Public comment corpus
Board of Supervisors
March 26, 2026 · Data-center hearing · 30 spoken public comments
Official meeting recording (Granicus)
| Speaker | Time | Comment (verbatim) |
|---|---|---|
| Dennis Morita | 1:24:35 | Good evening, honorable board. I frankly didn't expect to be called first, but here I am. Dennis Morita, city manager, city of Imperial. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm not here to ask you questions this evening, so you will be relieved to hear that. I want to start with the obvious. City of Imperial filed a lawsuit against the county and the developer and those real parties and interests that own property in the area. I want to be clear about the fact. That petition isn't about whether the development can happen. It's really about the process by which that development can happen. And I think that's an important distinction because the outcome of that lawsuit, if the city of Imperial were to be a 100% winner in that petition, that project could well go forward. It's about, again, about the process that is going to happen. And I think that's the main reason why we're going to apply to that project. With that in mind, the focus of discussions, as a footnote, the law requires that the parties have discussions about a potential settlement. And so indeed, the parties have engaged in those discussions. And I would just say that. Okay. So part of this process for the city would involve identifying areas of concern. And you've seen by some of the prior presentation how those areas are proposed to have been addressed, noise, traffic, and those kinds of things. It is the hope of the city and expectation that if indeed a settlement is to be achieved, it would be that we would be arriving at a mechanism. And that is the mechanism by which impacts could be identified and a process to arrive at mitigation of those impacts. And then at the end, a vehicle for enforcement. Now I say all that, but make no mistake, the city does have real differences with the county and the developer as to the standards that would apply in determining the process. Okay. And of course, I don't think anybody's mentioned CEQA now that I think about it. So I'll say it out loud. Is CEQA going to apply to this project? And that's where there's a real difference. And so one of the things that settlement would achieve is that it would bring certainty to both parties as to how things are going to happen. That means I have five seconds left. So that is the advantage of it. I do. I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, In 1984, Imperial County has constantly faced one of the highest unemployment rates in the entire country. That's families struggling, workers commuting long distances, and young people leaving the region to find the opportunity elsewhere. And this is happening in California, one of the largest and most powerful economies in the world. That contrast alone shows something needs to change, and this project is one of those. The data center will bring high-quality jobs during construction and beyond. Just as important, this project will be built under a project labor agreement, ensuring it is done right with skilled and trained union labor. That means good wages and benefits that support working families. Mortgages get paid, children get health insurance, and families don't have to worry about putting food on their table, especially in a time when the cost of living is a hardship on everybody. This project prioritizes local hire. It creates real pathways for residents of the Imperial County to get to work. It also invests in apprenticeships, giving the next generation a chance to learn, trade, build a career, and stay right here in their community. We have an opportunity here to turn high unemployment into real employment. Thank you. |
| Robert Powell | 1:29:20 | I was only asking if we were having a question and answer session. I was told we were separate from the public comments. Now that's changed again, I guess. No, I can clarify. If you have questions, then we have a scribe taking notes of those and we will answer those questions. When will those be answered? When your three minutes are up. So speak for your three minutes. Well, I have something else, but I thought we were going to have a separate question and answer session. You have three minutes to speak, and at that time, then whatever questions are contained in your comments will be answered. Okay. Well, I'll just give my statement then. Thank you. Apologize for my decorum earlier. I just was confused. I wasn't getting an answer from you. Honorable Chairwoman and Board members, I'm here once again tonight to respectfully but firmly request that this Board pause all action on the proposed data center project and immediately direct the developer to conduct a full environmental impact report as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA. The purpose of CEQA is clear, to ensure that public agencies and the public are fully informed about the potential environmental impacts of a project before a decision is made. It is a cornerstone of public transparency, project planning, and environmental protection in our state. Any attempt to treat this project as exempt from CEQA denies the citizens of this county our legal right to understand the potential impacts on our health, safety, and environment. The number of residents here tonight speaks volumes. A bunch of people outside that couldn't even get in. We are not against development. Most of us aren't. We are for responsible development. We are for a lawful process that respects our right to know what a project of this magnitude means for our community and our families. Furthermore, I am deeply concerned by correspondence that suggests a coordinated strategy between the developer and county officials to circumvent this very public review process. Discussions aimed at preventing a required impact analysis not only are personally disgusting and erode public confidence. I am also concerned that the proposed legislation would not only be a violation of the Brown Act, but also constitute a violation of the Brown Act, which guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. To be clear, this is not about opposing a project outright. This is about demanding that the established legal process be followed. It is about transparency, accountability, and good governance before a decision is made to place this project with potentially serious detrimental effects on a site in the midst of three neighborhoods. I know you are all honorable people who have earned the respect of your districts, and |
| Christian Salgado | 1:32:05 | this is why you were elected to serve. I believe your motivations in bringing us to this point are honorable, but the situation we are in now, which you have actively or inactively allowed to fester, is a disgrace. I would ask you to imagine yourself as a homeowner located adjacent to this development and being concerned about the impact this project is to have on the community. I do. I do, I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! up. Require an EIR. Mr. Powell, your three minutes are up. And let us as a community make an important... Alrighty. Okay, so good afternoon, Chair Price and members of the board. Over the past five months, I have spoken repeatedly in opposition to the Imperial Data Center project. So out of respect for the residents, I'm going to keep this very short. At this point, I am asking you to stop wasting residents' times and fulfill your responsibility as elected officials. I am asking you to reject this project until enforceable protections are in place. That's really what we want, enforceable protections. I am asking you to pass a six-month moratorium. This is not the first time I brought up a moratorium on data center development in Imperial County. You have the authority to do this. You really do, regardless of the litigation that's going on. Across the United States, communities are pushing back against these projects. This developer is not an exception. He reflects a broader pattern of companies exploiting by right zoning while avoiding meaningful oversight. No data center should be approved by right. This is something that everybody is saying. It should not be ministerial. It should not be exempt from CEQA. Other communities are already showing up the chena, the d-1, the s-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the t-1, the the high impact facilities belong in their communities. And importantly, this response comes from a proposal that's far less bigger than this one, 50 megawatts, 30, sorry, 330 megawatts. It's apples and oranges and their residents are just as upset. So I said I was going to keep this short. My questions are, can the board sincerely consider a moratorium and what would the process to do that? And let us know that in a question and also sincerely give us the process if this has to be a ballot measure that the residents have to vote on, if not June, in November. Thank you. |
