Council Charts Strategic Course as Data Center Power Deal Advances

Pittsburg's City Council spent the bulk of its March 16 meeting debating the city's economic identity — from the future of shuttered industrial sites to whether sports tourism is worth the investment — before unanimously clearing a landmark power deal that could bring a 99-megawatt data center online within two years.

• Council shapes FY 2026-27 strategic plan across five priority areas, with pointed debates over the Posco site's future, commercial corridor oversaturation, and fiscal sustainability

• Pittsburgh Power Company authorizes PG&E interconnection agreement for a 99MW data center, with developer Avayo bearing all capital costs — up to $300 million for a new switchyard

• $60 million in Valero Refinery penalty grants open to Pittsburg nonprofits and agencies through the Bay Area Air District; applications due May 29

• Carpenters union alleges prevailing wage violations on the Dream Courts project and calls for the city to reopen the project labor agreement

• Housing Authority adopts 2026 plan with 1,021 applicants on the Section 8 wait list and 15 new vouchers earmarked for transitional age youth

• $349K Clean California grant approved to hire veterans and at-risk youth for neighborhood cleanup and the city's first Urban Creativity Wall

Pittsburg's Strategic Crossroads: Jobs, Revenue, and Identity

The council's longest agenda item — a workshop spanning roughly two hours — laid bare the tensions facing a city adding thousands of homes while trying to attract the employers and revenue to match.

Assistant City Manager Sarah Belafonte presented goals across five areas: public infrastructure, economic development, effective service delivery, community enrichment and youth development, and public safety. What followed was the most substantive policy discussion of the night.

The Jobs-Housing Math

The city currently has a jobs-to-housing ratio of roughly 1:1.88 — meaning residents overwhelmingly commute out for work. Staff proposed a target ratio of 3-to-5 new jobs for every new housing unit, requiring approximately 1,270 additional jobs. Councilmember Juan Banales pressed for a clearer understanding of where residents actually work before the city sets its economic development strategy.

"I think some sort of existing conditions on what are major employers, not within the city necessarily, but where do our residents work? I think that's a very important question to answer for us when we're talking about economic development," said Councilmember Banales.

He also urged the city to cast a definitive vision for the Posco industrial site, which has been in limbo since the U.S. Steel-Nippon transaction concluded. "I think we need to cast a vision for what we want that facility to be. I think there's a vacuum right now," Banales said, noting the site could attract data centers or other high-value employers if the city moves first.

Corridor Conflicts on Leland

Councilmember Jelani Killings raised alarms about the Leland corridor becoming oversaturated with social service and institutional uses. He pointed to a new hotel, county rehabilitation facilities, a proposed Project Homekey conversion of a Comfort Inn in neighboring Antioch, and the Delta Fair redevelopment as collectively overwhelming the area.

Mayor Dionne Adams offered a reframe, suggesting the city brand the corridor as a health or medical park. "I love when I go to cities and they have sort of this health park, medical sort of place. And so I think we have an opportunity to maybe brand that area in such a way," Mayor Adams said.

City Manager Darren Gail emphasized that economic development in East Contra Costa County is increasingly regional. "Economic development does not see jurisdictional boundaries," he said, noting Pittsburg specializes in high-energy industrial uses while neighboring Oakley focuses on logistics.

The council directed staff to begin a general plan amendment to rezone approximately 90 acres in the Baywalk area back to employment center industrial — a signal that residential conversion of job-generating land is off the table for now.

Sports Tourism: Show Us the Numbers

Councilmember Banales challenged the city's sports tourism ambitions head-on, questioning whether Dream Courts and Premier Fields justify the investment.

"I like the sports tourism, but I just want to make sure that we are prioritizing our economic development resources, finite resources in terms of staff time around the biggest return on investment," Banales said. "I don't know — is sports tourism going to increase our budget by $5 million a year or is it $250,000?"

He proposed that the city require the Dream Courts private operator to mandate hotel stays for large tournaments and suggested using city venues like Plaza Marina for weddings to drive hotel occupancy. Councilmember Arlene Kobata suggested partnering with local restaurants during tournament weekends. No ROI analysis was presented at the meeting.

