Hayward community members are invited to an upcoming meeting of the City Council Sustainability

Hayward community members are invited to an upcoming meeting of the City Council Sustainability Committee to learn about and provide input on City plans to further study the impacts of data center development and explore ways to more closely monitor existing facilities.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Hayward City Council Chambers starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, and can be attended in person or online on Zoom. Information on how to participate, the meeting agenda and related reports and material will be available on and through the meeting calendar page on the City of Hayward website.

This special meeting of the Council Sustainability Committee follows an Oct. 20 vote of the full City Council enacting an immediate 45-day moratorium on consideration and approval of new data centers in Hayward.

Under state law, the moratorium can be extended and remain in place for up to two years while the City considers related land-use and zoning ordinances and regulations.

During the upcoming special meeting of the Council Sustainability Committee (CSC), City staff plan to report on the most significant environmental and economic impacts associated with data centers but acknowledge there are knowledge gaps.

A main objective of the meeting is to solicit input from the CSC and community members about the issues they care about most and that require additional study.

Upon receiving this input and direction from the CSC, City staff will conduct additional research and report back to the committee and/or the full City Council with more information, including potential recommendations on next steps.