Monterey Park voters ban data centers forever

In a special election on June 2, residents of Monterey Park, California overwhelmingly approved Measure NDC, amending the city’s land use plan to permanently prohibit data centers. The vote marks the first time a U.S. city has blocked data centers in perpetuit

By the time Monterey Park’s special municipal election closed on June 2, residents had already been through the fight—at least once—against a proposed data center.

When results came in. the message was unmistakable: voters approved Measure NDC. a citywide ban that permanently prohibits data centers in the community. The vote is significant not only for what Monterey Park rejected, but for how far it went. Other U.S. cities have moved to limit or pause new data center construction. but Monterey Park is the first to vote to block data centers in perpetuity.

Monterey Park is a city of around 60,000 people in Los Angeles County. Measure NDC amends the city’s land use plan to “prohibit data centers citywide to protect air quality, drinking water resources and public health; [and] prevent impacts to electricity and water rates.”

The measure’s advocates framed the ban as a once-and-done decision. In a fact sheet urging residents to vote yes on the ballot measure. Monterey Park Mayor Elizabeth Yang and members of the City Council pointed to environmental concerns. a lack of job creation. and the potential drain on local resources. The argument in favor was blunt: “Once we allow data centers. it is very hard to remove them.” The yes campaign said. “A YES vote protects our city.”.

The ban defines a data center as a building or space “used to house a large group of networked computer systems for data storage and processing for off site and on site users, including remote storage, processing, or distribution of large amounts of data.”

The measure landed on the ballot after the city’s political process played out in stages. The proposition was added in March, after Monterey Park’s City Council unanimously decided to let voters weigh in on the issue.

This wasn’t a purely theoretical debate for residents. Earlier this year, an Australian developer, HMC StratCap, had planned to build a 250,000-square-foot data center in the city. The project had been in the works for years. but it unraveled after residents rallied against it and pressured city officials who had previously supported it to change course.

A report from the Los Angeles Times said HMC StratCap “became the city’s largest landowner after years of negotiations. clearances and hearings.” At one point. the company threatened to pursue legal action to push the construction forward. But after the backlash intensified and Measure NDC advanced. the company backed off and said it wouldn’t fight Measure NDC.

The broader political climate around data centers is also shifting. Data centers—once treated as routine infrastructure—have moved to the center of public debate as opposition to artificial intelligence grows. A Gallup poll last month found that 7 out of 10 Americans oppose plans to build data centers in their area.

Monterey Park’s decision follows a growing chain of local actions. Earlier this year. the Milwaukee suburb of Port Washington passed its own ballot measure to slow data center construction. requiring future projects to seek approval from voters before handing out tax breaks to developers. In April. Maine passed the first statewide moratorium on data center construction. blocking any of the resource-hungry tech power centers until late next year while the state evaluates their potential impacts.

Monterey Park Measure NDC data center ban AI infrastructure land use plan Elizabeth Yang electricity rates water rates air quality drinking water resources public health HMC StratCap Los Angeles County Port Washington Maine moratorium municipal election