| Francisco Leal | 1:36:31 | Good evening, board. My name is Francisco Leal and I'm speaking tonight on behalf of 3500 residents who have signed our petition, a community that feels ignored, dismissed and betrayed. Because this is what it looks like from our side. Like this board is making room for an outside developer, while your people, the residents, are not. So I'm going to ask you to take this question and then we'll get to the next part. The people that you were elected, that elected you represent, are the ones being asked to live with the consequences. Raising a family here or live next to this project is not a concern for the developer. He can make his money and walk away. We are the ones to stay here. And that is why people are angry. Because you have already heard from this community about zoning homes, school safety, water project, I mean, power emissions, noise and process. You have heard enough to know that this is not a A B-1, a t-1, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0 to the land use covenant. So my first question is simple. Has the county contacted the DTSC? Yes or no? Second, your own M1 ordinance does not say every data center is automatically allowed. It says data centers permitted only when it's within an enclosed building. A data center yard requires conditional use permit. A data center yard. Battery storage requires also conditional use permit. So here are my other questions. Do you support a moratorium on data centers until real safeguards are in place? Do you support a safe setback from homes and schools? Yes or no? Do you support a case-by-case review instead of a by-right approvals for projects of this scale? Will you commit to opposing any attempt to break this project into smaller parts to avoid seek-per-review? We need answers now because later is too late. If this project moves forward as it is and this community is harmed, burdened, or boxed in by a project everyone can already see it's raising red flags, do not expect apologies to fix it. Do not expect excuses to erase it. This community will remember who stood with the people and who stood with the developer. This community will remember the decisions made here and it will respect the decisions made here. This community will respond accordingly through public process, public record, and at the ballot box. Thank you. The questions that were asked were, do you support a moratorium of data centers? Do you support a safe setback? Do you support a case-by-case review of projects? Will you commit to opposing not breaking the project into smaller pieces to avoid seek-per-review? Those are comments that we can take back to the board |
| Reyna Adame | 1:39:50 | and to staff for consideration. The additional question that was asked that I'll ask Mr. Minnick to comment on is, has the county contacted the DTSC? The applicant has done that as part of their analysis, and Tom DuBose can speak on that. Landmark Engineering is the company who did the geotechnical for this project. When we went into escrow on these properties and that site was identified, it has a restriction that residential can never be done there, but doesn't restrict anything else. It does require us to file a plan on how we do this, how we do the grading, and we clean up that site, and that's what we would do in accordance with DTSC. Good evening to everyone. I want to begin by being clear I'm not anti-development. I'm a proponent of industry that serves people. Look at Sugar Valley Energy in Brawley for instance. 20,000 projected jobs, renewable energy, and $1.4 billion staying right here in the valley. To me, that's what community-centered investment looks like. But what Sebastian Ritchie is offering tonight is not community investment. It is financialized extraction of our limited energy grid, our water, and our land. To understand this project and how it's being pushed to us, you have to understand George Orwell's concept of doublespeak, the use of language to manipulate reality. A good example of doublespeak exists on the IVCM website where the developer claims, quote, we develop in locations with clear entitlements and community support. The site is zoned buy-right and SQL exempt, end quote. To me, this is very misleading. How could one say clear entitlements and SQL exempt when the project is buried in litigation? And Ritchie's intentional piece-millionaire project, separating the industrial plant from the adjacent battery storage, proves that this is not a simple buy-right project because the necessary rezoning for those battery storage didn't fully pass last time I was here. This project cannot be ministerial. It has to be discretionary. And by law, that would mean it requires a SQL review. And any notion of community support is debunked by this very room and the aggressive maneuvering of the developer's mind. The developer himself. This isn't sound development. It's an illusion. And in the cold and categorical terms and verbiage of classical economics, which I'm a student of, Sebastian Ritchie is an economic parasite. Think of our community as a body or an organism. Think of this board as the brain of that organism. A parasite's only goal is to trick the brain into thinking it's a godsend while it drains the host of its resources. Ritchie is whispering promises of revenue, of recycled water for the Salton Sea to make our eyes light up. But his real goal is to capture development rights and land value as fast as possible. He wants to buy cheap, sell high, and disappear before a single law or regulation could catch him. Law is currently in the works like Senator Padilla's Bill 57. Ritchie's behavior reminds me of a quote said by Adam Smith, the father of capitalism and modern economic thought. He said that, as soon as the land of any country has all become private property, there arise men who love to reap where they've never sowed. Ritchie is here to reap. He's posturing in an interview right now in front of us that he's putting up all this money and time to get this project done as if he's doing us a favor. But Ritchie enjoys the lawsuits. He enjoys the small town drama. Right? This is not extraneous labor for him. This is all part of his process. He thinks we are stupid, and most importantly, he thinks you guys are stupid. Ritchie will not own his data center. He's going to flip to a mystery corporation. My question is, what is that corporation going to be? Because all these promises he's making aren't going to be set in stone unless we know what corporation is going to own this data center. Right? That's my question. And I don't want to be here left with this waste and runoff. So don't let this propagandistic marketing speak affect policy decisions. This is not sound investment. This is financialized theft with a permit. Board members, do not be the brain that allows the parasite in. Don't let speed replace oversight. I demand you reject the ministerial classification, require full-secret review, and moratorium on data centers. Please make a decision for the health of the body, not for the profit of the parasite. Thank you. Are you running for president anytime soon? Yeah. Yeah, I'll vote for you. For district's vice supervisor. The question that was asked is, what is the corporation going to be who is going to own this project? Mr. DeVos is the representative applicant here. Could you address that? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I have, I do, I, I, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to As I have made several presentations on this project, I have basically stated it's going to be one of the four hyperscalers. The hyperscalers are looking and watching this, just like they do from afar in many projects. They're not interested in coming in and dealing with what's happening, and it's unfortunate, but that's just who they are. They want to see it done, and then they want to move forward. And that's similar to other types of industry that I've seen in my career. There will be no further interruptions. |
| Christopher Scurries | 1:46:04 | Good evening, everyone. My name is Christopher Scurries. I'm an Imperial resident. I'm a senior Imperial resident. I want to start by refuting a couple of claims we heard tonight. One, Mr. DuBose says he's contacted DTSC. Actually, he didn't say he did. We actually have the email that shows, and we're happy to submit that, that this project has not contacted DTSC. Utility substations, Ruchi, he says they're permitted in M1, and that's true. They are permitted in M1. But the problem is you're not building a utility substation. You're building an electrical substation. That's per Mr. Minnick's letter that is on their website. An electrical substation. An electrical substation is different. It serves just the data center, not the utility of the people. Now, an electrical substation in A2, if he's building it there, would require a conditional use permit. Mr. Ruchi says that they're just combining the lines of the lots. What about Lime Gruber Road? That is not just a line. That is a whole road. But I want to talk more about these conditional use permits, so I want to get to my speech here before I run out of time. Modern data centers need lots of stuff to be operational. That's one of the reasons why moratoriums. Are so important because on paper there is no difference between the data centers of yours and these hyperscale campuses. According to zoning ordinance 90515.02, battery storage, generator plant, and data center yards are permitted only through conditional use permits. CUPs almost always require discretion, and where there's discretion, there is CEQA. So you aren't just giving ministerial approval to a data center. You're ignoring your own ordinance to grant the same automatic approval for all these things that are objectively not permitted. What's even more frightening is their approval. Your approval of the electrical substation and a water skid. These are not only absent from your list of permitted uses M1, but they are also absent under your CUP ordinance as well. Therefore, as per zoning ordinance 90515.03, you're actually granting ministerial approval to prohibited structures. You've justified this approval by referring to these structures as accessory use. The only problem is accessory use is also unlisted in M1 ordinance. Therefore, the very concept is prohibited. Pushing this through would set a precedent that would give this county use permits. You would have to ask the unilateral authority to approve just about anything, and your ordinances would only be a suggestion. Projects much smaller in scale happen all the time around here. Apex Energy Solutions recently had to apply for a CUP for a BESS four times smaller than the one for the data center campus. It's as if this planning department has just been pushed around by our leadership to operate on behalf of the developer. But when we walk in, we see Jim Minnick chopping it up with Ruchi like he's his buddy. You're the planning director. The buck is supposed to stop with you. You understand better than all of us the laws that govern responsible development, and I would hope that you would have absolutely no skin in the game otherwise. All across this country, municipalities are wising up to the dangers of these campuses and placing moratoriums and bans on them. It's time for Imperial County to take the torch and do the same. I, a comrade, to the the ous ous ous |
