Voters in a Southern California city overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure permanently banning data centers within city limits, underscoring growing local resistance to the infrastructure fueling the artificial intelligence boom.
Monterey Park voters approved the NDC measure by a margin of 10,321 votes to 1,362, or 88.34 percent, according to official election results from Los Angeles County.
The measure modifies the city’s general plan to ban data centers citywide and specifies that the ban will remain in effect unless voters choose to overturn it in a future election.
Anti-data center protest signs dot the front yards of a residential neighborhood in Monterey Park, California, April 1, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The ballot measure was presented to voters as a way to protect air qualitydrinking water resources and public health while preventing potential impacts on electricity and water prices.
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The vote follows months of controversy surrounding a proposed data center at 1977 Saturn Avenue, which has become the focal point of community opposition to the development of large-scale digital infrastructure.
The project, proposed by Australian investment firm HMC StratCap through its DigiCo platform, would have converted the site into an approximately 218,400 square foot data center designed to support large-scale IT operations, including artificial intelligence workloads.
Project documents estimate the facility would require about 50 megawatts of peak electrical capacity and generate about $5 million a year in tax revenue for the city.
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Opponents argued that the project’s electricity demand, water consumption and environmental footprint outweighed its economic benefits. Public opposition to the Saturn Avenue project intensified throughout 2024 and 2025, ultimately prompting city officials to maintain restrictions on future data center development. The project was later withdrawn.
On March 4, the Monterey Park City Council voted unanimously to place the measure on the June ballot.
After the election, Mayor Elizabeth Yang celebrated the result in a Facebook post.
“Crushing victory!! » Yang wrote. “Congratulations to our city of Monterey Park for making history!!!”
The vote comes as tech companies and developers invest billions of dollars in data centers to support the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing services.
On March 4, the Monterey Park City Council voted unanimously to place the measure on the June ballot. (iStock)
This growth has fueled debates across the country about electricity demand, water use, land use planning and the economic benefits such installations can bring to local communities.
Monterey Park officials described the move as a historic step in limiting data center development, even as broader questions remain about how communities nationwide will balance growing demand for digital infrastructure with local concerns about energy use, resource consumption and quality of life.
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As the adoption of artificial intelligence accelerates, disputes over where and how data centers are built will likely remain a key issue for local governments, developers and residents across the United States.
