Oakland Hits Pause on New Data Centers With a 45-Day Moratorium

Oakland will not approve any new data centers for at least the next 45 days. The City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday night to adopt a temporary moratorium on data center development across the city, and because it passed as an urgency measure, it took effect immediately.

Councilmember Carroll Fife, who introduced the measure, said the pause gives city leaders and residents time to look at how data centers could affect Oakland's water supply, electrical grid and air quality, KTVU reported. City staff are expected to use the window to work up policy options and development standards for any future projects.

Why now

The vote follows growing attention on a plan by Behring Companies to turn the ground floor of a building near 20th and Franklin streets downtown into a data center, with the upper floors used as office space for artificial intelligence research. NBC Bay Area reported that the city was specifically concerned about a roughly 20,000-square-foot building downtown. Fife has also criticized developers for using non-disclosure agreements that keep project details away from city officials and the public.

Oakland is not alone. According to NBC Bay Area, Richmond and Gilroy recently approved 45-day moratoriums of their own, and San Francisco is weighing a similar pause.

What residents said

Protesters rallied outside City Hall before the meeting, and public comment inside was split. Several speakers focused on water. One, Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty, pointed to Oakland's reliance on the Mokelumne River in the Sierra Nevada and warned that heavier local water use would mean drawing even more from it. Others asked the council to go further and adopt a permanent ban.

Some residents opposed the pause, arguing that data centers would bring jobs to the city.

Mayor Barbara Lee framed the moratorium as a chance for public input. "This is a moment to have the public weigh in," she said, according to KTVU.

What's next

Fife has scheduled a community conversation on the future of data centers in Oakland for Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. at Beth Eden Baptist Church, 1183 10th Street in West Oakland. Any longer-term rules would need to come back to the council before the moratorium expires.