| Peter Rodriguez | 1:49:35 | s going forward. Jim, every project and I see, because I read, is always CEQA review, CEQA. See, I know you know CEQA. I know, but this one, ministerial, I do have to question that, because every project comes through, CEQA, CEQA, CEQA. Again, not in my backyard. I take displeasure that people trying to shove something down our throat. Tom, you talk about ag, we are ag. Lithium, where is it? Yeah. Really, where is it? You talk about we can't grow sugar beet, so what? Grow another crop. You talk about we can't process crops here? Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Rodriguez, comments are directed to the chair. Oh, I'm sorry. My apology. Madam chair, you deserve the gavel. I respect you. I truly do. It's unfortunate that it was taken from you, but here's what I believe in. In democracy, there is leadership. There's also an opinions, but we have to ask the question here, real seriously. Are you with the people? Are you with the developer? And this is all, it's a question to all five, not just to Madam Chair, okay? We have an election on June the 2nd. This developer has already bought, buying two IED director seats, Carlos Duran and Eric Rodriguez. We already seen the literature. We have two Board of Supervisors up for reelection. Gentlemen, you have a decision to make. Are you with us? Are you against us? And again, I will repeat, not in my backyard. Madam chair, the other day, you were going to say, gracious with me Tuesday morning. You showed me respect and courtesy. That's how we should be all the time. But here we are. We're like the Middle East. Missiles here, missiles here, and that's our lawsuits. IED's suing you. You're suing City of Imperial. I mean, it is a disgrace and embarrassment to our community that we can't get along for development. We should be friends. We should be flourishing. But no, we don't want to flourish. Let's do what the Middle East is doing. More missiles at each other. More insults at each other. Does anyone win? Are we winning? We're not winning that war in Iran. And we're not winning that war here. Thank you. |
| William Cooper | 1:53:20 | Okay. Can you turn on your microphone, please? It's all good. I don't need those six seconds. So first off, I want to thank you for your time. And I apologize for the last time that I was up here. I didn't hold myself to proper etiquette. So I apologize for that. However, as you know, we speak for reasons. And we speak these reasons very loud and very clear. It's not an opportunity to trade. And it's not a fair one. It's also not for us. You're asking the Imperial Valley region already dealing with extreme heat, long-term drought, dependence on the Colorado River, blah, blah, blah, to absorb all of that resource industries for basically other people, right? It's already shitty here. Excuse me. It's already bad here. Let's invite bigger things here to make it better. That doesn't really make sense to me right now. But that's not for me to understand. So back to my point. Our problems have been sold to bigger corporations, to people that aren't from here. And we're being told that it's going to be just fine. Okay? That vote has nothing to do with us. But we have to live with the consequences. So do my nieces and nephews. And so do their future children and such and so forth forever. So those futures and those memories, so long and so forth, are contingent upon these processes. So we're asking this data center to come on over and give us all these benefits. I do a thing, ake, al, a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a, To the people that were screaming outside, we heard them inside, and that's because the community, our heartbeat is very loud, and we will continue to come, and there will forever be problems. I understand that it looks big, bad, and beautiful on paper, in theory, and this, that, and the other. Yeah, I'm a salesman, too, and I can sell to anybody. And unfortunately, the Imperial Valley has a lot of things to be sold to, especially when we're promised finances and fiscal dreams that just don't really exist, right? These things that aren't here that are going to all of a sudden come here and develop across all of this money that's going to be given to us. To be honest, it's not coming to the people, so why is it going to be for the people, right? It's not coming to anybody else aside from the bigger schools and corporations and stuff like that. Well, we better see it for the community, because even to this moment, we don't see it for the community. The community was not taken into consideration. The moratoriums and this and the other that are pushed off to the side because it's already done. Well, just like Mr. Rucci whispered into the microphone and told me, it's already happening, so admit it. Since you have to answer the questions truthfully and honestly, when did you approve this? Behind our backs. When will you push forward with it since we have no choice and no say? Why aren't you listening to the people on the vote? Because the majority is here. So at the end of this, I want those answers truthfully, and we'll see if the community agrees with it. To add a note, I'll say it again. If this is the decision being made, then let's be honest about it. It's not for us. It's for them. You make the vote. We live with the consequences, and everybody else disappears. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to repeat the questions for the record. When did you approve this? Behind our backs. And why aren't you listening to the people and the votes? And there has been no project approved, as we have stated multiple times, but we have documented your question. We will not. We will now move to the overflow room. Yamir Aguilar. Yamir Aguilar. We'll be skipping that one, Cynthia. |
| Jennifer Luna | 1:57:32 | Well, I also did not think that I was going to go first, so here I am. So, hello. My name is Jennifer. I am here today after work, as many of us are, because in the last few months, I have seen person after person make points back by research, experience, and concern for our community in front of you all. Over and over again, we see you ignore these concerns. And the way that you are betraying your community is really... It's really... It's really a shame to really see. A person who has now run out of the building came here to hopefully try to change our minds, and I will say I don't think he did a very good job. The presentation that you gave did nothing but prove that our concerns are true, and it is honestly an insult to all of our intelligence, telling us that a tax break is going to make a big difference when really it's crumbs. If you tell me that I'm going to get $25. I'm going to get $25 off of my property taxes when I paid $5,000 to you last year when I bought my house. I think that's really insulting to kind of make that as a point. You know, what you're asking us is really to sacrifice our community for you to pretend that you will give us those millions that you will receive for the project. I think that the financial analysis really just proved what a joke it is that you're asking us to support this project. And really... There's no point to us getting that financial benefit because at the end of the day, you're asking us to do that. And then what? I have to sell my house because I can't breathe anymore. You know, that doesn't really make any sense to me. So I think this center is really just a shortcut to getting the valley to grow. And it's really just a bandaid for the finances that are going on in the valley. I really don't have a whole lot to add when it comes to research, because truly people have done that research already for me. And have shared that with you. And the fact that you're ignoring it is really a shame. So I just want to urge you to do the right thing, truly. Because we all know that these billionaires aren't building these centers in their own backyards for a reason. All of that money that they're going to go ahead and invest into these centers are a joke. It's a tax break for them because they don't have anything else to spend their money on. And we know that the AI industry is really not really a huge profit for them. It's just a tax break. So I don't see why we would... Sacrifice the valley for the sake of a tax break for billionaires. Absolutely. So lastly, I just want to express that I have built my life here. I bought a home and I built a career here by my own choice. And a lot of us have planned our futures in the community. And are here in hopes to force you all to see that. And I hope for the sake of this community that you do the right thing. And that if you choose to betray the valley by allowing this to happen, that you truly know no peace for making that decision. Because we're not going to leave it be. We're not just going to ignore it. Clearly people showed up. People got turned away. Because so many people showed up. And it's just not something that's forgivable. Thank you. |
| Isaac Guerra Delgado | 2:00:58 | Hi. My name is Isaac Guerra Delgado. I'm from the Imperial Valley. I was raised here. Left. Came back. Got married. Did all that good stuff. And I chose to be here. So this is direct to the board. There is a question at the end. But mainly I want you to hear my comment. The privilege that I want to share with you all today is one that many Imperial Valley residents can find commonality with. Something invaluable that transcends monetary gains and the perpetual stroking of egoism. Iam. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. . fought for us to belong here with their sweat, blood, and tears. The evidence is irrefutable. If you look to your left, you look to your right, you look anywhere around you, you will see a community member of our small yet resilient desert who has come here to fight for our privilege that you, the board, is trying to strip of us. Make no mistake, our privilege is not founded in what we have. Instead, it's rooted in who we have and where we have it. To be a member of this community means to know each other, not superficially, but in what it means to live here. Yes, we suffer. We suffer on basically every front, yet here we are for a meeting to disenfranchise with this board and their aims to cause further suffering for our home. The rich get richer, but they will always fall short. They can never take away our communities that our families have built and we aim to carry on. This data center cannot exist in our home, and if it's approved, regardless, of our community's disapproval, the board will have been not complacent, but instead instrumental in this attempt to destroy our home and our communities. So I leave you with a question for the entire board. You guys can all answer it. How will you sleep at night knowing you have chosen to destroy our home? The question documented is how will you sleep at night knowing you have chosen to destroy our home? |
