Massive Data Centers, Coming Soon To A Neighborhood Near You!
San Jose has approved massive data centers complete with rows of diesel generators, industrial cooling towers, and new high‑voltage infrastructure, to be built in the Great Oaks corridor, right up against Santa Teresa neighborhoods. Residents are furious!
The Great Oaks South project includes 36 diesel generators, each 3.25 MW, plus additional life‑safety generators all clustered in six generator yards.
The Equinix project expanded allowable data‑center square footage from 260,000 to 400,000 sq ft and removed setback requirements, bringing industrial‑scale buildings closer to the street and nearby homes.
I went to a public meeting this week held by the Santa Tersa Bernal Neighborhood association where residents complained about:
Low‑frequency rumble from generator testing
Diesel exhaust during test cycles
Industrial fencing, fuel tanks, and mechanical yards that destroy neighborhood aesthetics
24/7 truck traffic for maintenance, fuel delivery, and construction
Heat and vibration from cooling systems
These are industrial impacts but they’re being placed next to homes, parks, and schools.
San José has repeatedly modified zoning rules to make data centers easier to build including removing setback requirements and reducing parking requirements. Why?
They pay millions in property taxes
They require very few city services
They generate almost no traffic compared to office parks
They don’t require schools, parks, or housing
So cities place them in industrial‑zoned "pockets" even when those pockets are directly adjacent to residential neighborhoods.
Projects like Great Oaks South sought Small Power Plant Exemptions (SPPE) to bypass full state power‑plant certification.
This is effectively a regulatory shortcut.
As a real estate broker, the concern is straightforward: Homes near the data center will drop in value. Buyers are turned off by the noise, air quality, and visual blight. I feel terrible for homeowners that will now be forced to live next to these. These home owners bought into a quiet stable neighborhood. They did not sign up to live next to a massive data center! This time the NIMBY's are right!
Great Oaks and Santa Teresa were never meant to become Silicon Valley’s industrial dumping ground. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening: one data center at a time, the character of the neighborhood is being erased.
If residents don’t speak up, organize, and demand accountability, the city will continue approving these projects because the financial incentive is too strong for them to stop on their own.
