The theme of data centers has generated a conversation that has galvanized many in the San Gabriel Valley community to demonstrate against them. The organizers of the “No Data Companies in SGV” campaign argue that the construction of these centers would not only damage the climate, but could also affect the health of the people living around them.
On Saturday morning, residents of Avocado Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Puente, El Monte, Monterey Park and more gathered at Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights, calling for a halt to construction of a data center in the town of Substitute, which is just 4 miles from many of the communities present.
The event was organized by groups such as the Party of Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the Puente Hills Community Preservation Association, Avocado Heights Vaqueros, SGVoices and the two coalitions against the data centers of the San Gabriel Valley and Monterey Park. That Saturday, more than 50 people arrived, with their children, family, friends and pets, filling the park entrance. The know-how public of different ages and ethnic groups, each of them raising their banners with messages against data centers.
“To everyone here, this is not a question of blue or red states,” said Samuel Brown Vázquez, who is part of the coalition called “No to data centers in the San Gabriel Valley” and who is a member of the Avocado Heights Vaqueros. “In every corner of the United States, people are coming together to say, ‘Enough is enough’; we have to draw a line, because if we don’t, the situation is going to get worse. Our health and the health of their families are at risk.”
They warn that the city of Substitute is at risk
According to the organizers, the city of Substitute is quietly transforming into a regional data center hub. There are at least three projects in the development phase. Internal emails to which community advocates have had access reveal that the municipal non-public has been, at least since 2024, courting data center developers and eliminating zoning barriers. The zoning changes now proposed are designed to ensure that once the first data center is approved, nothing will prevent the construction of the second, third or tenth.
And since mid-December, when San Gabriel Valley residents discover the city of Substitute’s plans to transform Puente Hills Mall into a data centera facility intended to house large computers often associated with artificial intelligence (AI), have been organizing to express their opposition and concern that this new project could create environmental risks that spread to the surrounding communities.
“Battery energy storage systems are known for their catastrophic failures. When these things ignite, they not only burn, but they also generate huge clouds of corrosive and lethal vapor,” said a Hacienda Heights resident. “This type of incident can produce thousands of pounds of hydrogen fluoride gasoline in a matter of minutes. “A toxic substance that causes serious lung damage and heart failure.”
Centers like the one the Marici Battery Vitality Storage Gadget Facility wants to build They consume large amounts of water. Some of these centers, depending on their size, consume around five million gallons of water daily to prevent computers from overheating, which puts nearby areas at risk of fires.
Among the public that day was Jorge Camarena, who attended the demonstration with his wife and 9-year-old daughter. For him it is a generational issue: Camarena knows exactly how one of these centers can affect him and his family.
He grew up in the Florence-Firestone community, where the Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon, California had been fought since the 1990s. The facility, which melted lead-acid batteries, was a major source of lead and arsenic emissions affecting surrounding communities in southeast Los Angeles.
“We don’t want what happened in Vernon to happen here, so today we are here for the future of our families, to guarantee that they have green spaces to enjoy”Camarena said. “And, of course, it is an environmental injustice because they pollute the air, the land and the water. Many of these companies come here to make their money while our communities are the ones that suffer the consequences of these centers.”
Although the Exide plant closed permanently in 2015, recent reports from LA Instances reveal that, despite investing more than $700 million over a decade, nearly three-quarters of rehabbed homes in southeastern Los Angeles County still have lead levels that exceed California safety limits. A story that no one wants to repeat in Substitute, according to those who attended Saturday’s demonstration.
Alicia Villalobos, a La Puente resident, learned about the potential data centers through social media. He says that, after seeing the announcement of the event, he decided to go and take his daughter and her friend from school.
“I wanted to show my daughter that she has a voice and that she can use it to fight for what is right and for her future,” Villalobos said. “We don’t know what the health risks will be in a few years if this is done; and although I hope to still be here in twenty years, my daughter is the one who is going to be here, so I am worried about her future and that of her children.”
Demonstrations like those on Saturday have been held in several cities and states. That day, after learning from the organizers, people headed to the sidewalk, where they held up their signs while cars honked in support. Vázquez, who has been one of the leaders in mobilizing the community, says he does not lose hope that they can stop the possible construction.
“There is nothing that cannot be fought; that means we have to demand new laws and protections and raise our voices,” Vázquez said. “Go out and vote and demand that your representatives not make contracts with these centers, which only have in mind making money, not the well-being of the community.”
Keep reading:
– LA Metro opens 187 transit-oriented homes in East Hollywood
– Spanish-speaking people are left out of the discussion for power plant in Substitute
– Los Angeles Superior Court implements pilot program for eviction cases
