Right now, there doesn’t seem to be much besides a weed grower and a shipping container vendor at the Humboldt-Rio Dell Business Park, an industrial area next to the Eel River and a bit north of Rio Dell proper — but, apparently, a developer has reached out to several of the owners and is interested in constructing a data center there.

Details are scant. The park is split into around half a dozen parcels. One of the owners, a SoHum cannabis figure named Jesse Jeffries who was contacted by the company, refused to talk with the Outpost, and Rio Dell’s city government doesn’t know anything about how much power, water, or space it would use, or who the developer is. (Development company Oppidan has reached out to a couple other local jurisdictions recently; they didn’t respond to a request for comment before publication.)

Kyle Knopp, Rio Dell’s city manager, told the Outpost he was “surprised” that there was a developer interested in building a facility in Humboldt, but he learned that the facilities come in many sizes. (He pointed out that the server room in Rio Dell City Hall could be counted as a data center.) The town’s government is aware of many data centers’ oft-voracious consumption of natural resources, but he said they might be able to use recycled wastewater to cool the facility. Right now, it’s just getting drained into an alfalfa field; adding a customer to the town’s water system would help defray expenses. Its construction would also contribute sales tax revenue; the owner would pay property taxes. Adding a few jobs to the city’s economy would be nice. But they’re reluctant to make any decisions until they know more about the facility’s footprint.

There are also constraints specific to that site, Knopp said. The road leading to the park might not be able to handle a lot of traffic, the park floods sometimes, and the utility hookups might not be sufficient.

“It would be nice to see the business park fully built out and put towards some sort of use,” Knopp said. “While there are cannabis businesses out there, the city cannot be relying on cannabis forever, and the industry continues to change, continues to centralize, continues to go away from models that work in Humboldt County. We’ve been very lucky to have fantastic, smart growers and developers out here in Rio Dell who’ve done an astounding job bucking the trend. But overall, if the business park is put to better use operating a data center, I think it’s something we should look at, because anybody who knocks on the door and says that they’re interested, I think we have to take a serious, fair look at it.”

Ultimately, it’ll be up to the city council. It can decide if an application to build a data center should be classified under its current zoning codes, or if they should create a new classification for the facilities. 

At its meeting last week, several of the council members said they were worried about the volume of natural resources a data center could consume. Rio Dell might not have enough water to go around, they said. The city has struggled in the past to get enough water for all of its customers.

“While we do need revenue — no one can argue that — the reality, from everything I’ve seen, the problem with the data center is the same problem we have in Rio Dell,” Mayor Debra Garnes said at the meeting. “It’s a water issue, and life-sustaining water is for lives, not for machines.” 

She’s also worried that any jobs added to the town during its construction would be lost when it was finished. 

Councilmember Amanda Carter agreed. “It’s a natural resource issue, and a jobs issue,” she said. “While we do need development, we do need jobs, we do need tax revenue, I think we can do a little better.”

The potential benefits for a town struggling to stay afloat shouldn’t be overlooked, several of them said.

“They’re coming whether we not it or not,” councilmember Robert Orr said. He pushed for engaging with the developer and figuring out something that worked for everyone. “This is the way it’s going. This is the way it’s going to be…I don’t think it’s a realistic option to shut it down without hearing from the other side, just like any other conversation about anything. Even if it brings three jobs to Rio Dell, or the area, that’s three more jobs than we have now.”