San Diego Votes a 45-Day Pause on Data Centers It Cannot Block on Federal Land

On October 27 the San Diego City Council voted 9-0 for an urgency ordinance that suspends permitting and development of new data centers inside the city for 45 days, with possible extensions. Mayor Todd Gloria had signed an executive order on October 22 directing the pause so staff could study electricity, water, housing, and grid costs before any project moved forward under city jurisdiction. The trigger was a plan from Manchester Financial Group to explore a data center of up to 400 megawatts on the federally owned Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) campus near Old Town. City and utility estimates put that load at roughly the annual electricity use of 300,000 homes. If built at that scale it would be the largest data center in California.

NAVWAR is federal land. The city’s land-use rules do not reach it. Gloria’s order notes the gap and calls for state and federal protections on sites outside local jurisdiction. Manchester president and CEO Ted Eldredge has told the San Diego Union-Tribune the company is also weighing housing, hospitality, a university campus, and a defense complex. He said the firm is “not married to that megawattage.” The existing redevelopment concept already listed 8,900 residential units and two hotels. Council members have argued the same land could hold transit-oriented housing at a time when rents and military housing costs are high. Manchester has said housing will be “a major part” of whatever final plan moves forward, while confirming a data center remains one option under discussion with energy utilities.

The city has no comprehensive local rules that force a data center to disclose its power source, set a water limit, or pay for the grid upgrades it triggers. Officials have said large facilities could shift infrastructure costs onto utility customers; final allocation would depend on regulators and the specific project. The moratorium gives Planning Department staff 180 days to deliver recommendations. A Data Center Stakeholder Working Group of up to 15 members, drawn from tech, utilities, water, planning, housing, and community groups, is supposed to guide that work. Council members have also floated conditions for any future local projects: no residual costs on residents, project-labor agreements, renewable energy only, setbacks from schools and parks, and a water-recycling plan. None of those conditions binds the federal site.

The 45-day clock runs on city land. The NAVWAR proposal continues under Navy and developer negotiations. Gloria has said San Diego wants to lead in technology and jobs while ensuring development does not outpace protection of residents. Council President Joe LaCava said after the vote that San Diegans were “clear, unambiguous and passionate” that data centers do not belong in the city under current rules. The pause does not decide the 400-megawatt question. It records that the city has no framework for the power, water, or cost questions that framework would have to answer, and that the largest proposed facility sits on land the city cannot zone.