Press Release on Data Centers

SILICON VALLEY FACES AI INFRASTRUCTURE CRISIS: SANTA CLARA EMERGENCY DATA CENTER MORATORIUM AND ANTI-SECRECY BAN OFFICIALLY HEADED TO OCTOBER MEETING 

SANTA CLARA, CA — September 18, 2026 — In a historic development marking a national turning  point for the artificial intelligence boom, the Santa Clara City Attorney and City Manager’s offices  have officially confirmed that two pioneering ordinances authored by City Council member and  mayoral candidate Karen Hardy are scheduled for their first formal reading on the October 6, 2026 City Council agenda. 

Hardy is the first city council member in all of Silicon Valley to introduce a combined emergency data  center moratorium and a comprehensive "ban on secret deals" (anti-NDA) ordinance. The upcoming  October 6 hearing advances a high-stakes, legislative challenge directly to the doorstep of the  commercial tech sector. 

The emergency measure creates a temporary suspension of new data center construction and utility  permits. It blocks approvals until independent, binding protections are established to shield local  residents from severe environmental pollution, grid failure, dropping property values, and catastrophic  future decommissioning costs. 

The Birthplace of Tech Runs Dry 

Silicon Valley is the geographic birthplace of the data center industry, but the intense computing  demands of modern AI have brought local infrastructure to a breaking point. The ordinance directly  addresses mounting concerns over the reliability of Silicon Valley Power (SVP), rising household  electricity expenses, residential air and noise pollution, and immense resource strain. The crisis extends heavily into regional utility management. Hardy, who serves as the elected Vice  Chair of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA)—which oversees water  reliability for 2.4 million people and 24 cities across three counties—emphasized that the data center  infrastructure boom can no longer bypass public oversight or ecological limits. "The national narrative around AI has ignored the severe strain placed on the local communities  hosting its physical infrastructure," said Hardy, a professional chemical engineer. "We are seeing a  national data center movement come home to roost right where tech was born. With our ordinances  officially set for a first reading on October 6, Santa Clara has an opportunity to set a national  precedent for resource protection and structural accountability." 

An End to "Wall Street Secrecy" 

In tandem with the computing pause, Hardy’s anti-NDA ordinance bans all public officials and  municipal staff from entering into Non-Disclosure Agreements with private tech developers. This  targets a growing national trend where institutional investors and tech giants utilize ironclad secrecy  agreements with municipal authorities to shield hyperscale tech projects from public scrutiny and  environmental reviews before local zoning deadlines. 

Under the proposed framework, the development suspension will only be lifted by a majority vote of  the City Council once all material environmental impacts and direct or indirect liabilities are  successfully mitigated via an updated, comprehensive zoning ordinance amendment.