Fiscal Guardrails and Service Delivery

Councilmember Killings flagged that the strategic plan lacked explicit fiscal sustainability language, calling it a notable omission given potential revenue pressures ahead.

"For effective service delivery, really looking at fiscal stewardship and fiscal sustainability — just trying to find out where we can interject that focus into the strategic plan overall," Killings said.

Staff confirmed that a fiscal sustainability ordinance update was presented to the Finance Management subcommittee in October and is now under review by the city's new finance director. City Manager Gail said formal adoption would follow mid-year and next year's budget processes.

Mayor Adams pushed staff to trim the plan's implementation measures, noting one section had 16 implementation items but only three performance measures.

Youth Services and the Nonprofit Incubator Debate

Staff described a "community table" model bringing together 12 nonprofits — including Bridge Builders, Future Build, and Civic Corps — that meet twice monthly to coordinate youth services. Staff had pivoted the planned nonprofit incubator from a brick-and-mortar facility to a digital platform due to cost.

Vice Mayor Angelica Lopez pushed back firmly, arguing that young people need in-person services and that many nonprofits cannot afford commercial rent. "There is such a strong need for in-person services that should be available to them," she said, requesting a survey of existing nonprofits to gauge interest in a physical space.

Mayor Adams proposed refined language: "Leverage community table model with nonprofits supporting youth to inform data-driven programs and services." The My Brother's Keeper local action plan is back in development, and a youth symposium is planned for next month.

Safety for All Modes

On public infrastructure, staff proposed improving traffic circulation on Railroad Avenue, San Marco, and Bailey Road through signal coordination and pedestrian and bicycle facilities rather than road widening. Staff also proposed a $100,000 annual CIP allocation for city entryway beautification projects.

Public commenter Bruce Olsen urged the council to explicitly include safety for all transportation modes in the plan language. Councilmember Killings agreed, successfully amending the goal to add "support growth and enhance safety for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists."

Decisions: No formal vote was taken; the workshop was informational with direction to staff. Formal adoption of the strategic plan is targeted for April.

Power Play: 99MW Data Center Deal Clears PPC Board

The Pittsburgh Power Company board authorized the city's municipal utility to execute an interconnection agreement with PG&E, unlocking retail power service for a data center that would consume up to 99 megawatts — ten times the load of PPC's current Mare Island operations.

Why it matters: The deal creates a reusable template for future industrial power connections, potentially transforming Pittsburg into a hub for high-energy employers and generating significant new municipal utility revenue.

Where things stand: Community Development Director Jordan presented the agreement, which establishes interconnection points, maintenance responsibilities, and planning requirements between PPC and PG&E. Developer Avayo bears all capital costs: $150,000 for PG&E's engineering review, $75 million to $300 million to construct a switchyard on Avayo's property (to be deeded to PG&E), and a $10.2 million prepayment for PG&E substation upgrades. PPC can suspend the agreement for up to three years if issues arise.

"What the interconnect does is it sets the stage for the city, if we have future interconnect points, to add and work with both a developer and PG&E to continually add these appendices that may speak to other projects and other loads," Director Jordan said.

Developer John Delasio of Avayo said construction would take roughly 18 months from start and confirmed collaboration with Los Medanos College on workforce training.

Mayor Adams recused herself from the vote. "I will be recusing myself from this item on the agenda based on a conflict of interest, based on my financial interest in a business entity and source of income. The business entity is my employer, PG&E," she stated. The FERC filing process takes approximately 90 days.

Decisions: Passed unanimously (For: 4, Absent: 1 — Mayor Adams recused). City Manager Gail praised Director Jordan's multi-year effort on the project.

$60 Million in Refinery Penalty Funds Open to Pittsburg

Emmy Wang from the Bay Area Air District's Community Investments Office presented the Local Community Benefits Fund, which redirects $60 million in penalty funds from Valero Refinery violations back to impacted communities including Pittsburg, Bay Point, Concord, Martinez, Vallejo, and Benicia.

