Los Angeles is exactly where a Data Center should go. There is no economy. It's been hollowed out and that's why vagrants and drug addicts have claimed the space as their own.
LA does not need any more traffic and Data Centers take up a lot of space but very few people work there or visit so no traffic or parking issues.
Unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County is exactly where you need to put AI data centers, but LA County is putting the brakes on one of the hottest sectors of the AI economy.
The county planning director has ordered an immediate temporary prohibition on new large-scale AI data centers in unincorporated areas while officials pursue permanent zoning restrictions.
Supervisor Hilda Solis says residents are concerned about data centers consuming enormous amounts of electricity and water, along with potential pollution, noise and public-health impacts. The Board of Supervisors unanimously ordered a study of those issues back in April.
But there’s an economic side.
California already has at least 287 data centers, and an industry report says the sector supported more than 665-thousand California jobs and generated $14.1 billion in state and local taxes in 2024.
And the restriction covers a lot of territory: unincorporated L.A. County encompasses about 2,600 square miles — roughly two-thirds of the county’s land area.
So while tech companies are preparing to spend hundreds of billions building the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence, L.A. County is telling the projects: not here.