmed or even taken by their diesel pollution and acceleration of climate change should they be powered even in part by fossil fuels and built without robust environmental guardrails.
Please let this reality inform your urgent decisions today and demonstrate that the health and safety of residents and our climate future are your highest priority.
Sincerely,
/s/ Mani Bekele, Commission Youth Representative
On behalf of the San José Climate Advisory Commission
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. frenzy. I hope youll join this sign on letter. Together we can protect our communities and the environment from this exponentially growing problem.
Thank you,
Katrena Violet Thompson
B.A. Child and Adolescent Development
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5. My ultimate preference is for no more AI data centers in San Jose.
Thank you again for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Lisa Biesemeyer
District 10 San Jose Constituent
Lisa Biesemeyer
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" 8/11/26, 8:30 AM Inbox - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5M 2/2
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. for our county.
We need an immediate halt on new data centers until a comprehensive regulatory framework is developed to fully protect communities and the environment. The environmental, financial, and social costs of unregulated AI, crypto, and data centers is tremendous. Its time to unite for a halt to this frenzy. I hope youll join this sign on letter.
Together we can protect our communities and the environment from this exponentially growing problem.
Knowing that the city is planning to put a Data Center in our neighborhood is causing so much stress, I do not want this in my neighborhood or any other neighborhood. We did Not even get any information sent to our homes, regarding this proposal. Everything looks like its done in a very shady way. If you really want Data Centers put them in the ocean, you have tons of water to keep them cool and you can create all the power you need to keep them running like China is doing. Dont put the general public and nature at risk.
Dont make San Jose Ugly.
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We do not want these data centers built here until laws are implemented that protect residents. Any project in process should be put on moratorium until we are guaranteed our protections. 8/11/26, 8:33 AM Inbox - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5M 2/2
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Thanks,
Kendall Wilkerson
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Thank you for taking this concern seriously.
San Jose can better.
Warmly,
Delia Lira-Perez
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RE: Data Center Community Benefits Memo (August 12, 2026) - Communities Demand Meaningful Protection and Accountability
From nimishaster
Date Wed 8/12/2026 6:33 PM
To City Clerk <[email protected]>; Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]> Cc Ankit Shah Deepali Gandhi
You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important Mayor Mahan, Councilmembers Candelas, Cohen, Ortiz, and Campos Thank you for recognizing that data center development accelerates faster than the frameworks protecting communities. We appreciate the memo directing the City Manager to develop uniform standards and explore community benefits agreements.
This is the right direction. Communities deserve a voice in how this industrial corridor develops. We're ready to help shape thoughtful standards.
But we need to be direct about what we're seeing: the current approach allows 12 data center projects to move forward while the city figures out mitigation. That's backwards, especially given what we know about water impacts in other communities.
Residents near Meta's facility in Mansfield, Georgia can't drink their water anymore. That's not hypothetical. That's what happens when data centers operate without real accountability. We're in a drought. That outcome is unacceptable in San Jose.
Right now, Silver Leaf, Edenvale, Blossom Hill, and Santa Teresa have no cumulative impact analysis.
We don't know if this corridor can actually support the proposed MW load, water consumption, and pollution. Existing facilities haven't been audited for compliance with current standards. New standards don't exist yet.
Yet 12 projects are in the pipeline. The city is planning community benefits to compensate for environmental harm instead of preventing the harm in the first place.
We're not asking for a better version of that framework. We're asking for a complete reset:
1. Impose an immediate moratorium on all new data center approvals
2. Conduct a comprehensive cumulative impact analysis that includes MW load, water consumption, pollution, and heat island effects across this corridor
3. Audit every existing facility for compliance with current environmental standards. Publish results.
Enforce violations.
8/13/26, 9:19 AM Inbox - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5M… 1/2 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
4. Only after cumulative impact analysis is complete and existing facilities are proven compliant should the city consider new projects
5. Apply new standards retroactively to the 12 projects already filed Community benefits are important. But they cannot fix heat island effects, replace water, or reverse air pollution. They're meant to make acceptable what should never have been approved.
We appreciate your leadership on this issue. We're asking you to lead with prevention, not mitigation. I urge you to prioritize the long-term wellbeing of San Jose residents over short-term economic gains that will create lasting environmental degradation, health impacts, and water scarcity our community cannot afford.
Sincerely,
Nimisha Gandhi, Concerned San Jose Resident
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