San Antonio restricts data centers, requires council approval on new projects

San Antonio is clamping down on data centers in city limits, limiting them to heavy commercial and industrial areas and requiring council approval.

The 9-2 vote on Thursday afternoon came one year, to the day, after Councilman Ric Galvan (D6), says his Northwest Side district has the majority of the city’s data centers, asked city staff to look into potential data center regulation.

“A specific use authorization ... would allow for residents to directly ask questions and address concerns to data center developers related to distance setbacks, noise regulations, preservation of trees, energy and water use, type of data center activities taking place within the proposed projects, and more on a case-by-case basis,” Galvan said. “And based on such feedback, City Council would have the authority to move the project forward or not, including with further regulations as needed.”

The growing number of data centers has become a hot-button topic in Texas politics, raising concerns about issues from their power and water use to noise or air quality concerns to the AI technology the infrastructure enables.

The Texas Tribune has tracked nearly 600 data centers operating or planned across the state.

San Antonio’s previous current code didn’t have a standalone data center definition. Instead, it fell under office data processing and management, which had allowed the facilities in most non-residential areas.

Multiple options

Council members considered multiple regulatory approaches on Thursday. The differences came down to whether to allow data centers “by right” if they meet certain restrictions or to require council approval for each one.

261029 data center presentation.pdf by akmoreno

City staff recommended allowing data centers “by right” in heavy commercial and industrial areas as long as they are at least 500 feet away from certain areas like housing, schools, and daycares; have a certain type of landscaping; and all buildings and on-site power are at least 50 feet from the property line. They would not have been allowed over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer.

So long as a project met all of those requirements, it would have been allowed. Otherwise, it would have required approval from the city council.

The second option, which council ultimately improved, would also restrict the facilities to heavy commercial and industrial areas. Instead of predetermined site plan requirements, such as setbacks or minimum distances from certain uses, the city council could impose restrictions and approve each project on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones had pushed another set of requirements that would also require council approval for every project while also including numerous other requirements like certain landscaping, a 45-day prefiling notice, public engagement meetings, noise restrictions, a 1,000-foot setback from the edge of the property, enclosed backup generators, green space replacement, and local air quality monitoring and replacement.

After an Oct. 14 council meeting where the first three options were discussed, the zoning commission developed its own option that blended different elements.

Under that approach, data centers would have been allowed by right in heavier industrial areas if they met requirements for landscaping, screened generators, being at least 350 feet away from areas like housing and schools, downward-facing lighting, and noise limitations. If not, they’d need council approval.

Council approval would also have been necessary for projects in areas zoned for general commercial, business parks, and light industrial uses.

The zoning commission had also recommended existing locations still be allowed to get permits to repair, rebuild, or expand within their existing boundaries.

Discussion

Jones unsuccessfully pushed for the council to use her requirements, but it failed by a 5-6 vote.

Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) also unsuccessfully pushed to use the zoning commission’s proposal, which he called a compromise.

“If we tell companies that even on heavy industrial land — land we zoned exactly for this kind of use — that every project is going to get decided on a case-by-case basis, we’re telling them essentially that the rules are not written down. They get made in this room, one vote at a time,” Whyte said, warning the projects would just move out of city limits.

That attempt also failed in a 5-6 vote.

The council members did agree to add a minimum distance to the UNESCO World Heritage Site as an optional requirement.

The council vote and discussion followed a two-hour parade of public comment, including people concerned about the data centers and workers who say the facilities provide good construction jobs.

“What we heard the most from neighbors, besides they don’t want data centers, is ‘we never knew the data center was being built.’ We never had an opportunity to say, ‘we don’t want it here,’” said DeeDee Belmares, a clean energy advocate with Public Citizen.

“Data centers have become so integral to society that they are going to be built either way,” said Jeremy Chavez, an electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 60. “We should ensure that their construction benefits the people of San Antonio by building them here. Build them with strong labor agreements and ensure they get built responsibly.”

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• How tightly will San Antonio regulate data centers?