More than 300 residents packed Tuesday night’s Pittsburg City Council meeting to voice opposition to a planned data center project at the former Delta View Golf Course, with more than 100 speakers raising concerns about environmental impacts, public outreach and the city’s approval process.
Teachers and administrators from Pittsburg Unified School District, members of Indivisible Resisters Contra Costa, community leaders and parents were among those who urged the council to halt or reconsider the development.
The proposed facility, approved by the city in 2024 as part of the larger Pittsburg Technology Park project, would be a three-story data center capable of generating 96 megawatts of power. Plans call for the facility to be cooled using recycled water and supported by 37 diesel-powered backup generators. The site is located near West Leland Road, close to a middle school, sports courts and residential neighborhoods.
Lifelong Pittsburg resident Mark Linde, who has organized opposition efforts through the Nextdoor social media platform, called on the city to adopt a two-year moratorium on data center development and establish a citizen oversight committee. Linde said he has followed the project since 2018 and believes residents were not adequately informed before approvals were granted.
Many speakers echoed those concerns, saying they only recently learned about the project despite years of public hearings and notices. Amhari Perkins, a Pittsburg mother who launched an online petition opposing the project, said the effort attracted more than 13,000 signatures in a week.
“Pittsburg is not just a small overlooked city. It is my home,” Perkins told the council. “Many of us are not asking for conflict, just meaningful communication.”
Nineteen-year-old Christina Webster criticized the project’s potential environmental impacts, including water use and the loss of open space.
“Those mountains are never going to be green again,” Webster said. “You are public servants. Serve the public.”
City officials defended the approval process and the project’s potential economic benefits. Jordan Davis, Pittsburg’s director of community and economic development, said revenue generated by the data center would help fund city programs and services, including road improvements and recreational facilities.
“These types of taxes are good for the community because the community does not need to pay them,” Davis said. “It’s revenue into the city to reinvest in the city.”
Following more than two hours of public comment, Mayor Dionne Adams said the council would continue discussing residents’ concerns and questions.
On Tuesday, the City of Pittsburg announced that the data center issue will return to a future City Council agenda for additional public discussion and direction. According to a city news release issued June 16, council members directed staff to schedule a workshop on data center development after hearing extensive community feedback during Monday’s meeting.
The city said the workshop will provide another opportunity for public participation and council direction regarding future data center projects in Pittsburg. Officials also emphasized that meeting notices will be posted at City Hall, the Pittsburg Library and on the city’s website, and that residents can sign up to receive agenda notifications and city e-news updates.
“The City Council appreciates the members of the public who attended and participated,” the city said in the release. “The community’s engagement, questions and feedback are valued and play an important role in shaping our community’s future.”
No date has yet been announced for the workshop or the item’s return to the council agenda.
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City of pittsburg will build it. Nothing residents can do about it. It will use up all the water and run up your electric bill. Best thing to do is move.
Concord donut,
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The residents of Pittsburg should begin a recall effort to get the attention of their city council to show them that they mean business. The only thing that politicians sometimes fear is angry voters.
Black Knight
And while they are doing that a few need to follow the money trail to the Seeno’s as we know they own Pittsburg and nothing happens in Pittsburg unless there is something in it for them
Well Folks,
.
I’m well aware of the Seeno’s and their control over the Pittsburg City Council. I remember when former Pittsburg Mayor Frank Aiello was fined because he didn’t disclose the free football tickets, hotel rooms, and private plane flights given to him by the Seeno’s, who then paid his fine for him.
Like Concord won’t build one. There is plenty of land at the CNWS that doesn’t have ha housing plan. Don’t be so smug. I suggest you keep a watchful eye on future council activities
Well Folks,
.
I’m not being smug at all. I fully expect data centers to be proposed and built in Concord on the former CNWS and/or in Concord’s Industrial Parks. The Concord City Council never says “NO” to a company wanting to build in Concord, except for Walmart. The only thing the Concord City Council fears is losing an election, so the only power the residents of Concord have is to recall them and campaign against them.
