Amazon accused of dodging public review for Gilroy AI data center

Residents of Gilroy, California say they were caught off guard when construction began on a large Amazon AI data center, after the company reportedly used a 45-year-old procedural rule to limit public comment. Negotiations for the project began in 2020, and the formal public-comment window had already closed by 2024.

Why it matters: This is a concrete instance of the broader local-backlash pattern building around AI data center construction, where communities learn about massive facilities and their power and land-use impact only after decisions are effectively locked in. It adds to a string of related stories, including Virginia making data centers pay for grid upgrades and Amazon's Texas gas plant, showing local and state governments starting to push back on how AI infrastructure gets sited and approved.