Palm Springs has no rules for data centers. The city's zoning and municipal codes don't define them, and no city policy covers where they can go or what standards they must meet. Right now, a temporary ban is holding off new data center applications while the city catches up. That ban runs out on October 10.

The Palm Springs City Council can keep the pause in place. City staff have recommended extending it by 22 months and 15 days. That would give planners time to study how these large facilities could affect the city and to write land-use rules as part of the zoning code update already underway.

The council has already taken the first step. In August, council members voted unanimously for the 45-day emergency ban. Extending it is the natural follow-through. City staff say more time is needed to review these uses "thoughtfully and thoroughly," both internally and with the community, according to a city staff report.

This isn't about being for or against data centers. It's about doing things in the right order: rules first, applications second. Residents, local businesses, and anyone hoping to build in Palm Springs all benefit from clear, fair standards that everyone knows ahead of time.

If the ban lapses before rules are written, the city could be left weighing major proposals with nothing on the books to measure them against.

The Palm Springs City Council should approve the full extension and use that time to write data center rules with real public input.

Sign the petition to tell the Palm Springs City Council to extend the data center pause and put clear rules in place before the ban runs out on October 10.