| Jared Sanchez | 2:03:42 | Mr. Jared Sanchez. Misty, there was a comment about the county signing an NDA, if you could address that. There's current litigation ongoing and no answer will be given to that. If you didn't, just say no. Yeah. Hello. Mr. Sanchez. Your three minutes will begin. Thank you very much. My name is Jared Sanchez, and I actually work as a school teacher. And while we've had many good speakers come up already and give a lot of details on the legality and just following the rules that need to be followed, I usually just help my students find patterns. And one of the patterns is inside of your own documentation, you mentioned in Lawton County, Virginia, that they had so many centers over there. So I went looking and double-checked a few things, and I know we're all looking for these CEQA requests to get, well, proof so we know the impact of the environment. In Lawton, I went and checked the past about 25 years of every July of their average temperatures. The average temperature in Lawton from 96 to about 2020 was an average increase of about one degree. Which sounds pretty standard. But then I looked back and I was like, hmm, 2022, when the first data center was put in, and as more and more started being built up in 2022, it was 76 degrees in that July, 2023, 78, 2024, 79, 2025, 80. While there might be other causes, as soon as the data center started getting put in, we could already see. It doubled or tripled its speed. That's an issue that we need to at least get investigated. Because if I have to get three to four more degrees in our 120 degrees, I'm going to be paying a lot more than $25 to get that AC going back up. That's all I really got to say. Thank you. Thank you. |
| Shirley Ma | 2:06:34 | My name is Shirley Ma, and I am a lifetime, lifelong Imperial Valley resident. And we asked three things of our Board of Supervisors. Accountability, transparency, and most importantly, protection. And so I want to know what's going to happen if suddenly this call center has an unprecedented surge in energy use. I do. Tahoe, where they went from 2.5 gigawatts to 6 gigawatts, which caused 49,000 South Lake Tahoe residents who will be losing their electricity by May 2027. Who's going to protect us? Now, again, as the previous speaker had said, the temperatures are rising in these areas that have call centers. In fact, based on research, there's a 53% increase in greenhouse gases in areas that have call centers. And greenhouse gases was never in the industry. Any of those projections that the people have brought up. And that's because we don't have an environmental impact report. We need to know what's going to affect our valley, not just for us, but for our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren. We need to protect the planet. I do, to a more� the. or demand for adequate resources. So any questions associated, that would be appropriate for our local utility. We will now move to our Zoom speakers. |
| Michael Antonio Morales | 2:11:08 | Good evening, Madam Chair and Board of Supervisors. My name is Michael Antonio Morales, and I'm a resident of El Centro. First, I want to thank you for taking the time to set up this meeting. It's important that constituents of Imperial County are given the opportunity to be heard. There's been a lot of back and forth between residents and the Board regarding the proposal of a data center. The reality is that this project is not very popular among the community. You, as a Board, have stated that this data center is a ministerial project, and therefore it does not require a CEQA. Or an environmental impact report. My question to you is this. If a CEQA report and an environmental review are not necessary, then what safeguards have you put in place as Board of Supervisors to protect the citizens of Imperial County? What measures are already in place? Or what safeguards are you considering implementing to protect this community? Specifically, what are you doing to ensure the level of pollutants admitted into the air will not increase because of the data center? What safeguards will there be to protect our water resources? How are you ensuring that the residents of Imperial County will not face increased electrical rates as a result of this project? These are valid questions and genuine concerns. As our County leaders, if you're moving forward with this project, you should have the protections and answers in place. We deserve transparency. So I ask again, what are you going to do? What do you have in place? We would like answers. We would like to know your answers beforehand and not after the fact. We also want the insurance in writing so that the developer of the data center can be held accountable. Will you put in place safeguards that allow the residents to take action, including legal action, against the developer if they experience negative impacts? If you were in our position, these are the kind of questions you would want answered. So you could be confident that this project would truly benefit Imperial County. So far, we have not received satisfactory answers to our questions. I hope you will take the time to address these concerns directly. If this project is truly beneficial, I ask you to set the minds of everyone in this room at ease. I am waiting to be convinced that supporting this project does not put a risk at risk for the future of generations to come. Thank you. I am going to read these questions one by one as I believe they are appropriate for DIP to identify to different people. The first one is, if a SQL report and EIR are not necessary, then what safeguards have you put in place and what measures are already in place or safeguards that you are considering implementing to protect this community? I will ask this question. I will ask Mr. Minnick first if he can touch on any studies that have been done for this project. All right. Thank you for the question. All right. So first and foremost, there are studies that are being required and or have already been done. Traffic, air, noise, geotechnical studies, those are all required as part of the development of such of this such. And then there are also questions related to regulatory requirements. There are regulatory requirements for fire. There are regulatory requirements for traffic. There are regulatory requirements for air. This project is not getting to bypass those requirements. Thank you. The next question, what are you doing to monitor or protect against emissions? I would like APCD to please respond. Please address that question. Good evening, Board and audience. For emissions, the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District has several rules and regulations to abide with. And specifically for the generators proposed at this time, we limit the hours of operation and the testing and maintenance. And obviously, we now with the new information available, the APCD will require Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing to submit a new amended permit application for the project. And after the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District performs an initial review, may require the applicant to submit a new health risk assessment in their quality study. Thank you. Thank you. The next question was, what are you doing to monitor the emissions? What safeguards do we have in place to protect our water resources? As previously mentioned, the county is not the entity that is managing the water components of this project, but we will take that back to our team. The next question was, how are you ensuring the residents will not see impacts as a result of this project? That's another question that we'll take back to our team as I believe it's broad and could touch on many different departments. And the last one. The last question, will you put in place legal mechanisms regarding this development to protect the residents? And that'll be another question that we'll take back to our team. |
| Gina Brister-Snow | 2:18:17 | Good evening, board. My name is Gina Brister-Snow, and I'm a resident of the Victoria Ranch community. I'm here today because like many others, I care deeply about how decisions are made and what they mean for the people who live in the Imperial County. This project does not exist in isolation. It impacts real neighborhoods, families, and schools, but is also setting a precedent for how you treat your constituents. When actions like grading and parcel consolidation are undertaken specifically to prepare a site for a project of this scale, it becomes difficult to view the project as a project of the same scale. It is also difficult to view those steps as neutral or isolated. And this is where your residents are struggling with the explanation that these early approvals are considered ministerial. If the full scope of this project cannot be clearly presented and independently verified, then residents are essentially being asked to make decisions without information they deserve while also bearing the consequences of this project. That is not informed consent, and the consequences are real. Air quality, noise, infrastructure demands. Those impacts do not stop at jurisdiction. But they are not always in the jurisdictional lines. With this project spanning multiple jurisdictions, at what point does a project become large enough, interconnected enough, and impactful enough to require full environmental review? CEQA exists to ensure projects like this are evaluated as a whole so communities are not forced to accept impacts without a complete, independently evaluated understanding. Because let's be clear. No matter how often this narrative is used to push a project, this community is not actually in fear of change. Or is it just a matter of time? We are asking for less development. We are asking for transparency. And quite frankly, we are tired of being gaslit. Imperial County has long faced economic hardship. And time and time again, large projects are presented as opportunities, as lifelines. But economic vulnerability should never lower the standard for transparency. It should raise it. Your community is asking for a fair and necessary question. Are we seeing a project that is truly transformative? And a just, and a not, a not, a wham, a c'n'I'? I do. I do, to a t'N'A$! I t'A! opportunities for meaningful participation feel constrained, the result is the same, erosion of trust. And trust, once broken, is not easily restored. Leadership is defined by decisions, especially the ones that carry consequences for thousands of people across environmental, economic, and generational lines. This is one of those decisions, and it will define whether you did right by the people you represent. Thank you. |
