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Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

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Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#21

Post by InsideOutSanta »

arcbyte wrote: post #18
ajross wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two things can be true: the construction can be technically legal and at clear odds with community opinion. I mean, yes. Amazon can likely do this. But is this strategy really in keeping with its long term interests? I mean, look at the comments in the rest of this very topic. Do you want a communist insurrection? This is literally how you get communist insurrections. People are fucking pissed, and the bourge^M^M^M^M…

[flagged]

5G towers have no negative externalities except looking kinda dorky. In fact, they're nice; they improve your reception. The same cannot be said for data centers.

(Instead of just downvoting this, I'd appreciate it if you could point out exactly what I said is wrong. Thanks.)

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#22

Post by arjie »

Everything here seems fine. Providing everyone with a veto on all things is a surefire way to get nothing. Instead we have a system where we have a set of rules and someone who meets those rules objectively gets to make something. This is way better.

I’m glad they were able to build their datacenter.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#23

Post by aragilar »

ovao wrote: post #7
thenewnewguy wrote: post #5

Bias Disclaimer: Amazon pays my salary currently, although my job doesn't have anything to do with datacenter construction. Maybe I missed it, but the article doesn't seem to say what the "circumvention"/"loophole" that Amazon used was? It seems like Amazon went through the correct city permitting/legal processes years ago, and now residents want to complain about it years later because data centers are this year's c…

That was my read as well: > ...the site had gone through a long approval process, which required public notices and public-comment periods. However, when Gilroy resident Rosa Rodriguez wanted to state her concern about the damage a data center can do to a region suffering from drought, she was told that the comment period had already lapsed in 2024 Is the "circumvention" the headline refers to that public commentary…

But if new evidence comes in which changes the basis for approval (e.g. lets say you need to do some earthworks and as part of performing them it becomes apparent these earthworks will damage nearby buildings), presumably the approval can be revoked until suitable changes can be made (or if that's not possible, the approval no longer holds)? The linked Wall Street Journal appears to give more details, suggesting this went through a fast-track process (with seemingly minimum community input). I'd argue fast-tracking projects is always a bad idea, as is trying to route around community consultation (given it's likely more expensive in the long run).

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#24

Post by sokoloff »

fzeroracer wrote: post #15
derektank wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The data center in question is being installed next to a Walmart supercenter and highway 101. It’s being built on land zoned for industrial use. It’s not next to anybody’s home.

This is false and easily provable by simply looking at the location on the map [1]. It's very clear that it's being built near housing and schooling. Especially a big deal as there's been more recent cases of exceedingly loud data centers carrying noise quite a distance. [1] https://maps.app.goo.gl/D5PDUa62B5weCcqZ7

It looks to me like it’s several hundreds of meters away from housing, with a 6-lane divided and controlled-access highway between the housing and the site.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#25

Post by da_chicken »

thenewnewguy wrote: post #5

Bias Disclaimer: Amazon pays my salary currently, although my job doesn't have anything to do with datacenter construction. Maybe I missed it, but the article doesn't seem to say what the "circumvention"/"loophole" that Amazon used was? It seems like Amazon went through the correct city permitting/legal processes years ago, and now residents want to complain about it years later because data centers are this year's c…

That's because this article is the journalistic equivalent of a retweet. The article links to a WSJ[0] article (which is going to be paywalled for many people). Any time you get an article like this TH one, you should try to read the source article.

> There were no public meetings or votes before a lone city staffer gave Amazon.com the green light last July to build a 438,500-square-foot data center on 56 acres of farmland 30 miles south of San Jose.

> Amazon’s project was approved with a single signature—by the town’s community-development director—because it met zoning criteria set 45 years ago for industrial development along a freeway.

> Mayor Greg Bozzo said other big industrial projects have been approved in the same manner over the years, but didn’t cause any uproar.

> “It didn’t bother them that a food-distribution center came to Gilroy without their engagement, but now it bothers them that a data center is coming to Gilroy without them having the possibility of engagement,” Bozzo said.

On it's face this is an incredibly dim-witted comment by the mayor. The people are generally angry about Amazon building data centers, but they're particularly angry at their city council which has been working to conceal the project from exactly the people they have a duty to inform.

It's not about excoriation of Amazon. It's about regulatory capture. And saying Amazon "did nothing wrong" is just being blind to the problem.

[0]: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/how-amazon-built-a-data-center-i...

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#26

Post by mikestew »

fzeroracer wrote: post #15
derektank wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The data center in question is being installed next to a Walmart supercenter and highway 101. It’s being built on land zoned for industrial use. It’s not next to anybody’s home.

This is false and easily provable by simply looking at the location on the map [1]. It's very clear that it's being built near housing and schooling. Especially a big deal as there's been more recent cases of exceedingly loud data centers carrying noise quite a distance. [1] https://maps.app.goo.gl/D5PDUa62B5weCcqZ7

The only houses I see are across a busy highway (101). The location is in an industrial park with nothing behind it. You’re not wrong, for large values of “near”, but not making a great case.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#28

Post by fragmede »

frogperson wrote: post #4
PunchyHamster wrote: post #2

[flagged]

the police and entire justice system are on the side of capital. The peoples history of the united States by Howard Zinn covers many attempts Luke this. he makes a case for what works and what doesn't. its a large book, but you can find good summaries online.

Using the book as a guide, the DCs get built, the public pays for it in ways more than initially estimated, profits flow to private capital owners, and then there's a poltical fight over taxes, electricity, and land.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#29

Post by derektank »

fzeroracer wrote: post #15
derektank wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The data center in question is being installed next to a Walmart supercenter and highway 101. It’s being built on land zoned for industrial use. It’s not next to anybody’s home.

This is false and easily provable by simply looking at the location on the map [1]. It's very clear that it's being built near housing and schooling. Especially a big deal as there's been more recent cases of exceedingly loud data centers carrying noise quite a distance. [1] https://maps.app.goo.gl/D5PDUa62B5weCcqZ7

You’re right that it does appear to be near a school (I don’t think anything that contradicts anything else I said). I think the health effects of siting a school right on a major highway are much more serious than being near a data center.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#30

Post by mindslight »

fragmede wrote: post #14
neucoas wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> now residents want to complain about it years later because data centers are this year's culture war hot topic I hope one day Amazon or any AI company installs a data center next to your home. Then you will finally understand

So you saw a video of the unholy shrieking of a gas turbine and concluded that all data centers are like that?

Before an edit, you had made an analogy to whether it makes sense to judge individuals' behavior the same way that datacenters are getting stereotyped. If there was no recourse through the legal system, then maybe?

The problem here is that the "justice" system is all too happy to come down on individuals, while giving corpos a pass. If you or I buy a loud car stereo, we can get fined for making too much noise. Cities can even pass new noise ordinances or new methods of measurement that are post facto of our purchase, and we still have to conform to them! But when a corpo does something similar, the kid gloves go on, their ongoing behavior (eg noise pollution) gets "grandfathered", and there is nothing that anybody can do. Restore the rule of law - meaning equal protection under it rather than one-sided laws written by corpos - to restore the public's trust that new data centers (and construction/business in general!) will be accountable.

But barring that, I'd say it's only smart to prevent this industry from getting a foothold in your community. Most are going to be great neighbors, but the few that aren't you can't do anything about. So why risk it?

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