San Francisco's Board of Supervisors will decide next Tuesday whether to freeze new data center construction across the city, a move that could eventually impede expansion at a Bayview facility already drawing scrutiny from neighbors. Supervisor Shamann Walton plans to introduce a proposal for a 45-day moratorium on new data center construction on September 15, with an eye toward eventually making the ban permanent.
The NOVVA data center at 400 Paul Ave. in Bayview brought its initial 9-megawatt phase online this summer as part of a planned 36-megawatt facility, and an extension of the moratorium could impede expansion plans at the site, according to Mission Local. The site sits across from Digital Realty's 450,000-square-foot telecom facility at 200 Paul Ave., in a stretch of District 10 that includes some of San Francisco's most industrial areas. Natalie Gee said Walton has been working on the legislation for months, and that a temporary moratorium is the first legislative step toward a permanent citywide ban, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Walton ultimately wants San Francisco to permanently ban new data centers, per the Chronicle's reporting. Supervisors Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, and Jackie Fielder are co-sponsoring the legislation, Gee said. Connie Chan has also voiced support for a nationwide moratorium on new data centers. San Francisco currently has about a dozen data centers, many of them located in Walton's own District 10, and the city hosts 15 regional data-center campuses overall — a footprint the Planning Commission would be tasked with investigating for environmental or public health threats under Walton's proposed ordinance, per Mission Local.
A High Legal Bar for a Temporary Fix
Passing the moratorium won't be simple. Under California Government Code Section 65858, an urgency interim ordinance prohibiting new land uses requires a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors, and lasts just 45 days initially, according to Justia Law. It can be extended for up to two years if the board makes findings of an immediate threat following public notice. California law more broadly allows cities and counties to pass 45-day moratoriums on new types of development, but any such freeze requires a determination of a current or immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare, per the Chronicle.
Walton will hold a press conference this coming Monday to discuss the specifics of his legislation before the board takes it up. Mayor Daniel Lurie's office did not respond to the Chronicle's request for comment on the proposal.
District 10's Race to Succeed Walton Turns on Data Centers
The issue has already become a defining fault line in the race to replace the termed-out Walton. District 10 candidates — including frontrunner Theo Ellington — have publicly backed a moratorium on new data centers to prevent further environmental harm in the Bayview area, according to Mission Local. District 10, which spans Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, and Dogpatch, has historically borne the brunt of the city's heavy industrial land uses, and candidates there broadly support banning new data centers within the district, per the same outlet's reporting.
Data centers raise concerns about noise and pollution, and the facilities can consume the same amount of energy as tens of thousands of households, according to the Chronicle. San Francisco's own path is constrained by expensive land prices and limited electrical transmission capabilities that restrict where and how large new data centers can be built — a big part of why Bay Area data centers remain clustered in Santa Clara and San Jose. Companies like Amazon and Meta have instead turned to Texas and Virginia for massive data center capacity.
Regional Pushback Spreads Across the Bay Area
San Francisco is far from alone. On the very same day its Board of Supervisors takes up the moratorium, the Hayward City Council is scheduled to review a legislative referral to ban new data centers, following public pushback against a 76.6-megawatt facility approved with 28 backup diesel generators, according to the City of Hayward. Hayward previously amended its municipal code in April 2026 to require Major Conditional Use Permits for data centers. Elsewhere in California, Pittsburg has plans for a 92-megawatt data center backed by three dozen diesel-fired generators that the city says would only be used in the rare event of an outage on a nearby transmission line — plans that have sparked harsh community rebuke. Imperial County and Oakley have also taken their own measures affecting data centers.
The backlash tracks broader public sentiment. A July 2026 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 73% of California residents oppose building data centers in their local communities, citing concerns over power grid strain, noise, and water consumption, according to KQED. A March 2026 report from California's Little Hoover Commission recommended that state policy force tech companies and data center developers to cover their own grid integration costs.
State Lawmakers Move to Shield Ratepayers
The local fights are unfolding alongside a parallel effort in Sacramento. On Aug. 31, 2026, the California Legislature approved Senate Bill 886 and Assembly Bill 2383, and Governor Gavin Newsom had until Sept. 30 to act, according to the Nossaman law firm. State grid operators have projected that surging data center demand in PG&E's territory could drive up to $1.8 billion in transmission upgrade costs. The CPUC itself delayed until September 2026 a vote on an exceptional agreement allowing PG&E to serve a massive 250-megawatt Google data center in San Jose, as regulators weigh whether to set broader ratepayer protection rules first, according to Mgrid.org.
That regulatory caution stands in sharp contrast to what's happening just down the peninsula. Santa Clara County's data-center total rose 23% from 2025 to 2026, cementing its status as the second-largest data center market in the country behind Northern Virginia, even as San Francisco moves to restrict new builds, Hoodline previously reported. Bay Area data centers generally provide local computing power to nearby technology campuses, underscoring the tension San Francisco now faces between its identity as a hub for AI software development and the physical limits, cost pressures, and neighborhood opposition that a moratorium could impact — including for the city's booming but nascent AI industry.
