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Residents push Gilroy council for third‑party review and ordinance updates amid Amazon data center build
Summary
Community organizers and students asked the council to hire a third‑party expert to assess water use, safety and community impacts of the Amazon Web Services data center under construction and urged updates to local ordinances to ensure accountability.
Community members told the Gilroy City Council on Jan. 26 they remain concerned about the economic, environmental and community impacts of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center under construction in Gilroy and urged independent review and updated regulation.
Bridal Smith of Stop Gilroy Data Center Now said the group has collected 1,670 petition signatures and asked the council to hire a third‑party expert to liaise among the applicant, the community and city staff, and to draft comprehensive regulations for this and similar projects. Smith thanked staff for compiling a “Fillory Data Center Fact Sheet” but said city ordinances are outdated and need clearer standards for accountability.
Landon Sapulveda, a Gavilan Community College student and lifelong resident, questioned whether the project’s stated 50 local jobs would actually benefit local residents or be filled by external contractors, and asked for clearer estimates of property‑tax revenue and who will receive it.
Other speakers raised technical concerns, including low‑frequency noise that can travel into residential neighborhoods and potential impacts on nearby children with sensory sensitivities.
No council action on regulatory changes occurred that night; speakers asked the council to pursue independent technical review and ordinance updates as the project proceeds through local approvals.
