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Home My WebLink About06 15 2026 - Item 9.4 - lalita Meena6/13/26, 3:13 PM Re: Item 9.4, June 15, 2026 — Request for Introduction and Adoption of an Interim Urgency Ordinance Imposing a Temporary Moratorium on New Data Center Land Use Applications, Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(No Subject) To greg.bozzo@cityofgilroy.org, dion.bracco@cityofgilroy.org, tom.cline@cityofgilroy.org, terence.fugazzi@cityofgilroy.org, zachary.hilton@cityofgilroy.org, carol.marques@cityofgilroy.org, kelly.ramirez@cityofgilroy.org CC cityclerk@cityofgilroy.org, sharon.goei@cityofgilroy.org Date Saturday, June 13th, 2026 at 3:13 PM June 13, 2026 Mayor Greg Bozzo and Members of the Gilroy City Council Dion Bracco | Tom Cline | Terence Fugazzi | Zach Hilton | Carol Marques | Kelly Ramirez 7351 Rosanna Street, Gilroy, CA 95020 Re: Item 9.4, June 15, 2026 — Request for Introduction and Adoption of an Interim Urgency Ordinance Imposing a Temporary Moratorium on New Data Center Land Use Applications, Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 Dear Mayor Bozzo and Members of the City Council: I along with Americans for Transparency respectfully requests that, in connection with Item 9.4 on Monday's agenda, the Council introduce and adopt an interim urgency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on the acceptance, processing, and approval of new Data Center land use applications, citywide, pursuant to Government Code Section 65858. A draft ordinance is attached for the City Attorney's consideration. This Council Already Has the Mechanism in Front of It Tonight Item 9.3 on Monday's own agenda — “Introduction and Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance Amending Chapter 8B of the Gilroy City Code Relating to Voluntary Campaign Expenditure Ceilings” — calls for the Council to introduce an ordinance by title only, waive further reading, and adopt it the same night, with urgency findings supporting immediate effect. This memo asks the Council to use that same, well-established mechanism — immediately following 9.3 on the same agenda — for a different urgency purpose: a temporary pause on new data center applications while the Council's own zoning study proceeds. Why Now The staff report for Item 9.4 confirms what Americans for Transparency has documented since the Amazon Web Services data center (Permit AS 20-23) was approved on July 3, 2025: “The Zoning Code does not define or classify ‘data centers’ as a separate land use,” and data center projects are reviewed “under the same Architectural and Site Review process as general industrial developments” — a process that, under GMC Sections 30.23.10 and 30.50.41, permits administrative approval without any public notice or hearing. Whatever direction the Council gives staff on Item 9.4 — whether the staff recommendation,broader citywide approach along the lines of the June 5, 2026 Formal Citywide Zoning Proposal submitted by Americans for Transparency (Monterey Park Ordinance No. 2278 model attached to that submission), or some combination — staff's own report anticipates that drafting, noticing, and adopting a Zoning Code amendment will take months. During that period, GMC Sections 30.23.10 and 30.50.41, as currently written, would permit a new data center application of any size to be filed and administratively approved through the exact same process that produced AS 20-23 — potentially mooting whatever the Council directs tonight before it can be implemented. The Statutory Requirement Is Already Satisfied Government Code Section 65858 authorizes an interim urgency ordinance to protect a “contemplated… zoning proposal that the City Council… is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time.” Item 9.4 itself — and the Council's own March 16, 2026 direction to staff following the Ramirez/Marques FAIR Memo, together with the June 5, 2026 Formal Citywide Zoning Proposal already in the Council's possession — independently satisfy this requirement. No additional findings beyond what is already in the record tonight are needed to support adoption. Scope of the Request The attached draft is intentionally narrow: • Citywide, prospective only. It applies to new applications filed on or after the effective date, in any zone — closing the gap that a moratorium limited to the M2 district alone would leave open. • No effect on the existing Amazon facility. Permit AS 20-23 is expressly carved out as a lawfully permitted use. Any future Phase 2 application not yet submitted as of the effective date would be treated as a new application, consistent with the prospective-only approach. • 45 days, extendable per statute. The ordinance does not pre-determine the outcome of the Council's zoning study — it simply ensures that study is not rendered moot by an application filed in the interim. • Four-fifths vote. As required by Government Code Section 65858, the draft includes the necessary urgency findings to support adoption by the constitutionally required supermajority. Attachment A draft interim urgency ordinance, modeled on the City of Oakley's Ordinance No. 6-26 (adopted April 14, 2026, for the identical purpose), adapted to reflect Gilroy's Municipal Code, the AS 20-23 record, and the record already before this Council. This draft is offered as a starting point for the City Attorney and is not intended as final language. Respectfully submitted, Name: Lalita Meena Signature: Attachment: Draft Interim Urgency Ordinance (Government Code § 65858) All facts stated herein are sourced to primary public documents. First Amendment press protections apply.