Local governments across the\u00a0U.S. have entered into NDAs with companies that shield the public from knowing the full scope of data center projects, which experts say is common practice<\/a>. In Virginia, also known as the data center capital of the world,\u00a0researchers found 25 of 31 local governments<\/a> with an existing or proposed data center had signed NDAs. Northern Virginia, also referred to as \u201cData Center Alley,\u201d has the largest concentration<\/a> of these developments globally.<\/p>\n Ortiz said while he is not aware of current San Jose councilmembers signing NDAs for data center projects,\u00a0the proposal\u00a0is more of a preemptive move to protect public trust and transparency.<\/p>\n San Jose is on the cusp of developing uniform standards<\/a> for data centers that will steer how these facilities get built and how developers will mitigate environmental impacts and support economic growth. The city has roughly 20 data centers in operation. Six more are under construction and five are in the entitlement review process to obtain city approvals before beginning construction, according to Erica Garaffo, assistant to the city manager.<\/p>\n Residents have pushed for a moratorium on new data centers<\/a> until these standards are finalized, which councilmembers are expected to decide in December.<\/p>\n At the meeting, Vice Mayor Pam Foley questioned why chiefs of staff and city workers aren\u2019t being considered in the proposal. Ortiz said he\u2019s open to including them in the policy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that I object to the intent of this (proposal) at all,\u201d Foley said at the meeting. \u00a0\u201cI wouldn\u2019t even enter into an NDA.\u201d<\/p>\n District 4 Councilmember David Cohen said he\u2019s never been asked to sign a NDA and wouldn\u2019t sign one. He wants to build a flexible policy that allows developers to have conversations with the city early on.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are times early in project development where you have somebody come and say, \u2018We\u2019re still thinking things out. We\u2019re still trying to decide what kind of project we might want to do on a property, and this isn\u2019t necessarily ready for public consumption yet,’\u201d Cohen said at the meeting. \u201cWe do want to be able to have those those candid conversations about potential projects and how they might play out before they\u2019re even ready to be public.\u201d<\/p>\n Linda Hutchins-Knowles, co-founder of a climate justice nonprofit Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley, said the policy should apply to city staff as well.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sense is because they\u2019re very involved in negotiations too and policy making,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Companies that prioritize NDAs say they do so to protect trade secrets<\/a> and be able to negotiate. Yet secrecy has\u00a0allowed companies such as Meta to fast-track its largest data center project<\/a> in Louisiana and circumvent local opposition, according to a New York Times investigation<\/a>. The more than 3,000-acre project will have a 5,000-megawatt capacity \u2014 enough to power up to 5 million homes.<\/p>\n San Jose\u2019s proposal to ban NDAs is not intended to interfere with trade secret protections or other proprietary information protected by law, according to the memo, but to ensure\u00a0public officials are not restricted by what they can publicly share.<\/p>\n San Jose officials have\u00a0signed NDAs in the past, including nearly 20 officials in 2017 at the behest of Google<\/a> as\u00a0it explored building a massive campus in downtown San Jose near\u00a0Diridon Station.\u00a0That includes former Mayor Sam Liccardo, former Councilmembers Dev Davis, Raul Peralez and Magdalena Carrasco and former City Manager Norberto Due\u00f1as.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you work for the public, I think there should be no such thing as an NDA,\u201d Alviso resident Deborah York\u00a0told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cYou work for us, it\u2019s our right to know what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789147209_506_interactive-321838904008.png\")
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