San Antonio City Council is weighing how tightly to regulate the growth of data centers, and District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte is making the case for a relatively light touch. While some city leaders want faster rules on zoning, infrastructure and neighborhood protections, Whyte has emphasized the economic upside of the industry and argued that San Antonio should be careful not to overregulate a fast-growing sector.
The debate surfaced during a recent City Council B Session prompted by District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan’s request to examine how data center development is affecting San Antonio, especially in areas where clusters of facilities are already operating near neighborhoods. Galvan and others raised concerns about land use, utility strain and the need for new zoning standards, while Whyte focused on the possibility that data centers could expand the city’s tax base, create jobs and pay much of the cost of the infrastructure needed to support them.
Whyte’s position is not that data centers should face no oversight. He has supported the idea of buffers between data centers and residential neighborhoods.
City staff said future zoning changes could require facilities to be at least 1,000 feet from homes, parks or other incompatible land uses. But Whyte’s comments suggested that San Antonio should avoid putting up barriers that could discourage investment, especially when companies are willing to shoulder major development costs themselves.
Utility officials presented a mixed picture of the industry’s impact. CPS Energy said it already serves 21 data centers that bring in about $110 million in revenue. The utility also reported 59 future projects in various stages of planning, though not all are expected to be built.
Those proposed projects could eventually require around 26,000 megawatts of electricity, underscoring why some city leaders are urging caution. CPS officials said contracts are structured to recover costs from data center customers, and the utility believes it can meet demand in the near term, though more power sources may be needed in the future.
San Antonio Water System officials also described both benefits and limits. They said data centers now use only about 0.1% of SAWS’ drinking water, and that the industry has become more efficient by shifting toward liquid cooling and recycled water. In 2023, about 48% of data center water use came from recycled water; by 2025, that figure had risen to 75%. Still, officials warned that planned projects could push the recycled water system closer to capacity and may require upgrades.
The result is a familiar policy balancing act for San Antonio: how to capture economic growth without outpacing infrastructure or undercutting neighborhood quality of life. Whyte is arguing that the city should lean toward flexibility, even as other council members press for stricter guardrails.
Guest:
Marc Whyte is the District 10 representative for the San Antonio City Council.
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