Due to the quick turnaround of press time, The Weekly focused on one key item from last night’s Santa Clara City Council meeting. We offer more in-depth coverage of other items discussed at the city council meeting in the coming days.  

The Santa Clara City Council kicked the can down the road again on whether to prohibit the construction of new data centers in the city.

At its most recent meeting on Oct. 20, the council opted to simply note and file a report detailing the pros and cons of a moratorium on new data centers. Council Member Karen Hardy, who is also running for mayor in the upcoming election, proposed the action at a previous meeting, but the item was deferred because of overly full agendas.

The council previously discussed a related matter, proposed by Council Member Suds Jain, regarding the water use of data centers.

City Manager Jovan Grogan said the city is unable to provide power to new data centers and has ostensibly halted data center approvals since 2023. 

The proposal stirred the pot on the council.

“What are we afraid of, we’re afraid of having a discussion? That worries me,” Hardy said.

Council Member Kelly Cox said she believes data centers are not for every community. She called discourse around data centers “our century’s Cold War,” adding that there is “mass propaganda” surrounding the discourse around them. She opposed halting construction on new data centers, calling it “irresponsible governance.”

Council Member Kevin Park said the city uses its low rates as justification for continued expansion of the city’s utility, Silicon Valley Power. 

“Residential rates keep going up, and it is not the residents that need the power,” he said.

Public commenters amounted to union leaders advocating for the jobs that data centers provide.

Mayor Lisa Gillmor called data centers the “jewel of the city,” saying Santa Clara is the “gold standard.” Other cities, she said, are “light years” behind Santa Clara.

“We do it right. I am really proud of what we do,” she said. “Stop poking at our success, because we have a lot of it … we have done the right thing. We are making sure our residents’ rates are low. We supply good-paying jobs. We are still business-friendly, and that the business centers will also give back to the community.”

Hardy also proposed examining how the city deals with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) regarding data centers.

“The public needs to know that we aren’t making back-room deals,” said Park. 

Gillmor accused her colleagues of hypocrisy, saying several of them agreed to an NDA for the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl held at Levi’s Stadium earlier this year.

Gillmor and Cox worried that singling out data centers for NDA disclosure sent the wrong message to the public. Gillmor said the city’s “reputation was on the line.” 

“How can you not put this on for further action right away, otherwise you are hiding stuff,” said Byron Fleck, a public commenter and a volunteer with Hardy’s campaign for mayor.

Park amended the motion to broaden the scope of NDAs from data centers to all city dealings.

Grogan said he was “increasingly concerned” with the amount of work the council was delegating to the city employees, adding that the council already has 150 items on its list of priority initiatives.

A motion to discuss the city’s NDAs passed unanimously. It will return to the council at the same time as when the city discusses data centers and their water usage.

Santa Clara City Council Consent Calendar Spending

The council approved the following spending in one motion via the consent calendar:

• Two $250,000 increases to purchase orders with Reed & Graham and Granite Rock to cover up to four one-year extensions for backfill and asphalt. The total purchase order is now $1.75 million.
• A $627,430 increase to a purchase order with Vintage Contractors, Inc. for additional recreational court repair and resurfacing.
• $5.83 million agreement with First Shield Security & Patrol, Inc. for city security through the end of October 2029.
• A three-year, $2.72 million agreement with ACE Parking for parking control and event parking operations at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
• A one-year, $611,903 extension to an agreement with Performance Mechanical, Inc. for boilermaker and pipefitter services. The total is now $2.61 million.    

The next regularly scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave. in Santa Clara.

Members of the public can participate in the city council meetings on Zoom at https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/99706759306; Meeting ID: 997-0675-9306 or call 1 (669) 900-6833, via the City’s eComment (available during the meeting) or by email to PublicComment@santaclaraca.gov

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com 

Previous Santa Clara City Council Meetings:
Data Centers Take Center Stage at Santa Clara City Council
New Housing Complex Set to Come to Santa Clara — Despite Lack of Retail
Stadium Finances Spark Discussion About Future of Levi’s Stadium
Santa Clara Handwaves VTA Civil Grand Jury Report