That\u2019s led to concerns about how and where data centers are being built<\/a>. Now, San Antonio City Council is weighing in.<\/p>\n At a Tuesday special meeting, City Council <\/strong>members heard about changes to San Antonio\u2019s zoning laws, which could confine data centers to industrial or commercial districts. The proposals from the city\u2019s Development Services Department would also keep data centers at least 500 feet from homes, schools, hospitals and assisted living facilities.<\/p>\n Data centers would also be prohibited from being built in <\/strong>the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Any data center that can\u2019t meet these requirements would have to be approved directly by <\/strong>City Council members.<\/p>\n This proposal could still change. At a 9 a.m. stakeholder meeting, Development Services officials said they were still taking feedback. The 500-foot setback requirement was scrutinized in particular, with data center supporters asking for less distance and critics asking for more.<\/p>\n Both groups asked for a study to learn more about how data centers impact neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Deedee Belmares, a clean energy advocate at nonprofit Public Citizen, said she wants more information on how much noise, light, air pollution and heat data centers produce before determining how close they should be to neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest concern is the 500-foot setback,\u201d she said after hearing the proposal.<\/p>\n The rules, which would go into updates to San Antonio\u2019s Unified Development Code, would need to be finalized by <\/strong>the city\u2019s Zoning Commission in September and could be approved by City Council in October.<\/p>\n Council members will also decide whether to start the process for a moratorium on data centers next month. The City of San Antonio can halt data center development for up to 180 days, Development Services director Amin Tohmaz told council members Tuesday.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s a temporary measure, Tohmaz said, not a permanent stop. It would also take more than three months due to required public hearings and notification periods. Tohmaz added that any data center development <\/strong>that has already entered negotiations for utility services would be exempt from the moratorium.<\/p>\n There were at least 12 such projects in San Antonio, he added.<\/p>\n On Aug. 3, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide moratorium<\/a> on data centers connecting to Texas\u2019 power grid until they can be audited by ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas). However, Abbott\u2019s effort does not apply to data centers that have their own power sources.<\/p>\n The moratorium had a mixed reception among council members.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cData centers are one of the largest, fastest-growing <\/strong>threats to our communities,\u201d said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), who supported moving forward with a moratorium. \u201cWe have to do everything in our power to protect our access to natural resources, to preserve the land and environment that we rely on, and to mitigate the impacts of these data centers in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Other council members were against halting data center development, but all generally favored adding rules for where and how they can be built.<\/p>\n Council members noted the benefits to property tax revenue and job creation that such centers could generate.<\/p>\n Representatives from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a union representing electricians, said constructing a single data center could employ 200 to 600 of their workers for multiple years.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my first jobs was at a data center,\u201d said Jeremy Barnes, an IBEW worker.<\/p>\n He said data center-based jobs helped apprentices become full-time electricians, unlocking stable careers and salaries. It\u2019s a message that\u2019s resonating with both progressive and conservative council members. Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) said she wanted labor representatives to have input on policy.<\/p>\n \u201cData center development greatly supports the commercial construction industry, from general contractors to skilled trades,\u201d said Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9), one of the city council\u2019s two Republicans, in a statement after the meeting.<\/p>\n One issue the proposals don\u2019t address is concerns about water and power use. Tohmaz said <\/strong>that <\/strong>while <\/strong>the Unified Development Code could address concerns about noise and light pollution through setbacks and zoning rules, those policies could not regulate resource use at data centers.<\/p>\n Councilman Ric Galvan (D6), saw an opportunity for San Antonio\u2019s publicly owned utilities to step in. Galvan focused on data centers last year when he formally requested<\/a> to discuss city policies for the buildings. His Westside district already has 11 data centers<\/a>, with more on the way.<\/p>\n He praised council members for their openness to regulating data centers, but wanted more to be done to address water and power concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d prefer that we do as much as possible as quickly as possible, not only on the city\u2019s zoning and UDC side, but also CPS [Energy] and SAWS [San Antonio Water System],\u201d he said after the city council meeting. \u201cI urge both entities and their boards to make sure that there\u2019s some actions taking place that address those key issues.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Antonio City Council is considering new requirements for data centers built within city limits. Officials are trying…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1024174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,5880,119135,129061,5026,7202,40658,7203,358,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,20705],"class_list":["post-1024173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-america","tag-data-center","tag-data-center-construction","tag-development-services-department","tag-greg-abbott","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-city-council","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-typedaily","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wc-750-1000"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117158949503197367","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1024173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1024174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1024173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1024173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1024173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DataCenters_ComputerTechnology_Business_WaterLandConsumption_01.jpg\")
Construction of a large data center is seen along Omicron Drive in Far West Bexar County on July 23, 2026. Credit: Shari Biediger \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DataCentersPresser_DistrictSix_WaterElectricity_D6Westside_RicGalvan02_08.07.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan calls for a pause to data center development during a press conference at San Antonio City Hall on Aug. 7, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n