Residents Demand Data Center Moratorium as Council Orders Air Quality Review

Pittsburg's City Council spent the bulk of its Sept. 8 meeting absorbing a wave of organized opposition to the AVO Digital hyperscale data center, with more than 20 speakers warning of health risks from diesel generators, water scarcity, and what they called a breakdown in democratic process. The council responded with its first formal action on the issue — unanimously directing staff to present air quality enforcement details at a future meeting — while also rallying behind an officer ambushed last week and advancing more than a dozen infrastructure projects across the city.

• Over 20 speakers flood public comment demanding a three-year moratorium on the AVO Digital data center, citing a 27,500-signature petition

• Council unanimously orders staff to present air quality mitigation and enforcement measures for the data center at a future meeting

• City rallies behind Officer Jimmy Sanchez after ambush shooting; Police Chief reveals five officers shot in his 26-year career, two fatally

• Public Works details 13-plus capital projects including road widenings, water plant modernization, and multimodal trail improvements

• Library reports 22,000 cardholders and 75,000 annual visitors as resident urges restoring Monday hours the city defunded

Data Center Fury: Diesel Generators, Water Fears, and a Community Pushing Back

The AVO Digital data center dominated public comment for roughly an hour, drawing the largest sustained community response of the meeting. Speaker after speaker — parents, retirees, technical analysts, and longtime residents — challenged the project on environmental, health, procedural, and enforcement grounds.

Why it matters: The proposed hyperscale facility would include 37.3 megawatts of diesel-fired backup generators near Rancho Medanos Junior High School. Residents say the project's environmental review was inadequate, the city lacks the resources to enforce compliance against a billion-dollar company, and they were shut out of meaningful participation at a prior meeting.

Where things stand: Public commenter Jennifer Sherwood zeroed in on the emissions analysis: "The document is only one page long and contains a single table focusing only on greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity use and based on 2019 data. The table does not provide estimates of the concentrations of harmful air pollutants that people living and working near this hyperscale data center facility could actually breathe."

Teresa Martin quantified the stakes further, claiming one week of generator testing would produce emissions equivalent to 192 big rigs, and a full blackout activation would equal 6,700 trucks. She also warned that double-stacked generators create resonance effects that amplify low-frequency vibrations.

Leticia Prado spoke on behalf of families near the school, located approximately 640 feet from the backup generators: "Our children will be sitting in classrooms, playing outside, walking to school and participating in PE while a facility with dozens of diesel generators operates nearby." Prado also flagged a language access gap, noting that "families who want to participate through Zoom also need access to live interpretation, which is not available" — a pointed request for the city's substantial Spanish-speaking population.

Water supply was another flashpoint. David Manley warned that 90% of the city's recycled water already goes to power plants, raising the prospect that the data center would eventually draw fresh water from the Contra Costa County Canal during drought years.

The other side: Anthony Johnson took a different tack, arguing the city should use AVO Digital's financial vulnerabilities — five active projects, zero completed — as leverage to renegotiate: "Their capital issues is an opportunity for us to negotiate. So I call the city to negotiate now when the leverage is at its highest and find a way out of this contract. Because I honestly don't think we're equipped to fight it if they don't meet the settlement agreement."

Jessica Rojas cited the scale of community opposition: "Over 27,500 people have signed a petition and you refuse to hold a true conversation about it." She and more than half a dozen other speakers demanded a three-year moratorium on all data center development phases.

Several speakers — including Tamila Rasi Chandra, Cynthia Cardinali, and Lynn Doherty — alleged the council violated the Brown Act by clearing the chamber at the August meeting and not readmitting attendees. Doherty specifically challenged the accuracy of the prior meeting's minutes on that point. The consent calendar, which included those minutes, was approved unanimously (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0) despite the objections.

Decisions: Councilmember Arlene Kobata made the motion that marked the council's first formal response: "I'd like to make a motion to bring to a future agenda item a short report on the mitigation agreement regarding fines in case air quality goes beyond the allocated threshold." The motion passed unanimously (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0).

Mayor Dionne Adams, who is legally recused from data center matters, opened public comment by acknowledging the tension: "Passionate disagreement is part of democracy. Threats and intimidation or conduct that prevent others from participating safely cannot be part of that."

The City Manager tempered expectations about what the future report would accomplish, clarifying that enforcement tools are limited to what already exists: "What we would do is provide information that's currently adopted as it relates to the mitigation measures for the project, along with any settlement agreements and the requirements that are part of that project."

