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District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan, whose West Side district is most affected by data center construction, proposed the moratorium earlier this month. Credit: Stephanie Koithan<\/p>\nDistrict 6 Councilman Ric Galvan, whose West Side district is most affected by data center construction, proposed the moratorium earlier this month. Credit: Stephanie Koithan<\/p>\n
San Antonio City Council on Tuesday took a pass on a proposed moratorium on data center development in favor of amending existing city zoning codes to limit the construction of the massive computing facilities.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s special session was called in response to a Council Consideration Request (CCR) that District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan submitted last October calling for a comprehensive review of data center growth and its potential impact on the city\u2019s natural resources and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The CCR was followed by a three-signature memo filed earlier this month asking for a pause on all data center development within city limits. Galvan along with District 8\u2019s Ivalis Meza Gonzalez and District 5\u2019s Teri Castillo signed the document.<\/p>\n
During Tuesday\u2019s meeting, District 2\u2019s Jalen McKee-Rodriguez joined Galvan, Castillo and Meza Gonzalez in expressing support for the moratorium. <\/p>\n
Others on the dais balked for a variety of reasons. Most expressed support for city staff\u2019s recommendation that council pursue amendments to the Universal Development Code (UDC) instead of imposing an all-out moratorium on building permits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not ready to commit to a moratorium,\u201d Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said. \u201cI want to see what else we can do to help ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council members Mark Whyte, Phyllis Viagran and Misty Spears warned of the number of jobs that could pass the city by if data center construction is halted.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Data centers] are a huge piece of our workforce,\u201d said District 9\u2019s Spears, who maintained that one large data center can create 4,800 construction jobs. \u201cThis is the next big boom coming our way, and we can either lead in this space or we can sit on the sidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most jobs generated by data centers are temporary construction positions. However, studies show the sites employ few long-term employees once constructed.<\/p>\n
Indeed, one Brookings Institution analysis<\/a> posits that \u201cdata centers are among the least labor-intensive structures in the economy.\u201d According to the think tank\u2019s review of some 1,500 data centers nationwide, the facilities typically only a maintain a few dozen long term jobs, depending on their size and operator.<\/p>\n The special session, which didn\u2019t allow for public input, ended without council reaching a decision on how to rein in the growth of data centers. Still, most on council wanted to revisit the matter again after assembling more data. Jones and other council members requested information on development-code updates in other cities, such as Tucson, San Marcos and Fort Worth.<\/p>\n The Zoning Commission will hold its next data center-focused meeting on Sept. 15 followed by a Council vote on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n Jones requested Development Services and the Intergovernmental Relations Committee to present more information at future meetings on potable water usage by data centers themselves in addition to their \u201caccessories.\u201d After the session, Galvan clarified that the city also intends to look at usage rates of the water-hungry gas-fired plants that power data centers.<\/p>\n During closing remarks, Jones also proposed creating noise limits for data centers of less than 50 dBA during the day and less than 45 dBA at night. She also asked if council can require that diesel backup generators be stored in an enclosed building with proper ventilation. <\/p>\n Further, the mayor stressed that data center developers should notify neighborhoods early in the process about the projects\u2019 design and sound mitigation to \u201cbuild that community engagement piece into the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones, Galvan and Meza Gonzalez also expressed support for requiring data centers to come to city council to request Special Use Authorization prior to construction \u2014 meaning the city would be able to approve data centers on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n Had council adopted a moratorium on data center, it would have lasted at least 90 days up to a maximum of 180 days while council would continue to develop parameters around the construction of such facilities within city limits. District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia clarified on the dais that a city moratorium wouldn\u2019t prohibit data center construction at the county level.<\/p>\n San Antonio currently has at least 23 data centers already operating within city limits, as well as 11 or 12 currently going through the development process.<\/p>\n Tuesday afternoon\u2019s special session followed a Development Services meeting the same morning to discuss amendments to UDC that would prohibit data centers from developing within 500 feet from residential use properties. The proposed zoning guard rails would only permit data center construction in industrial and commercial districts of the city and would not allow for data center construction downtown.<\/p>\n The proposed amendments to the UDC would also prohibit data centers from building within 500 feet of hospitals, schools, nursing homes and day care centers.<\/p>\n Additionally, the proposed standards would require landscape buffers to minimize noise pollution. After receiving feedback from the community at the meeting, Development Services staff said they would make further revisions to the proposed UDC amendments.<\/p>\n Whatever amendments are ultimately adopted to the UDC, existing data centers would be grandfathered in, according to Development Services staff. Existing data centers that don\u2019t adhere to the new standards would be deemed \u201cnon-compliant\u201d but allowed to continue operating.<\/p>\n At the zoning meeting, industry lobbyists such as William Kauffman, President at The Kaufman Group and a former Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Antonio, said that the 500-feet limit was too restrictive. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, activists with consumer watchdog group Public Citizen and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said 500 feet wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n The activists pointed to Tucson, Arizona, where \u2014 thanks to a near-unanimous vote on August 5<\/a> \u2014 large data centers now must be positioned at least 1,000 feet away from other commercial property and a half mile away<\/a> from residential-use property.<\/p>\n Later in the day, activists gathered outside of the city\u2019s Municipal Building for a rally ahead of the special session.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no square centimeter of this land that deserves to be a sacrifice zone for corporate greed,\u201d said Juli\u00e1n Villareal, an organizer with Climate Justice SA and Green Party candidate for Texas Senate District 26. \u201cAnd there\u2019s no region of our city or our state that deserves to be a sacrifice zone.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.<\/p>\n Sign up for San Antonio Current\u2019s new \u201cTexas Politics This Week\u201d newsletter.<\/p>\n Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tCouncil opted not to put a blanket pause on data center development but will look into expanding zoning rules that apply to the facilities. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_9995.jpg\")
Activists silently hold signs in opposition to data center development at Tuesday\u2019s city council special session. Credit: Stephanie Koithan<\/p>\n
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