Viewed from the exterior, these structures typically appear as large, plain warehouse-style buildings, entirely devoid of windows. The implications for a municipality, however, can reach well beyond the matter of physical placement.
What sources will supply the necessary power? What volume of water will be required for cooling purposes? The question of who bears the cost of power grid improvements remains open. What number of long-term positions will be retained once construction concludes? Questions also arise about the effects on surrounding areas and plans for future development.
In the Central Valley, these questions are gaining new urgency as the appetite for data centre infrastructure — powering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and related digital services — continues to expand. In July, Patterson enacted a 45-day pause on data center construction after a developer sought to build a facility in the area, allowing local authorities time to assess potential impacts before any projects received the go-ahead. In September, Riverbank also chose to halt data center construction following interest in a proposed project at the site of a former Army ammunition plant.
State authorities in California are also reviewing the matter. A March report from the Little Hoover Commission examined the rising electricity needs of data centers, addressing questions around infrastructure cost allocation, utility planning for increased power loads, and safeguarding communities from environmental impacts. The topic has also made its way into local elections in Modesto and Turlock, where mayoral and City Council hopefuls have been questioned about their positions on data center development and whether a ban or moratorium should be pursued.
According to Megan Thomas, who leads the computer science department at Stanislaus State, data centers store and operate large volumes of computing hardware. Everyday digital tools such as email platforms, e-commerce sites, and social media networks have long relied on data centre infrastructure to function. The swift expansion of AI technology has driven growing demand for substantially greater computational infrastructure.
According to Thomas, developing advanced AI systems demands vast computational resources over prolonged timeframes. The greater the volume of computing hardware housed within a facility, the higher its power consumption and thermal output — "a lot of electricity," as Thomas described the fundamental demands. Cooling therefore emerges as an additional requirement. Water usage in cooling infrastructure can differ widely based on the type of equipment deployed, the scale of operations, and the specific technologies involved.
Thomas recommended that any municipality weighing the proposal first examine the source of the electricity supply and determine whether infrastructure upgrades to the power grid would be needed. A separate question arises over who bears the cost of those improvements. According to Thomas, the power grid requirements for a data center can far exceed those of other businesses occupying an equivalent plot of land. Regulators would need to establish whether those expenses fall on the company or are passed on to existing ratepayers.
In its March report, California's Little Hoover Commission voiced a comparable concern, putting forward policy recommendations aimed at ensuring data centre infrastructure expenses are not passed on to other utility customers.
While data centers generate substantial construction employment during the building phase, Thomas argued that residents ought to differentiate between those short-term positions and the permanent workforce a facility retains once operational. Once active, a data center generally employs a relatively modest workforce to handle equipment upkeep, facility security, and related operations, despite often occupying a large physical footprint. Thomas raised questions about how much water, power, and employment the facility would require, including the duration and compensation levels involved.
Thomas urged local authorities to evaluate what any given project would actually deliver to the community, rather than assuming that a technology firm's investment would automatically generate meaningful economic gains for area residents, adding that funding directed toward a startup does not necessarily flow through to the people of Turlock.
Alison McNally, a geography and environmental resources instructor at Stanislaus State, identifies water supply as the foremost concern for the San Joaquin Valley, noting that the region already faces competing pressures from farming, residential, commercial, and environmental demands, while groundwater users navigate compliance with California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The effects of any given data centre, McNally noted, would vary considerably based on its scale, placement, and the source of its water supply. Whether it would extract water from underground sources remained a question under consideration. Whether the entity would opt to acquire surface water remained an open question.
McNally also raised questions about what energy demands a facility's cooling infrastructure would require, who the organisation was partnering with to guarantee the long-term sustainability of its resources, and the possibility of treating and recycling water. Those concerns carry added weight, she noted, given that farming operations and local communities have already devoted years to organising their activities around groundwater sustainability obligations.
McNally noted that any such proposal warrants evaluation beyond the boundaries of its current land use. Planners were urged by McNally to consider projected land use patterns around the location over the coming decades, with the question of what development was anticipated for a particular area raised as part of that assessment. Land that sits vacant now may one day find itself bordered by residential neighbourhoods, educational facilities, or other built infrastructure.
McNally also called for scrutiny of the transportation networks, utility infrastructure, water supply systems, and other development needs a facility would demand, along with its potential effects on natural habitat and adjacent land. Noise from cooling systems and other mechanical equipment, as well as the positioning of data facilities relative to nearby housing, warrant attention from local planners, she added.
McNally also cautioned against framing the matter purely as a conflict between local residents and tech firms. Residents routinely rely on the same digital platforms and social media networks that depend on data centers, a point McNally acknowledged by noting that people often voice opposition to nearby facilities through the very apps those centers support.
According to Charles Kaye-Essien, an associate professor of public policy at McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific, municipalities weighing data center development face three interconnected considerations: community welfare, environmental impact, and financial outcomes. Balancing the needs of local residents, neighbouring properties, resource allocation, and potential economic returns are all factors that he noted must be weighed together.
Kaye-Essien added that municipal authorities have been advised to avoid reaching such determinations without broader consultation. Any initiative relying on electricity, water, or other utilities managed by external bodies would benefit from bringing those entities into the planning conversation, he said.
Imposing a moratorium leaves open whether municipal authorities view data centers as appropriate or inappropriate for the area. The measure pauses the intake of new applications and approvals while authorities collect data and assess whether current rules are sufficient, with Kaye-Essien describing it as a preliminary step rather than a standalone resolution.
Within that window, a municipality would have the opportunity to review its land-use regulations, identify appropriate locations for data centres, assess available infrastructure capacity, gather input from residents and utility providers, and evaluate whether developers ought to be held to specific conditions addressing water recycling, construction costs, noise levels, or other community impacts. Kaye-Essien noted that municipalities retain the authority to permit data centers under existing frameworks, revise zoning ordinances, attach further conditions, or ban them outright, while also questioning what purpose a moratorium would serve for any candidate pursuing one, and what outcome it would ultimately produce.
