Monterey Park's data center ban receives overwhelming support in special election
Monterey Park voters made their opinions clear during Tuesday's special election, with over 80% of ballots in favor of a ban on data centers in the city.
"They shouldn't be here. Absolutely not," voter Jackie Morrison said.
After tabling a proposal for a massive data center in December, Monterey Park leaders allowed voters to decide the future of similar facilities on Tuesday night in the primary election. If approved, Measure NDC will prohibit data centers within the city limits, according to Monterey Park's voter information guide.
As of Wednesday, Los Angeles County Registrar data showed that nearly 86% of the more than 7,000 votes were in favor of Measure NDC.
The special ballot measure comes after residents voiced environmental concerns about a renovation project that would convert a vacant office building and property into a 250,000-square-foot data center.
"They were pretending it was nothing serious, but in reality they were not upfront with what they wanted to do, and then basically it caused a revolt," voter Jesus Garcia said.
In the months leading up to the election, city leaders voted to host a special election and placed a moratorium on future data center proposals after hearing residents' concerns.
Mayor Elizabeth Yang said the company that proposed the data center pulled its application and "confirmed they won't be contesting the June ballot measure."
"Residents showed up, spoke out, and made it clear they wanted a say in what happens in our city," Yang wrote in an Instagram post on April 2. "As a Council, we put a moratorium in place and moved forward with a ballot measure so the community could decide. That was always the goal. Now, that decision will be in the hands of Monterey Park voters this June."
In a written statement, the Yes on Measure NDC campaign called Monterey Park a leader in the San Gabriel Valley with its overwhelming support for the ban.
"This was people power," the campaign said. "We are grateful to every voter who said yes, every volunteer who gave their time, and every neighbor who helped make sure our community understood what was at stake.
Data centers have catapulted to the national spotlight after the rise of artificial intelligence. The projects promised new construction jobs, but experts told CBS News that such jobs would be temporary.
Critics, similar to Monterey Park residents, raised environmental concerns about the massive facilities. During a congressional hearing in March, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared Georgia residents' concerns about a data center east of Atlanta degrading their water quality. The congresswoman held up jars of discolored water and said some families had resorted to shipping water to their homes for cooking and bathing.
