Pittsburg Residents Protest Proposed Commercial Data Center Near Junior High School

Dozens of Pittsburg parents, educators, and neighborhood advocates gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday evening, staging an impassioned demonstration against a proposed 300,000-square-foot hyperscale data center planned on an industrial parcel directly adjacent to Rancho Medanos Junior High School. Carrying banners and student-drawn signs, the coalition presented petitions demanding that the Pittsburg City Council mandate comprehensive health impact assessments and establish mandatory buffer setbacks before approving commercial permits.

Community spokespersons outlined specific environmental and public health grievances, emphasizing that continuous low-frequency hum from rooftop chiller units could degrade classroom learning environments and disrupt student concentration. Parents also raised alarms over the facility's proposed array of backup diesel generators, citing existing particulate air quality burdens in eastern Contra Costa County and potential respiratory hazards for student athletes practicing on nearby athletic fields.

Pittsburg municipal planning officials acknowledged the community demonstration, explaining that the project remains under formal staff review and has not yet been scheduled for final planning commission determination. Representatives noted that developers have submitted draft acoustic mitigation blueprints featuring sound-dampening perimeter walls and zero-emission battery energy storage systems intended to replace conventional diesel backup units.

Pittsburg Unified School District trustees announced plans to review independent environmental modeling at their upcoming study session, reaffirming their commitment to safeguarding student health and school boundaries. The Pittsburg Planning Division will host an open community workshop regarding data center zoning standards on Thursday, November 5, in the council chambers. Citizens can inspect project design filings and submit formal public commentary through the city's development portal at pittsburgca.gov.