Why it matters: This is one-time funding expected to be heavily oversubscribed. Three grant tiers are available: Seed grants ($100,000–$200,000 for nonprofits and community-based organizations), Opportunity grants ($500,000–$5 million requiring co-applicants), and Catalyst grants ($10 million–$40 million, Benicia only). Projects must address air pollution reduction, health improvements, or economic resilience.

Applications for the Pittsburg region close May 29. A networking session was scheduled for March 19 in Benicia. Technical assistance is available through the Environmental Protection Network, and community reviewers are being recruited with a $750 stipend.

Mayor Adams noted she serves on the Air District board. City Manager Gail said the city plans to apply and send staff to the networking session.

Carpenters Union Alleges Wage Theft on Dream Courts

Ramon Amaral, field representative for North Coast States Carpenters Union Local 152, told the council that Dream Courts general contractor Huff Construction failed to pay prevailing wages. Amaral said the union was forced to picket both the job site and city hall after the city did not act on the allegations.

He called the project "less like a community investment and more like a crime scene enabled by poor leadership" and asked the council to reopen the project labor agreement and enforce prevailing wage requirements. No council response was recorded during the public comment period.

Housing Authority Adopts 2026 Plan

Housing Manager Tanya Ray presented the Pittsburg Housing Authority's annual plan for 2026, which aims to maximize housing choice voucher allocation, maintain high-performer SMAP status, promote homeownership, and issue 15 project-based vouchers for the Village of Hope, a transitional age youth property under development.

The Section 8 wait list has approximately 1,021 applicants from the 2017 list opening. Councilmember Killings confirmed the $500,000 Village of Hope commitment will come as a separate future item. A board member urged HUD to shorten the gap between wait list openings. The Resident Advisory Board met Feb. 13 with no changes requested.

Decisions: Passed 7-0 with no public comment. The Housing Authority consent calendar also passed 7-0.

Veterans and Youth Get to Work Under Clean California Grant

Environmental Health and Safety Officer Zuna Barca Portillo presented the city's third Clean California grant — $348,660 of a $3.835 million project — targeting six disadvantaged community corridors including Central Park Addition, Willow Pass Road, and 8th Street Linear Park.

Up to six veterans will be hired under the Public Works Parks and Landscape Division, inspired by veteran superintendent Brian Bayardo. Five at-risk youth will create a community survey, develop guidelines, manage a budget, and build the city's first Urban Creativity Wall — a rotating art installation at Central Park Addition and Willow Pass Road. Youth will also shadow city employees across departments.

Councilmember Kobata praised the program for fostering relationships between veterans and youth.

Decisions: Passed 5-0 (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0).

Crime Data Shows Sharp Decline

Vice Mayor Lopez reported significant crime reductions from the Public Safety subcommittee. Violent crime per capita dropped from 4.67 in 2023 to 3.6 in 2025. Property crime fell from 21.9 to 15.2 per capita over the same period. City Manager Gail said he plans to announce the police chief recruitment process next week after meeting with all department shifts.

Minor Items

• Bishop Wisecarver proclamation: Mayor Adams honored the 75-year-old, woman-owned global manufacturer headquartered in Pittsburg during Women's History Month. President and CEO Pamela Kahn noted the company is opening a new R&D office and was named a recipient of the East Bay Innovation Awards.

• World Down Syndrome Day: The mayor proclaimed March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day, presented to Wolfgang Kroski.

• Code enforcement complaint: Longtime property owner Joanne Henderson told the council that code enforcement is inconsistent, with rental owners held to strict standards while properties on Carpino Avenue, School Street, and Cross Street show significant neglect. Staff said receivership proceedings are underway on some of those properties.

• City council consent calendar passed 5-0.

• Housing Authority consent calendar (Items 4–6) passed 7-0.

• New employee introductions: The city introduced dozens of new hires across Finance, Police, Island Energy, Housing, and Public Works, including a new finance director with 23 years of experience and multiple police officers who are Pittsburg natives.