\u201cThere has been an incredible push from the city to bring data centers for AI, however there has been little to no meaningful community engagement on what that means for San Jose residents living within and around these data centers,\u201d Yin told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe people deserve the truth on the public record, not unproven or non-binding promises of economic benefits at some future date.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erica Garaffo, who works in the City Manager\u2019s Office on projects involving heavy power users, said San Jose is committed to maintaining transparency and fairness as these projects move forward, adding they will be subject to the same set of requirements as any other project. That includes environmental review, community outreach and public hearings.<\/p>\n
\u201cData center projects do not receive pre-approval or a fast-track for approval,\u201d Garaffo told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cAny future data center proposal will be reviewed project by project, with opportunities for public comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Jose announced a partnership<\/a> with PG&E last July that aims to make it easier to develop data centers and other large-scale energy use projects in the city.<\/p>\n Under the agreement, PG&E is tasked with providing power and making grid improvements for 12 such projects by 2030. In addition, the utility will also fund six city staff positions<\/a>\u00a0who will work to coordinate and streamline projects as they move through the approval and construction process.<\/p>\n San Jose is aiming to capitalize on plans to bring 2,000 megawatts of increased power capacity to the South Bay in two separate transmission line projects backed by developer LS Power Grid<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Jose has roughly 20 data centers, far fewer than its neighbor to the west, Santa Clara, with more than 50 in operation. But Santa Clara officials last year said they\u2019ve had to turn away new data centers<\/a>, having run up against the limits of their own grid\u2019s capacity, potentially creating an opening for other South Bay cities.<\/p>\n Among the proposed data center projects that have stoked concern among residents, organizers point to plans, still in the early stages, for real estate company Prologis to develop a 159-acre site owned by San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. The plans call for the creation of more than 1 million square feet of data center space across four buildings, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the city council approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with Prologis in November, Alviso resident Marcos Espinoza said the city has not yet contacted any residents about the project. He said in addition to the usual concerns about noise and air pollution data centers often raise, residents are also concerned about potential impacts on sensitive burrowing owl habitat nearby the proposed development site.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of this is being pretty much pushed on the community \u2014 not really asking anyone what the community thinks,\u201d Espinoza, president of community group Alviso in Action, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Garaffo said the proposal remains in the preliminary stages and a public engagement process, including opportunities for residents to provide input, will take place once planning has progressed further.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are currently no official plans to give input on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But organizers are still expressing skepticism. Opponents said they fear by the time such meetings role around, the project will already have so much momentum there will be little opportunity for residents to play a meaningful role in shaping the outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce they have their mind set, there is no changing the city\u2019s mind,\u201d Espinoza said.<\/p>\n San Jose officials estimate each new large data center will contribute between roughly $3 million to\u00a0$7 million annually to the city in utility and property taxes.<\/p>\n District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz acknowledged the tricky tradeoffs the city faces as it considers how best to capitalize on the economic benefits these projects might provide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ability to generate new stable revenue and potentially avoid cuts to critical city services is something we have to take seriously and evaluate thoughtfully,\u201d Ortiz said at the meeting. \u201cAt the same time, I want to acknowledge that many of our residents are bringing real and legitimate concerns to this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a>Over the course of Tuesday\u2019s deliberations, San Jose officials also pushed back on environmental and energy concerns, noting the proposed data center projects<\/a> under consideration are far smaller than others that have generated concerning headlines over environmental and grid impacts elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n