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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

#31

Post by sokoloff »

rvz wrote: post #3

So when it comes down to choice and where to park the money: The votes of humans matter less than the power of AI agents. Amazon believes that the AI agents need a new home more than humans do and would rather build homes for these agents than for humans. But of course, the advantages are obvious to them: 1) 24/7 intelligence when you need it. 2) Tokens can be generated cheaply, meaning lots of work for 1 / 100th of…

> Amazon believes that the AI agents need a new home more than humans do and would rather build homes for these agents than for humans.

I can only imagine the level of outrage that would instantly ensue if Amazon announced they were getting into the home-building business.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#32

Post by fzeroracer »

mikestew wrote: post #26
fzeroracer wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's close enough when you consider that the noise from a poorly built data center (ie: most of the ones being stood up rapidly in the current AI craze) can carry noise upwards of a mile plus depending on a bunch of different factors. So a lot of homes in that area would potentially be within the blast radius of data center noise, especially at night.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#33

Post by paulnpace »

slg wrote: post #17
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…

>because data centers are this year's culture war hot topic? This ain’t the culture war. The public at large is fairly united on one side of this across the typical US political divides. If you want to dismiss this with a cute label to pretend that there aren’t any real concerns here, the only label that comes close to matching the actual dispute is class war.

Indeed. It is not clear to me why a community that is in opposition to something that will likely cause it to experience net negative economic impact are engaging in a "culture war".

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#34

Post by Miner49er »

ajross wrote: post #12
derektank wrote: post #10

This headline seems misleading at best. There was, as far as I can tell reading both this piece and the original reporting in the WSJ[0], no community vote for or against data center construction. What appears to have happened is that Amazon simply followed the existing permitting rules for other industrial construction, “Amazon’s project was approved with a single signature—by the town’s community-development direct…

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…

6 years ago when the work to build the data center started, nobody cared about data centers.

Should 6 years of planning be thrown away because data centers have recently become fashionable to hate?

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#35

Post by Avicebron »

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]

"Nobody intelligent opposes dovecote construction"*

*French nobility circa 1789

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#36

Post by ianm218 »

aragilar wrote: post #23
ovao wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> I'd argue fast-tracking projects is always a bad idea, as is trying to route around community consultation

Building infrastructure and housing in the US is painfully slow and a huge tax on everyone, almost everything should be fast tracked. We have some of the most productive economic zones in the world (SF LA, Boston DC corridor) and we have made it largely illegal to build housing and transit in these areas due to bureaucracy and red tape.

Do you think the high speed rail between SF and LA needs more rounds of community input?

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#37

Post by gruez »

aragilar wrote: post #13
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…

I think it's the zoning rules (based on https://www.wsj.com/us-news/how-amazon-built-a-data-center-i... ), which seem to provide an expedited process (which for large scale projects like this always seems a bit odd, and seems like it would increase the risk of corruption)? Arguably if new information arrives which changes the risks or impacts of a project, especially if the project was initially on some kind of fast-…

>Arguably if new information arrives which changes the risks or impacts of a project, especially if the project was initially on some kind of fast-track process, then projects should be subject to re-reviewed and scrutiny (which I would expect to have a standard legal process).

What "new information" arose aside from the general datacenter backlash that's been brewing this year?

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#38

Post by kccqzy »

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

If noise is the concern then regulate noise. Don’t restrict data centers.

If someone’s house has a dog that barks continuously, you aren’t going to say building houses here are restricted. Instead you restrict barking dogs, which is what cities do.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#39

Post by tyre »

aragilar wrote: post #23
ovao wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I would take fast-tracking high speed rail over community consultation.

Re: Amazon circumvents Gilroy community vote for AI data center

#40

Post by voakbasda »

Miner49er wrote: post #34
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…

6 years ago when the work to build the data center started, nobody cared about data centers. Should 6 years of planning be thrown away because data centers have recently become fashionable to hate?

One hundred years ago when humans started pumping oil out of the ground and burning it, nobody cared about it.

Should a century of infrastructure investment be thrown away because cooking the planet has recently become fashionable to hate?

Yes. It should. Will it? No.

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