Amazon’s $2 billion Gilroy data center is now approved: without a public vote

Amazon Web Services’ $2 billion data center in Gilroy, California, has been approved, and construction is already underway. The facility will span 438,500 square feet on a 56-acre site. Gilroy’s community development director signed off on the project through an administrative process under the City of Gilroy’s 45-year-old M2 General Industrial zoning, which allows “data processing establishments” with a staff-level Architectural and Site Review Permit rather than a City Council vote or public hearing.

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The part drawing the most attention is the way the Amazon Web Services project got the green light. Gilroy’s community development director approved it administratively under that same 45-year-old M2 General Industrial zoning, using a staff-level Architectural and Site Review Permit instead of sending it to the city council or putting it through a public hearing.

For people who follow local development, that process is a big reason this has become a live issue. Many residents say they didn’t know what was being built until site work had already started, or until the 2024 environmental comment window had already closed. The City of Gilroy, though, says the full environmental review began back in 2022.

It’s not hard to see why the opposition has grown. Critics are zeroed in on the use of potable water rather than recycled cooling water, in a drought-prone area. They’re also raising concerns about heavy electricity demand and the long-term strain the project could put on local infrastructure. City officials say Amazon Web Services will pay for a new substation so the data center won’t overburden the grid.

The project is in Gilroy, where supporters point to roughly 250 jobs, construction activity, and new tax revenue. Critics say the number of permanent jobs may end up being fairly small. Beneath that argument sits a larger question: whether industrial zoning rules written decades ago still fit the needs and realities of modern data centers.