Residents Pack Council Chambers to Demand Data Center Moratorium

A late-night Pittsburg City Council session became a referendum on the Avayo hyperscale AI data center as more than a dozen speakers — union retirees, software engineers, homeowners and Spanish-language advocates — delivered pointed testimony demanding the city halt phases 2 and 3 of the project. The council listened but took no formal action, setting the stage for a politically charged fall.

• Over a dozen speakers oppose Avayo data center expansion, citing cancer risks from the project's own filings, PFAS contamination, declining property values and a 26,600-signature petition

• Retired union member says data centers are "ghost towns" with virtually no permanent jobs, urges city to recruit corporate campuses instead

• Speakers call out lack of Spanish interpretation at meetings in a city where nearly half of residents are Spanish-speaking

• Council approves two MTC grant applications for a pedestrian bridge and West Leland Road safety upgrades near youth facilities

• $1.2 million investment reporting error forces council to defer corrected financial report

• Resident challenges police military equipment list, including AR-15 rifles and an armored vehicle, and raises concerns about ICE data sharing from police cameras

The Avayo hyperscale AI data center — already the most contentious development in Pittsburg in recent memory — drew a sustained wave of public opposition that dominated the Aug. 3 meeting. Speaker after speaker used the non-agenda public comment period to demand a moratorium on phases 2 and 3, marshaling arguments that spanned public health, property values, environmental justice, economic viability and political accountability.