Public comment corpus
Board of Supervisors
July 14, 2026 · Advisory committee / moratorium extension · 13 spoken public comments
Official meeting recording (Granicus)
| Speaker | Time | Comment (verbatim) |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Rodriguez | 0:44:52 | Good morning, members of the Board and audience. My comment regarding this matter is I'd like to first of all congratulate everyone who applied. The list is distinguished and honored. The process, and I want to be clear, to be transparent, clear to every person in the audience, and to make it as quickly and as swiftly as possible because people in the audience, some people have work obligations to attend to and other things to attend to as well regarding their employment and family members. Transparency is very important. We know that this Board has struggled with transparency. Transparency on issues. But I applaud the rules that were given. It was pretty simple and clear. As many of you know, I'm a football referee. We go through rules training every Monday. And it's pretty clear and transparent to me. And we're all watching and we all know what the rules are. For the first time, there's a step forward to the rules. And it's a step forward to true transparency. And we're all watching the selection process. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez. |
| Jake Tison | 0:46:23 | Good morning, Board. Madam Chair, I'm Jake Tyson. I have been clear from the beginning, I do not support this data center committee at all. I'm not a member of the data center committee. I support a ban. I feel like this right here is government waste. This right here. You guys are trying to invite a violent entity into this community at the taxpayer's expense. That's what I feel. It's a dead end. Some applicants have already made it clear they favor data centers, and the public deserves to know whether this committee is being formed to protect our community or simply manufacture political cover for a decision that has already been made. So let me be equally clear. The public will be watching every appointment, every meeting, every recommendation, and every vote. Anyone placed on this committee must be prepared to defend their position with facts, not slogans, promises, developer talking points, or fantasies about economic development. The advisory committee cannot become political cover. Every meeting, presentation, conflict of interest, or conflict of interest is not a political cover. This is developer communication, draft recommendations, and supporting document must be public. Committee members must follow the evidence, not arrive with a predetermined plan to approve the stat or to prove data centers period because there's a lot of them. If you support bringing a massive industrial facility into our county you must explain the consequences of our water, air, farmland, health, electrical grid, and the quality of life. You have to come correct because you will be held accountable. Thank you. |
| Susan Ferrar-Paradis | 0:48:17 | Good morning Susan Paradis, City of El Centro. We've recently moved so while it's still not in my backyard and Imperial I'm still missing Washington Fort Worth therefore not in my backyard in these Schools i cities i took a look at the applicants for this Committee which i believe is a good thing my understanding of purpose of this Committee is to ensure safety to Consult with Industry Experts and Come Together With Safe irgendwas guidelines. So if I am wrong on that to make recommendations to the board these are the safety factors. This is what our county can sustain with respect to data centers. That's my understanding. That would be my intent. When I look at the list of names of individuals on this committee it's vast and I was happy to see so many people that I know, people that I feel are qualified. So I just wish you the very best in your voting process. I think any of the names on there are good names. Thank you. |
| Amari Cariotis | 0:50:07 | I can hear. Okay. Ready to go. Good. Go ahead. Okay. Good morning. I want to speak on 16B. The title is correct on the bylaws. But then you shorten it to, you know, data center advisory committee. There are several townships that are putting data center advisory committees together. I believe that this should be owned by the county and that the county's name should be on it. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cariotis. We do have one last minute speaker, Marjorie Marcus. She's on Zoom as well. Ms. Marcus, go ahead. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. |
| Michelle Hollinger | 1:42:34 | Good morning, Chair, Board of Supervisors. I just wanted to say that I am for extending the moratorium. So that's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Hollander. |
| Peter Rodriguez | 1:42:50 | Good morning, guys. Members of the board, I'm in favor of extending the moratorium. State of New York, City of New York have banned data centers. The developer that's going to build one next to the LAX has pulled out. Well, you have made this effort. Unfortunately. Where do you see this coming this coming to your office? There's no relationship with me. That's all I can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. This is all we can say. business. Going forward and putting a pause on this is the right thing to do. As you know, you've not been transparent with this project at all. And I will not stand for one being built in this county. Thank you. |
