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Council asks staff to study adding public hearings, improved outreach for some site/architectural reviews after data-center concerns
Summary
Following resident complaints about a data center approval process, Gilroy council directed staff to return with options to add public hearings or enhanced communications for portions of the architectural and site review permit process; motion passed 5–2 and drew public comment from petition organizers.
After public concerns about a recently approved data center project, the Gilroy City Council voted to direct staff to prepare options for adding public hearings or expanding notice and outreach within the architectural and site review permit process.
Councilmembers Marks and Ramirez said the directive stems from residents’ concerns that certain projects with environmental or resource impacts may need clearer advance notice. Councilmember Marks said staff followed procedures in the disputed data-center case but that the city should improve communications for projects that might affect neighbors. "We learned some lessons and it appears that we need to be more communicative, especially with projects that may cause concerns to residents," Marks said.
A public commenter identified himself as the lead organizer of the “Stop the Gilroy Data Center” campaign and said a petition against the project has more than 5,000 signatures; he argued that a public hearing would have given residents the opportunity to register opposition. Another public commenter disputed the scale of impacts and said industrial users historically consumed substantial water and power without issue.
The council motion directs staff to return with options for when an architectural and site permit should include a public hearing, how to communicate projects earlier (for example, through a project pipeline page and newsletter links) and a brief primer for the public explaining the limits of permit denial based on adopted standards. The motion passed 5–2; one councilmember voted no and voiced concern about expanding public hearings generally because of workload and legal limits on permit denial.
Councilmembers emphasized the element of transparency: staff were asked to explain both what is and what is not within the council’s authority to deny based on findings, and to outline communication tools that increase public awareness of projects in the pipeline.
