Councilmember George Casey, whose District 10 encompasses the former IBM site, said he wants the land to be productive economically and sees no reason to wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be performative about it and just give folks an opportunity to vent when they\u2019re not actually going to change anything,\u201d Casey said at the meeting. \u201cWe\u2019re not actually having a conversation about data centers right now. This is a step toward that, I want to acknowledge that. But we\u2019re not having a data center conversation at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Cattle graze on the hills around the IBM site. Photo courtesy of Ronald Horii.<\/p>\n
Land use consultant Erik Schoennauer, who represents IBM, said the rezoning aligns with San Jose\u2019s general plan, bringing it into the 21st century. He said rezoning allows for 35 acres surrounded by 565 acres of open space to be repurposed for productive use in an efficient timeframe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sale of the property and ultimate reuse of the existing facility will generate significant tax revenue to the city,\u201d he told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight, \u201cwhich the city can use to hire police officers, build affordable housing, maintain streets and parks and other city services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campos said elected leaders must think about the long-term impact of their land use decisions and how that will change the future environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery decision we take must be a reflection of our community, represent their interests and advocate for their needs,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a joint letter to the city council, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society and Mothers Out Front said the rezoning would be consequential, because Senate Bill 131 exempts advanced-manufacturing facilities on land zoned for industrial use from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review<\/a>. The letter said residents deserve full disclosure and consideration of the legal, environmental and land-use consequences of the rezoning.<\/p>\n Alice Kaufman, policy and advocacy director for Green Foothills, said concerns about the effects of industrial development are much greater at the IBM site because of the surrounding open space.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the problem is that we don\u2019t know what could be proposed there,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt could be a data center. It could be any other type of industrial use.\u201d<\/p>\n Developing the land could result in increased traffic, Kaufman said \u2014 and if a data center<\/a> is built, generators would contribute to air and noise pollution, which would negatively affect people and wildlife. She pointed out that rezoning more often occurs when a final project is approved.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this case, the council was asked to do the rezoning in advance,\u201d Kaufman said. \u201cIt was within their discretion to decide to wait. We\u2019re disappointed that they decided not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
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