On Tuesday, the Oakley Planning Commission is set to discuss the long awaited Bridgehead Industrial project.
For nearly a year, the project had been rumored to include a data center and according to the agenda, it confirmed long what had been suspected which was one of the uses allowed is a data center – which could be up to 16% of the overall project. The other item of concern by residents is the ability to hold battery storage.
In the past several months, many articles have come out against data centers — which include impact on the electrical grid to amount of water they use. Here are recent headlines from around the web:
- CNN – Here’s how AI data centers affect the electrical grid (Jan 18, 2026)
- Fox7 – Environmental experts say Texas data centers come with uncertainty (Jan 10, 2026)
- CNBC – Bernie Sanders and Ron DeSantis speak out against data center boom. It’s a bad sign for AI industry (Jan 1, 2026)
- CNBC – Red-hot Texas is getting so many data center requests that experts see a bubble (Dec 12, 2025)
- Texas Tribute – Data centers are thirsty for Texas’ water, but state planners don’t know how much they will need (Sept. 25, 2025)
- CCNews – AVAIO Digital Partners Achieves Major Milestone for Pittsburg Technology Park “Perseus” Data Center Project (Dec 2024)
As for Tuesday, and the project in Oakley the planning commission will review, the property consists of approximately 164-acres located on the northwest portion of the City of Oakley, adjacent to Highway 160, and bordered by Bridgehead Road to the west, Big Break Road to the east, open space to the north, and Main Street to the south.
The planning commission will look at the Application Requesting Approval of a General Plan Amendment, Rezone, Tentative Map, Design Review,
Master Sign Program, and Development Agreement, including Certification of an Environmental Impact Report.
According to the Project Description, as submitted March 25, 2025, The following is a brief description of the entitlement applications submitted to the City Oakley:
- Rezoning the North Development Area from Business Park Low (BPL) to Planned Unit Development (P-1) to allow for uses in compliance with the General Plan designation of Light Industrial (LI).
- Rezoning of the South Development Area from Commercial (C) to Planned Unit Development (P-1).
- General Plan Amendment for the South Development Area from Commercial (CO) to Light Industrial (LI).
- Adoption of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) providing development standards, design guidelines, and implementation details for the development of the 164-acre project with warehouse, logistics, and data center buildings totaling 3.1-million square feet of building area.
- Tentative Subdivision applications to divide the entire project site into 10 lots to create a cohesive master plan for development of the overall property. This would create lots to facilitate phase one development of the Industrial area, as well as road dedications and backbone utility infrastructure.
- Design Review (Development Plan) Application for the development of the entire 164-acre site to include all buildings, site plan including parking and internal circulation, building architecture, civil engineering including grading, storm drainage, utilities, and site details, and preliminary landscape architecture.
- Signage program as included in the PUD.
- Development Agreement
Project Site Details:
The Project site is divided into two distinct development areas, north and south, as described in the PUD. The project envisions the development of approximately 3.1-million square feet of industrial warehouse and logistic buildings and potentially data center uses.
Project construction for the entire development is anticipated to be completed within 6 to 10 years. It will include the construction of approximately 3.1 million SF of warehouse, logistics, and data center buildings, as well as all related on-site improvements, including the associated parking areas, circulation, stormwater features, landscaping, and off-site street improvements.
It is anticipated that the Project facilities will likely function 24 hours a day, seven days a week
According to the Development Agreement (Item 7), WHEREAS, the Project’s Existing Development Approvals set forth in detail on Exhibit “C” and incorporated herein by this reference, the Project generally permits 3.1 million square feet of light industrial warehouse and logistic buildings and potentially data center uses on the Property, as well as utility facilities, associated roadways and other necessary infrastructure; and
However, according to the Economic Impact Analysis (Item 8), at buildout, Bridgehead is estimated to yield a net fiscal surplus for the City’s General Fund ranging from approximately $1.1 million to $1.4 million annually. Meanwhile, the largest General Fund revenues generated by the Project, including $587,000 a year in property taxes and $619,000 annually in property tax in-lieu of vehicle license fees, are directly tied to new assessed value. The Project’s estimated impact on General Fund expenditures for Police ranges from approximately $158,000 per year under a distribution-focused scenario, with relatively fewer on-site employees, to $434,000 per year under a manufacturing- focused scenario.
Within the Proposed Resolution Recommending the City Council Certify the Project EIR (Item 11), it again highlights the project objective is to construct and operate light industrial and logistics buildings and potentially data centers to provide for an underserved local demand
Documents
Staff Report – click here
- Vicinity Map – click here
- Notice of Public Hearing – click here
- Applicant’s Project Description (dated March 25, 2025) – click here
- Applicant’s Planned Unit Development (dated March 20, 2025) – click here
- Applicant’s Plans (dated stamped received on July 22, 2024) – click here
- Applicant’s Architectural Renderings – click here
- Proposed Development Agreement – click here
- Fiscal and Economic Impact Analysis by EPS (dated October 3, 2025) – click here
- Late Draft EIR Comment Letter on Draft EIR Submitted by Advocates for the Environment (received November 14, 2025) – click here
- Response to Late Draft EIR Comment Letter Submitted by Advocates for the Environment – click here
- Proposed Resolution Recommending the City Council Certify the Project EIR – click here
- Proposed Resolution Recommending the City Council Approve the Project Entitlement – click here
If You Go
Oakley Planning Commission
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
6;30 PM
3231 Main St, Oakley CA
Full Agenda – click here
