Data center debate: Coachella residents push for permanent ban as city weighs moratorium

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) - Coachella City Council will hear an urgency ordinance this Wednesday, after several council members called for a moratorium and a potential ban on data centers.

The call came during the May 27th meeting, after nearly 6 hours of public comment against the proposed data center. City Council entered into a municipal utility agreement with private developers, Stronghold Power Systems, back in February.

City documents show the agreement would establish a public utility, powered by 6 data centers at 450 acres. For months, News Channel 3 has followed resident concerns about environmental impacts and rising power rates.

Now, local leaders say they're working to right their wrongs after public backlash to the agreement.

"People are hurt. People feel betrayed. They feel that they were left out of the conversation and to some degree you can say that they. You know, we failed in that sense. I did. I failed," Council member Denise Delgado said.

As Delgado pushes for a moratorium, some residents say more aggressive action is needed.

Delgado says the temporary moratorium is the first step towards stronger restrictions on data centers and similar projects, but some residents want a permanent ban on data centers.

"This 2 year moratorium, it's an interim ordinance and it's something that's been allowed by the state of California. The process would be immediately a 45 day emergency, and then 10 days prior to that expiring, we would come back with the first year extension. Then 10 days before the one year is up, we would come before city council again if needed, to do that one year extension. Now, what's going to happen is that residents would end up seeing multiple ordinances probably come through under one package, perhaps an ordinance on water usage, an ordinance on environmental impacts, basically putting those regulations in place," Delgado said.

She claims an outright ban on the data center could put the city in legal trouble, which is why she advocates passing the separate ordinances regulating data centers.

"You won't see just an ordinance that will say 'Coachella is banning data centers.' You won't see that ordinance come through written that way, and it's because it's thought of as discriminatory, and so we would be seeing a lot more lawsuits," Delgado claims.

However, for some residents who have fought tirelessly against the data center, they want an outright ban and fear separate ordinances will leave a loophole for developers.

"I think it leaves community vulnerable to these data center developments, to Stronghold. We're witnessing the way that these developers will go to any means necessary in order to push their projects through," Stephanie Ambriz, a local resident said.

Ambriz claims during last week's 7 hour council meeting, all seemed to support an outright ban except for Delgado.

"About a dozen of us who stayed in the council chambers until 1:30 in the morning heard Yadira Perez, Dr. Frank Figueroa and Stephanie Virgen agree to the temporary ban, which is a moratorium. Frank, Yadira and Stephanie also took it a step further and acknowledged the next steps, which were an ordinance for a permanent ban."

City Council will vote on the temporary moratorium on Wednesday, June 3rd at 6 p.m. Stick with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.