San Diego's mayor wants the rules written before the first big data center application lands on a planning desk. On 22 October Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order that pauses data center construction in the city, and the City Council is due to discuss the moratorium on Monday, 26 October, according to Times of San Diego. NBC San Diego described the order as a freeze on any data center building.
The trigger is a proposal nobody in City Hall asked for: a data center of around 400 MW on the NAVWAR campus, the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command site of about 70 acres near the Midway District and Old Town.
A Developer, the Navy and a City Without a Vote
The land belongs to the US Navy. Manchester Financial Group, working with the Virginia-based Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate, has been in exclusive talks with the Navy since 2023 on a public-private redevelopment: new facilities for the Navy on a small part of the site, and housing, hotels, retail and other uses on the rest. Voice of San Diego first reported on 15 October that a data center was one of the ideas, based on emails obtained through public records requests between the developer and San Diego Community Power, the local community energy supplier. Times of San Diego, citing that reporting, says the plant would be the largest data center in California.
The project's chief executive, Ted Eldridge, told NBC San Diego that early talks with energy providers had taken place but that nothing was agreed, and that other uses such as a medical centre or a university campus are also being looked at. The Navy is updating the environmental review for the site, with results expected next year.
Because the site is federal land, the Navy does not have to follow city zoning. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said as much himself: the moratorium would not stop a data center on the base, and he asked the city's members of Congress to press the Navy in writing.
What the Council Wants to Write Into Law
On the same afternoon Elo-Rivera, Council President Joe LaCava and Councilmember Kent Lee presented a proposed ordinance for data centers inside city jurisdiction. As reported by Times of San Diego, it would require future facilities to run on 100 % renewable energy, to keep grid upgrade costs away from other customers, and to stand at a safe distance from homes, schools and other sensitive sites. Speakers at the rally pointed to electricity bills, air and water quality, and housing for military families.
Where the Generators Come In
None of the reports names a backup plant for the NAVWAR project, so there is nothing to discuss on that side yet. But the pattern is familiar from San Jose, Pima County and other places: once a city starts writing data center rules, siting distances and on-site combustion follow quickly, and the standby generators are usually the first equipment the neighbours ask about. Anyone planning a California site should expect the generator yard, its test schedule and its noise to be read against rules written for exactly this kind of project.
Sources: Times of San Diego, Voice of San Diego, NBC San Diego