HAYWARD, CA — Hayward is the latest California city considering a step back from data centers.
Councilmembers will consider a move to ban the development of new data centers in Hayward, City Manager Jennifer Ott said in a statement.
A legislative referral will be taken up at the Sept. 15 city council meeting, where officials will direct staff to begin amending Hayward's zoning code to ban the development of new data centers, authorities said.
The move comes following "significant public outcry" over the impacts of data centers, Hayward city officials said.
The legislative referrals also call for officials to establish a process to monitor and report on the economic and environmental impacts of the construction and operation of previously approved data centers.
"Under City legislative procedures, if the referral is backed by a majority of Council members on Sept. 15, City staff would prepare and bring back for Council action at a later date an ordinance or zoning code amendment prohibiting data center development in Hayward," officials said.
SEE ALSO: East Bay Data Center Plans Take Residents By Surprise
Data centers have drawn criticism far and wide, including environmental concerns and noise pollution, prompting some cities to look at getting rid of them altogether.
Coachella's city council approved an ordinance last week that would permanently ban data centers.
The decision followed months of backlash from community members throughout the Coachella Valley. The ordinance defines a data center as a structure or site used to house computers or other components for the storage, processing, and transmission of digital data.
Last month, officials in Summit, New Jersey, considered a new zoning ordinance that would formally ban data centers from being built or operated anywhere in the city,
As of April, California had the third most data centers in the country, with 331. Only Virginia and Texas topped the Golden State, according to the Pew Research Center.
The majority of Americans, meanwhile, oppose the construction of data centers, according to a Gallup survey.
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