ISSUE | Data centers in the county: Data centers connected to artificial intelligence and big tech have drawn pushback from many communities in the state and across the country though the Fresno County Board of Supervisors has not specifically addressed the topic.
This month in Tulare County, the Board of Supervisors extended the moratorium on data center development there in any unincorporated part of the county for an additional ten months and fifteen days after a public hearing drew speakers on both sides of the issue.
The topic often draws critics of data centers because the facilities take such large amounts of water to cool the processors that are firing off and heating up while running AI. Others are resistant to data centers because they oppose AI in general.
The Fresno City Council voted unanimously to place a moratorium on such data centers for 10 years despite no clear evidence one was headed into the area. There is still some legal wrangling the city must complete to finalize that moratorium.
Here’s where candidates Mike Karbassi and Maria Pacheco, who are headed for a run-off for District 1, stand on data centers in Fresno County:
Mike Karbassi
Karbassi said he used his position on the Fresno City Council to push the effort for a moratorium.
“I‘m not going to speak for the whole state and the country, but for the county of Fresno, there’s probably a dozen good reasons why data centers aren’t right for us. The biggest issue for me is the issue of water and access to clean water,” he said. “We don’t have enough water for our farms, which is a big part of our westside economy. But we also have communities in west Fresno County, like Kerman and San Joaquin, that have unsafe levels of uranium and hexavalent chromium. We can’t give clean drinking water to our communities; why on earth are we going to divert water for data centers?”
Maria Pacheco
Pacheco said her stance on data centers is based on what she’s heard from her constituents. She is currently mayor of the city of Kerman.
“Right now, what I’m hearing from the community is that they’re not in favor, and so if the community is not in favor, then I will stand with the community on what it is that they want,” she said. “I think everything that I’m hearing from the community is negative. I take that very seriously. I will represent them and echo their voices. And so, if they say no, it’s a no.”
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi and Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco are headed to a runoff in the general election on Nov. 3 for the Fresno County Supervisor District 1 seat. Courtesy of respective campaigns
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.