City of Imperial files lawsuit against the county
Karina Bazarte
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – The City of Imperial has filed a lawsuit against Imperial County and the Board of Supervisors to stop the development of a data center.
“Our hope is that will be able to dialogue with the county and the developer, and so, the concerns that the council has I anticipate and hope that they’ll be addressed in a way that it’s a lawsuit doesn’t need to go forward,” said Dennis Morita.
The City of Imperial says the county did not notify residents about the center and claims the project was pushed through quickly, without proper environmental oversight.
“We feel that there is details about the project that should be made public and folks should have the opportunity to way in,” said Morita.
The lawsuit claims that the project is not in compliance with the California Environmental Act.
“County ordinances identify a data center as being a permitted use, and what does that means is that they’re the county could basically issue permits for the project excuse me to go forward and wouldn’t require much in the way of public engagement,” said Morita.
The lawsuit also states that the City of Imperial has attempted to reach an agreement with the county on the appropriate public process and permits.
The City of Imperial says they are not against the data center, but are asking for the county’s transparency.
“As the developer as indicated could be a big economic boost to the County of Imperial, and so the City Council isn’t necessarily a published to that, but it is interested in making sure that the project is built in a way that doesn’t unduly impact its neighbors,” said Morita.
The City of El Centro says they haven’t received or approved the use of wastewater and are also not committed to the project.
We reached out the county last week and we are waiting to hear back.
