Monterey Park, CA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 21.02.170(C), added by Ordinance 2276 on April 20, 2026 and further amended by Ordinances 2278 and 2279 on May 6, 2026, bars data centers outright: 'it is unlawful for any person to construct, operate, reconstruct, or use real property for a data center in any zone,' subject only to federal or state preemption, and using property that way is a misdemeanor. That prohibition sits in the same chapter as the city's parallel ban on airports and helipads in any zone, both amendments adopted the same year, showing the City Council treats data centers as an outright land-use exclusion rather than a use requiring a conditional permit or overlay siting standard.

The city backed the ban with a nuisance designation in its neighborhood-preservation title: Section 4.30.040 lists dozens of conditions that constitute a public nuisance, and among them, added by the same 2026 ordinances, is 'any construction, operation, or maintenance of a data center within this city.' That gives code enforcement a second, faster path, the administrative citation and abatement process for public nuisances, on top of the criminal misdemeanor charge available under the Zoning Code itself. There is no siting standard, buffer distance, or permit pathway anywhere in Title 21 for a data center use; the only way a data center could locate in Monterey Park is if federal or state law specifically preempts the local ban for that project.