Members of the San Antonio City Council adopted new regulations surrounding the construction of data centers during a Thursday meeting.
The decision came after much discussion among the members and input from the city’s residents and zoning commission.
Adopted in a 9-2 vote, the “Option 2” set of regulations requires that each proposed data center be considered on a “case-by-case evaluation.” Developers of proposed data centers will have to receive “specific use authorization,” requiring review by the zoning commission and approval by the city council.
The city council will also have the authority to establish requirements for each individual project. These could include setting a minimum distance between the data center and certain types of properties, landscape and setback requirements, and ingress and egress limitations. City staff said data centers would not be allowed over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone under the adopted option.
According to the presentation shown to the city council members, this option “provides more flexibility, but lacks predictability and consistency.”
Councilmember Ric Galvan urged the other council members to support this option, saying that it provides “the opportunity for the City of San Antonio, the City Council, to be the first major city in Texas to take action on data center regulations to ensure that our residents have a voice in any new data centers coming to San Antonio” and “to ensure our community has a seat at the table in the growth of the AI industry locally, and ensure our local, elected officials can have the final say on how the wealthiest industry in the world moves throughout our city.”
Other options considered by the council included “Option 1,” which was supported by city staff and would have allowed data centers to be built by right in industrial districts if certain standards were met. If the specific standards could not be met, acquiring a “specific use authorization” would be needed.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones also proposed adding provisions that would create stricter requirements, community engagement, neighborhood meetings, and council review.
The council’s decision follows the zoning commission meeting last week. The commission submitted its recommendation to the council that would have allowed data centers to be constructed without council approval in industrial districts, but would have required a specific use authorization in other districts and when certain standards are not met. Although discussed, the proposal from the zoning commission was rejected.
A definition of what constitutes a data center was added to the final regulations, as well as the addition of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to the list of locations from which the council could require a minimum separation distance.
