Hood County’s proposed moratorium on data centers squashed by Texas senator
A proposal in Hood County for a moratorium on data centers and other large-scale industrial developments was stymied at the last minute Tuesday when a Houston lawmaker warned the county commission that it had no authority to even consider such a thing.
The county was considering a six-month pause on any new projects to allow time to study regulations over air and water quality and pollution. Developers have multiple projects in the pipeline in Hood County, including a 2,600-acre data center complex called Comanche Circle that has triggered a tsunami of opposition from ranchers, landowners and conservationists near Glen Rose.
The standing-room only Commissioners Court was hours into a public hearing on the issue Tuesday when a letter from Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt arrived. Addressed to Attorney General Ken Paxton, with a subject line “Proposed Illegal County Moratorium on Development,” the letter said counties are merely political subdivisions of the state without any powers other than those specified by the constitution or state statutes. And a moratorium isn’t among those powers.
The commissioners ended up voting 3-2 against the six-month moratorium .
County attorney Matt Mills read Bettencourt’s letter following an impassioned public hearing where most speakers told commissioners that their quality of life, and livelihoods, were at stake.
Bettencourt’s letter cited a law adopted last year that attempts to limit the ability of Texas cities to implement moratoria. He said the Senate Committee on Local Government “will be closely monitoring these situations” like with Hood County’s proposal.
“I encourage your office,” Bettencourt told Paxton, “to investigate counties that implement such a moratorium and explore any necessary legal actions.”
Mills, the Hood County attorney, told the commissioners that the law was clear.
“I don’t know how else to say it to you,” Mills said. “I know that’s not what the people want. I’m not trying to cheerlead for data centers. That’s not what the law allows you to do.”
Commissioner Dave Eagle pushed back.
“I think it’s interesting to get this letter today, don’t you…,” he asked. “This isn’t a coincidence, right?”
County Judge Ron Massingill said the data centers in the pipeline still have hurdles to overcome, including access to water. The Upper Trinity Ground Water District will have to approve providing the water, he said.
That provided little consolation to residents who spoke of losing their rural way of live and property values. The Comanche Circle project isn’t far from Dinosaur Valley State Park.
Dianna Wright lives about two miles from Comanche Circle. She told commissioners that wells are her only source of water for her home and for her livestock.
“We enjoy the dark skies at night, and our well-being would be ruined,” she said. “We feel like we are on trial, and the five of you (commissioners) are controlling our fate.”