SF Approves 45-Day Data Center Moratorium
The pause gives planners time to study energy, water and land-use impacts before setting longer-term rules, Supervisor Shamann Walton said.
- On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium on new data centers, making the city the first in the Bay Area to restrict the facilities.
- District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton authored the measure to address environmental justice concerns in his district, which he said is "already overburdened with air pollution."
- The ordinance adopts a definition from U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, describing data centers as facilities housing computing infrastructure for processing electronic data, pausing all new permit approvals citywide.
- During the 45-day pause, the Planning Department will evaluate energy, water, and air quality impacts, with officials potentially extending the moratorium to 22 months following a November hearing.
- Beyond San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors received a proposal to permanently ban "hyperscale" data centers, while Oakland and Hayward are actively considering temporary moratoriums.
13 Articles
13 Articles
San Francisco Slams the Door on Data Centers Despite Being Epicenter of AI Development
San Francisco's board of supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to impose a 45-day moratorium on new data centers, a pause that can be extended up to 22 months. Despite San Francisco being the home of AI development in the United States, one city official said of data centers, "We need to know what these impacts are. Until we know what that is, it needs to stop."
San Francisco, home to some of the most prominent AI companies, is temporarily banning the construction of new data centers. City supervisors unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium that takes effect immediately and can be extended for about two years. Authorities want to consider more permanent restrictions in the meantime. San Francisco joins a growing number of U.S. communities that are restricting the infrastructure that underpins the AI bo…
San Francisco pauses new data centres in the hometown of AI
San Francisco’s board of supervisors unanimously passed a 45-day moratorium on new data centres, extendable to 22 months, halting a Bayview expansion and a 49.5 MW Dogpatch project. Europe paused first and for a different reason, the grid, and now finds it cannot build the capacity the Commission wants. San Francisco has paused new data […] This story continues at The Next Web
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