Riverside Committee Sends Data Center Pause, Backup Resolution to City Council
Riverside’s Land Use Committee advanced two options for City Council consideration: a 45-day moratorium on new data centers or a resolution stating that such facilities cannot receive permits under the existing zoning code. The proposals respond to concerns about electricity capacity, water use, utility costs and other environmental impacts, but no moratorium or permanent ban has been adopted.
Riverside’s Land Use Committee voted to send the City Council two alternatives for consideration on Nov. 10: a 45-day moratorium on new data centers or a resolution affirming that staff should not issue permits under the city’s current zoning code. A moratorium would require support from six of the council’s seven members and could later be extended under the state process.
Councilmember Sean Mill and other officials cited limited grid capacity, water resources, utility costs, noise and air-quality concerns. City Planner Laurel Reimer said Riverside has not received a data center application and that staff currently views the use as prohibited because it is not listed in the zoning code. The policy debate also follows an approved AI strategy working group and an earlier veterans training proposal involving StemWorx Inc. that once included a potential data center, though that component was removed before the agreement was approved.