Coachella Council to Vote on Data Center Ban
The Coachella City Council is set to vote on a permanent ban on data centers within the city due to concerns about strained electric infrastructure, water supply, noise, and environmental impacts. This decision follows a temporary moratorium and the cancellation of a large-scale data center project by Stronghold Power Systems Inc. after significant public opposition.
The Coachella City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday evening on an ordinance that would establish a permanent ban on data centers in the city, with specific exemptions for accessory server rooms. Ordinance No. 1231, which defines a data center as a structure housing equipment for digital data storage, processing, or transmission, has been prompted by council concerns regarding strained electric infrastructure, water supply issues, noise, and other environmental and land-use problems.
Should the ordinance pass, Coachella would become the first city in the Coachella Valley to implement such a permanent prohibition, with the ban taking effect 30 days after the vote. This action follows months of public scrutiny and community opposition that led to the earlier cancellation of a major development. Previously, the council had approved an agreement with Stronghold Power Systems Inc. for the Coachella Valley Technology Campus, a proposed large-scale data center project on over 240 acres of agricultural land, before it was halted.
On June 4, the council adopted a 45-day moratorium on data center development and subsequently canceled its agreement with Stronghold Power Systems Inc., responding to public concerns about water and energy consumption and potential public health issues. A temporary moratorium is currently in place until June 3, 2027. Officials in neighboring cities like Indio, Desert Hot Springs, and Palm Springs have also discussed implementing similar temporary restrictions on data center developments.