Santa Ana City Council members are expected to debate a suggested ban on new data centers or server farms as they look to overhaul their rules dictating where open space, housing, commercial and industrial buildings can be built in the city next month.<\/p>\n
It comes just ahead of the November election as city staff say there are currently three relatively small-sized data centers in Santa Ana and there hasn\u2019t been any new applications for new server farms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The facilities, which house computer servers and keep digital services running, are expanding amid the growth of artificial intelligence despite concerns the centers increase utility costs for residents, impact the electrical grid and local water supplies.<\/p>\n
This week, an effort by City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez to implement a temporary 45-day ban on new data centers in Santa Ana unraveled after some of her colleagues said the issue would be addressed when they overhaul their zoning code<\/a> next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilman Phil Bacerra, who is running for reelection, said the moratorium was unnecessary because they\u2019re already revamping city zoning code and called Lopez\u2019s request a \u201cwaste of time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t have concerns about the data centers, but the fact of the matter is we\u2019re literally going to deal with this in two weeks,\u201d Bacerra said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just frustrating that this item is before us. I get it\u2019s a hot topic and we\u2019re 49 days out from an election. I just wish the energy would have been channeled more towards something that would be, I would say, more urgent like a prisoner reentry center in the council member\u2019s ward.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of last month, a majority of planning commissioners voted to approve a comprehensive update to Santa Ana\u2019s zoning code and directed city staff to include an explicit ban of new data centers before passing it on to the city council for final approval.<\/p>\n Lopez, who is running for State Assembly, said she requested her temporary ban ahead of the planning commission meeting and wanted to get a clearer picture of data centers already operating in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n In her agenda item request, Lopez raised concerns the centers consume a large amount of water for cooling purposes, impact local electrical infrastructure, pollute and create fewer permanent jobs compared to other industrial development relative to the resources they use.\u00a0<\/p>\n She argued a temporary moratorium can allow officials time to decide if they want to regulate such facilities or outright ban them.\u00a0<\/p>\n