San Jose Mayor Mahan defends data center expansion as community expresses concerns

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Hundreds of residents, faith leaders, and youth activists gathered at San Jose City Hall on Thursday night for a community meeting regarding the influx of data centers in Silicon Valley, with many calling for a moratorium on new development.

Community pushes back 

What they're saying:

While city leadership frames data centers as an essential foundation for the region's digital economy, community members pushed back, arguing that the approval process is moving too fast and failing to adequately address public concerns.

"The community hasn’t been given proof yet that there is enough infrastructure and standards so that the data centers can really be a net benefit," said Sruthi Manoj of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action. 

Manoj expressed concerns regarding noise disruption, environmental degradation, and grid capacity, noting that neighboring Santa Clara has maxed out its grid capacity. 

"Before we get to that stage where we just have too many data centers, we need to make sure in San Jose we have the infrastructure and standards necessary," he said.

Community members also voiced frustration over city outreach, particularly regarding non-English-speaking communities. 

Residents pointed out that the city's population includes a significant percentage of immigrants, yet outreach in languages such as Spanish and Vietnamese has been lacking.

Environmental concerns

Dig deeper:

"First of all, we need to know what’s going on in our own language, because we are 42% immigrants here, and it should not only be in Spanish, it should be in all the languages," said San Jose resident Misrayan Mendoza, raising questions about whether the expansion would increase utility bills or cause local environmental warming. "You’re not talking about one or two data centers, you’re talking about 30+ data centers."

Matthew McHale, a minister with the South Bay Interfaith Climate Justice Network, echoed concerns about public awareness and environmental harm. 

"Being a faith leader is about caring for all of creation, that’s the people, that’s the planet. I think data centers harms both," McHale said, adding that many residents remain unaware of the city's plans.

Mayor Mahan weighs in

The other side:

Despite the pushback, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan stated that halting data center development is unrealistic given the demands of an increasingly digitized economy, though he emphasized that companies will not be given a pass.

"It isn’t realistic for us to live in a world where no new data centers are built," Mahan said. "The entire backbone of the internet and phones and our apps, our increasingly digitized economy, rely on this digital infrastructure, but that doesn’t mean we should give anyone a pass."

Mahan noted that the city aims to lead regulatory conversations by establishing high labor, clean energy, and water recycling standards. 

"The standards staff is presenting today, which are still in draft form, are literally category-defining in each of the areas people are concerned about," he said.

An anti-data center demonstration took place outside City Hall immediately following the meeting. 

While residents continue to call for a pause on approvals, city leadership signaled that data center development will remain a fixture of San Jose's future.