CALIFORNIA STATE – The artificial intelligence boom is creating demand for an enormous new kind of infrastructure: sprawling data centers packed with the servers that help power chatbots, cloud computing and AI tools.
But in parts of California, local governments are beginning to say no.
Monterey Park, a city east of Los Angeles, has become the most dramatic example. On June 2, voters approved Measure NDC, a citywide prohibition on data centers, with more than 88% voting yes.
The measure is significant not only because it blocks a future project. It puts the issue directly in voters’ hands. The prohibition remains in effect unless Monterey Park voters decide to reverse it in another election.
The fight began over a proposed 247,000-square-foot data center that would have been built near homes in the San Gabriel Valley city. Opponents raised concerns about noise, backup generators, air quality, water use and electricity demand. The project was eventually withdrawn, but the city moved forward with a broader ban anyway.
Monterey Park is not alone.
In the Bay Area, Oakley has become the first city in the region to pause new data center proposals. The City Council unanimously adopted a temporary moratorium in April, preventing the city from processing or approving new data center land-use applications while officials study potential environmental, health and infrastructure impacts.
Oakley later extended that pause, giving city leaders more time to gather public input and determine what future zoning rules should look like.
That does not mean Oakley has permanently banned data centers. At least not yet.
But it shows how quickly the conversation has shifted. Until recently, data centers were often viewed as a largely invisible part of the internet economy. Now, massive facilities associated with AI are becoming highly visible local land-use fights.
Other Southern California communities have also taken action. Montebello, El Monte and Baldwin Park have enacted temporary moratoria, while Alhambra has reportedly moved to prohibit data centers through a zoning update.
The concerns are understandable.
Data centers need enormous amounts of electricity to run and cool the servers inside. California energy officials project that data centers could account for a much larger share of the state’s peak electricity demand in the years ahead. Water is another major issue, particularly in a drought-prone state where many facilities use water-based cooling systems.
There is also a transparency problem. Researchers have warned that California does not have a clear, standardized picture of how much water data centers use, where they get it or how that demand could affect nearby communities.
For residents, the concern is often much more immediate: What happens when a large, windowless industrial building with backup generators is proposed a few hundred feet from homes?
Still, there is another side to the debate.
Data centers can bring construction work, property tax revenue and infrastructure investment. They are also increasingly important to California’s technology economy, especially as companies race to build the computing capacity needed for artificial intelligence.
Supporters argue that cities should regulate projects carefully rather than ban them outright. They say the right approach could include requirements for recycled water, cleaner backup power, noise limits, grid upgrades and stronger public disclosure.
But local officials are clearly wary of approving facilities before those answers are in place.
That is why the recent decisions in Monterey Park and Oakley matter beyond their city limits.
Monterey Park’s voter-approved prohibition is a rare and forceful example of a city deciding that data centers simply do not fit its future. Oakley’s moratorium is more cautious, but it reflects the same basic question: Before a community accepts a massive AI-era data center, who pays for the electricity, water, noise and infrastructure it requires?
California has not banned data centers statewide. In fact, some cities are actively trying to attract them.
But the era when communities treated them as just another industrial project may be ending.
As AI expands, more California cities may decide that the servers powering the future need a much closer look first.
