The San Francisco Planning Department released a Nov. 10 report on land-use and environmental issues raised by data centers, prepared at Mayor Daniel Lurie’s direction and under Ordinance 215-26, the 45-day moratorium report says. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the same findings.
Why it matters: The report is an initial assessment. It does not recommend whether the city’s temporary moratorium should be extended, or spell out new permanent rules. The ordinance requires the Board of Supervisors to hold a hearing on the report by Friday, Nov. 20. The moratorium expires Monday, Nov. 30, unless it is extended.
Planning staff found no active applications for new stand-alone data centers. The department identified three major stand-alone projects that have received approvals in recent years, including facilities at 200 Paul Avenue and 320-400 Paul Avenue in the Bayview, an area the report notes is an environmental-justice community. The report says a 50-megawatt data center “would use as much power as over 25,000 new homes,” and that backup generators can raise air-quality and noise issues. It also flags water and wastewater demand, land-use compatibility and whether limited electricity capacity could compete with housing, hospitals and other growth.
The Chronicle reported that, while no applications are pending, developers have explored possible projects, including at the shuttered San Francisco Centre mall and on Michigan Street in Dogpatch, and that Lurie’s office declined Tuesday to say whether the mayor would support an extension. The report calls for more technical analysis and interagency coordination rather than an immediate policy prescription.