Monterey Park Data Center, Monterey Park, California

HMC Capital, through its StratCap unit, withdrew its application for a data center at 1977 Saturn Street in Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California, at the end of March 2026, after months of community opposition. In June, Monterey Park voters went further and banned data centers outright: preliminary returns on June 4 showed more than 86 percent backing Measure NDC, a permanent citywide prohibition.

The withdrawn project would have been a 247,000-square-foot data center, with a new electrical substation and about two dozen backup diesel generators, built by the Australian asset manager on a site it bought for $39 million in 2024. The group No Data Center in Monterey Park formed in December 2025, collected 5,300 petition signatures and argued the costs in electricity, noise and property values outweighed a small number of permanent jobs. Co-founder Steven Kung, who lives a few minutes from the site, texted his husband "Yikes, let's fight this" when he learned of it.

The City Council adopted a 45-day moratorium in January 2026, then on March 4 voted 5-0 to extend it by 10.5 months and put a ban to voters, with City Attorney Karl Berger calling the combined steps a "belt, suspenders and girdle approach." "We're glad HMC StratCap is going to work with the city to find other land uses for their purchase," Councilmember Jose Sanchez said after the withdrawal.

The fight has spread: El Monte passed its own 45-day citywide moratorium on March 18, 2026, and a regional alliance, the No Data Centers San Gabriel Valley Coalition, now links opposition groups across several cities, including in the City of Industry, where residents are organizing against a data center proposed for the Puente Hills Mall site.

The measure passed with wide support, and Mayor Elizabeth Yang said the city has no pending data center applications: "We're hoping that our actions here in our little city are going to set an example for other cities that are dealing with similar issues." What happens to the Saturn Street land now rests with its owner and the City Council; HMC StratCap had not told the city its plans for the property after withdrawing.