Modern data centers use less water than 5 average homes annually and support grid stability. At this point, the biggest environmental impact is all the hot air from people repeating outdated talking points.
It will get built – the cities go through the motions of getting residents input to make it look good, then do whatever they want … it’s not just Pittsburg
domo,
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You’ve got that right!!! They listen to or allow the public to speak during public comment because they are required to do so, then they ignore everything that’s been said and do what they want to do or vote to please their campaign benefactors and overlords!!!
I don’t know about that as I’ve heard that some communities have been able to shut down such projects. Water and electrical use are a critical factor. I think that there are those who want to get into the “AI Boom” as if they missed the “Dotcom Boom” the last time. And they sound down right loony especially to those of use who have been developing software for decades including small amounts of “AI” in our projects.
Captain Bebops,
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The only thing the Pittsburg City Council may fear are angry voters.
More likely the council considers the voters stupid so they can push through anything they want, especially if it pads their back pocket. Such is politics these days.
Oh good grief, the loons and easily influenced have a new focal point.
What’s next, laying down in front of traffic ? ? ?
What a Bizarre location…….definitely needs to be put where it is zoned for – North Loveridge rd, near the old USS Posco steel mill or near the old PG&E plant off of 10th st. Be ready for your electric bills to go up Again.
Location could not be better, open land, next to a high voltage transmission corridor
from old Pittsburg Power plant.
.
City Council needs to lay out financial facts to it’s citizens. What Steel plant closure
cost the city yearly in lost tax revenue. Pittsburg needs tax revenue replacement after
democrat politicians and the vast horde of unelected, unaccountable paperclip
warrior minions drove US Steel into closing their VERY PROFITABLE steel plant.
A plant that paid it’s Union workers a LIVING WAGE.
.
While working there, I raised a family, was able to buy and pay off two houses
all while my wife stayed at home. By all means protest a partial replacement
of city’s lost tax revenue.
.
Citizens of Pittsburg, can look forward to repeated requests to raise taxes,
and continued reduction of city services due to lack of city funds.
.
History will record Pittsburg’s resultant decline, as result of the efforts of
a highly impressionable, short sighted and vocal, NIMBY stupidity.
OG, You speak of how handy this project is to the megawatt PG&E facility?
It was not built there by accident.
As far as I can tell, the up-build of that PG&E facility AND the PITTSBURG DATA CENTER
were a “DONE DEAL” seven or eight years ago... and just waiting for hungry City officials.
They’re doing the exact same thing in the South Bay. Jamming data centers for Amazon and Microsoft (and others) down the residents’ throats… and Building the PG&E handling and
storage facility in San Jose. ALL the Cities (and PG&E) agreed…long-long before it went
before the public
This is what they do…. months, even years, before it goes to the current City-officials,
and certainly way before they go public with the real reason PG&E is expanding and
making us pay for it…before they disclose that the build-up is NOT for residentual Utilities!
You be the judge and Note: THE DATE ON THE TOP~THE DATE AT THE BOTTOM…and
all government bodies involved in the approval process along the way. BEFORE its purpose
was disclosed to the people…………….
Forward this to any voters you know in Pittsburg.
https://ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/2018022028
What is in the best interests of Pittsburg and it’s citizens after
democrat politicians and their unelected paperclip warriors at
state and county level forced US Steel into closing a more modern
profitable mill down. City and county took a significant tax revenue hit.
.
Perhaps Grand Jury might consider looking into, IF, “concerned citizens”
that showed up at were compensated to show up.
Additionally,
I worked at steel mill for many decades, I’ve seen first hand what was dumped and
buried on that land ! After highway 4 was flooded out for many days, drainage channel
that parallels Antioch – Pittsburg highway on steel mill property was widened and
deepened, NONE – ZERO of the excavated soil left the property. Was all moved by
large off road scrapper-haulers, for many weeks and was dumped on land west
of now defunct pipe mill and Harbor Street. Take a drive on Harbor Street around
8th and 9th and look East at mounds of soil to gauge amount was moved.
