More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to stop the construction of an Amazon Data Services data center in northeast Gilroy.
Although the project has already obtained all the permits and approvals it needs from the City of Gilroy, data center opponents are hoping to appeal to the project developer to reconsider or revise their plans.
The petition, started at change.org by Gilroy resident Britt Smith, also asks the city to make a commitment that it will “never approve development of a data center within city limits.”
“Recognizing Gilroy’s rich agricultural history, beautiful parks, and California’s fragile ecosystem it is our responsibility to ensure that the town we love can be enjoyed for generations to come without risks of environmental pollution that would degrade the quality of life,” says the petition, in part.
The 56-acre project that includes more than 438,000 square feet of information and energy storage facilities was approved July 3, 2025, by Gilroy Community Development Director Sharon Goei. It is located on Camino Arroyo next to the Gilroy Premium Outlets.
The project is owned by Amazon Data Services.
Because the industrial project did not require public review as it was deemed compatible with existing zoning ordinances, some Gilroy residents feel like they were left in the dark about the plans.
Smith and others want the community to know at least how significant the project and its potential impacts are.
“I am hoping to raise public awareness,” said Smith. “There is a huge gap between people knowing the project and what the scale of the project is.”
The data center will be built in phases, with the first phase consisting of a 218,000-square-foot single story data center that requires a 49 MW connection to PG&E, says a project description on the City of Gilroy’s website.
The first phase will be supported by 25 emergency generators, each with a 2.5 MW capacity to power the data center servers in the event of an emergency. Plans also include a 600-kilowatt generator to power other property functions such as lighting, also in case of an outage.
Phase Two will include another single-story data center building, also about 218,000 square feet.
Future plans also include offsite power transmission upgrades and a potential Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) of up to 50 megawatts, says the city’s website. Plans also include a 2,500–square-foot security building.
Some earth moving and other construction activity appears to have started recently at the site, as of Jan. 13. Amazon did not reply to a request for details.
Among the project opponents’ concerns are fire safety and firefighter staffing. Project details include significant on-site batteries, which can be a prolonged problem if they catch on fire, Smith noted.
Another concern is water usage. According to a “fact sheet” about the project created by the city, the data center project at full capacity could use up to 18 acre feet of water per year, primarily for cooling.
Smith added that’s about equal to the water usage of 325 homes in Gilroy per year.
The total groundwater supply volume available to Gilroy is just over 10,300 acre feet per year, city staff said.
“Looking forward there are concerns for if and when a drought happens—how our water supply as a community will be impacted and how the power grid will be able to support this project,” Smith said.
Local concerns related to the project have caught the attention of city officials, although Mayor Greg Bozzo said the city can’t legally stop the project at this point. Residents have brought their concerns to recent city council meetings and last week’s “Coffee With the Mayor” with Bozzo.
City Hall created the seven-page fact sheet about the data center in response to the concerns.
“Anybody who is interested in the developments that are going on in Gilroy, I am interested in what they have to say. I like the idea that people care,” Bozzo said.
The mayor noted that the property where Amazon plans to build has been zoned for such uses, or general industrial, since the 1981 General Plan.
“(Pursuant) to the existing Gilroy City Code, the Community Development Director issued the Architectural and Site Review Permit and certified the Environmental Impact Report” for the data center, says the city’s fact sheet. “No public hearing was required. An appeal was received, and subsequently withdrawn… Because no one appealed, the project did not go before the Planning Commission or City Council.”
Recognizing that reality, Smith said she and other opponents hope they can influence Amazon to act on local feedback.
“Data centers are cropping up all over the country and communities are pushing back. It has made an impact, and there have been cases where Amazon has rescinded their plans for hyper scale data centers,” Smith said. “We are hoping to appeal to Amazon to adjust plans and work with the community.”
