Labor-backed citizens group appeals North San Jose data center proposal

SAN JOSE — A labor-backed group submitted an appeal for a proposed data center in North San Jose, claiming city planners failed to properly take California environmental rules into account when approving the project earlier this month.

Through an administrative hearing, the San Jose Planning Department on July 8 approved a data center project inside an existing building at 300 Holger Way.

Citizens for Responsible Industry, a coalition that includes labor organizations, filed an appeal of that decision.

“The staff report fails to accurately describe the project,” Kelilah Federman, an attorney with law firm Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo, wrote in a 54-page appeal, excluding exhibits, of the planning department decision.

The San Jose City Council will now have the final say on the proposal.

Citizens for Responsible Industry claimed city planners failed to properly address the project’s environmental impacts as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA.

Backers of the proposal maintain an exhaustive CEQA review isn’t necessary at this time, partly because the building’s exterior wouldn’t be altered.

“Their arguments make no sense, since no new construction and no change in existing operations are proposed,” said Erik Schoennauer, a San Jose-based land-use consultant who is advising the owner of the property.

The footprint of the 97,800-square-foot research and development building is not expected to be altered. An estimated 85% of the building would be dedicated to “computer equipment space,” project plans state.

The coalition said a data center would need 20 megawatts of power, which the group believes would require significant alterations to the building.

“Additional exterior equipment and electrical upgrades will necessarily be required, including a transformer, electrical panel, emergency generator, and back-up battery installations,” Citizens for Responsible Industry stated in the letter. “The city must analyze all necessary and reasonably foreseeable project components in accordance with CEQA. The planning director must find that the project would not result in any significant effects relating to air quality, noise, water quality, sensitive species or habitat, and must show consistency with the general plan.”

The San Jose City Council is expected to hold a hearing on the appeal in October.

“This is an existing, fully occupied building that is completely operational today,” Schoennauer said. “If sometime in the future, generators, cooling equipment, or transformers are proposed, then the city would conduct any required CEQA environmental review.”

The appeal and proposal both come as concerns regarding data centers loom in communities such as Oakley, Pittsburg, Brentwood and Gilroy, and elsewhere around the country.