ORDINANCE NO. 2026-10
an interim urgency ordinance placing a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing, approval, or issuance of permits and entitlements for new Data Center development within the City of Visalia pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858, (citywide) BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VISALIA:
SECTION 1. Urgency Findings. Consistent with its control over municipal affairs as a charter city and the powers vested in the City of Visalia through the California Constitution, the City of Visalia is authorized to secure and promote the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare of its citizenry adopts the following finding in support of this Urgency Ordinance and finding that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare of the residents of Visalia:
California Government Code Section 65858(a) authorizes the City Council to adopt an interim urgency ordinance for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, or welfare, and to prohibit a land use that is in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, zoning, or development standard amendments that the City is studying or intends to study within a reasonable time.
California Government Code Section 65858(c) further requires that the City Council find that there exists a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, and that the approval of additional use permits, building permits, subdivisions, variances, or other entitlements would result in that threat to public health, safety, or welfare.
Communities throughout the state and country have experienced detrimental effects of Data Center land uses, including but not limited to intensive energy and water use, noise, crime, air quality, water and noise pollution, and other related effects.
Data Centers represent a unique form of industrial development that typically requires substantially greater electrical capacity, utility infrastructure, telecommunications infrastructure, emergency and/or alternative power generation systems, cooling systems, and building mass than conventional industrial uses, while generating substantial noise negatively affecting surrounding properties.
Data Center development has the potential for significant and immediate impacts on the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Visalia through significantly increased energy and water consumption, pollution, noise, and other disturbances, as well as the potential to significantly impact the City’s aesthetic values and community resources.
The City’s existing General Plan and Zoning Ordinance does not specifically define, regulate, or establish land use policies or development standards for Data Centers.
The City’s existing zoning regulations were developed prior to the emergence of data centers and do not adequately address the unique characteristics of these facilities, it is noted that the current zoning regulation allows for Communications Equipment Buildings within the City, this usage is defined as a building housing electrical and mechanical equipment necessary for the conduct of a public communications business, to the extent this type of usage cannot be shown not to be a Data Center, as defined in the interim ordinance, this usage will also be prohibited under the temporary moratorium.
Without the imposition of a temporary moratorium on Data Center development within the City, the City may be required to process permit applications 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.
The City has a compelling interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of its residents by regulating Data Centers as a land use.
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.
Imposition of the moratorium will allow the City sufficient time to study and if necessary, prepare a comprehensive ordinance for the regulation of Data Center land uses.
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 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 receive, accept, process, or approve any application for Data Center land use. For the purposes of this Ordinance the term "Data Center" shall be defined to mean a facility that houses computing infrastructure, including graphics and central processing units, servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and associated power and cooling systems, for the primary purpose of processing, storing, or distributing electronic data. The term Data Center under this Ordinance shall not include server rooms that are being installed as an ancillary component of another permitted use, telecommunications facilities that are separately regulated under the City Zoning Ordinance, government emergency communications facilities, or facilities owned or operated by public utilities that are primarily used for public utility operations not commercial purposes.
In addition, for as long as this Ordinance is in effect, Communications Equipment Buildings, a type of use currently allowed under the Zoning Ordinance, shall not be allowed unless the proposed facility is for a type of use that is excluded from the definition of a Data Center under this Ordinance.
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 instant ordinance involves continuing administrative activities and thus is not a project, as CEQA defines. 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 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. A Notice of Exemption has been prepared.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstances, is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining sections, subsections, subdivision, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this Ordinance, or its application to any other person or circumstance. The City Council of the City of Visalia hereby declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unenforceable.
SECTION 5. Effective Date: Four-Fifths Vote Required. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately as an interim zoning ordinance under the provisions of California Government Code section 65858. It shall be of no further force and effect forty-five (45) days from its adoption unless it is extended pursuant to Government Code section 65858.
SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published or posted as required by law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED: BRETT TAYLOR, MAYOR
ATTEST: ___________________________
LESLIE CAVIGLIA, CITY CLERK APPROVED BY CITY ATTORNEY ___________________________
STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
COUNTY OF TULARE ) ss.
CITY OF VISALIA )
I, Leslie Caviglia, City Clerk of the City of Visalia, certify the foregoing is the full and true Ordinance 2026-10 passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Visalia at a regular meeting held on September 21, 2026 and certify a summary of this ordinance will be published in the Visalia Times Delta.
Dated: LESLIE CAVIGLIA, CITY CLERK
By Reyna Rivera, Chief Deputy City Clerk