Data center ban goes before voters
Residents of Monterey Park, California, are set to vote on Measure NDC, a proposed permanent ban on data centers within city limits. This initiative aims to set a national precedent for halting data center development via popular vote and stems from local opposition to a 2024 project by HMC Strat-Cap.
Residents of Monterey Park, California, are preparing to vote on Measure NDC, a ballot initiative that, if approved, would enact a permanent ban on data centers within the city. The vote, scheduled for Tuesday, marks a potential national precedent as the first instance of a city attempting to implement such a ban through popular vote.
The "No Data Center Monterey Park" group, co-founded by Steven Kung, is actively campaigning for the measure, hoping to send a strong message across the San Gabriel Valley, where other communities like Vernon and City of Industry are also contending with data center proposals. The push for Measure NDC originated from community opposition to a 247,000-square-foot data center project proposed in 2024 by the Australian-owned investment firm HMC Strat-Cap for a residential area in Monterey Park.