San Francisco has put new data centers on hold. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a 45-day citywide moratorium on the facilities, an urgency ordinance that took effect immediately, according to NBC Bay Area, which reported that the city is the first county in the Bay Area to take the step.
What the pause does
The moratorium stops city approvals of data centers while the Planning Department studies their effects and drafts long-term rules. District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who wrote the ordinance, told The San Francisco Standard the review will cover "energy, water, air quality, land use, and community impacts," along with a clearer legal definition of what counts as a data center. City leaders plan a hearing on the department's progress by November.
If the study finds significant environmental impacts, the pause can be extended for up to 22 months or replaced with permanent restrictions, Mission Local reported. Supervisors Connie Chan, Jackie Fielder and Cheyenne Chen co-sponsored the measure. Supervisor Matt Dorsey added amendments clarifying that ordinary businesses with server rooms for their own operations are not covered, only facilities serving outside customers, NBC Bay Area said.
Projects caught in the freeze
Two southeast San Francisco projects are affected. NOVVA's data center in the Bayview had planned to expand its power draw from 9 to 36 megawatts, and a separate data center has been proposed on the Dogpatch waterfront, where permits were filed but no construction has begun, according to Mission Local. Walton's district, which runs from Visitacion Valley and Bayview-Hunters Point to Potrero Hill and Dogpatch, holds two of the city's six data center sites, the Standard reported, citing the firm Data Center Map.
Bigger picture
Walton's term ends in January 2027, and Mission Local reported that the leading candidates to succeed him, Theo Ellington, J.R. Eppler and Dion-Jay Brookter, have all said they support a moratorium and would back a permanent ban. Elsewhere in the region, Oakley, Richmond and Gilroy already have data center moratoriums, and Oakland and Hayward are considering them, according to the Standard.