Bastrop, Texas, officials are considering whether data centers should face closer review as the industry expands.
One zoning idea under discussion would remove by-right approval for those facilities in certain industrial-zoned areas and instead make them seek individual approval.
Here's what to know
At an August 11 meeting, the City Council and city manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino weighed a rule that would send proposed data centers in industrial districts through the conditional-use permit process, Community Impact reported. Under current zoning, developers in those districts do not need that added approval step.
Places where the city already bars data centers would stay off-limits under the proposal, including Parks & Open Space and Single-Family Residential districts. General Commercial zoning already requires a conditional-use permit for those facilities.
The city's industrial zoning is concentrated largely in Tahitian Village, south of SH 21 from Lovers Lane to Mauna Loa Lane and stretching toward E. Keanahalululu Lane.
The zoning debate is unfolding amid rapid data center expansion across Bastrop County, Texas. More than 5,600 acres are now tied to those projects, fueling questions about effects on water, air, noise, and similar impacts.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
More background
Data centers are massive facilities packed with servers that power cloud computing, streaming, and artificial intelligence tools. They can require tremendous amounts of electricity, and some depend on substantial water use for cooling.
In Texas, where prolonged extreme heat already strains the power grid, large new energy demands can heighten concerns about reliability and the cost of building new infrastructure.
If the city moves ahead, officials in Bastrop would gain another opportunity to weigh proposed data centers before projects advance in zones where they are now allowed as a matter of right.
What's being done?
Bastrop has not settled on final language yet. Carrillo-Trevino said staff is examining the federal executive order related to data center infrastructure as part of that review, according to Community Impact.
A follow-up discussion could come at the August 25 council meeting, though no action item is expected at that time. Before City Council could consider any formal amendment, the matter would have to go first to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Rather than prohibiting data centers altogether, the shift would route them through case-by-case review by elected officials.
"The ones that are where they are prohibited, they will continue to be prohibited, and the ones that are permitted, they will go to conditional use," council member Kerry Fossler said. "So that any talk of data centers comes to this council first."
Residents are also planning their own public discussion. A coalition of Cedar Creek residents intends to host an August 20 town hall focused on Pacifico Energy's proposed natural gas-fired power facility and the associated data center.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
