Outrage in the US: Amazon Built Massive Data Center Without Public Knowledge
While data center construction often sparks public debate in US cities, the town of Gilroy, California, faced a unique controversy. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon began construction on a $2 billion project without informing local residents.
For many cities in the United States, the announcement of a new data center typically triggers loud and stormy confrontations at city council meetings. However, in the town of Gilroy, California—known worldwide as the "Garlic Capital"—a highly unusual and infuriating twist occurred: Amazon's massive two-billion-dollar project was already under construction long before residents even heard about it, as reported today by The Wall Street Journal.
The controversy exploded when local residents, such as teacher Colleen Crew, arrived at a city council meeting and discovered to their surprise that construction on a 56-dunam agricultural plot south of San Jose was already well underway. It turned out that no public discussions or votes had taken place before a single city official signed off and gave Amazon the green light to start the project last July.
The approval was granted through a bureaucratic loophole: the project met outdated conditions set 45 years ago for industrial zones along the highway. Mayor Greg Bozzo argued in his defense that other large industrial projects had been approved in the exact same way in the past without sparking public outrage. According to him, residents did not complain when a food distribution center was built without consulting them, but now they are angry that a data center was built behind their backs.
Emails leaked to the media reveal how Amazon and the city conducted quiet negotiations for five full years. While the company pushed to expedite the processes, both sides exercised extreme caution regarding the information they shared with the public. When residents raised concerns regarding the risk of battery fires or the severe water shortage in the state—especially given that the data center is expected to consume huge amounts of fresh water until a dedicated pipeline for recycled water is built—city and company officials made sure to limit the disclosure of technical details and missed the deadlines for residents to file objections.
The local protest movement, led by a 21-year-old student named Landon Sepulveda, emphasizes that residents are tired of surprises and are not impressed by the financial donations or sponsorships the company distributed to the local Garlic Festival. From their perspective, they demand full transparency and accountability from their elected officials.
Following the wave of stormy public protest, the city council is now considering changing the procedure and requiring approval from the planning commission for any similar project in the future, while mandating community meetings and prior notice to residents living in the vicinity—indicating that Gilroy is attempting to re-adapt itself to the public demand for transparency.
