SAN ANTONIO – With data centers springing up around Texas and becoming a major talking point for residents, most San Antonio city council members appear ready to take action.
The question is, what will it look like?
Data centers have drawn significant public attention and concern, ranging from their power and water use to potential noise or air quality issues.
A council discussion on Tuesday revolved around two possibilities: a moratorium on new data centers and regulation through the city’s development code, known as the UDC.
City staff recommended the latter. A building permit moratorium, they said, could only last 90 to 180 days, wouldn’t stop any projects already underway, and would take until at least the end of the year to enact.
“So it’s a patch. It’s not gonna fix the problem; it’s gonna slow down the development right now,” Development Services Director Amin Tohmaz told reporters. “Compared to the UDC, if we put some restrictions in the UDC, those are permanent. Those are in our code, and we can control where they’re going to develop the data centers.”
The city has already held stakeholder meetings about potential code changes, such as limiting data centers to certain commercial or industrial zones, requiring them to be at least 500 feet away from properties like homes or schools, and prohibiting their development over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zones.
Staff said the potential changes could be ready for council vote by mid-October.
While several council members said outright they supported the staff’s recommendations for updating the UDC, support for a moratorium seemed to be more varied.
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) was one of the most vocal, saying, “We have a very clear and present moral obligation to take action where we can, and so I’ll be supporting a moratorium, and any option that we move forward with, I think we should.”
Others were less sure about the potential for a moratorium. Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) said she wanted more data and analysis first, and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones wanted to know how much more could be done via the UDC first.
Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9) issued a statement after the meeting directly opposing the idea.
“San Antonio has a major economic opportunity in front of us, and a moratorium sends a concerning message,” she said. “We should work to bring investment and good-paying jobs to our community, not encourage employers to take those opportunities somewhere else.”
At the end of the meeting, Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez told council members there appeared to be interest in moving forward with the UDC changes. She did not mention the moratorium, but would not go as far as to say the idea was dead when KSAT asked afterward.
Council members had asked for additional information, she said, and they might be able to answer some of their questions at a future committee meeting.
Councilman Ric Galvan (D6) has been one of the driving forces for both discussions: regulation and a moratorium.
He told KSAT that blocking all future data centers isn’t his goal. But he does want the UDC changes to go further and require council approval for every new project.
“My goal would be to make sure that every single data center that’s built in our city has transparent community meetings with the neighbors around them, is clear on what the site’s gonna be developed into — not only tomorrow, but in the next several decades, so long as they’re there,” he said. ”And then, of course, bring it to city council with any adjustments made by the residents and by the developer to help address the concerns of the community. And if that works out, then I believe there’s a path forward for them. Otherwise, we shouldn’t have them.”
>>Councilman Ric Galvan requests temporary pause on San Antonio data centers
Concern over data centers has become a flash point in state and national politics.
Earlier this month, the Texas Tribune reported on Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement of a moratorium on the approval of data centers until regulatory agencies can audit proposed data centers seeking connection to the state’s electric grid.
He also weighed in during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” saying tech companies failed to build support in the communities where they want to operate.
“They didn’t do their job to get the support of people in local communities,” Abbott said. “Gaining the support of people in local communities is essential. They’ve not been working in collaboration with local governments, and so they basically dug their own grave for the problem that’s been caused.”
City staff also expect “significant” legislation in the state’s next legislative session. The session opens in January, but bill pre-filing begins in November.
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