Urgency Ordinance Tentatively Set to be Discussed June 4
COACHELLA — Residents here will have an opportunity to weigh in on an Urgency Ordinance as it pertains to a controversial proposed data center.
After months of meetings and robust, sometimes raucous protests from residents, the City Council is tentatively set to meet in special session on Thursday, June 4 at 6 p.m. at City Hall to discuss an emergency ordinance.
The City Council in May directed city staff to quickly bring an emergency ordinance for consideration. All four Council members have indicated they will support a moratorium.
Uken Report has not yet seen a draft of the urgency ordinance to see whether it calls for a ban or moratorium.
Residents have been vehemently opposed since they first heard rumblings of the behemoth center.
Technically known as known as the Coachella Valley Technology Campus, the proposed development would be built on 240 acres of agricultural land about 2.5 miles east of downtown Coachella and 1.5 miles south of Interstate 10. It would be located near Avenue 52 and Fillmore Street, roughly two miles away from Valle del Sol Elementary and across the street from a mobile home park.
At least two petitions have been filed on Change.org aimed at stopping the center. Petitioners argue that Coachella is already one of the most polluted regions in California. Residents face extreme heat, poor air quality, and the ongoing impacts of the Salton Sea, where toxic dust contributes to high rates of asthma and respiratory illness.
The community is also dealing with chromium 6 in the water, meaning residents are exposed to contaminated drinking water every day, according to one petition.
