San Antonio Special City Council Session on Data Center Development and Moratorium - August 25, 2026

The San Antonio City Council held a special session from 2:03 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, to discuss data center development, a staff analysis of possible Unified Development Code (UDC) amendments, and a council-requested review of a potential temporary development moratorium. The meeting was called in response to a memo filed by council members from Districts 5, 6, and 8. No public comment was taken because the special session was not posted for public comment; after roll call, the council moved directly to a staff presentation and council discussion.

Staff Presentation

• Staff presented two possible paths: (1) permanent UDC amendments restricting data centers to intense commercial and industrial zoning, requiring larger setbacks, landscape buffers, and fencing, prohibiting data centers over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and allowing developers who do not meet the requirements to seek specific use authorization from City Council; and (2) a temporary moratorium governed by state law (Local Government Code Chapter 212, Subchapter E) that requires written findings and is limited to 90 days, extendable by another 90 days for a maximum of 180 days.
• Amin Tomas, Director of Development Services, said UDC amendments could go to the Zoning Commission on September 15 and to full council on October 15 if council chooses that path. He said the moratorium process would take about three and a half months; if initiated September 3, the earliest approval would be around December 30 or January 1.
• Staff noted a moratorium would not stop projects already underway, including those that have received utility service agreements, and would not apply to federal facilities. Staff also cited Hill Country, near Waco, which attempted a one-year moratorium, was sued, and dropped it; Fort Worth recently began the moratorium process but had not issued public findings.
• Staff summarized state actions: Governor Abbott's June 10, 2026 directive proposing statewide standards, an August 3, 2026 statewide moratorium on new data center connections to the Texas power grid, and an ERCOT audit due by December 2026. Reports cited at the meeting indicated almost 2,000 pending requests at the state level, about 1,800 of them data centers. Staff recommended pursuing UDC amendments as the quicker and more permanent solution.

Council Discussion

• Councilmember Galvan (District 6) described resident concerns about noise, lighting, construction traffic, road wear, tree clearing, energy and water demand, and air quality from backup diesel and natural gas generators. He supported the UDC changes but urged that every data center require specific use authorization so residents and council can weigh in regardless of zoning. He also said a moratorium is worth considering while UDC changes, utility tariff and rate work, a community benefits agreement working group, and state policy catch up. Staff replied that requiring specific use authorization for all data centers could be doable.
• Councilmember White supported the staff recommendation, emphasizing neighborhood quality of life, and noted new closed-loop systems recycle about 75% of water. He cautioned about ratepayer impacts but said data centers can bring revenue and jobs.
• Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez supported the UDC timeline and the use of specific use authorization, citing existing examples such as car washes over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. She asked about the proposed setback; staff said the current proposal was 500 feet, with some other Texas cities using 250 to 350 feet and Tempe, Arizona using 500 feet. Staff said at 500 feet, data center noise would measure about 50 decibels, similar to a refrigerator hum.
• Councilmember Spears supported the staff recommendation and argued data centers are critical to workforce and economic growth, citing more than 4,800 construction jobs for a single large data center, 24 to 36 month construction periods, and San Antonio's advantages in fiber, land, military, defense, and medicine. He called much public concern misinformation and said San Antonio should lead in this space.
• Councilmember Alderete Gavito supported the UDC changes and cautioned against a moratorium, saying labor representatives warned it could drive out good jobs and that a moratorium could reduce regulatory control. She called for considering intended and unintended consequences.
• Councilmember Castillo supported the UDC process and said District 5 has one data center and residents ask about future growth, sound mitigation, and accountability. She mentioned IBEW labor conversations, a Trades Advisory Committee, potential city general fund impacts from data centers moving to their own energy sources, and said the conversation deserves urgency. In a second round, she raised civil liberties and surveillance concerns related to data collected by license plate readers and cameras.
• Councilmember Ravia Gadon (District 3) opposed a moratorium as 'just a patch,' saying her district has been central to data center conversations and that labor leaders warned a 'shotgun approach' would cost jobs. She supports a comprehensive, evidence-based San Antonio solution and directed staff to present the issue to the Trades Advisory Board through EWDC. She also noted a citywide data center survey is still open.
• Councilmember Makia Rodriguez expressed strong support for a moratorium, describing data centers as an urgent threat to natural resources, utilities, and public health. She cited potential electricity use equivalent to more than 100,000 homes, millions of gallons of daily water use, harmful noise, tree loss, and ratepayer impacts, and said the city should not wait for the state.
• Councilmember Mungia supported the UDC and CCR process and said the public needs transparency about what a moratorium would and would not do. She noted Texas is the second-largest home to data centers outside Virginia and DC, asked for utility usage data, and confirmed with staff that a moratorium would not stop county construction or federal facilities. Staff said roughly 23 data centers exist in city limits and about 12 are going through some level of building permit review, with staff later saying about 11 are in permitting.
• Councilmember Corr said she lacked enough data to decide on a moratorium and requested a spreadsheet showing projects in the pipeline, where they are in the process, whether a moratorium would affect them, water and energy usage, recycled-water use, and job impacts. She noted UDC changes alone cannot regulate utility access without SAWS and CPS coordination and wanted more analysis before action.
• Mayor Jones said she was not ready to commit to a moratorium and asked staff to analyze how much could be accomplished through UDC amendments, including possible requirements on potable water, water-efficient technologies, pretreatment of cooling effluent, noise limits of 50 dBA daytime and 45 dBA night, enclosed backup generators, tier four emission standards, early neighborhood notification, green space replacement, and decommissioning or repurposing if facilities become obsolete. Staff said a potable-water prohibition would require close legal review and had not been seen before as a zoning condition. SAWS Senior Corporate Counsel Keith Martin said SAWS is clarifying utility service agreements to consider potable versus non-potable water, location, amount, and available resources, and noted state law requires potable water service within its CCN but not non-potable service.

Key Outcomes

• No formal vote, ordinance, or moratorium was adopted; the session was informational.
• Staff will continue working on UDC amendments, with a return to the Planning and Community Development Committee before bringing amendments to the Zoning Commission on September 15 and City Council on October 15.
• Staff will provide additional requested data, including project pipeline and permit status, utility usage and recycled-water data to the extent available from SAWS and CPS, job impact information, and information on NDA limitations on utility disclosures.
• Staff will analyze the legal and policy questions raised by the Mayor and council members and report back, with air quality monitoring recommendations expected as part of the October presentation.
• Councilmember Ravia Gadon directed staff to bring the issue to the Trades Advisory Board through EWDC.
• No public hearing or public comment was held.