Hayward Tightens Rules for Future Data-Center Projects
Hayward has amended its municipal code to impose a more specific approval process on future data-center projects, requiring major permits, a public hearing before the City Council, environmental review and plans addressing sustainability and community benefits.
The change came in April 2026, as the city continues to track two large data-center projects that are already under construction or partly operating. Hayward says no application for a new data center is currently pending.
What the new process requires
Under the amended code, data centers now have their own land-use category. Any future application must receive approval for a Major Conditional Use Permit, rather than proceeding through a less extensive approval path.
The application must also go to a public hearing before the Hayward City Council. That gives the council a formal role in deciding whether a proposed facility can move forward and under what conditions.
Applicants must complete environmental review and submit both a Sustainability Plan and a Community Benefits Plan. The city’s process also includes a 300-foot notice radius for affected properties, providing nearby property owners and occupants with notice of a proposed project.
The requirements are aimed at bringing the potential effects of large facilities into the public review process. The city identifies electricity, water, infrastructure and neighborhood impacts as issues that could be affected by future data-center development.
Two projects are already in the city’s pipeline
The city’s data-center page lists STACK SVY03A as under construction, with an estimated capacity of 76.6 megawatts. Hayward Exchange @ 92 is also under construction and partially operational, with an estimated capacity of 49 megawatts.
Electrical capacity is an estimate of the facilities’ planned or rated scale; it is not the same as a reported measurement of current electricity consumption.
Hayward says the STACK project was approved by the Planning Commission on May 22, 2025, and that no appeal was filed. The city’s current page does not identify a pending application for another new data center.
Why the change matters
Data centers can be large industrial facilities whose development raises questions about utility demand, water use, supporting infrastructure and effects on nearby neighborhoods. Hayward’s new rules do not establish a reported limit on the size of a future facility, but they do require those proposals to undergo a defined public approval process.
The Major Conditional Use Permit and City Council hearing also create points at which project details can be reviewed publicly. Environmental documents, sustainability measures and proposed community benefits will be part of the application requirements for future projects.
For residents near a proposed site, the 300-foot notice radius identifies the area the city uses for direct notice of affected properties. The public hearing requirement provides a separate opportunity for community input before the council acts on an application.
For now, the next step is tied to any future proposal rather than a currently pending application. A new applicant would need to assemble the required plans and environmental review, obtain a Major Conditional Use Permit and appear before the City Council before the project could receive approval through the new process.
Sources
- Data Center Development Applications, City of Hayward
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