On the agenda: El Monte meeting — Data Center (Mar 18)

LOCATION:
El Monte City Hall – East
City Council Chambers
11333 Valley Boulevard
El Monte, CA 91731

DATE AND TIME:
Wednesday,
March 18, 2026
6:00 p.m.

CONCURRENT SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
OF THE

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL MONTE
MEETING JOINTLY AND REGULARLY WITH THE EL MONTE HOUSING AUTHORITY; EL MONTE
PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY; EL MONTE WATER AUTHORITY; EL MONTE PARKING
AUTHORITY; SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE FORMER EL MONTE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY; HOUSING SUCCESSOR AGENCY; AND, FROM TIME TO TIME, SUCH OTHER BODIES OF
THE CITY WHOSE MEMBERSHIP IS COMPOSED EXCLUSIVELY OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CITY
COUNCIL

COUNCILMEMBERS/AUTHORITY MEMBERS:
Jessica Ancona, Mayor
♦ Viviana Longoria, Mayor Pro Tem ♦ Marisol Cortez, Councilmember
♦ Sheila Crippen-Thomas, Councilmember ♦ Cindy Galvan, Councilmember
♦ Martin Herrera, Councilmember ♦ Dr. Julia Ruedas, Councilmember

This meeting is a Special Meeting within the meaning of Government Code Section 54956 and as
such public comment is limited to the item(s) of business appearing on the Special Meeting agenda
only.
Members of the public may address the City Council (i) on agendized closed session items of business prior
to the City Council going into closed session; (ii) on items of business listed under the heading Public
Hearings when the public hearing on the item the speaker wishes to speak on is opened; and/or (iii) on all
other items appearing on the Special Meeting agenda. The City Council shall be under no obligation to
entertain comments from persons who (i) submit a speaker card after the City Council closes the
applicable commenting period. With this in mind, speakers are strongly encouraged to submit cards as
early as possible to avoid missing the opportunity to speak. Speaker cards should be submitted to the City
Clerk or the Sergeant at Arms (a uniformed El Monte Police Officer) before the City Council’s approval of
the agenda, if possible.
The City Council shall be under no obligation to respond to or deliberate upon any specific questions or
comments posed by a speaker or take action on any issue raised by a speaker beyond such action as the
City Council may be lawfully authorized to take on an agendized matter pursuant to the Brown Act (Govt.
Code Section 54950 et seq.) (“Brown Act”) Members of the City Council may provide brief clarifying
responses to any comment made or questions posed. Persons who wish to address the City Council are

City Council Concurrent Special Meeting of March 18, 2026
asked to state their name and address for the record. Speakers may not lend any portion of their speaking
time to other persons or borrow additional time from other persons. All comments or queries presented by
a speaker shall be addressed to the City Council as a body and not to any specific member thereof. No
questions shall be posed to any member of the City Council except through the presiding official of the
meeting, the Mayor and/or Chair. The City Council may not engage in any sort of prolonged discussion or
deliberation with any speaker or group of speakers on matters that are not listed on this agenda, nor may
the City Council take action an any non-agendized items of business, except as specifically authorized under
the Brown Act.
Enforcement of Decorum: The Chief of Police, or such member, or members of the Police Department as
the Chief of Police may designate, shall serve as the Sergeant-at-Arms of any City Council meeting. In
accordance with Government Code Section 54957.95 as adopted under SB 1000, the Sergeant-at-Arms
shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding official for the purpose of maintaining order
and decorum at the meeting. While members of the public are free to level criticism of City policies and the
action(s) or proposed action(s) of the City Council or its members, members of the public may not engage
in behavior that is disruptive to the orderly conduct of the proceedings, including, but not limited to, conduct
that prevents other members of the public from being heard when it is their opportunity to speak or which
prevents members of the audience from hearing or seeing the proceedings; speaking off topic or speaking
beyond the speakers allotted time limit. Members of the public may not threaten any person with physical
harm or act in a manner that may reasonably be interpreted as an imminent threat of physical harm. All
persons participating in the meeting must adhere to the City’s policy barring harassment based upon a
person’s race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical handicap, medical condition, marital
status, gender, sexual orientation, or age.
Instruction regarding accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act can be found on
the last page of this Agenda.

1.

CALL TO ORDER:

2.

ROLL CALL FOR CITY COUNCIL AND AUTHORITY BODIES:
Jessica Ancona, Mayor/Chair
Viviana Longoria, Mayor Pro Tem/Authority Member
Marisol Cortez, Councilmember/Authority Member
Sheila Crippen-Thomas, Councilmember/Authority Member
Cindy Galvan, Councilmember/Authority Member
Martin Herrera, Councilmember/Authority Member
Dr. Julia Ruedas, Councilmember/Authority Member

3.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

El Monte City Council ♦ El Monte Housing Authority ♦ El Monte Financing Authority
♦ El Monte Parking Authority ♦ El Monte Water Authority
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City Council Concurrent Special Meeting of March 18, 2026
4.

