Data center ordinance

Called her family climate refugees from Paso Robles groundwater depletion; opposed data centers over water, power costs, noise, and weak tax benefits, urging residents to vote accordingly.

Speaking for Miwok Village, warned of an AI investment bubble bursting around 2027-28 and proposed requiring financial disclosures, independent audits, and compensation commitments from any data center applicant.

Read comments on behalf of Shelly Muniz, tying her son's 1993 leukemia death to industrial pollution and warning data centers could raise cancer risks through air pollution, PFAS, and EMFs.

Urged the commission to ground any ordinance in the county's adopted 2022 Climate Action Plan and to research mitigation funding for well losses, wastewater, and light and noise buffering.

A Kaiser data center worker said big facilities create almost no local jobs, favor dry cooling, and often get property tax abatements — so don't count on tax revenue.

Suggested regulating data centers by their internet connection capacity since small ones fly under the radar, and warned of unintended consequences of capping connections.

Said the public isn't being represented — supervisors overruled a moratorium — and promoted a people's petition to circumvent the supervisors.

Miwok Village resident who lost power for 42 hours said Meta, Microsoft, and Google don't know where Tuolumne County is; wants the question put to a vote of the people.

Sonora constituent said the county shouldn't chase data centers when none are being requested, warning tourism is the community identity and few jobs would go to locals.

Said three politicized supervisors control everything and the answer is a public vote or an outright ban, not a moratorium.

Phoenix Lake resident noted dry cooling trades water for electricity, meaning PG&E would have to massively expand infrastructure.

Columbia business owner compared AI data centers to the unregulated gold rush's environmental damage and warned of surveillance and property value losses.

Questioned the industry's self-lending financing schemes, asked whether the county must accept any data center application, and favored a two-year moratorium.

Business owner who attended the supervisors' moratorium meeting asked whether staff researched a moratorium or ban given overwhelmingly negative public feedback.

Said citizens everywhere are speaking against data centers, told the room to follow the money, and declared AI data centers have no place in small rural communities.

Yankee Hill resident asked commissioners to tell the Board the best plan is no data center — no suitable land exists.

Columbia resident cited the failed Sonora Mine cleanup promises and urged extreme caution, saying the county is not the place for data centers.

Warned the county lacks capacity to handle sophisticated developers, tied data centers to surveillance and control systems, and called for a ban.

Thanked the commission for building regulations so corporations can't take advantage like they did in unregulated counties, saying 'we have to say no.'