Calipatria to bring back vote on data center ban

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA) - The Calipatria City Council has voted to move forward with bringing back a vote to ban new data centers in city limits.

The vote was 3-2, with Mayor Michael Luellen, Council Member Jesse Rivas, and Mayor Pro-Tem Fred Beltran voting in favor of the ban.

Local activist Jake Tison spoke during public comments.

"It's noise, noise, noise. I don't know one community across this country that is going 'wow.That data center I'm so glad they came in here. Wow, it's the best thing that's ever happened to our school. I'm so glad those power lines, those fiber cables, I'm so glad those things are flying over our high school," Tison said.

Other residents cited the high use of electricity and water usage that AI data centers reportedly consume.

A recent study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy states that medium-sized AI data centers can use as much as "five million gallons of water every day—as much as a city of 50,000 people."

Meantime, others pointed to health issues like asthma and cancer.

Those who opposed a total ban included Council Member Javier Amezcua.

"It's scare tactics. We're scaring everybody into something," Amezcua said. "Is it the truth? I want to know is what they're saying the truth? Is it as bad as they say"?

Local Union Number 230 Organizer Sean-Keoni Ellis said there are already 300 data centers in the state of California.

"Long story short, we built them across this state. We built them, they provided jobs," he said.

The proposal will return for a final vote at an upcoming meeting.