San Antonio City Council is considering new requirements for data centers built within city limits.
Officials are trying to decide if they also need a moratorium, which could halt data center development for up to six months while city officials decide how to regulate them.
More than 20 data centers — the large facilities that house the infrastructure for the internet and new artificial intelligence technologies — have already been built in San Antonio. Texas is fast becoming a hotspot for their construction, due to its available land and resources and a business-friendly environment.
That’s led to concerns about how and where data centers are being built. Now, San Antonio City Council is weighing in.
At a Tuesday special meeting, City Council members heard about changes to San Antonio’s zoning laws, which could confine data centers to industrial or commercial districts. The proposals from the city’s Development Services Department would also keep data centers at least 500 feet from homes, schools, hospitals and assisted living facilities.
Data centers would also be prohibited from being built in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Any data center that can’t meet these requirements would have to be approved directly by City Council members.
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.
Both groups asked for a study to learn more about how data centers impact neighborhoods.
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.
“My biggest concern is the 500-foot setback,” she said after hearing the proposal.
The rules, which would go into updates to San Antonio’s Unified Development Code, would need to be finalized by the city’s Zoning Commission in September and could be approved by City Council in October.
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.
But it’s 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 that has already entered negotiations for utility services would be exempt from the moratorium.
There were at least 12 such projects in San Antonio, he added.
On Aug. 3, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide moratorium on data centers connecting to Texas’ power grid until they can be audited by ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas). However, Abbott’s effort does not apply to data centers that have their own power sources.
The moratorium had a mixed reception among council members.
“Data centers are one of the largest, fastest-growing threats to our communities,” said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), who supported moving forward with a moratorium. “We 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.”
Other council members were against halting data center development, but all generally favored adding rules for where and how they can be built.
Council members noted the benefits to property tax revenue and job creation that such centers could generate.
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.
“One of my first jobs was at a data center,” said Jeremy Barnes, an IBEW worker.
He said data center-based jobs helped apprentices become full-time electricians, unlocking stable careers and salaries. It’s a message that’s resonating with both progressive and conservative council members. Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) said she wanted labor representatives to have input on policy.
“Data center development greatly supports the commercial construction industry, from general contractors to skilled trades,” said Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9), one of the city council’s two Republicans, in a statement after the meeting.
One issue the proposals don’t address is concerns about water and power use. Tohmaz said that while 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.
Councilman Ric Galvan (D6), saw an opportunity for San Antonio’s publicly owned utilities to step in. Galvan focused on data centers last year when he formally requested to discuss city policies for the buildings. His Westside district already has 11 data centers, with more on the way.
He praised council members for their openness to regulating data centers, but wanted more to be done to address water and power concerns.
“I’d prefer that we do as much as possible as quickly as possible, not only on the city’s zoning and UDC side, but also CPS [Energy] and SAWS [San Antonio Water System],” he said after the city council meeting. “I urge both entities and their boards to make sure that there’s some actions taking place that address those key issues.”