Oakland residents oppose data centers

The Saturday town hall sermon at Beth Eden Baptist Church centered on the future of data centers in Oakland as seen through the prism of the past. Everyone is really passionate about this issue, so it went exactly how I wanted. District 3 Rep. Carol Fife organizing this gathering to give her constituents a chance to sound off on concerns courting big tech and data centers can open a door to prior mistakes. The rallying call in this city and others from the South Bay to the North is that data centers negatively impact the environment and quality of life, especially for those in underserved communities. Having an activated public that is having their voice heard can be very effective in terms of getting local government to be responsive. Richmond and San Jose have enacted moratoriums. Oakland currently has a 45-day pause, which is set to expire next month. Knowing the history of District 3 and air quality and a lot of different things that have happened here in the past throughout history, yes, it is partially fear-driven, but rationally understandable. However, when it comes to data centers, it's up to us to understand the pros and the cons. Some residents say the current moratorium should be the last and want Oakland officials to accelerate the green light for tech. Oakland will take too much time with these moratoriums and create a situation that sees an opportunity for West Oakland moving away because it's been made too difficult. Fife is fighting for greater scrutiny and enforceable guardrails to keep tech from overrunning the community. For property owners, they're concerned about their property taxes going up, and for renters, they're concerned about being displaced from the city of Oakland. And that's when it's up to the voices that are here today being heard to make sure they hold their elected officials accountable. The city council will next month consider extending the current 45-day moratorium to a 10-month pause. Fife believes that'll provide time to craft data center-specific legislation that'll provide community safeguards. It'll take a supermajority, seven votes out of eight, for passage. In Oakland, Jesse Gary, KTVU, Fox 2 News.