A preliminary step toward regulating artificial intelligence data centers brought a moment of bipartisan agreement to the local government in San Diego County.
The Board of Supervisors voted quickly and unanimously Wednesday to approve a proposal aimed at considering what sorts of environmental, land use or other regulations may be necessary for any large AI data centers that may be developed in San Diego County — the state’s second largest by population.
WHAT HAPPENED: The board, which has a 3-2 Democratic majority, voted 5-0 to study AI data center regulation. The proposal came from Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican running for Congress in a district that straddles parts of San Diego and Orange counties.
Desmond said he isn’t opposed to data centers but wants to be prepared if the proliferation of large data centers reaches San Diego County, an area the size of the state of Connecticut that stretches to the U.S.-Mexico border.
