Data center moratorium

Said her Public Records Act request on the data center moratorium has gone unanswered past the ten-day deadline.

Farm Bureau opposed the blanket ban, calling it fear-driven, warning it signals Mendocino County is 'closed for business,' and urging an ordinance allowing appropriately scaled projects.

Mendocino Forest Products urged a no vote on the two-year moratorium, arguing data centers paired with sawmills could create jobs, use forest residuals and renewable energy, and that investment interest has already dried up.

Supported the full 22-month extension, citing data centers' water use, noise and power demands, and the need for a study period on AI safety.

Anderson Valley winegrower favored a power threshold rather than a 22-month ban, noting closed-loop cooling has reduced water concerns but training-scale AI brings noise and diesel issues.

Speaking as a citizen, he warned a two-year moratorium turns investors away, argued safeguards already exist, and said the county is already behind on energy infrastructure.

Returned after the rewrite to say the 3-megawatt cap is too small to allow the sawmill-adjacent power-and-data-center project her company envisions.

Speaking for Mendocino Redwood Company and Mendocino Forest Products, asked the Board to consider data centers co-located with sawmills using waste heat as a renewable energy opportunity.

Thanked the Board for the unanimous vote and invited future coastal discussions on dry sanitation and low-income housing.

Climate Action Mendocino raised concerns about electricity demand, water supply, and agricultural land, urging the precautionary principle.

Opposed the urgency moratorium, arguing data centers are just factories, no pending application exists, and a committee should study their benefits instead.

Raised suspicion about the county's data center study, cited a FOIA request, and warned of surveillance-state risks; ultimately praised the Board's conduct.

The Willits Environmental Center supported the moratorium and asked that farmland loss and climate goals be added to findings, and that the public safety exemption be tightened.

Speaking in part for the Redwood Valley MAC, supported the moratorium but asked for a 90-day term given the holiday-season timing of the 45-day expiration.

Urged the board to make its data center moratorium ordinance airtight, citing water use, noise and aggressive land acquisition tactics elsewhere.

Described documented noise pollution, air pollution, and property value impacts from data centers, and urged the board to 'follow the money' when evaluating who benefits.

Supported the moratorium, citing noise and other concerns as reasons for precaution.

Supported the moratorium, criticizing 'resource extraction' by data centers, crypto, and AI companies that she said benefit billionaires rather than the local middle class.

Opposed the moratorium, calling it a 'virtue signal,' arguing the county should welcome new industries and jobs instead, and questioning why electric vehicles aren't similarly restricted.

Supported the moratorium, warning data centers could target the fairgrounds and that environmental effects would be 'devastating.'