Mayor Todd Gloria Signs Data Center Moratorium as City Council Confirms Bethany Bezak as New COO

Mayor Todd Gloria Enacts Immediate Moratorium on Commercial Data Centers

SAN DIEGO, California — Responding decisively to community concerns regarding utility grid capacity and neighborhood character in late October 2026, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order enacting an immediate temporary moratorium on new commercial data center developments throughout the city. The executive pause follows intense public scrutiny regarding a proposed 400-megawatt computational facility near the NAVWAR complex in the Old Town and Midway corridors, with residents raising alarms over massive power consumption and localized water use.

Mayor Gloria emphasized that while San Diego embraces technological innovation, hyperscale facilities cannot be allowed to overburden neighborhood energy grids, escalate consumer utility bills, or conflict with statutory Climate Action Plan decarbonization targets without clear municipal guardrails.

City Council Confirms Bethany Bezak as City Chief Operating Officer

In executive leadership restructuring, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously (8-0) to confirm Bethany Bezak as San Diego's new Chief Operating Officer. The appointment concludes a nearly two-year period during which Mayor Gloria directly managed day-to-day administrative operations, restoring dedicated managerial oversight across 12,000 municipal employees, public utilities, and public works programs.

Council leadership applauded the appointment, noting that Bezak's extensive engineering background in water infrastructure and public works provides critical expertise to oversee internal audits and resolve billing issues across the Public Utilities Department.

Land Use Committee Advances Landmark 50-Acre Midway Rising Redevelopment

In urban revitalization progress, the City Council's Land Use and Housing Committee voted unanimously to forward the Midway Rising project to the full City Council for final master development entitlements. The transformative 50-acre initiative replaces the aging Pechanga Arena with a modern 16,000-seat entertainment arena, more than 4,000 deed-restricted affordable housing units, and extensive pedestrian parkland, delivering on the city's highest-priority transit-oriented housing vision.