.
Best thing for, entire steel mill property is for soil there to be left undisturbed
You just made a good case for the shutting down of the steel mill. From what you witnessed, the steel mill was polluting the environment in a major way. If that is true (and I have absolutely no reason to doubt what you say), then your last sentence makes a very good point: “Best thing for entire steel mill property is for the soil there to be left undisturbed.”
Not at all, keep in mind steel plant had been operating for over 110 years.
Most of those years environmental concerns and laws did not exist.
.
Both county and state paperclip warriors had plant under surveillance and
made site visits. One such unannounced visit, couple carloads showed up at
back security gate demanding entry. Turned out they were looking for a
large spill that had been seen via aerial surveillance.
.
“Their spill”, was next to acid reprocessing plant and turned out to
be days of accumulated rain that pooled and that had not yet evaporated.
Without so much as we’re sorry we were wrong, piled back into their
vehicles and exited plant. Some years later had a candid one on one
with one paperclip warrior, jest of the conversation was,
it’s not IF they’ll find something wrong it’s how LARGE the fine will be.
.
Data center won’t come even close to replacing the loss of steel mill’s
driving force in Contra Costa’s economy. Blame for plant closure rests
squarely on democrat politicians and paperclip warriors who repeatedly
used the plant as their own ATM. Repeatably fining plant thinking US
Steel’ deep pockets were inexhaustible.
.
For any large business they have to be able to make business plans
and to do so there needs to be regulatory certainty and political
stability. Neither of which have existed in California and Contra
Costa in decades. Had that stability existed there would still be
600+ steel workers making living wages and contributing to the
local economy.
.
Pittsburg plant closing has likely added to the cost of canned foods. Plant
supplied tin plate product to a can manufacturer with 5 plants in CA.
Workers at three of those plants ended up being laid off, which still
negatively effects summer canning season and prices.
.
As to soil left undisturbed, look no farther than west side of Harbor Street
across from US Steel mill property for a better example. There you’ll find
mounds of caping soil laying over former site of Johns Manville plant.
Thirty-seven (37) diesel-powered generators! Imagine the noise and air pollution that many generators will create! And for what? The city might get some revenue from the data center, but property values will surely drop since no one will want to live near a noisy, polluting data center, and that will cause a loss in property tax revenue. I don’t see any benefit to Pittsburg from this.
The generators are only for back up power
Is the California State Water Resources Board involved in any of these proposed data centers? From what I’ve read there will be a huge drain on local water supplies for cooling purposes.
There is an open land corridor under old high power lines all the way to the river
and an existing land to add to existing cooling pond from old power plant.
Use river water, cool it and return it to the river.
.
Use mouse to zoom out, shows existing high power transmission corridor with
no houses all the way to the river.
Original G,
.
The problem with returning the water to the river is the chemicals the data centers use in their water based cooling systems.
Heat exchanges efficiently migrate thermal load via metal surfaces
to river water. River water would never see data center cooling water.
Hmmmm…Noise pollution, air pollution, land pollutions, excessive water use, excessive electricity use what else? Oh follow the money to the Seenos. We all know they own Pittsburg and nothing happens in Pittsburg unless it benefits them. Citizens of Pittsburg start digging and follow the money
Absolutely Brilliant ! ! ! !
.
Do believe you have hit nail on the head.
MANY, Many, many, Millions of dollars in profit.
.
Then city is left on the hook to provide city services to each parcel of
land forever. Those costs are at an ever rising one mainly due to rising
costs mainly from city contractors, materials and cost of city employees.
.
Should investigate if protestors gain financially, either directly or indirectly,
from home building activities.
I can’t see who would invest to do this ? If PG&E doesn’t rape you, Sacramento Regulators will extract their “Fair Share” … Never mind about CCC, I’m sure they will have their hand out, a long with their cackle of Regulators … this to will fade, like the California Dream