The Benicia City Council voted 4-1 on Oct. 20 to introduce a zoning ordinance that requires any data center to obtain a conditional use permit. That means public notice, public review and an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, the Vallejo Sun reported. The city's CEQA filing confirms the council held a public hearing and introduced the ordinance on Oct. 20. The city then posted a notice of exemption on Oct. 28.

"One of the purposes of this action tonight is to be sure that what happened to Fairfield does not happen here," Mayor Steve Young said.

What the ordinance does

  • Data centers are allowed only in Benicia's four industrial districts, which include the port, the refinery and the industrial park areas along East 2nd Street and I-680. They are barred from commercial and residential zones.
  • Projects are capped at 20 megawatts.
  • Combustion equipment such as diesel backup generators is banned, and the ordinance sets water conservation, lighting and noise rules.
  • A monitoring process checks that projects keep meeting the standards once they are operating.
  • The council added a requirement that the Planning Commission review every data center. An earlier draft let the Development Services Director approve projects under 5 MW.

Assistant City Manager Suzanne Thorsen said that under the existing rules, which date to 1987, a data center counts as a "technology industry" use. That means it could open in the industrial park "without any public hearing, use standards, or environmental analysis." She said a 16 MW colocation facility might take up 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of warehouse space, while hyperscale AI campuses can reach 2.2 gigawatts.

Councilmember Terry Scott cast the no vote. He said the final vote, scheduled for the following week, would not leave enough time to address residents' concerns. Councilmember Kari Birdseye called the rules "the most protective guardrails" and said early estimates suggest a data center could bring the city $5 million to $10 million a year in utility user tax. Former Councilmember Tom Campbell asked for a rule requiring data centers to ration water whenever residents must.

Fairfield

According to the Vallejo Sun, developers are considering a 150 MW data center in northwest Fairfield, inside a 289-acre industrial park covered by an already approved master planned unit development. City spokesperson Bill Way said that if the plans meet every requirement of that permit, "the city is legally required to issue the permits." Fairfield residents asked for a moratorium, and the council directed staff to bring back a moratorium or data center policy. The Sun reported that a special meeting is expected Nov. 10. For how other cities are handling this, see Hayward and Richmond's moratoriums.