Riverside will keep data centers off-limits while a city working group studies their potential impacts and develops recommendations on whether — and under what conditions — they should be allowed.
The City Council voted 5-2 on Nov. 10 to affirm the city's interpretation that data centers are prohibited under existing zoning rules. Councilmembers Chuck Conder and Sean Mill opposed the resolution.
The decision leaves the city unable to issue permits for data centers while the council's artificial intelligence working group completes its review. The approved motion ties that prohibition to the group finishing its work and the council adopting its recommendations.
Councilmembers chose this approach over a proposed 45-day moratorium, which would have required subsequent votes to extend. The resolution affirms an existing restriction rather than adopting a new zoning ordinance permanently banning the facilities.
Conder called the proposed restrictions “premature and a little bit overreactive,” arguing that facilities vary in size and that cooling technology and development conditions could address concerns.
Mill emphasized electrical capacity while urging the city to include organized labor in discussions about future standards, local hiring and apprenticeship opportunities.
Data centers house computer servers and related equipment used to store and process information. City officials are weighing concerns about their electricity and water demands, noise and use of limited land against potential economic benefits.
City Planner Laurel Reimer said Riverside has received inquiries from people interested in locating data centers in the city, but no formal applications.
Under Riverside's zoning code, uses that are not listed are prohibited unless the Community & Economic Development director determines they are similar to, and no more detrimental than, an allowed use. The director has made no such determination for data centers.
“Data centers are considered a prohibited use,” Reimer told the council as members clarified the motion before voting. “So we would not be issuing permits for them.”
Councilmember Steven Robillard, who made the motion, said the city needs to distinguish among different types of facilities before deciding what might fit Riverside. He pointed to an existing Spectrum facility in Ward 3 and suggested a smaller center serving local research or businesses could warrant consideration.
“Not all data centers are these behemoths that are sucking up all of our power and water,” Robillard said.
Councilmember Philip Falcone, who initially brought a proposed ban to the Land Use Committee in September, said pausing development would give the city time to establish safeguards.
“You need to pause the moving forward of development so you can figure out and do that deep dive and do that research and set those regulations and set those parameters,” Falcone said.
The staff report identified potential effects on electrical reliability, long-term water supplies, air quality and nearby neighborhoods. It also questioned whether large facilities would provide enough permanent employment to justify their land and infrastructure demands.
Riverside currently has one connection to the statewide electrical grid. Riverside Public Utilities representative David Garcia said the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project, which would provide a second connection, is expected to be completed in late 2029 or early 2030.
Whether the city could serve a data center would depend on its size and location, Garcia said. Some areas with older infrastructure would be less suitable, though developers could potentially pay for upgrades.
The hearing also drew opposition from building trades representatives who said restrictions could cost local workers construction jobs.
“When people hear data centers, they usually think of servers, microchips and giant tech corporations,” said Johnny Escobedo, representing the Ironworkers Union. “But as iron workers, when I see a data center project, I see something very different. I see hundreds of thousands of man hours of good union labor."
Escobedo continued, "I see structural steel, reinforced concrete, rebar, and real heavy industrial construction right here in Riverside. A blanket moratorium does not put a hold on tech building. It puts a hold on local paychecks. Right now, working families in Riverside and across the Inland Empire are dealing with rising costs of living. Our members do not want handouts. We want work. High tech infrastructure projects like data centers provide the exact kind of high wage commercial construction jobs that allow our men and women to buy homes here, raise their families here, and put money back into their local businesses."
Other speakers urged caution. Ward 4 resident Stephanie Casper raised concerns about electricity costs, heat, noise and outages. Mike McCarthy, representing the Sierra Club Box Springs Group, supported a moratorium to give the city time to define data centers and determine what protections would be needed.
The three-member AI working group, established in September with a 13-month assignment, will study data center infrastructure and land use alongside broader AI issues.
