Data center developer sues Gibraltar, claiming moratorium unlawfully halted project

Raeden Acquisitions and Cal Realty have filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Gibraltar, claiming a one-year moratorium unlawfully stopped the company's application for a proposed 100-megawatt data center from moving forward.Raeden President and co-founder Jason Green said the lawsuit is not about bypassing the city's review process — it's about getting that process moving again and ensuring the application is reviewed under Gibraltar's existing code.Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:"Raeden remains steadfast and committed to continued collaboration and working transparently with Gibraltar to address community concerns and develop a responsible data center benefiting everyone," Green said.The city of Gibraltar said it cannot comment on ongoing litigation.While the legal fight plays out, residents near the proposed site are raising their own concerns about what a large data center could mean for their community.Kathy Yakesch, who has lived in Gibraltar for more than 20 years, said she has mixed feelings about the project."I'm still not sure. I know we need data and it's all about data …. but I'm worried about the environmental part of it," Yakesch said.Other residents are more firmly opposed."No. Who do they think they are anyway? They're all the way in California. Put their data center out there," John Bussard said.Yakesch said the situation leaves her feeling helpless."We're a small town and close-knit and we can't fight that, so it makes me really sad," Yakesch said.—————This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.