Riverside Committee Backs Temporary Data Center Moratorium
Riverside's City Council Land Use Committee has unanimously recommended a 90-day urgency moratorium on new data center proposals. This temporary pause would allow city officials to define data centers and develop permanent restrictions, addressing concerns about electricity and water consumption, noise, and air quality. The full City Council will now consider the temporary moratorium and work on a permanent policy.
The Riverside City Council's Land Use Committee has unanimously recommended a 90-day urgency moratorium on new data center proposals, providing the city time to define data centers and develop permanent regulations. The committee's decision, reached on Monday, steps back from an initial proposal by Ward 1 Councilmember Philip Falcone for an immediate, permanent prohibition. Instead, the temporary moratorium will run concurrently with efforts to craft long-term policy.
The move comes amidst significant concerns from council members and the public regarding data centers' potential impact on Riverside's limited resources. Falcone highlighted the high consumption of electricity, water, and land, coupled with concerns about noise, air quality, and the reliance on backup generators. Both Falcone and Ward 5 Councilmember Sean Mill pointed to the city's strained electrical grid, which currently has only one connection to the statewide system, as a critical issue, citing recent outages. Mill argued that data centers should be a "nonstarter" until a second grid connection is established.
The city's municipal code does not explicitly list data centers as allowable use, and staff currently consider them prohibited unless deemed similar to existing uses by the Community & Economic Development Department director. The proposed permanent ordinance aims to clarify this, potentially including a definition based on artificial intelligence computing, cloud computing, or server operations. Land Use Committee Chair Clarissa Cervantes suggested alternative definitions based on electricity and water usage to avoid loopholes.
Community & Economic Development Director Miranda Evans supported the temporary moratorium to allow for thorough study and clear definitions. Public commenters largely supported a ban, echoing resource concerns, while some urged further study, emphasizing the varying nature of data centers and their role as critical infrastructure. The debate was accelerated by a recently removed partnership proposal that included a data center development, though Falcone noted his efforts to develop a ban were already underway.