San Diego Data Center Moratorium Signed Over 400 MW NAVWAR Plan

The mayor's office said the order creates a Data Center Stakeholder Working Group with expertise in technology, utilities, water, land use, housing and community advocacy. It also directs the city's government affairs team to develop or support legislation covering data centers on state or federal property outside the city's land-use authority.

Gloria said data centers can place significant demands on water supply, the electricity grid and limited land, with consequences for utility bills, housing and neighborhoods.

The 400 MW NAVWAR Data Center Proposal

Manchester Financial Group, a San Diego developer, floated a data center on part of the 70-acre NAVWAR site as the property is redeveloped, according to KPBS. If built, KPBS said, the 400 MW facility would be the largest data center in California. The reports do not say whether 400 MW refers to critical IT load or to utility supply.

Ted Eldredge, the company's president and CEO, said the data center is one of several ideas and nothing is final. He listed retail, commercial, industrial, hospitality, a medical center, a university campus, a defense industry campus and life science uses as other options. His company's team had early, informational talks with energy providers, he said, but there are no negotiations and no agreements. San Diego Community Power told NBC San Diego it gave the developer hypothetical rate pricing and went no further.

The proposal came to light through utility emails rather than a permit filing. Times of San Diego, citing a Voice of San Diego report based on public-records requests, said it surfaced in emails to San Diego Community Power. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera quoted from them at a rally, including a line that renewable supply was unlikely.

Can San Diego Bind Federal Navy Land?

Not by itself, according to the reports. CBS 8 said that because the site is federally owned, the city cannot independently decide whether the Navy's redevelopment proposal moves forward. Times of San Diego quoted Elo-Rivera saying the moratorium would not stop a data center on the naval property because the Navy does not have to follow city zoning rules. The proposed deal would have Manchester build new Navy facilities on part of the site in exchange for the right to develop the rest, and the Navy has not decided whether to build the facilities itself or use that leasing option.

The Navy is updating its environmental review, which NBC San Diego said is expected next year. Elo-Rivera has asked San Diego's congressional delegation to act and said he is drafting a local ordinance on renewable energy, grid-cost allocation and siting.

The council has not voted. The city's release gives no end date for the pause. The developer has not said it will propose a data center, and the Navy has not approved one. Voltgrid News also reported on Umatilla's emergency declaration over Oregon's data center permit pause.