Plans for data center in Pittsburg draws community backlash
Residents and a local priest are opposing AVAIO Digital's approved Perseus data center project at the former Delta View Golf Course in Pittsburg. The Pittsburg City Council enacted a moratorium on permits for future data centers, but the approved project is exempt; Father Jesus Nieto Ruiz is calling for the moratorium to be extended for two years and for an independent review.
More than 500 people, led in part by Father Jesus Nieto Ruiz, gathered at a Pittsburg church to demand greater community involvement in decisions surrounding AVAIO Digital's Perseus data center. The project, approved in November 2024 at the former Delta View Golf Course near homes, has drawn particular concern from the city's large Hispanic population, with residents saying some project notices were not provided in Spanish and that community input was inadequate.
The Pittsburg City Council announced a moratorium on new data center permits on Oct. 26, but city officials said it applies only to future projects and does not affect Perseus. City Manager Darren Gale defended the approval process, citing meetings with translators, and said the facility would use recycled water with consumption capped at 50,000 gallons per day. Opponents have raised concerns about noise, industrialization, visual impacts, infrastructure strain, energy use and long-term environmental effects; an online petition opposing the project has collected more than 28,000 signatures. Father Nieto Ruiz is seeking a two-year moratorium and independent review, while Gale said state law allows the city to extend the moratorium beyond its initial period.