Oakland Life Enrichment Committee Meeting: September 22, 2026 - Data Center Moratorium Approved

The Oakland City Council Life Enrichment Committee met on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, convening at 4:04 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Chairperson Carroll Fife (District 3) presided, with Councilmembers Noel Gallo (District 5), Ken Houston (District 7), and Charlene Wang (District 2) present. Because of the large number of public speakers, Chair Fife limited public comment to one minute thirty seconds per speaker. The committee approved two routine items and two grant agreements, and voted 3-0 to approve an interim urgency ordinance establishing a 45-day moratorium on data centers in Oakland, forwarding it to the October 6, 2026 City Council meeting. When Councilmember Brown arrived, a quorum of the full City Council was noted; the committee meeting was adjourned and reconvened as a Special Meeting of the Full Council at 4:36 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Item 1 - Approval of Draft Minutes (July 14, 2026): Approved unanimously, 4-0, on a motion by Councilmember Gallo, seconded by Councilmember Houston.
• Item 2 - Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items: Approved unanimously, 4-0, on a motion by Gallo, seconded by Houston.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Item 2: Jesse Rosemore urged that the Public Safety Committee's long-pending proposal to civilianize Oakland Police Department positions be moved to the Life Enrichment Committee, arguing it would save the city millions of dollars that could fund resident services.
• Item 3 (Meals on Wheels, 3 speakers): Sada Olabala, a senior, raised concerns about Meals on Wheels programs generally, citing waiting lists averaging three to four months and sometimes stretching to a year, service reductions, rising costs, reduced federal funding, and complaints about bland, repetitive food and small portions. Jesse Rosemore supported the grant but expressed concern that the Oakland Police Officers Association contract will strain future city budgets. Samuel Ramsey (California Oakland Union of Homeless Women Health Outreach and Community Garden) spoke about food insecurity and the importance of growing food, offering to help with the program.
• Item 4 (Early Care and Education Grant, 2 speakers): Sada Olabala noted that Measure AA can be used for Head Start salaries, asked whether the grant covers private child care businesses (staff confirmed it does not), and said private providers are struggling with competition from OUSD's free transitional kindergarten. Jesse Rosemore criticized Councilmember Wang's questions as performative and raised concerns about the police contract and possible city worker strikes.
• Item 5 (Data Center Moratorium, 45 speakers): The overwhelming majority supported the moratorium, with many urging a permanent ban. Common positions included: data centers threaten public health (air, water, noise, diesel backup generators); they would raise electricity and water rates; they consume resources at the expense of residents (one speaker cited that in 2024 AI data centers used 4.4% of U.S. electricity while supporting less than 1% of jobs); they serve tech billionaires and real estate speculators rather than Oaklanders; and they risk displacement and gentrification. Speakers cited successful actions elsewhere, including Monterey Park's 45-day moratorium followed by the first U.S. voter-approved data center ban, a New York moratorium and gubernatorial executive order, and a Texas pause on data center permits; one speaker said 7,000 people had signed a petition. Several speakers, including a public health nurse and an Oakland High School student, cited health, generational, and community harms. Speakers opposing or qualifying the moratorium included: Mindy Petchenuk, candidate for Oakland mayor, who cited Virginia figures (74,000 jobs, $5.5 billion in annual labor income, $9.1 billion in GDP, and $41 billion in assessed property value in Loudoun County, producing nearly half of county property tax revenue) and argued Oakland needs industry rather than more taxes; Gerald Petchnock, who noted 260 data centers exist in California and 3,000 in the U.S.; Eben Cambridge, an Oakland native who supported the 45-day pause but opposed a permanent ban, comparing it to resistance to Uber and Lyft; a union representative who supported the moratorium while urging a regulatory framework with community benefits, local hiring, and union jobs; and Eric Nagamair of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, who offered industry partnership, noting data centers can bring tax revenues and infrastructure upgrades. Chair Fife acknowledged the range of views and said the 45-day period is the state maximum under Government Code Section 65858.

