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Monterey Park council adopts ordinances to prohibit data centers citywide
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved staff-recommended ordinances to enact a citywide prohibition on standalone commercial data centers, introduce companion code changes tied to Measure NDC, and direct staff to incorporate minor clarifying amendments. The measures will take effect concurrently with Measure NDC if voters approve it on June 2, 2026.
The Monterey Park City Council on April 20 adopted a set of ordinances that prohibit standalone commercial data centers citywide and amend the municipal code to implement Measure NDC if voters approve the ballot measure on June 2, 2026. The three-part staff recommendation included an urgency ordinance to take effect immediately, a regular ordinance enacted by the council, and a code-amending ordinance that would become effective concurrently with a voter-approved Measure NDC.
Tim Howe, the city's director of community development, told the council the draft ordinances would "declare data centers a public nuisance" and remove data centers from the Saturn Park zoning allowances while clearly preserving small, accessory server or associated data rooms that support a lawful primary use. Howe said the ordinances were drafted to avoid a perceived 'loophole' in an existing municipal code table and that staff proposed a clarifying amendment to remove the reference to "data processing facility." He also told the council the ordinances are not subject to further review under the California Environmental Quality Act as written in the staff report.
Council members said they supported the updated recommendation after hearing extensive public comment. Council member Wong asked staff to confirm that the proposed changes would render the table reference moot; Howe confirmed staff's amendment would do so. After discussion, Council member Goh moved to adopt the recommendation with the night's technical amendments; Council member Sanchez seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
The Council also recorded on the agenda that staff was asked to research battery energy storage systems and return with findings about what the city could lawfully regulate. The ordinances are retroactive to June 2023 as drafted and would become effective immediately (in the case of the urgency ordinance) and concurrently with Measure NDC if voters approve that measure on June 2, 2026.
The council adopted the ordinances by a unanimous vote of present members.
