When the Oakley City Council voted Tuesday to approve a controversial industrial development project near Big Break Regional Shoreline, the responses from the tired audience that stayed to the end were mixed.
While the council approved the 164-acre Bridgehead Industrial Project in a 4-1 vote with an amendment to exclude data centers — a point of contention for many residents — some were still unhappy with the decision to convert agricultural land into a logistics center. Project plans had previously included an industrial warehouse, logistics buildings and “potentially” data centers, or facilities that house computing infrastructure for things like artificial intelligence.
“I’m pissed,” Oakley resident Sharon Kuykendall said to a reporter after the meeting. “Why do we have to build, build, build?”
During the public comment period, Kuykendall said she was prepared to bring forward a class action lawsuit should the city approve the project — to which the audience cheered.
On the other hand, union representatives — who helped to fill the chamber seats and spoke in support of the project that would create local jobs — applauded the decision.
“Projects of this scale don’t just create buildings, they create careers, economic opportunities and long-term stability for local families,” said Chris Palomo, senior organizer with the Nor Cal Carpenters Union Local 152. “The construction alone on this project will generate thousands of work hours for hard-working men and women, many of whom live right here in Oakley.”
Several public speakers, however, questioned how many jobs would actually be filled by Oakley residents and whether any of the union representatives present that night even lived in the small, working-class city of Oakley.
Data center concerns drive opposition
“I’m for jobs. Trust me, I’m a blue-collar worker,” said Holley Bishop, a local beekeeper, who talked about the environmental impact data centers would have on both people and pollinators.
Bishop recalled losing all her hives within two weeks of another construction project.
“We need jobs. Jobs are amazing, but you can’t work if you’re sick,” she said.
Others expressed concerns that included tanking property values, the impact the project would have on the Delta and wildlife, water and power impacts of potential data centers, and the height of the proposed buildings — while also criticizing the Cline family that put the project forward.
Fred Cline owns both the applicant company, Oxfoot Oakley LLC, and the vintage vineyards that currently live on the proposed project site.
“Obviously, we’re not extremely wealthy people, or we would be living in a place like Sonoma, like the Clines do,” said speaker David Bonson. “The Clines are dripping in wealth, and when you vote yes, you vote for them. A vote no is a vote for us. They want to strip away our area for their own greed because they can. They will get richer, while we can’t sell our homes because of this industrial complex.”
Councilmember George Fuller, who cast the lone dissenting vote, agreed and said that to ignore the potential impacts would be caring for the “privileged landowners.”
Fuller 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.
“The number one industry in the state is agriculture,” Fuller said, saying the prime ag land should be turned into another crop if the grapes weren’t growing well, as the Clines have claimed. “You ain’t making money in grapes, you go to something else. You don’t put up a data center.”
Project could bring thousands of jobs
But councilmembers Anissa Williams and Shannon Shaw highlighted the challenges of being a bedroom community with few local job opportunities. According to the staff report, construction of the project is expected to create 2,700 construction jobs and about 2,000 onsite jobs at buildout. Once the developer agreed to remove data centers as a potential facility, they both signaled support.
“I think it’s really important that we start providing living-wage jobs,” said Williams, who noted the community shouldn’t have to accept two-hour commutes just because it’s always been that way. “I don’t know if everybody is paying attention, but we’re about to lose BART. We’re going to have to save ourselves. The state has come in and said that our county can’t depend on them to save us. We’re not getting an infusion of cash.”
Mayor Hugh Henderson also supported nixing data centers based on community concerns while also commending the jobs and various improvements the development would bring to Oakley.
“For years in this community, bringing jobs, bringing something different than gas stations and fast food restaurants with drive-thrus or storage units is always a common theme that we hear,” said Henderson.
“To be able to bring jobs in, to see the improvements on Big Break Road, to see Main Street get cleaned up with a center median, to give us something to be proud of coming into town from the north side of town — all are improvements that people have asked for, but there hasn’t been a way to do,” he said.