AIBRIEF
Districts 5, 6, and 8 filed an Aug. 7 memo asking the city to halt new data center applications while council writes local rules for water, power, and noise.
Three San Antonio City Council members filed an Aug. 7 memo asking the city to temporarily stop accepting new data center applications while council finishes its own rules for water, power, noise, and neighborhood fit. Data centers are large server buildings that power cloud and AI workloads and draw heavy electricity and water. The request comes from District 6's Ric Galvan, District 5's Teri Castillo, and District 8's Ivalis Meza Gonzalez.
The memo seeks to pause acceptance of applications for concept plans, site development plans, and permits, plus the issuance of site permits, for data centers and office data processing and management facilities as defined by the city's Unified Development Code. It is a request, not an adopted ordinance, and won't affect facilities already in operation or already approved.
Galvan called the pause a bridge to a Council Consideration Request he is already advancing, so the city can set local rules before more applications lock in. Castillo, in the city's District 6 press release, cited data centers' demand on the electric grid and water supply and quality-of-life effects on nearby residents and wildlife. State Sen. Jose Menendez joined the call for statewide data center standards.
The request lands four days after Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas data center approvals are halted until audits are completed. San Antonio already has more than 20 data centers, and statewide data on power and water use remains incompletely measured, according to KUT.