| Christina Gutierrez | 2:21:30 | Ms. Michelle Hollinger? Good afternoon. My name is Christina Gutierrez, and I am a student at SDSU in Pere Valley, and a concerned resident. I will say right away that I oppose the data center for a number of reasons. First of all, many of us are aware that data centers are not just data centers. Data centers use copious amounts of water and energy. We are already living in a water crisis, and the IID has their issues with the senior water rights. So where is the water to cool down the data centers coming from? We also have the proposed Lithium Valley project that will also use copious amounts of water, but we cannot accurately quantify how much water will actually be used, because a method for extraction is a new science, and there is not enough evidence. And I bring this up because data centers are also part of the Lithium Valley specific plan. Water is a finite resource, and nature cannot keep up with it. So, I am going to talk about the amount of water we are wasting with the data centers worldwide. Data centers also have a high potential to release toxins into the water and atmosphere. We have already seen how these centers have contaminated the water supply in states like Georgia. People can actually smell the chemicals in the air because of these centers. Roughly 97% of water in the Imperial Valley is for agricultural use. So, if these toxic chemicals leak into our water supply, it can cause devastating effects to our crops. Another concern is air pollution. The Imperial Valley has some of the highest asthma rates and hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses. Data centers will only increase these rates. So, why is the board so eager to make its citizens unhealthy? You cannot have a strong workforce if the majority of the population is constantly sick and is constantly being advised to stay indoors instead because the air quality is so bad to these vulnerable populations. The high amounts of energy consumption needed to power data centers can also increase our electricity bills. Imagine it's summer, and everyone has their own power. We can't even produce electricity to power our network. their AC on, but suddenly the power goes down because data centers are consuming all the power. It's almost impossible to survive without AC here. Data centers will just make our day-to-day lives more difficult. I believe climate change is the biggest threat we are facing. It's not normal that it is 92 over 100 degrees now. Data centers will only accelerate climate change, and if this continues, the Imperial Valley will become uninhabitable in the coming years. I urge the county to conduct an extensive environmental impact report as is required by California state law. I also urge them to not let this project be approved by by-right approval, which means that it will be able to skip further environmental review, and it will prevent the public from influencing development. I understand that the county believes that this project will bring economic development and job opportunities for people in the Imperial Valley. I am not opposed to economic development, but we want transparency and accountability. We make decisions for ourselves, and we won't let others make a decision on our behalf. It's time that we put people over profits. Thank you. The question asked will be for the applicant. Where is the water to cool the project coming from? Thank you. There are several ways of, you know, having water provided to this project. It is our first priority, and our goal is to use reclaimed water or to use treated, retreated wastewater. How do you need that water? Home and sea. Home and water. |
| Michelle Hollinger | 2:25:45 | Um good evening supervisors and the community of Imperial Valley. Um this is I think for the Planning Commission. First off, if a moratorium for this particular project cannot be done because the applicant application has been accepted, can a resolution or uh the board be able to request [CEQA] for this project? Um what year was the data center in an enclosed building put in M1 zoning? What year were these um CUPs, battery storage, bulk fuel storage facilities, data center yard, electrical power generation plants, major facilities relating to generational and transmission of electric electrical energy? Um this is to the Board of Supervisors. When did you know what a hyperscale AI data center was? So I'm looking for month, year. Um have you ever been to a hyperscale AI AI data center or a regular data center? Have you consulted with any hyperscale AI data center experts? According to the 2025-26 annual budget, I'm sorry, but how much is the county in debt? Then going to Mr. Rishi, and I'm sorry, Tom, I would like Mr. Rishi to answer these questions. Um do you or any of your businesses have any promises, agreements, or contracts with the following? And if so, which ones? County of Imperial, IID, City of El Centro, City of Imperial, City of Brawley, City of Calexico, City of Holtville, City of Heber, City of Westmorland, Seeley, and Niland. I might have missed one. I don't know. Thank you. Um do you have any promises, agreements, or contracts with IVC, IVEDC, Carlos Duran, or Rick Rodriguez? Do you have any grading permits for this project? Do you have a noise study? I think that one might have already been answered. Um do you have a contract or an agreement with a buyer? So as of what Tom said, there's four companies, no buyer. It's the bidding. Are you part of the legal team for the county? And if this application is approved, what's the streamlining? How fast is this going to go? Thank you. |
| Ramon Chaboya | 2:36:50 | Good evening, everyone. My name is Ramon Chaboya. And like everybody in this overflow room and the maxed out boardroom and everybody in the crowded parking lot, I'm highly concerned about the proposed hyperscale data center. I'm 21 years old. Mr. Chaboya, I'm sorry. Can you get closer to the microphone? We can't hear you. Yes. Mr. Chaboya, can you please begin your statement again? Okay. Good evening, everyone. My name is Ramon Chaboya. And like everybody in this overflow room and maxed out boardroom and everybody in the crowded parking lot, I'm highly concerned about the proposed hyperscale data center. I'm 21 years old. And despite being young, I can't recall a single time when the county has ever received this much backlash over any project. We all care about our small, hot, tight-knit county and don't need anybody coming into the valley trying to take advantage of us. We need people who are in need. We need people who are invested in our community, not just interested in our resources. Because we've seen projects come claiming jobs, growth, and opportunity and then fall short. And that's why we, the people, are upset. Not because we don't understand progress, but because we do. This AI center raises questions about our well-being. And the fact that so many of those questions remain unanswered or vaguely answered is exactly why trust with you five supervisors is being lost. Because transparency should be the key. And transparency shouldn't come after public pressure. It should be there from the beginning. And I want to revisit a portion of the presentation for the beginning. The county mentioned that Loudoun County from Virginia is the data center capital of the world. And it was used as an excuse to build the data center here in Imperial. But I don't want to hear from the billionaires. I want to hear from the everyday people living there. Lindsay Shaw, a resident of Loudoun County, Virginia, used to support the data center while it was being proposed. And after it was built, she said, We don't want to hear from the billionaires. We don't want to be outside anymore. Another resident who lives 2,000 feet away from the data center said that he had to take sleeping pills because of the noise. Craig Dobbs said, I would never have bought my home if I thought this could happen. And during his presentation, Ruchi told a fellow resident, If you dislike it, you dislike it. So even though he already left, I want to tell Ruchi that this data center is not going to be built in Imperial County, whether you like it or not. So fuck AI and fuck Ruchi. Thank you. I go, I go, I go, I go, for my family, which spans across both sides of the border and for which I'm blessed to have just welcomed a baby daughter just within two months ago into this community. I want to talk about I am a former research scientist at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego. I'm a current research scientist at Sofar Ocean Technology in San Francisco, but all my views that I'm presenting are purely my own and don't represent any current or former employer. This is only to represent, give some credibility, I guess, to my background in the environmental sciences. As we endure a record heat wave in the west with dangerously low snowpack, which feeds the Colorado River basin, and furthermore at the precipice of a federal intervention on the Colorado River Compact due to the lack of a voluntary reduction agreement among members, it is my personal opinion that I think is grossly negligent and fanciful thinking to give carte blanche approval for this data center project without an environmental review that'll explain to you how we can improve our community, what the impacts will be on our water supply, and what our contingencies are in the event of an involuntary reduction to our water. With, will these reductions come from our homes? Will these reductions come from our schools? Will these reductions come from our farmers? Or does the data center get first preference in these reductions? Will it come from the Salton Sea and leave us in a toxic dust bowl, which has been well documented and understood that if we divert the wastewater we'll live in? And at the expense of a pollution factory that only hires a skeleton crew to run, our community deserves to have the full transparency of an independent review process. What are you afraid of that will come out in a six month delay in a project? Community members should treat other community members with at least this much respect, but the fact is that this project is being steamrolled on us for the benefit of an external mega corporation that doesn't have the guts to do it in their own name. I do. m!L! w!B! t! t! t! t! t! t! Will it come from the Salton Sea that's related to water? The other question is, what are you afraid of that will come out in a six-month delay of a project? |
