Santa Clara wants better water, air standards for data centers

Santa Clara officials are moving forward with plans to update the city’s policies governing data center development, but have stopped short of considering a moratorium on new projects coming through the pipeline. The City Council on Oct. 6 unanimously approved a plan to prioritize new water and air quality standards for data centers and directed staff to conduct a more comprehensive policy review to examine health and safety impacts, siting, community benefits and other issues. City officials previously anticipated completing the broader work of this review by the end of 2027, but said it could bring water and air standards forward sooner. District 3 Councilmember Karen Hardy was frustrated that a potential moratorium on new data center projects, the next item on the agenda, was not heard due to the meeting being adjourned at 1 a.m. But she plans to bring it back to the Oct. 20 meeting with a focus on new standalone data centers. “I m being very strident, but I was frustrated that we c