On Wednesday night, Mayor Matt Mahan met with some South San Jose residents who say they’ve been dealing with a low, constant hum and bright lights shinning into their backyards coming from data centers nearby. Neighbors said the noise can get even louder when temperatures rise. Their concerns come as San Jose looks at whether its rules for data centers need to be strengthened. Denisa and Jay Filichia live in South San Jose. Their backyard faces several data centers along Great Oaks Boulevard, separated by a few roads and train tracks. “We’re not anti-data center at all, it’s more the noise and the lights that are bothering us,” Filichia said. Denisa has been in contact with the city, and on Wednesday night, Mayor Matt Mahan went to the neighborhood to hear the noise for himself. The mayor and the neighbors then walked toward Monterey Road, getting closer to the data centers. The neighbors’ complaints come as data centers themselves are facing increased scrutiny in other cities as these facilities usually require significant amounts of electricity and water, causing a lot of anger in some communities. Some are even imposing temporary moratoriums on new data centers, all together. San Jose hasn’t. The city is hearing from residents and considering stronger standards. “We should require that if a data center in San Jose can access our purple pipe, that’s our recycled water network, that they need to hook up to that system and become a customer and pay for that water,” Mahan said. Mahan says that would also help the city expand its recycled water system. And for Denisa and Jay, he says he’ll work with the data centers to try to address the noise and light. “We’ll talk to them. Maybe they can put some insulation or shielding around the fans and quiet down on their end. maybe we can turn down the lights,” Mahan said. San Jose plans to hold a series of town halls in the coming months as it works on potential new standards and regulations for those data centers. As for any proposed rules they come up with, they’re expected to come before the San Jose City Council in December. ...read more read less