| Alex Findes | 2:42:40 | The developers made a number of claims that this project will benefit the community. They have failed to provide any proof or make any commitments to these so far empty promises. Countless communities have heard this story before about the boundless benefits of economic development, only to receive little to nothing in the end. Others have spoken on their concerns about this specific project. But the central issue is not if data centers should be built in the valley, but who benefits. As things stand, this project and others like it exist for the sole purpose of extracting value and generating profit for the developer and the tech oligarchs backing it. AI is a powerful tool that could be used to build a new technology. It is not only used for the benefit of society, but under the control of the tech and financial oligarchy, it is being used for mass surveillance, layoffs, financial parasitism, and imperialist war. It is significant that as we are here today, AI is being used to identify targets and guide bombs in the criminal US-Israeli assault on Iran and Lebanon. Under these conditions, the working people of the Imperial Valley cannot be asked to simply accept the so-called right of corporations to profit as they please, with vague and non-committal promises of some distant social benefit. Nor can we look past the fact that the development of this project is a direct result of the and unbiased and unbiased and unbiased and unbiased and unbiased and unbiased to a a our neighbors by ICE and Border Patrol or other forms of mass surveillance and political violence. It cannot be guaranteed, if it cannot be guaranteed that data centers will be used to produce social benefits for the working class and be subject to the reasonable demands of the community, that it can only be concluded that this project exists entirely for the generation of private profit for already obscenely wealthy oligarchy with no tangible benefits for California's poorest county. No amount of bullying and empty promises can change this basic fact. Thank you. There was one question in the public comment, which is who benefits if data centers are built in the Valley, and I believe that was already addressed within our economic impact presentation that was given pertaining to jobs, residents, the services, and the property taxes that would come in to be able to expand those in the county. Okay. |
| Fernanda Camarillo | 2:46:01 | Hi. My name is Fernanda, and I am a Victoria Ranch resident. I am just a sneeze away from the lot that is being planned for the data center. I'm a resident of the area. I do a very anin-V5, a C-1, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a-0, a- I am not aware if this data center plan has that CUP, which means conditional use permit under M1 zone. And if it doesn't have it, and if it's not being required, why is that, and what is the logic behind that? I would also like to ask one more time, because I didn't really understand, why a moratorium for this specific planning cannot take place. I know it's because the application has already been in place but could you go more in detail into that quickly? Last words, Ruchi and other proponents for this have said that this planning data center is for the benefit of the community and for the young people who leave this county to get an education and most likely do not come back because there is a lack of opportunity here. But I'm one of those people who left this county and came back, and I want to continue giving it what it gave me growing up. But with this data center, the fact that it's been happening behind my back and I have had no word, I'm not getting the feeling that this is meant for me. Everything is being happening behind my back, behind closed doors, and without actual, without actual answers to my questions. Besides that, that's all I have to say. Thank you. The first question was regarding if the county has an ordinance about battery storage and any CUP requirements regarding battery storage. Mr. Minnick. Okay, yes, the county has an ordinance for battery storage. A be-a-b-a, a-a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, That said, the same conditions that are applicable to battery storages that we've already approved, primarily the ones that are related to the fire department, would be imposed upon this project as well. In fact, the state of California last year increased the regulations on battery storage facilities and how they're built, and this project would be required to meet both state and local battery storage installation and operation. The second question that was asked to be further discussed was why can a moratorium not take place? And I'll ask Nate to provide a more detailed explanation aside from what we already provided, which is that you cannot have something retroactively go in place against an application that is already active. Nate? Yeah. Once again, Nathan George. I'm a former So her question seemed broader than that, was why couldn't the board adopt a moratorium? And it certainly has the authority to do that. A moratorium would be a legislative action. And those typically have, you know, an effective date. So once an action like that is taken, it would apply. And one of the things that's really important is that it's not subject to any sort of new proposals that come into the county. So, you know, if it were adopted and in place by May 1st of this year, then any new project would be subject to whatever those that action was. So if it's a moratorium, no new data center project could be processed by the county. This project, because it's already been approved, it's not subject to any new projects. I do. administrative processes is subject to certain state laws that are intended to protect all sorts of development proposals from changes in rules by local agencies. And one of them is such that once a permit application has been deemed complete by an agency, you can't then change the applicable ordinances. The ordinances that are in place once that application has been deemed complete are the ones that follow it through the county's processes, if that makes sense. Can I have everyone's attention? We have, as we stated... For this special meeting, an hour dedicated. But we have more speakers. So it's been a long night. But I'm proposing that we extend the period so that we can get the rest of the speakers in tonight. So it's going to be a little longer. I know it's warm in here. The temperature is down to 60 degrees. It's working as hard as it can to cool down. I know it's warm. And we're talking about... I'm tired. So... Enjoy it. So with that said, we'll go ahead and add some time, please. Thank you. |
| Sean Wilcock | 2:52:55 | Sean Wilcock. Can I ask a clarification question? Follow-up? I have a question. Did your planning commission state that the application was not complete? Yeah, right. Yeah, sure did. There's no agreement with the city. They changed the whole firm. There's nothing been reset. It's all been resolved now. Yeah. The board's already set up. You guys can vote on it. This is your chance. This is your chance to do the right thing. You can say more. |
| Dr. Sergio Pesqueria | 3:03:37 | Good evening Dr. Sergio Pesqueria. Lifelong resident of Imperial County. Second generation educator. What the heck are we doing? We tell we expect our children eat vegetables pay attention at school. Comments need to be directed to the chair. Thank you, the people, the people, the really, the you, [...] of the overwhelming amount of evidence that we have provided over the last few months, it's almost irrelevant. This continues to proceed in spite of the preponderance of evidence in opposition. There are lawsuits. There are thousands of signatures in opposition to this project. There are over four hours of public comment to the planning commission previously. We had to extend an hour tonight because of the overwhelming of opposition, but here we are proceeding with this project. So it leads me to believe that it's not about the evidence, it's not about the research, there must be ulterior motives, there must be a convergence of interest. So to the proponents, where are we? We need a stretch break anyway. May I please ask all those who oppose this project to stand. All those who oppose this project to please stand. And most folks, I know there are folks left, but look at the percentage of those who oppose. And to my peers, my brothers and sisters who are proponents, I'm going to cite a philosopher, a critical, historical resource known as the movie, The Girl Next Door. And the question here is, is the juice worth the squeeze? And we are talking about 100 to 200 million dollars in revenue, and we are talking about a year to operate this project. We are talking about 25 to 180 dollars per year in revenue. We are talking about 107 million dollars a year to operate this project. Even if we are following the economic interest of this project, they're null and void as well. So what the heck are we doing? And if we are compliant as a court, as a county board of supervisors, and I am looking, absolutely now, if we are compliant, if we are complicit, we are abdicating our responsibility to our community. We are, it's a dereliction of duty, and I encourage you to oppose this project. |
