Monterey Park residents to vote on data center ban in June special election
Monterey Park residents will vote in June on Measure NDC, a special ballot measure to prohibit data centers within city limits. This follows resident concerns about a proposed 250,000-square-foot data center project that led to the city council tabling the proposal and enacting a moratorium on future data center developments.
Monterey Park, California, residents are set to vote on a ballot measure in June's primary election that would prohibit data centers within city limits. The vote, on Measure NDC, follows a December decision by city leaders to table a proposal for a large data center, which garnered significant environmental concerns from the community.
The initial project involved converting a vacant office building into a 250,000-square-foot data center. Residents, like Tilda DeWolfe, expressed worries about potential pollution and noise. In response to public outcry, the Monterey Park City Council placed a moratorium on future data center proposals and decided to put the issue directly to voters. Mayor Elizabeth Yang confirmed that the company behind the original proposal has since withdrawn its application and will not contest the June ballot measure.
The broader discussion around data centers has intensified nationally due to the rise of artificial intelligence, with many projects promising temporary construction jobs. However, critics, including those in Monterey Park and even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have raised environmental concerns, citing issues like water quality degradation as seen in an example east of Atlanta involving Meta's data center.