Poway moves closer to banning standalone data centers with another unanimous vote

Poway is moving closer to banning standalone data centers after the City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance Tuesday night.If approved at the final vote on Oct. 6, the ban would take effect 30 days later.Mayor Steve Vaus has been the driving force behind the effort, along with Councilmember Anita Edmondson, arguing data centers are not a good fit for the city."I'm not against AI. It's just AI data centers and the fact that they don't provide any jobs, which are critical to us.

They're not a good fit," Vaus said.Vaus has also pointed to limited land as a key reason for keeping data centers out of Poway.I don't think it'll be that long before we see data centers in outer space," he said. "Once you run out of dirt, there's no more, so we wanna make sure our dirt gets used for businesses that are gonna benefit the community."The push to ban data centers has gained momentum nationally as political leaders debate the ethics of expanding the facilities. Vaus said he is not concerned with how other cities or elected officials approach the issue."I don't care what other politicians do, Republican or Democrat.

We do what's right for Poway," Vaus said.Vaus first proposed the ban on standalone data centers to City Council members in July. Tuesday's meeting produced much of the same outcome.During the meeting, Deputy Mayor Jenny Maeda suggested scaling back the ban to a five-year moratorium, which would give the council time to reevaluate the issue in the future. The proposal lacked support, and the ordinance moved forward with another unanimous vote.Vaus said he was not surprised by the result."AI data center bans are becoming kind of the cause du jour.

We just like to get things done here and we will," Vaus said.Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. Poway City Council voted unanimously to ban AI data centers to protect local resources and quality of life, with the new ordinance set to take effect on October 6th.