The Reno City Council will vote on whether to direct staff to start a text amendment to Title 18, Annexation and Land Development Code, to revise data center use requirements.
This comes as a company called Centra is working on a new data center with AI-ready infrastructure at 265 Keystone Avenue.
Several residents are concerned about the project's use of resources and the potential for more traffic.
One Reno resident who goes by MK said, “I'm really hoping that there's some, maybe, planning and ideas around that, because just bringing so many more people in could be kind of a problem.”
"I don't think there's enough research that's gone in preemptively in building that data center on Keystone,” Allison Hartmann said. “I think there's a lot of concerns with sound, a lot of concerns with water, with how close it is to the river. That area as well is just very populated, so it's just definitely an eyesore for anybody around that area.”
Hartmann shares videos on TikTok about issues relevant to Reno, including the Keystone Data Center. However, her platform recently landed her in hot water.
“Unfortunately, I did lose my job for speaking out about the data centers,” she said. “It seems that some contractors called and wanted me fired."
The City of Reno said several resource advocacy groups are involved in these discussions, including the Sierra Club.
Cullin McGinnis, the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator with the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, said they will be active at Wednesday's city council meeting.
“I live in northwest Reno, so I'm not too far from that data center. And I have a lot of concerns, namely, that it's right on the river, and also that it was approved before there were regulations on the books,” McGinnis said.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, dozens of people had written public comments in favor of tighter regulations, some even calling for a moratorium to stop future data center approvals.
City Councilman Devon Reese announced he is in favor of a moratorium until clear rules are set for data centers. In a statement, he said in part, "We can build the right projects once we have the right rules in place. That's what I'm asking the city council to do."
The Reno City Council will meet on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Reno City Hall, located at 1 East First Street. If you are unable to attend in person, you can write a public comment or register for the city’s Zoom call on its website.
