Central Texas is drawing data center development, and the impacts are specific enough that standard commercial zoning shouldn't cover them: noise, power demand, water use, scale. I pushed to get policy language in front of staff before the first major proposal shows up.
Central Texas is drawing data center development. Land availability, transmission infrastructure, and regional demand make sites along State Highway 130 and I-35 obvious targets.
A large data center isn't automatically a bad project. It adds tax base and doesn't create the traffic profile of most other large commercial uses. The risks are specific: noise from cooling equipment, peak power demand, visual scale, and, in some cases, water use in a region already under pressure.
I pushed to get policy language in front of staff early, before the city is negotiating with a live applicant instead of a blank page. Large data centers shouldn't be a routine by-right use in broad commercial zoning. They should require a public process and standards built around their actual impacts.
The direction I'm pushing: pull data centers out of the most permissive zoning categories, require a Specific Use Permit in eligible areas, and set standards for noise, water, cooling technology, and grid responsibility. Bigger facilities should face more scrutiny than smaller ones, because the impact scale is different.
Related: see the priorities on smart growth and fiscal responsibility, or contact me about development rules.
I got this in front of planning staff early, before Pflugerville is negotiating from a position of urgency with a live applicant on the table. That included pushing a policy direction built around zoning limits, Specific Use Permit review, and standards for the impacts that actually matter: noise, water use, grid load, cooling technology, and scale. I want the city talking about rules now, not scrambling to write them once the first proposal lands.
Reach out directly or keep reading the council updates for the bigger picture.