| Jake Tison | 1:44:06 | Jake Tyson. Mr. Tyson. Jake Tyson. I'm Jake Tyson, high board and audience. Madam Chair, I support extending this moratorium, but I do not trust this process unless it ends with a permanent ban on industrial scale data centers. Item 19 admits what the public has been saying for months. Data centers present a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare. It admits the county has lost the ability to provide the public with the necessary services and services that they need to provide. It admits that the county has limited ability to review these facilities because they were treated as permitted by right. It admits several applications are already pending, including projects connected to Mesquite Lakes. Yet the ordinance still allows applications to be accepted and processed during the moratorium behind the scenes. So they may be positioned for approval when the clock runs out. [ASR repetition artifact removed: "Thank you." x16] industrial water consumption, backup generators, battery storage hazards, transmission infrastructure, round-the-clock noise, and develop development pressure near homes, schools, farms, and sensitive communities. We should not sacrifice agriculture land because public health, grid reliability, water security, or community peace for speculative projects offering limited permanent employment and extraordinary private profit. Extend the moratorium today. Stop all processing though, not merely final approvals. We require independent studies of water, energy, air, noise, fire, agriculture, public health, and cumulative impacts like CEQA would have done and we wouldn't even be here today. Thank you. Then bring back a permanent prohibition. A moratorium without a clear destination is only a delay. The destination must be must be protection and protection means banning industrial scale data centers from Imperial County. |
| Hector Meza | 1:47:15 | Good evening supervisors. My name is Hector Meza, IBEW 569, resident of Raleigh. I'm here to speak on behalf of our 3,800 members of IBEW 569. I am here to urge that you reject the extension of the urgency ordinance before you today and to establish minimum workforce safety standards for all stages of data center development. Our members of the board have been allocated Она Conclusive ensure that the right skilled and trained workforce is here to build them. We do support requiring data centers to bring their own clean generation, energy generation, and energy storage to meet the energy needs and ensuring Perry Valley rate payers do not take on more energy costs. We do support requiring the use of state certified electricians for all stages of data centers life cycles including the clean energy generation and energy storage they should be required to build as a condition of their approval. We do support new technology that uses low water systems like reclaim, closed loop, direct to chip, and inversing cooling. So water use is drastically lower. We stand ready to continue to work with the county, the community, and the state to ensure that the state and state-owned enterprises are able to provide water for their customers and water resources to those who need it. We will continue to make sure that they can grow... In terms of area development, we will continue to bring people on community stories and and help them bring their lives as they next step of their development. We will continue to bring people on community stories and content that will support them and help them bring their lives as they next step of their development. We will continue to bring people on community stories and content that will support them and help them bring their lives as they next step of their development. We will continue to bring people on community stories and content that will support them and help them bring their lives as they next step of their development. We will continue to bring people on community stories and content that will support them a group of people who I don't believe have the physical capability to speak for themselves. And that is individuals with autism. As all of you know, I am a working adult, a working professional with autism. So I feel very strongly on this. And so if I get emotional, I apologize. But the one concern I'm going to say to you guys is standing in this room right now, the sound of the electricity is really annoying to me. And that is a perfectly normal building. These sounds over long periods of time degrade our neuropathways, and they do it permanently. You guys know me as Happy Marcy, who's maybe sometimes a little flighty. I wasn't flighty before. I was highly organized all of the time, efficient, effective. And I went through a progression period, and I had that same effect. And I lost skills. I lost things that you guys don't know. I had to relearn how to write a check, how to hold a pencil. Somebody you know. So when I stand here and tell you, the only thing I ask you to do is to stand in this room right now. you're going to do. Is to put them away from residence. Simply because you don't know who in those neighborhoods have conditions like this. And you could take somebody like me who you trust, you believe in. Hell, I even got a vote to be able to make it up to at least one of the positions. That's pretty good for somebody who's got my kind of diagnosis. What do you think of this? You could take someone like me and that sound could destroy us. Where someone like me could end up in a home where somebody else has to care for me. So that is my only request to you is to be cognizant that your community has those individuals. And we are succeeding. Quietly you don't see us, but we're here. And please remember the sound is when you build it like that, that close to residence, it means we have no escape. We have no break and we have no rest. We have no chance to get away for it to stop when it's that close to our homes. That's all I ask of you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Landeros. |
