Residents are voicing concern about the rezoning of the former 35-acre IBM Almaden Research Center nestled in the rolling hills of South San Jose. They fear it will attract more data centers to the region.
The San Jose City Council sees it differently and voted 9-2 to approve the industrial park rezoning on Aug. 18. Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei and Pamela Campos voted against it and called for the vote to be postponed to allow for more community input. The majority of councilmembers declined to delay the decision, despite residents and environmental groups urging for a pause until future development plans are known. The community argued uniform standards for data center projects in the city are needed first.
Councilmember George Casey, whose District 10 encompasses the former IBM site, said he wants the land to be productive economically and sees no reason to wait…