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Desert Hot Springs council adopts immediate moratorium on data centers after packed hearing
Summary
After hours of public comment and council debate, Desert Hot Springs adopted an urgency ordinance placing a citywide moratorium on new data centers and similar high‑intensity computing uses; the pause is effective immediately and will return to council in 45 days for further direction.
A unanimous City Council vote on June 16 put an immediate, citywide moratorium on new data centers and similar high‑intensity computing uses in Desert Hot Springs.
Council members said they lacked enough local regulatory guidance to evaluate projects that could raise concerns about water consumption, electrical demand, noise and land‑use compatibility. The urgency ordinance takes effect immediately and would be returned to the council within 45 days; the council may extend the pause under state law for longer if it directs staff to do so.
The public hearing on the item drew more than an hour of testimony from residents, health‑care and conservation advocates and local business owners. “We need a permanent ban on data centers in the city of DHS,” resident Joshua Hendendrick told the council, saying he believes automatic license‑plate readers, facial recognition and drone programs have already eroded public trust. “We need appropriate transparency from our leaders,” he said.
Speakers repeatedly raised resource and health concerns. Resident Joshua McCrae cited groundwater dependence and an Environmental and Energy Study Institute estimate that a single medium‑sized data center can consume millions of gallons of water per year; Elizabeth Humpre, a local realtor, pointed to research showing large data centers create relatively few permanent on‑site jobs compared with the strain they place on utilities.
City staff told the council their municipal code contains a data‑center definition but no comprehensive standards for high‑intensity computing uses, and that several developers had inquired about bringing projects forward. The staff report said data centers can require “extensive utility infrastructure, cooling systems, backup power generation, and may create concerns related to land‑use compatibility, public safety, environmental impacts, water consumption, and infrastructure capacity.”
Council members said they supported the pause to buy time for a deliberate review. Mayor Pro Tem (Promvos) described Desert Hot Springs as a “gateway to the Coachella Valley” and said the city’s mineral springs and spa economy merited careful consideration of industrial land‑use changes. Several councilmembers suggested forming an ad hoc or planning‑commission committee to study water, power and noise impacts and to analyze whether a permanent ban or targeted regulations are appropriate.
The motion to adopt the urgency ordinance passed unanimously and the ordinance went into effect immediately. The council directed staff to return with additional analysis and recommended next steps within the 45‑day period.
The moratorium applies only within the city limits; several speakers asked whether it would also cover the city’s sphere of influence, and staff clarified it would not automatically extend beyond municipal boundaries without annexation or separate measures. The council’s action does not prohibit future study or rules; rather, it temporarily halts the acceptance, processing and issuance of permits and entitlements for data centers while the city develops policy and regulatory options.
