Monterey Park City Council Adopts Moratorium on Data Centers

Three years ago, the Australian company HMC StratCap expressed interest in building a 225,000 square-foot data center at an industrial site in Monterey Park, CA. The company wanted to demolish an existing vacant building and construct a $400 million project, which they claimed would provide a major revenue source for the city without raising taxes. However, the city required HMC StratCap to complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) rather than a cheaper Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), citing concerns over the potential environmental impacts. This led to delays and extensive back-and-forth between the company and the city. Local residents opposed the data center project, citing concerns over electricity usage, water usage, and noise. The city council held marathon meetings with over 97 public comments, the majority of which were against the data center. In response, the city council voted unanimously to adopt a 45-day moratorium on data center development. This was later extended to a 10-month and 15-day moratorium, prohibiting the city from processing any pending or new data center applications. The city council has also voted to put a proposition on the June 2026 ballot that would establish a citywide ban on data centers. This comes as other cities in the San Gabriel Valley and Southern California are also grappling with the spread of data centers in their communities.