The Poway City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to give initial approval to an ordinance banning artificial intelligence data centers.
City officials argue the prohibition is needed because of "the increasing evidence that these types of data centers use significant water and electricity and result in strain on water and electricity infrastructure, adverse impact on utility rates, air-quality (and) noise impacts, and fire risk."
The proposed ordinance states the city would "establish a clear, permanent land use policy that AI data centers are not an allowed land use anywhere within the city, thereby providing certainty to residents, businesses and property owners about long-term development expectations."
The ordinance would also prohibit AI data center development in the South Poway Business Plan, which sets policy for the city's Business Park.
The proposal comes amid greater public backlash across the United States to the proliferation of data centers.
"AI data centers are largely automated, and lead to a lack of long- term, local jobs and economic growth provided when compared to traditional industrial, manufacturing and office uses," according to a council agenda summary.
A vote to give the proposal final approval is set for Oct. 6.
During Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Steve Vaus described the proposed ban as "a land use decision, not an anti-technology decision."
"AI may live in the cloud, but data centers live on the ground, and they have very real impacts," the mayor said.
Vaus added the ordinance was written carefully and will not affect ordinary data centers. Councilmember Anita Edmondson said a large data center could only be built in the Poway Business Park, which must be prioritized for industries that bring true economic growth to the city.
Councilmember Peter De Hoff said feedback from his constituents has been split, from those wanting to ban it outright to others who want it permitted and properly regulated.
"It's one of those issues where everybody's got a reasonable position," De Hoff added.
De Hoff said it was important for city leaders to craft regulation that gets ahead of future concerns, rather than dealing with them afterward, as the city did with battery energy storage systems.
The data center ban "threads the needle appropriately," De Hoff added.
Councilmember Christopher Pikus said he wants the Business Park to be for everyone, and "not just a mausoleum for data storage."
Saying that officials can't know what the future holds in terms of data center prospects, Councilmember Jenny Maeda made a motion to amend the ordinance to a five-year moratorium, but it failed for lack of a second.
Vaus said in a recent ABC 10News report that Poway leaders "look for innovative companies that will come and strengthen our community, and an AI standalone data center is the opposite of that. We don't want a business that's going to decimate the city."
