Dyer backs 10-year Fresno ban on AI data centers; council takes up plan

Key Takeaways

1. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer backed a 10-year citywide ban on data centers on Sept. 2.
2. Councilmember Nick Richardson’s resolution directs staff to write the prohibition into Fresno’s Development Code.
3. The council took up the item Thursday; any ban would still face commission reviews.

What the proposal would do

Ten years. That is the length of the prohibition Fresno would put on new data centers under a resolution from Councilmember Nick Richardson, taken up by the City Council on Thursday. Mayor Jerry Dyer announced a day earlier that he is co-sponsoring the push. He said data centers, including facilities tied to artificial intelligence, don’t fit Fresno right now.

Richardson’s resolution directs staff to draft a Development Code amendment that defines data centers and bans them citywide. It would also end any discretion the planning director currently has to sign off on one. The intent is simple, he told colleagues, to make the city’s position clear while larger land use fights play out.

The nuts-and-bolts matter to readers for a basic reason by sentence three. If approved, the city would stop processing proposals for large server farms that draw heavy power and, in some designs, cooling water. That changes what can be built on industrial ground that many residents watch closely.

Outside City Hall at 6 p.m., it was 86 degrees.

Why now

City Hall has spent months arguing over the Southeast Development Area, or SEDA, a growth plan for the city’s south and southeast side. Supporters pitch SEDA as a jobs engine. Critics say it opens the door to land uses they do not want near homes and schools. During those debates, rumors and flyers about AI data centers spread through council chambers and neighborhood meetings.

Dyer moved to end the speculation. On Wednesday, he said data centers "are not an appropriate land use for the City of Fresno under current technologies." He added that he wants SEDA land reserved for housing and advanced manufacturing, not for power-hungry server halls. For now, no applications on file.

Some at City Hall have also noted a gray area. Fresno’s code doesn’t cleanly define data centers today, which leaves room for argument over how to classify a project if one did surface. Richardson’s plan would close that gap.

What happens next

Thursday’s council discussion was the first step. If a majority votes to initiate the change, the draft ban goes to the Airport Land Use Commission and then the Planning Commission, before coming back to the council for a final decision. That process gives time for formal public comment and for staff to spell out any carve-outs or definitions that matter to local businesses.

Expect pushback if this advances. Tech firms and some unions argue data centers bring steady construction work and tax revenue, while residents and clean-power advocates warn about grid strain and, in some cases, water use. The city will have to pick a lane in code, not on social media.

"We have to be clear with people about what we will and won’t allow," Dyer said. "These facilities are not a fit for Fresno right now."

Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Newsdesk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.

Source

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/mayor-richardson-proposes-ai-center-moratorium/