College Station changes ordinance for future data center construction

College Station City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 22 to change the definition of a data center to allow future construction only on certain types of land. 

What you need to know

According to agenda material, the change was recommended to the council by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 15. The ordinance would restrict future data center development by requiring conditional use permits for select types of land throughout the city.

City Land Development Review Administrator Robin Macias said the proposed property types include business parks and light-to-heavy industrial districts. Macias added that concerns about water and energy production, along with potential noise from the centers, could lead to problems within the community. 

This vote comes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott temporarily paused data center development in the state. As previously reported by Community Impact, the pause came from environmental concerns and criticism from the public.

Zooming in

City Manager Bryan Woods said this ordinance would be a great way to tackle the problem with land the city doesn’t directly own and allow the city to have more decision-making power.

“When everything went down with that data center earlier this year, that would have been on our property,” Woods said. “As these data centers get smaller and more able to go on other types of property, we are constrained by what the state and other rules say.”

What to expect

The council unanimously approved the ordinance. College Station Mayor John Nichols said the ordinance will help with the fluidity of data center construction and let the city have more control of future developments.