Discussion Items

• Item 3 - Grant Agreement for Service Opportunity for Seniors (SOS) - Meals on Wheels (FY 2025-2027): Human Services staff (Hakeem McGee) presented a resolution awarding SOS $150,000 for FY 2025-2026 and $150,000 for FY 2026-2027 to administer the Meals on Wheels food delivery program, and authorizing the City Administrator to negotiate the agreement and extend its term without increasing the amount. The funding was included in the two-year budget (Resolution 91061) but was mistakenly omitted from the list of community-based organization grants. Councilmember Gallo thanked the organizations and volunteers. Approved 4-0 and forwarded to the October 6, 2026 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 4 - Early Care and Education Emergency Grant - Measure C: Human Services staff presented a resolution appropriating up to $500,000 from the First 5 Alameda County Early Care and Education Emergency Grant for stipends to eligible Early Childhood and Family Services Division staff and other allowable expenditures. The city had already passed Resolution 91029 authorizing the application. The funds support Measure C Goal 2 (recruiting, retaining, and supporting early educators). Staff said a 2024 third-party salary study found city educators are not paid on par with area educators; the $500,000 maximum award falls short of closing the gap even for one year. The program serves 672 children per year (622 funded through the Office of Head Start, 50 through the Oakland Children's Initiative) across 12 centers, two home-based visiting programs, and a family child care partner, serving children from prenatal/conception through age five. At least 10% of Head Start slots are reserved for children with diagnosed disabilities; the program currently serves over 13%. Councilmember Fife called the amount 'couch change' and expressed sadness that early childhood educators do not earn a living wage. Councilmembers asked about long-term pay strategy and partnerships; staff noted the city's direct federal Head Start grant is an anomaly (usually held by nonprofits or counties). Approved 4-0 and forwarded to the October 6, 2026 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 5 - Moratorium on Data Centers: Councilmember Fife introduced an interim urgency ordinance under California Government Code Section 65858 imposing a 45-day moratorium - the state maximum - on approving any land use entitlements or agreements to allow development or operation of data centers of any size in Oakland, effective immediately. Fife said Oakland currently has no regulations governing data centers; that AI-era data centers are far more resource-intensive (electricity, water, diesel backup generators, noise, heat, vibration); and that Gilroy, Richmond, Hayward, and Pittsburgh have adopted similar moratoriums. She addressed controversy over her press conference with Bering Companies, stating it was held for transparency about an informal request for review of the 415 20th Street property and was not an endorsement; no formal application has been filed. She opposed additional amendments as redundant. Councilmember Houston read a September 18 email he sent requesting a preliminary environmental report on 415 20th Street (formerly a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory supercomputing complex). Planning Director William Gilchrist confirmed the submission was a 'request for determination,' not a project application. Councilmember Gallo expressed full support. Councilmember Wang proposed amendments (developed with Director Gilchrist) calling for a locally specific impact study and a work plan at the 45-day mark, arguing state law's 35-day report requirement would not produce adequate analysis; Fife countered that the amendments restated existing requirements and state law, and presented her own amendments. Deputy City Attorney Brian Miller confirmed Fife's amendments were needed for compliance with City Charter Section 213 and that state law requires a written report at least 10 days before the moratorium expires; the moratorium can be extended by a seven-vote council vote for up to two years. Councilmember Brown (not a committee member) voiced full support and asked about an inventory of existing data centers and their approval history; Gilchrist said the 45-day period would include baseline research, robust community engagement, and identification of needed consultants and expertise, in coordination with PG&E, EBMUD, and Ava Community Energy. Councilmember Brown cited online figures for the 415 20th Street site's prior use (4.5 kilowatts) and the Bering proposal (20 kilowatts), while a public speaker described the proposed data center as 20 megawatts, equivalent to the energy use of 20,000 homes; the transcript records both figures without reconciliation.

Key Outcomes

• Item 1: Approved 4-0 (motion Gallo, second Houston).
• Item 2: Approved 4-0 (motion Gallo, second Houston).
• Item 3: Approved 4-0 (motion Gallo, second Houston); forwarded to the October 6, 2026 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 4: Approved 4-0 (motion Gallo, second Fife); forwarded to the October 6, 2026 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 5: Approved 3-0 as amended (motion Fife, second Houston; Gallo excused at 5:03 p.m. per the minutes; Houston, Wang, and Fife voting aye). Adopted amendments included: a WHEREAS clause citing City Charter Section 213 (permitting introduction and adoption of an emergency ordinance at the same meeting with six affirmative votes); adding 'preliminary proposals, and application information' to the fourth WHEREAS clause; adding references to City Charter Section 213 and emergency necessity findings; striking 'allocated' and inserting 'existing' in the use definitions (Section 1) and in Section 5; adding a new Section 8 requiring the City Administrator to present a written report to the City Council no later than 10 days before the ordinance's expiration or any extension, per Government Code Section 65858(d); adding the affirmative-vote-of-six-members requirement; and renumbering subsequent sections. Forwarded to the October 6, 2026 City Council agenda as a non-consent item.
• Open Forum: Three speakers spoke, including comments on the data center moratorium, city worker contracts (IFPTE and SEIU), roughly 1,000 vacant city positions, and police accountability.
• Note: The draft minutes contain apparent boilerplate errors in committee names, describing the meeting at various points as the Finance and Management Committee and the Public Works and Transportation Committee; the agenda and transcript identify this as the Life Enrichment Committee meeting. The agenda notice stated that no final City Council action could be taken despite the Special Meeting of the Full Council convening at 4:36 p.m.