The Oakley City Council on Tuesday approved an industrial development project that will turn vineyards into a logistics hub near Big Break Regional Shoreline, though the project will no longer include data centers.
Following an at-times contentious meeting in a packed city council chambers, the council voted 4-1 — with District 5 Councilmember George Fuller opposed — to approve the controversial Bridgehead Industrial Project, set for a 164-acre project site bound by Bridgehead Road to the west, Big Break Road to the east, Main Street to the South, and the San Joaquin River to the north.
But after hearing hours’ worth of public testimony that included both praise of the project from union representatives and deep concern about the environmental impacts of data centers from the residents who live nearby, the City Council revised the resolution to eliminate the possibility of data center development at the project site.
Previously, the project plans had included an industrial warehouse, logistics buildings, and “potentially” data centers, or facilities that house computing infrastructure for things like artificial intelligence.
Before casting his lone “no” vote close to midnight, Fuller said he took issue with rezoning the area for light industrial and certifying an environmental impact report that clearly stated the project would bring about three “significant and unavoidable” impacts: the loss of prime farmland, conflicts with regional air quality plans, and an increase in air pollution.
“We are sitting here with two reports saying there’s significant air quality disruption with nothing that you can do to stop it,” Fuller said, noting that approval of the project would prioritize the wealthy landowners, not the community. Oxfoot Oakley LLC, the project applicant company, and the vineyards in question are both owned by Fred Cline of Cline Family Cellars.
Despite removal of the possibility of data centers, some attendees still booed the decision while the labor union members in the audience wearing neon work clothes clapped.