Latest issueSan Jose leaders want to pause data center approvalsRead now

← San Jose news

City HallFriday, November 13

Mayor Mahan wants San Jose to pause data center approvals until new rules pass

The SJtoday teamFrom today’s edition · 1 min read · 4 sources

ShareEmailFacebookX

Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmembers Pamela Campos, David Cohen, Peter Ortiz, and Domingo Candelas announced a proposal Thursday to halt land use approvals for data centers until the City Council votes on uniform standards Dec. 8. It follows San José Spotlight's report that Google's project at 5087 Disk Drive could be approved first. KQED says the full council would consider the pause Tuesday.

The pause proposal comes before a Dec. 8 vote on standards

  1. Nov. 12Mahan and four councilmembers announce a proposal to halt data center approvals.
  2. Nov. 16District 4 holds a data center town hall at the South Bay Yacht Club.
  3. Nov. 18The Planning Commission will consider the latest version of the standards.
  4. Dec. 8The City Council is scheduled to vote on the standards.
  • Electricity: 100% clean energy required
  • Cooling: open-loop systems using drinkable water banned
  • Backup generators: strictest federal emission standards, outages only

Not everyone thinks a pause goes far enough. Linda Hutchins-Knowles of Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley said it "needs to be extended beyond their current timeline." The city says its outreach included an August listening session with more than 330 participants. Want to weigh in? The District 4 town hall is Mon., Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m., at the South Bay Yacht Club. It's free.

Data center plans in San Jose add up fast

250 megawatts
needed by Google's proposed Alviso data center
16
data center projects in the city's development pipeline
800+ megawatts
that planned north San Jose projects could use together
330+
people at the city's August listening session

Sources: San José Spotlight, KQED, KRON4, Eventbrite

Read it in the full edition

More from today’s edition

Read the edition
All city hall news
  1. San José Spotlight8 hours ago

    Gilroy homeless plan lacks details for next steps, on San José Spotlight

    A South County committee on homelessness — funded by a nonprofit dedicated to solving the problem — spent thousands of dollars to develop a plan to support homeless residents, but showed up empty handed at the Gilroy City Council meeting last week. Destination: Home provided $54,557 in funding to Gilroy to pay for Homebase, a…