| Heidi Burden | 1:52:38 | Good morning, everyone. This is such an important subject in listening to this gal right here that just laid it all out for you to think about. This is affecting people on so many levels you have no idea. The research that needs to be done is so obvious. Over this entire country. Implement it should solve problems withoutabyte investing rather than exposing environmental наших ether kellogg Rainforest Sequ paired给 Poll compensate for that? It is not. It is not. We have a moratorium that you need to extend, but the moratorium is being already jockeyed about by saying you can take applications. So what do you do? Like you said, are you going to stand them in line so they can get first in the door? Get ready to rock as soon as they get this put down? I don't understand this. A moratorium is a pause on everything. I don't know what legal standards you're talking about that we have to take applications, but you do not have to do that. You're going to have to verify that with something other than by what you've told us here. This is not anything that can be done with what little expertise I have seen in this room. No one is fully apprised of the damage that's being done currently with these things across this country. It is not up for debate. The jury is not still out. Thank you. And if you do not give it due consideration, these damages are going to be permanent. You talk about that we have access to all these resources. Everybody does. The water. I don't know if you've been paying any attention, but our water is finite. The west of this country, the entire western end of the United States is in a drought. North to south, west, keep going. We are not able to do what you say we're going to be able to do. No. No. No. No. can't blame it on the farmers. You can't blame it on Mexicali in the desert because all those things have been here forever, right? Since we've been in this valley, all those things are things that we've had to deal with, and it is getting nothing but worse. You're not dealing with the situation as it sits. You're not giving true diligence to your job and the research that needs to be done on this topic. I just don't understand the resistance to learning about it. A trip to Loudoun is not going to do it. It's just not. I'm done. Thanks. |
| Flavio Grijalva | 1:55:55 | Good afternoon, Chair and Board members. Once again, thank you for the appointment. I will kind of say this. I'm here today to urge the Board to extend the moratorium on the new data center development in the Imperial Valley until the county can fully evaluate the impacts these facilities will have on our residents, our infrastructure, and our long-term environmental health. Moratorium is not a rejection of economic development. It is a responsible pause, a chance to make sure that we're not in a position to be a burden to the community. We're not hopefully return to our conditions that have only left us by creating problems our communities and giving back to our communities to make sure we're not repeating past mistakes that have left Imperial Valley communities carrying the burden while benefits are exported elsewhere. Data centers are not small projects. They're industrial-scale facilities with massive energy demand, high water consumption, constant noise, and generator emissions. These impacts are real, and they are permanent once construction begins. We have seen the pattern before. The counties approved one of the largest solar farms in the Western Hemisphere and the Ocotillo Wind Farms. These projects are now being containerized in the projects brought limited jobs, minimal economic benefit, and none of the energy generated goes to the Imperial Valley residents. It is exported to other counties while our communities are left with the environmental footprint. A moratorium is a chance to break that pattern. Moratorium is not a barrier to progress. It is a safeguard for the people who live here. You guys have elected to have the data center committee. I think allowing that committee to progress moving forward, extending the moratorium longer than you need to while all of the information is out there, I think allows the residents to see how everything stands, allows the committee to see how everything stands, and allows you guys to see how everything stands without having to feel a rush. I said my biggest thing has always been the solar panels. As much as I love my union people. My labor work. When people talk about it brings jobs, it brings jobs 99% of the time for outside workers. It's not staying here. Tax money isn't staying here. And then once they're done, that's it. I think the solar farms are on average getting run by 57 people at most. It's not the impact. The opportunity that I wanted with the data center was for that. To be able to get as much information, produce it to the community, produce it to the board to understand. We cannot live in a community where it's just, hey, if that appears to be a good opportunity, let's just take it. We can't. We need to start looking further out for our community, for our people. We're here in the Superior Valley, not the outsiders. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vujalva. Any other speakers? |
