- San Marcos councilors approved new zoning laws banning data centers
- Same zoning laws could be used by 352 Texas cities
- But there are a few hurdles to clear before anyone can celebrate
San Marcos may have just answered the biggest question about data center construction in American cities: How can we prevent it?
Well, it turns out that simply defining what a data center is, and then excluding its construction from zoning codes, might have been the answer America’s cities were looking for.
The San Marcos City Council did just that, voting 4-3 on June 16 to ban the construction of data centers within city limits on the grounds that they would deprive the local population of water and energy resources.
San Marcos bans data centers
The San Marcos City Council was concerned that new data centers would encroach on city limits, with two new projects proposed just outside the city in unincorporated parts of Hays County.
The county-level data center ban is a hurdle that several councilors have attempted to jump across the United States with little effect – a problem Hays County councilors encountered following the introduction of a legally non-binding pause on data center development.
San Marcos could be one to watch, as it will likely see opposition from data center development groups and legal challenges from representatives such as state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who commented on the city council’s decision by saying, “They shouldn’t use zoning to ban anything anywhere in the city, because it’s not legal under Texas state guidelines.” [A ban] it doesn’t work here, and it will be challenged.
There are other Texas cities with similar levels of control over zoning – 352 to be exact – that will closely monitor the legal challenge to this decision because, if successful, it will set a precedent for other cities in the state by banning data centers within city limits.
Experts certainly believe the San Marcos moratorium could pass, with Robert Paterson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin saying, “in theory, I think the courts could enforce it.”
But the main obstacle to the San Marcos ban and Hays County’s broader pause is the Death Star law of 2023, which prevents local law from preempting state law.
Elsewhere in the United States, officials and citizens are using every measure possible to oppose local data center construction plans, with about half of the U.S. data centers planned for 2026 canceled or delayed. Local councilors are losing their jobs after approving data center projects against the wishes of their constituents, and data centers will be a key issue in the upcoming midterm elections.
Smaller cities with less power to control zoning instead make it as difficult as possible to build a data center within city limits, rather than banning them outright, in order to circumvent building ban regulations and moratoriums..
Via Texas Tribune
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