Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...PITTSBURG — Amid backlash over an approved data center project, Pittsburg will host a virtual workshop later this month to allow for a “deeper conversation” with residents about the controversial facilities.
The workshop comes less than a month after hundreds of residents packed City Hall, voicing objections to a data center that was given the green light in 2024. It is slated to be built in Pittsburg Technology Park, located along West Leland Road, on the site of the former Delta View Golf Course, which closed in 2018.
Scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 30 via Zoom, the community engagement workshop aims to educate residents on the city’s data center development policies, procedures and projects, said Councilmember Jelani Killings.
It will also provide an opportunity for residents to get answers to their questions, Killings said.
Residents who want to participate in the workshop are urged to submit questions to datacenters@pittsburgca.gov ahead of time to ensure all inquiries can be addressed during the meeting, said the city.
“After hearing many concerned residents, it is clear we need to have a deeper conversation with our community about data center development in Pittsburg,” Killings said in a statement Wednesday.
During a City Council meeting on June 15, residents raised concerns over possible environmental impacts and resource constraints associated with data centers, and questioned whether there were any economic benefits such a project would provide to residents and the city.
An online petition opposing the project has so far garnered more than 24,000 signatures. The data center, developed by AVAIO Digital, will be the first of a three-phase development within Pittsburg Technology Park. According to city officials, only phase one has been approved, while future phases “may include further approval processes.”
Pittsburg City Manager Darin Gale said residents have raised “thoughtful” questions on resource constraints, noise and long-term impacts on the neighborhood.
“The city takes them seriously,” Gale said. “I appreciate the council’s direction and look forward to supporting this engagement effort on behalf of the council and our community.”
Pittsburg updated its data center webpage and “is considering ongoing community engagement” to ensure residents are kept abreast of such projects and any impacts in the city.
“There will be an update to the City Council during the regular City Council meeting on Monday, August 3,” said the city.
Stop Pittsburg Data Center, a coalition consisting of residents, said the city failed to uphold its promise that the data center issue would return as an agenda item during a regular City Council meeting with public direction and participation.
“Instead, it scheduled a staff-run Zoom webinar on July 30 with emailed questions, no noticed agenda item, no live public comment, and no Council action. The city promised residents a seat at the table. We got a webinar instead,” the group said in a statement.
The group has urged the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to evaluate the 37 biodiesel backup generators planned for the data center as a single pollution source and to conduct a complete health risk assessment before issuing approvals.
Pittsburg should also implement a moratorium on new data center applications and approvals, including on future phases within Technology Park until the city adopts a data center ordinance with public input, said the coalition.
Oakley became the first Bay Area city to impose a 45-day moratorium on data centers in April, prohibiting the city from accepting, processing, or approving any land-use applications for such facilities.
In May, the Oakley City Council unanimously approved an extension of the ban, which will now be in place until April 2027, giving the city some breathing room to fully evaluate the impacts of data centers and to form a permanent ordinance to regulate such uses.
In June, two Brentwood councilmembers requested that a future agenda item be added to discuss an ordinance prohibiting the establishment, construction, expansion, or operation of any new data center facilities within the city’s limits.