Fairfield and Vacaville residents organize opposition to data center project
Fairfield and nearby Vacaville residents are organizing against a proposed 150-megawatt data center in northeast Fairfield and are urging the City Council to impose a citywide moratorium. Vice Mayor Pam Bertani plans to introduce the moratorium, while residents and planning officials raise concerns about the project's potential water, electricity, noise, environmental and property-value impacts.
About 30 residents from Fairfield and nearby Vacaville gathered to oppose a proposed 150-megawatt data center near Canon Road and North Gate Road. They plan to press the Fairfield City Council to consider a citywide moratorium at its Oct. 20 meeting, and Vice Mayor Pam Bertani said she intends to make a motion for one. A petition supporting new data center rules has collected 98 signatures.
Residents are concerned the project could proceed under existing "by right" provisions tied to the broader Planning Area 6 industrial development permit, which was approved in 2023. City officials said no formal data center application has been submitted, although public records show the city has worked with North Point Development and considered an environmental report addendum involving a new PG&E substation and related infrastructure.
Planning Commission Chair George Kennedy said the city needs standards addressing noise, water consumption, electricity use and environmental impacts. Residents also cited drought concerns, possible effects on property values and the loss of the quiet community they were promised, while officials noted that any future policy or moratorium might not apply if an application is submitted beforehand.