| Lisa Winkler | 3:12:23 | It seems like some of these quorums that we're having right now are just letting people talk and not really providing any hard fact information either side. So I think my first question is, what is the county doing behind the scenes to do their own independent studies of this area and the data center? Another thing is Mr. Ritchie today. I live right, Lisa Winkler, I live right on the fence, right on the fence. And Mr. Ritchie, just his attitude, unfortunately, he comes and he thinks I should be excited that behind my five-foot fence is going to be a 20-foot dirt berm. What's going to happen when the winds blow to the west? That's exactly where my house is. My grandson's been in the hospital numerous times with asthma. I know this should not be emotional. This should be factual. And so I'm trying to keep it that way. But, I mean, that's ridiculous. But he gets excited about these little things. He said that he went from 130. 132 generators down to 20. Well, that leaves still the decimal at 50, right? So what was, another question, what was the decimal at 132? If we wanted to come out here and complained and it went through at 132, what was the sound decimal going to be at 132? And from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., it should not be more than 45 at residential. So he's still over the decimal. Another thing was, this is kind of hard, but who's paying Michael Brackton? Is that the county? Or is that the developer? I hope it's the county. It shouldn't be the developer. But I just want to clarify who's paying Mr. Brackton. And everything that I've always done, if you don't get a pass vote, that's a not pass vote. That's a no. You don't vote yes or no. You vote approve or not approve. Once it's not approved, that's a no. That's not a, you don't take two votes on things that's approve and not approve. So that's a little confusing. And so I don't know if Mr. Minnick wants to address that or maybe someone from the planning commission. I don't even think that that really matters. I think it's a lot of things to be addressed. For Nate, I have a couple questions for Nate. 2017 is when this was approved for a data center. And he says that you need discrepancy in order to have a CEQA. 2017, I don't think anybody really knew what a data center was. That should be enough discrepancy. And there's just so many different data centers anyway. That's discrepancy in itself. I think that maybe that might be enough for a CEQA. I love coming here with absolutely no no's. And just grabbing it from everything everybody said all night. Phoenix, one last thing for Phoenix. Oh yeah, they were excited. But I heard that they're cutting them down now left and right. They're not approving them anymore. I would like to see the board to go somewhere and get some information. I'm opposed to it the way that it is now. Because we don't know enough and I don't think you know enough either. Yeah! Thank you. |
| Jose Garcia | 3:23:14 | Good evening, chair, commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Jose Garcia. 38 years old. I'm a member of the 18-year member of LIUNA. And I'm a representative for them. I know what it is to represent. It's a tough job. We have to get up here. As I came over here on the way, I'm speaking for those that couldn't be here tonight. It's easy to come and talk about somebody else's job and deny it. But when it affects your home, your household, your mortgage payment, your kids' insurance, you have to come up here. One of my members asked me, he actually wanted to really be here, but he had to take a second job just to be able to provide because there's no work for him right now. He has to travel out to San Diego or to Riverside County to find work. He also just had a child, a two-year-old little boy, a child. I'm sorry. I didn't know the sex of the baby. But right now, he's unmarried. I have a one-to-one, a one-a-doub, a L, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, I was going to share his name and his address, but I don't think it's the right place to do that. But he really wanted me to tell you that he is in fear of not being able to provide for his child right now. Our union works on hours worked, a minimum of 100 hours to provide for our families. Our insurance covers our family, our entire family. We don't lean on social programs and stuff. We earn our own. And our motto is that we build America. So we build roads, we build everything else. And it's unfortunate that we have to take opportunities of everything that comes our way to retire, to reach that American dream goal. When private developers choose to infuse private money, which rarely happens, it rarely happens that private developers choose to infuse private money for the benefit, not sometimes it's not everybody, but we on the construction industry, we're desperate right now. They've shut down a lot of jobs. The current administration has taken a lot of jobs away from us. And we're moving into a new world. We never thought that we'd have. When I was a kid, we used to see Maxwell Smart with the phone on his shoe. Now they have them in their pocket. Now we've moved on. We went from horse and carriage to cars to flying cars now. So just with that, we support this project in full and ask that you would as well. Thank you. |
| Dr. Astrid Calderas | 3:26:55 | Can I start? Yes. MS. Okay. Good evening, members of the Board and members of the public. I'm Dr. Astrid Calderas. Can you hear me? MS. Yes. MS. And I'm here to present my concern regarding public health and the environment. Imperial County is already classified as an unattainment area for ozone and particulate matter by the US EPA and CARB. This means our baseline air quality already exceeds levels considered safe for human health. In this context, any new project must be evaluated not in isolation but as a part of cumulative impacts. For a community already overburdened with the pandemic, the community must be able to be to a more at-ll, a here, a-a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a pollutants associated with serious health outcomes, which we have been documented during the past decade. Water is another critical factor. Cooling systems in data centers require substantial water use in a region already facing water stress. This creates direct competition with residential needs and agriculture. There's also another issue, which is heat. Data centers continuously generate heat that must be released into the surrounding environment. In one of the hottest regions in California, adding additional thermal load can increase local temperature and energy demand for cooling in nearby areas. Also, from an engineering perspective, Imperial Valley's salt line and polluted conditions accelerate corrosion. I don't know if this has been considered by overtime. This increases the risk of water pollution in the area. The ! I have to go fast. Another constant factor data centers operate 24 hours, seven days a week. Continuous noise from cooling and backup systems has been linked to stress and sleep disturbance and cardiovascular impacts. Okay, I just want to close this by. Your three minutes are up now. Okay, I hope you consider all of the multiple factors that involve a data center. Thank you. |
| Ian Hayasaka | 3:30:30 | Ian Hayasaka. Good evening. Thank you, Madam Chair, for extending the time. My name is Ian Hayasaka. I'm a local student studying electrical engineering and tutoring STEM. I have a couple of questions. If the developer won't own the data center, how will they ensure the permanent jobs will be local jobs? The information provided about disadvantaged communities did not definitively prove that they are not targeted. Could information be provided about an actual analysis including all counties with data centers? Can the developer do an analysis about possible effects on local temperature? The EPA's guideline for a BESS fire involved letting it burn and evacuating the area. Are these the same guidelines used for the training for the battery storage for this data center? If so, does the developer promise to reimburse all residents who lose their home? Now, let's talk about the financials. Hyperscale AI companies have not made a single penny, nor do they have a proper plan for profits. OpenAI itself has lost $16 billion with a B since 2023. What's the developer's plan in the event that the AI industry collapses? Also, data center jobs, if it's around 100, would account for less than a percent of our unemployment. Less than a percent. Additionally, I'm concerned about abuse material. AI has been used to generate child abuse material. X is currently under investigation for it and was raided in France for this material. Does the developer understand that data centers have created abuse material and we risk this happening here? I also ask, how will they prevent it? The developer, this fall, I'm going to talk about them now. The following information has come from publicly available sources, including the United States government, a bar, and the magazine that I'm going to mention. The developer has been recorded as being disbarred. The developer has a mug shot and has served time. The developer has lost a liquor license he used in a strip club. In an article from the Vindicator, Ken Cardinal, a county assistant prosecutor, has said about Rucci, his track record is so bad with a liquor license and so bad without a liquor license, and in my opinion, he has irretrievably broken any position of trust. A different person has been found guilty. Additionally, with data center structure, the AI data center relies on different components with different needs than typical service and storage data centers. They use high output GPUs focused on calculations instead of efficiency focused CPUs