With data center discussions dominating talk in the city of Fresno, Mayor Jerry Dyer’s office put out a news release saying he opposes their development in the city.

This comes after Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson proposed a similar ban.

Dyer told GV Wire this coincides with several months of work to put a data center definition into the city code so that they can be banned within city limits. He said the water and power demands don’t meet the needs of the city.

“I’ve been working with our planning development director for the last several months in putting in our citywide development code a definition for what a data center is and then also creating a preclusion that would prevent data centers in the city of Fresno,” Dyer said.

Dyer Planned to Release Development Code Changes in 2027

Jennifer Clark, Fresno’s planning and development director, told the public during an August Planning Commission meeting that having no definition for a data center in the development code means no data center could be brought to the city.

Dyer said he originally planned to put the changes before the city council after an environmental impact report for SEDA was approved. He planned to do so at the beginning of the year, he told GV Wire. Misinformation circulating on social media sped up that timeline, he said.

“The first thing was to get South SEDA approved, the environmental impact report, and then come back with a development code that can say what can be built within the South SEDA area as well as the city of Fresno,” Dyer said. “It’s an opportunity to update our development code citywide.”

By being written into the development code, Dyer’s ban would go beyond the 10-year moratorium being proposed by Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson. Richardson said he proposed his ban to quell vocal objections to data centers, especially around the controversial Southeast Development Area.

Dyer said Richardson is refining his proposal. Dyer is now co-sponsoring the item.

For policy wonks, the definition currently being circulated — still being refined — is this:

• A clear definition of AI/cloud data centers, which shall include but not be limited to a specialized facility or campus, whose primary purpose is dedicated to the centralized housing, operation, and management of large scale computer servers, data storage systems, and network infrastructure. This definition explicitly encompasses facilities utilized for artificial intelligence, model training, high-performance computing, data mining, cryptocurrency, validation, and hyperscale cloud storage services. These developments are characterized by high power densities (exceeding 2 megawatts of demand) substantial industrial cooling apparatuses (for example, chillers, cooling towers, fluid loops), substantial on-site backup generation, infrastructure, and reliance on high-voltage transmission level utility lines. Building footprints typically exceed 20,000 square feet.

Dyer Says Data Centers Don’t Create Jobs

Data center technology is rapidly advancing. New technology allows for far less water demand at data centers, and some data centers are localizing their own power generation sources.

Changing the development code would require a public process involving the city council.

Dyer said that won’t overcome the fact that data centers don’t create jobs. While the largest data centers can bring in significant property tax revenue and community benefit funds, they may employ only a dozen or so people, Dyer said.

“There could be a time in Fresno where maybe in 10 years or 12 years, 15 years, I don’t know, maybe all of the concerns are addressed, but the one area that won’t be addressed, in my opinion, is data centers are not intended to create jobs,” Dyer said.