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Voters in a city near Los Angeles appear to be the first in the nation to approve an all-out ban on data centers.
About 86 percent of voters in Monterey Park, Calif., voted in favor of the measure in Tuesday’s elections, according to election results from the county clerk.
The measure declares a prohibition on data centers citywide in order to “protect air quality, drinking water resources and public health” and “prevent impacts to electricity and water rates.”
It comes in response to a proposed data center project in Monterey Park, which was ultimately withdrawn earlier this year after the city council adopted a moratorium on data center construction.
Data center moratoriums and restrictions have gained traction across the country at the state and local level in the face of rising community pushback to the sprawling server warehouses that are central to the AI boom.
A Wisconsin city passed a referendum targeting data center construction in April. It required large-scale projects that receive tax benefits to secure approval from local voters following the construction of a local data center campus that received tax incentives.
Several state legislatures are also considering data center moratoriums, although none have been enacted so far. State lawmakers in Maine passed a data center ban, but it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills (D).
The New York Legislature also appears poised to pass a one-year ban on data center construction. However, it’s unclear whether Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will support the measure.
The centers are key to powering the AI race, providing the extensive computing power needed to develop and run the technology. To support these efforts, tech companies have sought to rapidly build more campuses.
But many Americans aren’t on board. A recent Gallup poll found that 71 percent of U.S. adults opposed the construction of a data center in their area. They pointed to the impact of the projects on local resources and costs, as well as quality of life concerns.
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