3 data centers newly proposed in and around San Marcos

Character District-1 is designated for open space preservation, limiting development to uses such as parks, trails and conservation areas, according to city documents. Character District 2.5 serves as a transitional residential zone, permitting low-density housing options like single-family homes.

'Maberry' Data Center

The council also revisited the proposed data center by Highland SM One LLC, associated with John Maberry, and Donald and Germaine Tuff. Residents have dubbed it the “Maberry" data center since the intended operator has not been announced.

The project covers two tracts located at 904 Francis Harris Lane: a 125.91-acre parcel already annexed into San Marcos and a 63.68-acre unzoned parcel. A cemetery located in the middle of one of the tracts would remain accessible to the public, according to the applicants.

At a March 25 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, about 70 public comments were submitted by 52 speakers in opposition to the proposed data center, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

The same item was discussed again at the council’s June 3 meeting, where a public hearing was held on whether to change the site's future land use designation to allow more commercial development. No action was taken, and a vote is scheduled for July 1.

At the July 1 meeting, the applicant plans to present a restrictive covenant intended to address community concerns, including building height and articulation, parking locations and buffer requirements. A restrictive covenant is a provision limiting certain property uses, such as water consumption, according to Cornell Law School.

The Sabey Data Center is located directly across the street from the "Maberry" data center.

CloudBurst Data Center

Hays County Commissioners Court discussed a separate proposed data center May 20. The facility, managed by CloudBurst, is planned for a 96-acre site on Francis Harris Lane, just outside the city limits and ETJs of both New Braunfels and San Marcos. The property was previously released from San Marcos’ ETJ.

The project is under review in Hays County for a flood hazard permit—the only active application there. In neighboring Guadalupe County, proposals are underway for the first phase of the center and an accompanying natural gas plant.

Hays County Development Services Director Marcus Pacheco clarified that, like all Texas counties, Hays County does not have legal authority over land-use regulations or zoning for the site.

The location is less than 3 miles from the two other proposed data centers. For details on the CloudBurst data center, more information is available here.

Some context

Data centers are physical locations that organizations use to house critical applications and data, according to the Data Center Coalition. These centers require cooling to maintain temperatures and prevent equipment damage.

The number of data centers has increased over the years. The U.S. Department of Energy states that data centers consumed over 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are expected to consume approximately 6.7% to 12% of total electricity by 2028.

What residents are saying

Residents voiced concerns about water and energy usage, noise and light pollution, federal data center policy, and more. Many acknowledged that the addition of a restrictive covenant to Maberry's proposal was a positive step, but said it did not change their overall opposition to data center development.

“I don’t want to live next to a data center—I will never be able to duplicate my home of the last 25 years, there’s nothing like it anywhere,” resident Torrie Martin said. “Today, I stand up here filled with grief that us, the wildlife, the livestock, will all suffer because of someone's greed and neglect for our town. ... Money isn’t going to fill back up that river once it’s gone. ...To quote my father, ‘If I had all of the money in the world, I would still live right here.”

Virginia Parker, executive director of the San Marcos River Foundation, said the foundation is tracking seven proposed data centers within the San Marcos River watershed—only one of which is located within San Marcos city limits. She said one has already been approved by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, in Caldwell County.

According to Parker, it is her understanding that ERCOT may only be able to approve one or two data centers in the area due to limitations on its infrastructure.

“The ERCOT region has experienced significant growth in demand on the grid due to new large electrical loads from data centers, as well as other large loads from cryptomining to oil and gas operations,” an ERCOT representative said in an email to Community Impact. “As more large loads are wanting to connect to the grid, ERCOT’s interconnection process ensures that these loads connect to the grid in a timely manner while maintaining the reliability of the grid. “

“If we knew that Maberry would block CloudBurst, it’d be a no-brainer,” Parker said.

What’s next

The next steps for the "Maberry" data center is as follows:

• July 1: City Council public hearing and first reading
• Aug. 19: City Council ordinance reconsideration and second reading