The Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved plans for a new data center on Bowers Avenue during its Tuesday night meeting, ignoring a recommendation from the Planning Commission in the process.
During the presentation by city staff about the project at 2805 Bowers Ave., Reena Brilliot, Santa Clara’s acting Director of Community Development, downplayed the Planning Commission vote saying only five of the seven planning commissioners were present. She also said commissioners only tried to pass one motion instead of the four recommended by city staff.*
“After that extended discussion they had, they did not try to change each other’s opinions, that was the failed motion. Because of that, they weren’t really able to achieve really passing the item or failing the item,” said Brilliot.
Her presentation failed to highlight the key crux of the dissenters’ argument during the March 12, 2024 Planning Commission meeting, which was to “call out” the “rampant” spread of data centers.
During its presentation, the applicant, GI Partners, offered the following argument as to why a data center was the best option for the site.
“Part of the challenge here, too, being a real estate and investment fund, you look at the high-intensity R&D and the office market and ‘Gee, couldn’t you just put that building on steroids and lease it.’ Well, we could put the building on steroids, but there’s no market … there’s no one to lease it to.” said the GI Partners representative.
Several members of local unions spoke in favor of the project. So did the Santa Clara Schools Foundation, which has been promised a $30,000 donation from the GI Partners for STEAM education.
Following the public comment, Mayor Lisa Gillmor said this was an “easy” approval since the data center is a good business for Santa Clara and she likes the look of the “aesthetics.” She also downplayed the vote by the Planning Commission and said she’s never heard any opposition to data centers.
“What I was concerned about when this didn’t pass the planning commission, wasn’t really turned down, but it wasn’t passed either was there was a quite a big brouhaha that the community was very upset with data centers,” said Gillmor. “I have to say, I’ve been in public office for quite a while and I didn’t feel it, I didn’t hear it and I didn’t see the community opposition. I know there was some people, or there was people, creating things that didn’t really exist.”
Council Member Kevin Park was the only council member to recognize that the Planning Commission was making a commentary on a larger issue within the City of Santa Clara in regard to data centers.
“I did also look at the planning commission meeting and a lot of the comments that I heard were about ‘Well, why do we have more data centers?’” said Park. “I can’t help thinking that there is some correlation between data centers coming to Santa Clara and the fact that we have our own power utility with a very good cost infrastructure for people who use lots of power. That said, I’m not against it, I just wish there were a way to leverage the big power users to lower the cost for residents.”
The data center will include 32 emergency backup generators, 42 air-cooled rooftop chillers and will require its own substation. The applicant will pay for the construction of the substation. It will likely not be online until 2028 at the earliest and, more likely, in 2029 or 2030.
*It’s worth noting that the item regarding the data center was passed by the Council as one motion instead of the four recommended by the city staff.
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I agree with Kevin Park and the Planning Commission. We need less Data Centers and more housing.