2.-N. ID 26-1187 RESOLUTION-Initiating a Text Amendment to Chapter 15 of the Fresno Municipal Code Pursuant to FMC Section 15-5308-A Relating to the Prohibition of Data Centers Within the City of Fresno
I support the prohibition of data centers in Fresno. We have lived a long time without data centers, but we cannot live without clean water. We do not have the water to support data centers. We need our water for our residents and for agriculture that feeds the world!
The people of Fresno do not want any AI Data Centers built here. The harm they cause to the communities where they are built has been well documented. They use a ton of water, something everyone here knows to be a scarcity, so why would we bring in something that would only make that problem significantly worse? In addition they use a lot of electricity and our city already struggles in the summer to make sure there is enough to go around. Data centers are also loud and disruptive to those who live nearby and to any wildlife in the area. I strongly encourage the council to listen to what the people of this city want and I can assure you that what we want is a ban on the building of any AI Data Centers here. This is a hot button issue and if you go against what the community wants on this I truly believe the political repercussions will be swift and merciless. At a time where people are so politically opposed to one another this is one issue where we seem to all be in agreement. NO AI DATA CENTERS IN FRESNO!
Technology is ever changing and ever advancing. We've all seen news stories describing the ways large data centers hurt their communities by putting an immense strain on local water and energy resources. Building a data center in Fresno right now would bring that same strain to a community that already has these issues. A 10 year suspension gives big tech developers time to address these issues. I urge all council members to support Councilmember Richardson's proposal.
District 5 resident. Protect Fresno! No AI data centers. We want a livable future in Fresno. We need our water and energy grid for Fresnans not corporations.
Data centers in Fresno is a terrible idea. In other places they make the water undrinkable. We already live in a drought in Fresno, we don’t need data centers ruining the water we have. The Colorado river is already drying up, more data centers will just make it worse. Please do not let the corporations drive our planet to extinction. I vehemently disagree with any data centers and will not support anyone who is in favor of them and I will make sure to tell the people around me also to not support.
I respectfully urge the Council to permanently prohibit the construction of data centers within the city of Fresno. Our infrastructure cannot absorb the strain a data center would impose.
Fresno residents already contend with poor air quality and recurring drought. We should not also have to worry about water scarcity and degraded water quality, both of which data centers are known to cause through their massive cooling demands.
Our electrical grid is similarly unprepared, we experience rolling blackouts every summer. Many residents already struggle to keep up with PG&E and utility bills — I’d invite the Council to review the city’s own past-due utility account numbers as evidence of this hardship. Adding a data center’s enormous power draw risks driving rates even higher for households already stretched thin.
Data centers create very few permanent local jobs relative to their resource footprint, while the companies behind them can relocate at will. Fresno families cannot. We would bear the environmental and financial costs long after any economic promises fail to materialize.
Please don’t let corporate interests outweigh the wellbeing of the people who actually live here. This is our home, we must protect it. There must a limit to corporate greed and political favors, let this be it. Thank you for your time.
I support the prohibition of data centers in Fresno. We have lived a long time without data centers, but we cannot live without clean water. We do not have the water to support data centers. We need our water for our residents and for agriculture that feeds the world!
The people of Fresno do not want any AI Data Centers built here. The harm they cause to the communities where they are built has been well documented. They use a ton of water, something everyone here knows to be a scarcity, so why would we bring in something that would only make that problem significantly worse? In addition they use a lot of electricity and our city already struggles in the summer to make sure there is enough to go around. Data centers are also loud and disruptive to those who live nearby and to any wildlife in the area. I strongly encourage the council to listen to what the people of this city want and I can assure you that what we want is a ban on the building of any AI Data Centers here. This is a hot button issue and if you go against what the community wants on this I truly believe the political repercussions will be swift and merciless. At a time where people are so politically opposed to one another this is one issue where we seem to all be in agreement. NO AI DATA CENTERS IN FRESNO!
Technology is ever changing and ever advancing. We've all seen news stories describing the ways large data centers hurt their communities by putting an immense strain on local water and energy resources. Building a data center in Fresno right now would bring that same strain to a community that already has these issues. A 10 year suspension gives big tech developers time to address these issues. I urge all council members to support Councilmember Richardson's proposal.
District 5 resident. Protect Fresno! No AI data centers. We want a livable future in Fresno. We need our water and energy grid for Fresnans not corporations.
Data centers in Fresno is a terrible idea. In other places they make the water undrinkable. We already live in a drought in Fresno, we don’t need data centers ruining the water we have. The Colorado river is already drying up, more data centers will just make it worse. Please do not let the corporations drive our planet to extinction. I vehemently disagree with any data centers and will not support anyone who is in favor of them and I will make sure to tell the people around me also to not support.
I respectfully urge the Council to permanently prohibit the construction of data centers within the city of Fresno. Our infrastructure cannot absorb the strain a data center would impose.
Fresno residents already contend with poor air quality and recurring drought. We should not also have to worry about water scarcity and degraded water quality, both of which data centers are known to cause through their massive cooling demands.
Our electrical grid is similarly unprepared, we experience rolling blackouts every summer. Many residents already struggle to keep up with PG&E and utility bills — I’d invite the Council to review the city’s own past-due utility account numbers as evidence of this hardship. Adding a data center’s enormous power draw risks driving rates even higher for households already stretched thin.
Data centers create very few permanent local jobs relative to their resource footprint, while the companies behind them can relocate at will. Fresno families cannot. We would bear the environmental and financial costs long after any economic promises fail to materialize.
Please don’t let corporate interests outweigh the wellbeing of the people who actually live here. This is our home, we must protect it. There must a limit to corporate greed and political favors, let this be it. Thank you for your time.