~~~ Santa Clara Unified School District
March 5, 2024
City of Santa Clara
Planning Commission
1500 Warburton Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050
RE: Item 24-1380 Walsh/Bowers Data Center and Bowers Backup Generator Facility (22-SPPE-01)
Dear Santa Clara Planning Commission,
The District recently met with lim Guarnieri from Mission Critical Realty to discuss the Walsh/Bowers Data Center and Bowers Backup Generator project located at 2805 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara. Mr. Guarnieri provided a detailed overview of the project, addressed the Planning Commission's concerns, and allowed the District to pose questions about the project.
All questions were answered to the satisfaction of the District.
The project is located approximately one quarter-mile from Bracher Elementary School and is positioned farther away than an existing data center. The CEQA Environmental Impact Report {EIR) did not identify any hazardous effects to Bracher Elementary or the immediate surrounding area during or after construction.
The construction of the Walsh/Bowers Data Center is anticipated to increase both secured and unsecured property taxes, resulting in long-term benefits for both the City of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Unified School District.
Sincerely,
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Michal Healy
Director, Facility Development and Planning
1889 Lawrence Road • Santa Clara, CA 95051 • (408) 423-2000 • www.santaclarausd.org Superintendent Gary Waddell, Ed.D. • Board of Trustees Jim Canova, Vickie Fairchild, Albert Gonzalez, Bonnie Lieberman, Jodi Muirhead, Andrew Ratermann, Michele Ryan, Ph.D.
Graduates of Santa Clara Unified School District are resilient, future-ready, lifelong learners who think critically, solve problems collaboratively, and are prepared to thrive in a global society.
From:
To:
Cc:
Subj ect:
Date:
Atta chment s:
Nimisha Agrawal
Kurt Rubin and Lori Telson
Mayor and Council
RE: data centers
Thursday, February 22, 2024 9:35:00 AM
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Good Morning Ms. Telson,
Thank you for your questions and comments. Your comments have been shared with the applicant and will also be provided as an attachment to the staff report for the Planning Commission Hearing on March 6, 2024 and Council Hearing on April 9, 2024. Please see inline response to your questions below in blue.
Thanks ,
Nimisha Agrawal I Senior Planner
Community Development Department
1500 Warburton Avenue I Santa Clara, CA 95050
O:408 .615.2450 I D: 408.615.2467
City of
Santa Clara
From: Kurt Rubin and Lori Telson
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 12:01 PM
To: Nimisha Agrawal <[email protected]>
Cc: Mayor and Council <[email protected]>; Lori Telson Subject: Re: data centers
I You don't often get email from
Good morning,
Leam why this is importan t
Thank you for the infonnation. I briefly reviewed the EIR and I understand the repo1i claims there will be no significant impact regarding noise during construction or operation from this data center. I read the EIR findings on other matters and now I am concerned about emissions and more. My opinion has not changed: I do not want this data center or any additional data centers to be built in Santa Clara. I will not be attending the public meeting therefore I am hoping you can provide answers to some additional questions:
1) Were the data centers that are cunently operating in the City of Santa Clara built with similar noise reduction methods? If they were, I do not agree that there is no significant impact to the noise levels within our City. All data centers in the City require an Enviromnental analysis that includes a noise analysis to ensure the noise levels are within the pennissible limits as identified in the General Plan and the City Code. The environmental analysis also identifies appropriate Initigation measures to keep the noise impacts of the project to be less than significant.
2) Is this data center ah-eady approved? It seems as if other data centers were approved before public input was requested. No, the proposed data center at 2805 Bowers has not been approved. It is scheduled for Planning Commission Hearing on March 6, 2024 and City Council Hearing on April 9, 2024.
3) Will there be an end to how many data centers Santa Clara allows? When is enough? For me, it's now. Your comment is noted.
Thank you.
Regards,
Lori Telson
On Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 08:46:17 AM PST, Nimisha Agrawal <[email protected]> wrote:
Good Morning Mr. Rubin and Ms. Telson,
Thank you for your inquiry. The noise impacts from the proposed data center project were analyzed in the Environmental Impact report (EIR) prepared by the California Energy Commission for this project. The EIR took into consideration the ambient noise and concluded that the operation and maintenance activities for the project site would be similar to those for a similarly sized industrial building and would not have an impact on people working or residing in the area. The proposed generator yard for the project will be located on the north eastern side of the building and would house the 32 emergency backup generators. The generator yard would be enclosed with 42 feet and 9 inches-high perforated metal screen walls and would include a sound attenuation blanket to ensure the noise from the generator testing and maintenance meets the City noise limits. Similarly, the mechanical penthouse would include a screen wall 14 feet and 11 inches tall not only to screen the equipment also include sound attenuation blanket to reduce the noise of the air chillers.
The EIR prepared for the project is available on the City’s website . The developer for the project GI
Partners has scheduled a Virtual Community Meeting on February 22, 2024, to answer any questions from the public. Please see attached the flyer with further details and the link to the Zoom meeting. The project is scheduled to be heard at the Planning Commission on March 6, 2024, and that will be another opportunity for any public comments.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks,
Nimisha Agrawal| Senior Planner
Community Development Department
1500 Warburton Avenue | Santa Clara, CA 95050
O:408.615.2450 | D: 408.615.2467
City of
Santa Clara
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From: Kurt Rubin and Lori Telson
Sent: Friday, February 9, 2024 9:40 AM
To: Nimisha Agrawal <NAgrawal@SantaC!araCA goy>
Cc: Mayor and Council <MAYORANPCOUNCIL@SantaC!araCA goy>; Lori Telson Subject: data centers
I You don't often get ema il from Learn why this is importan t Hi,
I just read the email about a proposed data center on Bowers.
Has the city done a study on the change in noise levels around us given all the new data centers?
Sometimes when I 1:Iy to hear nothing for a bit of quiet I swear I can hear a low hum all the time. And it is not noise from ti·affic. Others I know have commented on this too.
I'm requesting more info on the change in noise levels within Santa Clara due to the data centers. Until that happens, and is presented to the public , I am against any additional data centers being built in Santa Clara .
I vote no on the proposed data center for 2805 Bowers Ave. or any other location.
However, the city seems to ask for public opinion after the proposal seems to be approved internally aheady. That might be the case here . So, I might have just wasted my time writing this email. I hope not.
Thank you .
Regards,
Lori Telson