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Monterey Park Bans Data Centers
Coverage from USA Today, KQED, and others
Monterey Park voters approved Measure NDC to prohibit data centers within city limits after sustained opposition to a proposed HMC StratCap facility.
Residents and officials cited potential effects on electricity demand, water resources, air quality, noise, public health, and utility rates, while the developer withdrew its application before the vote. The decision illustrates how local governments are responding to data center proposals either by restricting them outright or, as El Dorado is considering, by creating project-specific review and permitting rules.
The story now includes a second local government response: El Dorado is moving toward a project-specific permitting framework, broadening the narrative from an outright ban in Monterey Park to divergent regulatory approaches to data centers.
The story shifts from a local vote against a proposed data center to a stronger land-use precedent: Monterey Park is now being framed as the first U.S. city to impose a citywide data center ban. The current version also adds that the developer withdrew before the vote, reducing the conflict’s immediacy while reinforcing the ban’s practical effect.