| Marcy Landeros | 1:50:01 | the sound of the electricity is really annoying to me. And that is a perfectly normal building. These sounds over long periods of time degrade our neuropathways, and they do it permanently. You guys know me as Happy Marcy, who's maybe sometimes a little flighty. I wasn't flighty before. I was highly organized all of the time, efficient, effective. And I went through a progression period, and I had that same effect. And I lost skills. I lost things that you guys don't know. I had to relearn how to write a check, how to hold a pencil. Somebody you know. So when I stand here and tell you, the only thing I ask you to do is to stand in this room right now. you're going to do. Is to put them away from residence. Simply because you don't know who in those neighborhoods have conditions like this. And you could take somebody like me who you trust, you believe in. Hell, I even got a vote to be able to make it up to at least one of the positions. That's pretty good for somebody who's got my kind of diagnosis. What do you think of this? You could take someone like me and that sound could destroy us. Where someone like me could end up in a home where somebody else has to care for me. So that is my only request to you is to be cognizant that your community has those individuals. And we are succeeding. Quietly you don't see us, but we're here. And please remember the sound is when you build it like that, that close to residence, it means we have no escape. We have no break and we have no rest. We have no chance to get away for it to stop when it's that close to our homes. That's all I ask of you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Landeros. Next speaker. Idle Bergen. |
| Jake Tison | 2:47:01 | I see Mr. Kelly's gone. So, last week, Supervisor Kelly said, just because some people say there is no trust in this board doesn't make it true. Well, respectfully, trust is not something government declares for itself. Trust is earned through lawful decisions, complete records, and independent audits and honest answers. Right now, opening briefs from the City of Imperial and the Sierra Club challenge how this county processed the Hyperscale AI Data Center. They raised serious questions about the grading and preparation. They raised questions about approval, lot merger, ministerial permitting, and whether one massive project was divided into smaller pieces to avoid full sequel review. Piecemealing. Then there is the KPBS defamation case involving reporter Corey Suzuki. A judge granted the anti-SLAPP motion and struck the developer's complaint. That ruling matters because public reporting and criticism concerning this data center are protected matters of public concern. And while the county's decisions are being challenged. In court, it introduces so-called CEQA updates that do not update CEQA. They restrict who may appeal, where appeals go, how quickly residents must act, and what fees the public must pay. That does not rebuild trust. It restricts public participation. I submitted a CPR request about the county's Calipatria office. Who is meeting there? What public money is paying for it? And what is the public's response? I asked the county whether a data center and lithium value business is being conducted there. And the county never responded to me. So when millions of dollars are involved and basic public records requests are ignored, the public has every right to ask, what is happening there behind closed doors? Who authorizes it? And where is the money at? Where is the detailed ledger for the $10 million grant I CPR-ed on? Where is the consolidated accounting for more than $100 million? Where does everyone benefit if information directly resonates across communities across [ASR garbled ~2:49:13-2:49:28] transparency. Trust is a complete permit file. Trust is a timely CPRA response. Trust is an open appeal process. Trust is an independent audit. Trust is a ledger showing who received the money, how it was spent, and what remains. The public trust is absolutely broken here. Where are the records and where are the audits? Where is the ledger and where is the money? And until those questions are answered with documents, the lack of public trust is not just something people are saying. Supervisor Ryan Kelly, it is the direct result of the county's actions and Ryan is the leader of this stuff. |
| Glenn (surname unverified) | 2:00:10 | Glenn? Yes. Hello. My name is Glenn. I'm a 20-year resident of the valley. A lot of people come to the valley with a dream or maybe they were born here. Then something happened that no one could anticipate, a plan to construct a data center in a residential area. I'm not going to give statistics. You already know those. I'm going to talk about water. And as you know, data centers consume a huge amount of water. The IID tells us to conserve water. Okay. Our allotment from the Colorado River is being renegotiated with other states. And we need that water in order to live and grow food. Now let's talk about electricity. Data centers consume a vast amount of electricity. Our electric bills will go up due to supply and demand and the cost of expanding and maintaining the grid, which is already stressed. If there's a blackout, data centers use diesel generators for backup. This causes significant air pollution for all of us. Even when the data center is operating normally, it will create noise and light pollution and increase the air temperature, thus forcing us to use the grid. So we have to be very careful. We will take these costs into account and find ways to use even more water and electricity. You can clearly see that a data center here will reduce the value of the investment we made when we bought homes and disturbed the peace and quiet of our community. What's more, when our quality of life goes down in this way, it can cause serious illness and health problems. The moratorium should be extended for a longer period, for example, 10 months or a year, to allow CICA to give us the information we need. It has been said that the data center will create jobs. However, no one knows exactly how many jobs, what kind of jobs there are, how long they will last, and are they well paid. I believe that the well-being of this community is most important and should not be compromised. In sum, I respectfully request that the Board of Supervisors put the well-being of the community first and allow CICA the time necessary to do so. I also request that the Board of Supervisors put the time necessary to issue a complete report. |