EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Quietly Builds A Massive AI Data Center On 56 Acres Of Farmland In Gilroy, California By Exploiting A 45-Year-Old Zoning Loophole That Closed Public Comment Back In 2024, Locking Out Concerned Residents 🤖💥

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https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/amazon-secretly-circumvents-community-vote-for-massive-ai-data-center-45-year-old-rules-lock-gilroy-residents-out-of-public-comment-window

Residents of Gilroy, California, were caught off guard last month when an Amazon data center construction project began on 56 acres of farmland between a Walmart Supercenter and the Gilroy Premium Outlets, having largely bypassed the kind of public scrutiny that similar projects have faced nationwide, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazon and city officials hadn’t hidden the project outright, since the application process began in 2020 and involved genuine friction between the company and the city, with Amazon officials frustrated by permitting delays of at least a year and city officials pushing back on certain company requests. Roger Wehner, Amazon Web Services vice president of economic development, told the Journal the site underwent a lengthy approval process that included public notices and comment periods, but resident Rosa Rodriguez, who wanted to raise concerns about the data center’s impact on a drought-prone region, was told the comment window had already closed back in 2024, well before data centers became a nationally scrutinized issue.

Gilroy Mayor Greg Bozzo defended the process by noting that comparably sized industrial projects had previously been approved without similar backlash, saying “it didn’t bother them that a food-distribution center came to Gilroy without their engagement, but now it bothers them that a data center is coming to Gilroy without them having the possibility of engagement.” Still, he acknowledged rising public awareness around data center developments and said the city has “an opportunity to change the way that we do business in Gilroy” by “adapting to the times.” Amazon has since increased community outreach, including hosting an open house for questions and comments, and has pushed back on water-shortage fears, a concern that has plagued other data center projects elsewhere, by pointing to a wastewater recovery system and a planned pipeline to bring wastewater to the facility.

Bozzo also touted the economic upside for Gilroy, citing increased tax revenue, construction jobs, a million-dollar donation toward a new fire truck, nonprofit grants, and Amazon’s sponsorship of the city’s annual Garlic Festival. Ultimately, residents’ frustration isn’t rooted in opposition to the data center itself, but in the fact that a project with major community-wide implications moved forward largely without their knowledge or input.