Monterey Park voters approve first US ban on data centers

Monterey Park has become a national test case in the backlash against data centers, after voters delivered an overwhelming rebuke to a proposed server complex and approved what officials say is the first voter-enacted permanent ban of its kind in the United States. In the June 2 special election, about 86% of counted votes were in favor of Measure NDC, a decisive result for the city of about 60,000 people roughly 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The fight centered on a 247,000-square-foot project backed by Australian investment firm HMC StratCap. Planned for a 15.8-acre site in Saturn Business Park, the facility was reported to sit less than 500 feet from the nearest home and would have required about 50 megawatts of power at peak demand. The design also called for a new electrical substation and roughly two dozen diesel generators, details that sharpened local concerns about noise, air quality, electricity use and the impact on nearby neighborhoods.

City Hall moved quickly once opposition hardened. The Monterey Park City Council unanimously adopted a 45-day moratorium on data center development at its January 21 meeting, then on February 4 directed staff to explore options for a permanent prohibition. On March 4, the council extended the moratorium to 10.5 months and put a ban before voters. The ballot language said the measure was intended to protect air quality, drinking water resources, public health and utility rates.

The developer withdrew the project in March as resistance intensified. By then, the anti-data-center group No Data Center in Monterey Park said it had collected 5,300 petition signatures, turning a local land-use dispute into a broader warning shot for cities confronting similar proposals. Local officials and organizers framed the vote as a test case for other communities weighing whether the promised tax base and jobs justify the strain on power grids, water supplies and land use.

The result landed at a sensitive moment for California, where the growth of the digital economy has collided with mounting concerns about infrastructure, environmental impacts and who benefits when large data facilities move into dense urban areas. The Data Center Coalition said it would continue working with communities and policymakers on responsible development and on keeping California competitive. Monterey Park is believed to be only the second U.S. city to pass an anti-data-center referendum, following an April vote in a small Milwaukee suburb, but its scale and margin suggest the debate is only beginning.