# Amazon secretly circumvents community vote for massive AI data center using 45-year-old rules — Gilroy residents locked out of public comment window

> The community of Gilroy, California, about 30 miles southwest of San Jose, was surprised when an Amazon data center started construction in their town last month.

- **Source:** [Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/amazon-secretly-circumvents-community-vote-for-massive-ai-data-center-45-year-old-rules-lock-gilroy-residents-out-of-public-comment-window?utm_source=gearopen.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_content=6a774841b4a92b270b1a8763)
- **Published:** 2026-08-08
- **Category:** Apps
- **Tags:** #ai
- **Canonical:** http://localhost:4321/a/6a774841b4a92b270b1a8763

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_GearOpen's distilled summary. The full original article is published at Tom's Hardware (source link above); GearOpen does not republish the source's full text._