and drives. They are similar and by name only. This alone should mean that we get our CEQA. There's no reason to give it the same rules if it's not the same structure. These are fundamentally different. We have different computing technologies that produce different things and provide different services. We can't allow them to be dictated by law just because the names are similar. Similar is not good. I don't feel comfortable. Ms. Hayasaka, your three minutes are up. Thank you. I'm going to do the questions first that were related to the developer, so if you'd like to address these. I'll take these back to the applicant, Mr. DeBose. The first one is if the developer won't own the facility, how will they ensure that jobs will be local? There's also a question about if the developer could do a study on temperatures or temperature impacts from data centers. And there's a question if the developer would be willing to promise a reimbursement to homeowners, if they have a loss of their home. And there's a question about if the developer would be willing to pay for a home from a best fire associated with the data center. And I'm sorry, there's one last question. What's the developer's plan if the AI industry collapses? I'm going to try to answer those. I don't think I can answer all of them, including your last one. I just know that it's a national priority. And as I said, it's a national priority. And it's here to stay in regards to AI. In regards to the first question, any conditions or any requirements through this permitting process, that the building permit or APCD's authority to construct or those kinds of things, those agreements will be bound to the property when the property is sold to the ultimate user. And that that bs, a. s, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, agreement in their agreement that does not block local trades to come and be a part of the project they agreed to that that's very important and so those agreements will be bound to the property when the property is exchanged thank you and the last question is related to the county this is something we can take back could information be provided on the demographics or an analysis for all areas with data centers |
| Victor Sesueta | 3:36:43 | good evening my name is victor sasweta i live in el centro um i'm gonna make this short this is a a one million square foot huge industrial footprint with all the benefits that are promised us i mean they can bamboozle us with all the benefits that we're going to receive how do the citizens how do the residents guarantee that the developer will produce those benefits can we can we expect a binding contract so that if he doesn't deliver we can somehow ensure that he makes good on his promises i mean there are a lot of promises he made i'm going to i'm going to finish with just a couple of quick thoughts this project is too close to residential housing too close to public school it will use too much water it will generate increased utility for the community and the vcbcdgcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbbcbcbbcbcbbcbbcbbcbbcbbbbbb. ae. with all the benefits promised, how do citizens guarantee that the developer will produce those benefits? |
| Arianna Sweet | 3:38:48 | We can hear Ms. Sweet. Go ahead. Good evening. My name is Arianna Sweet. I reside in El Centro. I'll be providing information regarding the data center located in Memphis, Tennessee, as there's relevance to environmental concerns. To illustrate what we have to look forward to if this project is approved, I will read first-hand accounts of those residents. Chesilla Farmer, a South Haven resident and mother who lives in the neighborhood next to the ex-AI plant, stated, breathing has become more difficult than it should ever be. This is not an inconvenience. This is a health crisis inside my own home. Devon Jenkins, another resident, said, in reference to the constant hum of the data center, it makes you feel like you're going insane. The sound continues throughout the day and often intensifies at night. She explained making it hard to think clearly and even harder to fall asleep. The sound ranges from decibel levels in the 40s to mid-50s. If you recall from the informational part of the meeting, that is also what is approved for this project. The facility would also be significantly larger than their center, so we can infer that the environmental impacts will be that much greater here. We should not settle for temporary and minimal job security. Instead, I urge you, the board members, to contemplate the long-term and the un-difficulted for-homelight-difficult-difficult-difficult-difficult-difficult, board also is how much is your quality of life and Imperial County residents worth thank you for listening two questions on the record are is there a benefit that the board would receive if approved and how much is your quality of life for residents worth last speaker Kimberly Palacios hi Kimberly Palacio a lifelong resident of Calexico just a couple things do both said that the AI is here to stay how is that the case when Mark Zuckerberg just shuttered the metaverse after investing tens of billions of dollars in their open AI shut down Sora AI is a very important part of the world and it's a very important part of the the IAEA a is a the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the current applicants. So is the county just miss or under informed about that? Or is it the county's position that the Monterey Park data center moratorium is illegal? I would like to believe y'all might just maybe be misinformed and that there that is still an option. So I urge y'all to look into that further. Also, can the county take further steps to better define in clear terms what exactly data centers are, the definition of them in your zoning policy? The unions addressed certain agreements they have. We don't know what those agreements are because they're not PLAs. They don't have a PLA signed. So I don't know what they think they're getting, what they've been promised, but it's not binding because it's not a PLA. One more thing I've got is I know some of y'all are up for reelection this year. I've seen one particular. campaign side that says it's our county. Aside from the not so subtle dog whistle there, if it is our county, why are y'all trying to hand it on a silver platter to fraudsters like Sebastian Rucci from out of town? It is our county. We don't want data centers here, not in our backyard, not in anyone's backyard. Please consider and pass the moratorium on all data centers in the Valley. I do. And it's something we can discuss with our legal counsel further. Can county take steps to define the definition of what data centers are? And that concludes the questions for the record. |
| Ida Burden | 3:07:08 | Okay. I've started every talk that I've made when I came to the dais or whatever you want to call it here in front of the board supervisors or the planning commission or the IID with the same question. How do you like seeing the air you're breathing? Nine times out of ten, nine days out of ten, you can literally see the air you're breathing. You know it's true. You all know it's true. Our air quality has been termed unattainable to federal standards, right? Three counties in this state have made that qualification. We cannot attain federal standards for our air. Now are you telling me that this project is going to help our air? I can't see it. The audacity, the brazenness with which you're accepting this application from this sketchy developer. I mean he's got a reputation. Moral turpitude is in his background in the California bar. Now we all know what that means. It ain't good. Okay. So and before I forget, I want to clarify one thing. At the planning commission, when they voted on that parcel, the five parcels going together? There was a vote. It failed. We just heard they said it was continued. Okay. And I was there. And I said they started. The vote went from one round and then all of a sudden there's humming and hawing and people are talking and nobody's doing anything. And I'm going, did it pass or not? Just like that. And I heard from the front, it failed. And then, and my point was, and now you're trying to table this? You cannot do that. It's not acceptable. It's not kosher. And you're ignoring our rights and our health and anything else you want to put in there. I'm really upset. But it's because I care. You're ignoring our farmers. You're literally writing the farmers off. Well, what can we do? You guys are all just gone now. What are we going to do? Now the water you think we're getting from the Colorado River is vanishing. They've got water seeping out of the Lake Mead. They can't figure out where it's going. This is not a question. We do not have the resources. Every time I read something, and I've sent it to Peggy a lot, right? I send you a lot of stuff to consider. Everything I hear is there's not a local entity that has had one of these built that likes it afterwards or has profited from it. There are literally 5,000 of those things in this country, 8,000 in the whole world. They say after 80 degrees, you are cranking to cool them. Now, how many days do we see under 80? Exactly. I mean, seriously, this is just ridiculous. I want to raise 10. Are you insane? Okay, I'm going to calm down now. My time is up. |
| Idel (surname unverified) | 3:52:59 | Okay. We have a lot of explanation as to cost and what we're going to make out of this. And I know for a fact, my son has asthma. He was born in the hospital. He's 37 years old. [Presiding: Idel, can you please just ask the question that you had?] The question I have, have you considered the health costs that are going to be added into our everyday lives? Thank you. |
| Michelle (surname unverified) | 3:55:25 | Madam Chair, I would like the board or I'm sorry, the guy that's a sequel guy to look into the California government code section 65858. Because you guys can put a temporary moratorium on this. With a four-fifths vote for the public safety and welfare of us. So please look into this because if not, we are wasting time here. One more question or one more comment. I really do appreciate you guys being open in here tonight. So thank you. |