CLOSED SESSION:
This is the time set aside for interested members of the public to address the City Council on
agendized Closed Session matters. Subject to the commenting procedures described above, the
City Council will allow interested members of the public to address the City Council on agendized
Closed Session matters prior to holding Closed Session. Each speaker will be given a single
speaker time allotment of three (3) continuous minutes total to address the Council on any or all
closed session items of business. The City Council shall be under no obligation to recognize a
speaker who submits a speaker card after the City Council has gone into Closed Session.
4.1

Closed Session Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 Subparts (a), (d)(2),
and (e)(3) – Conference with Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation – Two (2) Matters.

5.

INVOCATION:

City Council

6.

FLAG SALUTE:

City Council

7.

SPECIAL MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING AGENDIZED MATTERS ONLY:
As provided under Government Code Section 54954.3, this time has been set aside for persons in
the audience to provide comment or make inquiries on matters appearing on this Special Meeting
agenda only. Although no person is required to provide their name and address as a condition to
attending a meeting, persons who wish to address the body are asked to state their name and
address. Each speaker will be limited to three (3) continuous minutes. Speakers may not lend any
portion of their speaking time to other persons or borrow additional time from other persons. All
comments or queries presented by a speaker shall be addressed to the body as a whole and not to
any specific member thereof. No questions shall be posed to any member of the body except through
the presiding official of the meeting, members of the body are under no obligation to respond to
questions posed by speakers but may provide brief clarifying responses to any comment made or
questions posed. The body may not engage in any sort of prolonged discussion or deliberation with
any speaker or group of speakers on matters that are not listed on this Special Meeting agenda.
Enforcement of Decorum: The Chief of Police of the City of El Monte, or such member, or members
of the Police Department as the Chief of Police may designate, shall serve as the Sergeant-at-Arms
of the meeting. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the
presiding official for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the meeting. While members
of the public are free to level criticism of policies and the action(s) or proposed action(s) of the body
or its members, members of the public may not engage in behavior that is disruptive to the orderly
conduct of the proceedings, including, but not limited to, conduct that prevents other members of the
public from being heard when it is their opportunity to speak or which prevents members of the
audience from hearing or seeing the proceedings.

El Monte City Council ♦ El Monte Housing Authority ♦ El Monte Financing Authority
♦ El Monte Parking Authority ♦ El Monte Water Authority
Page 3 of 5

City Council Concurrent Special Meeting of March 18, 2026
Members of the public may not threaten any person with physical harm or act in a manner that may
reasonably be interpreted as an imminent threat of physical harm. All persons attending the meeting
must adhere to policies barring harassment based upon a person’s race, religious creed, color,
national origin, ancestry, physical handicap, medical condition, marital status, gender, sexual
orientation or age.
8.

REGULAR:
8.1

Consideration and Approval of an Interim Urgency Ordinance of the City Council of
the City of El Monte, California, Instituting a Temporary 45-day Moratorium Prohibiting
Processing, Approval, and Acceptance of New Data Center Land Use Applications
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858.
RECOMMENDATION OF BUSINESS ITEM UNDER CONSIDERATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Determine the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance is exempt from California
Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3); and
2. Introduce by title only, and waive further reading of Urgency Ordinance, imposing a 45day moratorium prohibiting processing, approval, and acceptance of new data center land
use applications.
Total Cost: N/A
Is the cost of this item budgeted? N/A

Account No:

N/A

Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 3063

El Monte City Council ♦ El Monte Housing Authority ♦ El Monte Financing Authority
♦ El Monte Parking Authority ♦ El Monte Water Authority
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City Council Concurrent Special Meeting of March 18, 2026
9.

ADJOURNMENT:
The next Regular Meeting of the City Council will be held on March 25, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. This
Agenda will be posted on the City’s website, www.ci.el-monte.ca.us, and physically posted no less
than 72 hours prior to the start of the subject regular meeting. Although it is the City’s practice and
desire to electronically post a copy of this Agenda along with supporting material as part of its website
posting, the size or formatting of certain supporting materials may render their website posting
infeasible. Nevertheless, all supporting materials related to any item on this Agenda, that is made
available to the members of the council may be inspected by members of the public at the City
Clerk’s Office located at 11333 Valley Boulevard, El Monte, Monday through Thursday, 7:00 am –
5:30 pm. For more information, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 626-580-2016.
All public meetings and events sponsored or conducted by the City of El Monte are held in sites
accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for accommodations may be made by calling the
office of the City Clerk at (626) 580-2016 at least three (3) working days prior to the event, if possible.
This Agenda and copies of documents distributed at the meeting are available in alternative formats
upon request.

Posted: March 17, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.

El Monte City Council ♦ El Monte Housing Authority ♦ El Monte Financing Authority
♦ El Monte Parking Authority ♦ El Monte Water Authority
Page 5 of 5

8.1