What's next: Staff will present air quality mitigation and enforcement details at a future council meeting. No date was specified. The motion does not create new enforcement mechanisms — it surfaces existing CEQA measures and settlement terms for public review.

City Rallies Behind Officer Sanchez After Ambush Shooting

The meeting opened with somber remarks about the Thursday ambush shooting of Officer Jimmy Sanchez, who was attacked while caring for an individual in custody.

Why it matters: The City Manager thanked Officer Sanchez, responding officers, medical personnel, and the community. The Police Chief reflected on the weight of the moment, citing an extraordinary toll: "I've been doing this job for 26 years. There's been five other Pittsburg Police officers that have been shot in the line of duty in my career, two of which didn't make it with us."

He praised the overwhelming community response since the shooting — cards, letters, and well-wishes — and commended officers for taking their oath of service seriously. All five council members offered prayers and expressions of support during their closing remarks.

City Advances Over a Dozen Infrastructure Projects

Public Works Director John Samuelson delivered a comprehensive capital improvement update spanning road widenings, water system upgrades, traffic calming, and trail connectivity — projects that will shape Pittsburg's growth as thousands of new homes are built across the area.

Why it matters: Several major road projects are approaching design completion or construction: the West Leland Road extension to Avila Road in Concord (65% design, CEQA environmental impact report Notice of Preparation issued); the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway widening from two to four lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks (approaching 65% design); and the Bailey Road widening, with $5 million secured from the East Contra Costa Regional Fee and Financing Authority for design.

Samuelson highlighted savings on the Zone 7 pavement project that allowed additional streets to be resurfaced: "Due to good pricing and limited change orders on this project, we were able to resurface more streets than we had anticipated."

Other notable projects include: Buchanan Road slope repair ($1.3 million in federal funding, completion by November); the Water Treatment Plant filtration improvements (July 2024 through early 2028), which already converted chlorine gas to liquid hypochlorite; Phase 2 traffic calming roundabouts on Lynchite Drive heading to bid; and the Bella Vista Riverview water consolidation — a fully state-funded project to transition two mobile home parks from well water to city municipal water.

What's next: A community meeting on the West Leland Road Extension CEQA process is scheduled for Sept. 29. The Buchanan Park storm drain repair bids open Sept. 18. Bella Vista Riverview and Cabrillo Place waterline projects go to bid next month.

Library Highlights Strong Use as Monday Closure Draws Criticism

Senior Community Library Manager Laura Millison of the Contra Costa County Library presented during National Library Card Signup Month, reporting 22,000 Pittsburg residents hold library cards — nearly a third of the city's 77,000 population — with nearly 50,000 books circulated annually and 75,000 visitors.

Programs include weekly story times, digital literacy and 3D printing workshops for teens, Project Second Chance one-on-one tutoring for adults reading below a sixth-grade level, ESL conversation classes, and a Career Online High School diploma program funded by a state library grant. The library issued 500 student library cards and donated 2,500 new books to the community last school year.

During public comment, Lynn Doherty, a retired teacher, urged the council to restore Monday hours that were cut when the city reduced library funding: "The fact that the city of Pittsburg has taken out the funds so that they have now had to close on Mondays. I think that this wonderful marquee that you guys are thinking about — maybe we could put that back toward the children, adults that are served by our library."

Minor Items

• Commission appointments: Council unanimously appointed Michaela Cunningham to the Housing Authority, Mariah Cross, Virginia Galvez, and Harold Thompson to the Youth Advisory Commission (three of nine seats filled), Sue McDaniel as Library Commission alternate, and Connie McFarland to the CCTA Citizens Advisory Committee. Six Youth Advisory Commission seats and one Housing Authority seat remain vacant.

• Consent calendar approved unanimously (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0), including prior meeting minutes that multiple speakers contested as inaccurate regarding the chamber-clearing incident.

• Proclamations recognized the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001; National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, theme: "Pioneers of Change"); and the Winter family's nearly 70-year auto dealership legacy on Century Boulevard, now carried forward by Harvey Auto Group.

• Subcommittee reports covered trail safety, traffic grants, and the CDBG report card from the Infrastructure & Transportation, Public Safety, and Life Enrichment subcommittees.

• The City Manager announced the first farmers market at city hall and noted commission recruitment postings would go live the following day.

• Mayor Adams referenced the Marina center as a cooling center during an upcoming heat wave.