On Tuesday, July 21, people packed in to the Hanford’s City Council chambers to voice their opinions on a recently-proposed data center at the Kings County Fairgrounds.
With every chair occupied, attendees lined the walls, some carrying signs with anti-data center messages like, “Water is for AG not AI.” There were so many people that the air conditioning struggled to keep up, and attendees spilled out into the foyer.
In total, 29 people, including teachers, pediatricians, activists and local residents who said they had never been to a City Council meeting before, spoke out against the data center and the City’s Flock cameras. There were no comments in support of either of the two issues.
The Kings Fairgrounds CEO Dena Rizzardo said in a press release distributed July 21 that the project, which would be built by Global Stack, is not a traditional, hyperscale data center. Global Stack refers to the project as an edge computing system.
Kings County residents are fired up about the new data center proposal, especially in wake of the planned NAS Lemoore data center, which had no local input since, as it is on federal land. This City Council meeting was held the day after the Kings County Fair board meeting, where more than 30 people gave public comment.
Mayor Mark Kairis said that he was unaware of the project until he found out on social media and that the City has neither been consulted on the proposal, nor has it had discussions about the data center.
Commenters frequently mentioned that they did not know how much water and electricity the data center will use, as well as how much noise pollution the Global Stack project will produce.
“Is it going to pollute our water? Is it going to pollute our air?” said Hanford resident Kathleen Jorgensen.
Fiona Rodriguez said half of the world’s population will be affected by severe water stress by 2030.
“Will you allow our community to be part of that 50%?” Rodriguez said.
One resident said that the City Council could not be transparent with residents because Global Stack was not transparent with the City Council.
Ivette Chaidez Villareal, Valley Voice’s civic engagement program director, said that a data center will contribute to Hanford’s already poor air quality.
According to a 2026 American Lung Association report, Hanford has the fourth worst particulate matter pollution in the nation.
“We are constantly told that these projects represent progress, innovation, and economic development,” Villareal said. “Progress for who?”
Villareal also mentioned that once data centers are built they actually employ relatively few people. Global Stacks said it would use union labor to build their edge computing systems.
“Economic development should leave our community healthier than before, not ask us to sacrifice air, water, farmland and quality of life,” Villareal said.
Amy Wilkinson said that Kings County has a history of being used as the state’s dumping ground for unsavory projects and that even small data centers will have negative effects.
Multiple residents also expressed concerns that the data centers will drive up already expensive water and electric bills.
Amy Briar, a Hanford resident, said her electricity bill was up to $1,200 a month, and even after installing solar panels, her monthly payment only dropped to $500.
Attendees had several suggestions for what the City Council should do. One person mentioned that the City needs to form a coalition with the Kings County Board of Supervisors and other cities in the county.
Others said that the City Council needs to pass a resolution banning data centers or amend zoning regulations to exclude industrial developments. One commenter said that the City should work with the County on a class action lawsuit against Global Stack.
City Attorney Ty Mizote said that in regards to zoning, it’s important to look at who owns the property, and the Kings Fairgrounds is owned by the state.
“The general rule is state agencies are not subject to local laws,” Mizote said. He added that it’s possible that the Global Stack project doesn’t require any City approvals and that the City Council has no authority to prohibit the data center.
But commenters weren’t satisfied with that answer, and several people asked the City Council to think outside to box.
“What I don’t want is excuses,” said Hanford resident Lucy Gomez.
The City Council decided to arrange two study sessions in order to review the data center and the Flock cameras at a future meeting.
The council members each thanked everyone who spoke for coming to the meeting.
“This is how things happen. This is how the community, which we represent, guides us,” Kairis said.
Councilmember Kimber Regan said that Hanford will be working together with concerned residents to address the data center, and Councilmember Travis Paden said he paid close attention to each public comment, taking three and a half pages of notes.
“Action now will be your legacy. Inaction will also be your legacy. Please think about what you’d like to leave behind,” Wilkinson said.