Today, Oct. 27, the city council unanimously approved placing an emergency pause on data centers that will last for 45 days, with options to renew for the next 20 months, amid outcry over a proposed data center at the Navy’s base in Old Town.
The moratorium on data center construction gives the city council time to craft an ordinance to better manage the creation of these facilities.
Mayor Todd Gloria pushed the moratorium effort last week after Voice of San Diego reported that Manchester Financial Group was considering building a massive 400-megawatt data center on the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) headquarters in Old Town.
Critics instantly slammed the idea for environmental reasons and the impact it could have on electricity and water costs, in addition to the plethora of other criticisms such as noise pollution, radiating heat, guzzling electricity which apply to all data centers.
But San Diegans also had specific concerns about whether a low-lying, industrial facility was the highest and best use of the NAVWAR land. The 60 acre site could be the ideal spot for a mixed-use development.
Council members described the redevelopment of NAVWAR as a once-in-a-generation opportunity that could place much-needed new housing close to one of the biggest transit hubs in the region. In particular, that housing could benefit service members who work nearby.
However, the city has no say on federal land use.
During public comments to the city council, residents called on the city to create as much friction as possible surrounding the NAVWAR data center, so that Manchester might abandon the plan.
“San Diego needs more affordable housing, not more computer servers,” Councilmember Stephen Whitburn said. “Federal ownership does not mean San Diegans should be shut out of decisions which will impact us for generations to come.”
In a statement, Manchester president Ted Eldredge said nothing is finalized on the NAVWAR site. Manchester is considering several ideas, including the data center.
Manchester does have a strong proponent of the plan in the White House. President Trump is pushing for development of new data centers, particularly on federal land where community opposition cannot prevent them. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has selected developers to build data centers at Fort Bliss in Texas and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, with more bases to follow.
City council members, joined by State Assemblymember Chris Ward, called on San Diego’s federal delegation to write to the Navy in opposition to the data center.
Representative Scott Peters, whose district encompasses NAVWAR, is currently pushing a bipartisan bill that would address energy costs and permitting. In particular, it would ensure that the companies behind data centers would have to take on the costs of upgrading the electric grid and paying their energy costs, so rate-payers would not subsidize data centers’ energy and have those costs passed onto them.
Peters may soon have another data center opponent joining the San Diego congressional delegation.
“We need regulations to protect the public, especially as big tech companies come to town,” said Councilmember Marni von Wilpert ahead of her aye vote for the moratorium. Von Wilpert is the favorite to win the District 48 race.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation similar to Peters’ proposal recently, although it remains untested. California also has no jurisdiction on federal land.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s proposed ordinance, outlined at a rally outside City Hall last week, would go further.
He proposed that land undergo an independent evaluation to see if it would be better for housing than a data center, so no large data centers would be built by right. Plus, the data center would need to be a minimum distance from schools, homes, parks, and other sensitive uses. Community and school districts would also have a voice in the planning process. Next, developers would take on all the grid upgrade costs, hire union workers, use only renewable energy, and have a water recycling plan.
Elo-Rivera added a few of those ideas, as well as a rule that the city council must be notified within seven days of a data center proposal coming to the city, to the moratorium. The full ordinance language is awaiting approval by the city attorney.
“There are certain places where these data centers may be appropriate. NAVWAR is not one of them. The middle of our cities are not those places,” Elo-Rivera said at the press conference.
Several data centers already operate in the city, including one along University Avenue in North Park. Government regulators had not caught up to the nascent technology and data centers were permitted like warehouses when it was built.
Elo-Rivera described the North Park data center as a “dead zone” in the middle of a vibrant, lively neighborhood.
The moratorium will apply to new data centers like the one in North Park, even though NAVWAR is exempt.
