Granbury rezones 2,000 acres for data center power plant despite residents’ pleas
After hearing comments from dozens of concerned residents, and against the advice of the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, the Granbury City Council on April 7 agreed to rezone 2,000 acres for a data center power plant.
In January, the City Council approved the annexation of that land, which straddles Meadow Wood Road, south of U.S. 377 and north of Paluxy Highway.
In July 2025, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved an emissions permit submitted by Dallas-based developer Bilateral Energy LLC to build eight simple-cycle power turbines and 87 linear generators at 1225 Meadow Wood Road, which is in the center of that parcel.
Bilateral’s website describes the company as “powering data centers, empowering the grid” and advertises “private power infrastructure” for AI data centers.
The City Council has maintained that they only learned of the power plant at the meeting in January, but residents say they don’t believe it as questions about transparency and trust have rippled through the idyllic town on the winding banks of the Brazos River.
The Granbury City Council chambers was nearly overflowing with people Tuesday evening as residents came out to speak on the agenda items and voice their disapproval and disappointment.
The two items up for discussion at Tuesday’s concurrent meeting of the City Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission were additions to two of the city’s zoning ordinance articles to add standards for data centers, and the rezoning request, which asked the city to change allowed future uses at the 2,000 acre site to purely industrial and to change the current zoning at the site to industrial use.
The Planning & Zoning Commission first took up the zoning ordinance changes for discussion, hearing over a dozen comments from residents who expressed concern that the changes — which would define “data center” and “power generation,” and create a list of requirements for those developments — would not be enforceable or specific enough.
“I do think that the people that would come in with these hyperscale data centers – I worry that they have very deep pockets, and they can violate these regulations,” Granbury resident Shannon Wolf told the panel. “And none of the consequences that we might want to impose upon them will be enough to stop them.”
City leaders told residents that it would be better to have something on the books to restrict how data centers can look and sound in the city — even if it was imperfect — than nothing at all.
“I’ve heard a lot of good suggestions tonight about amending the ordinance, but where it’s also a real concern that if we don’t put a stake in the ground and get these amendments done, we may not have the opportunity to come back later,” commissioner Richard Hoefs said as he made a motion to recommend that the City Council approve the additions.
For a moment after Hoefs made the motion, there was silence and a mention of the motion dying before commissioner Kevin Watson seconded it. The crowd groaned.
The commission then took up the comprehensive plan change request for a vote, but even though Hoefs made a motion to recommend approval, the other commissioners did not second it.
“Be brave,” an audience member called out as the seconds ticked by in silence. Commissioner and vice chair Tim Hallman then made a motion to recommend that the City Council deny approval of the request. The motion was seconded by commissioner Richard Moore.
The commission then gave the floor to the City Council, which took up the ordinance additions. More residents commented before the City Council unanimously approved it, and began taking comments on the rezoning and future land use requests for the land parcel.
The City Council voted 5-1 to approve the future use changes, and to approve the rezoning.
In addition to concerns about the legality of the zoning for the power plant, and health concerns from a data center, several residents in their comments said they don’t believe the City Council’s claims about when they knew of the development.
“Some residents have received documents while others are still waiting, and the information that is beginning to come out after you fought hard to hide it from the public is raising even more concerns about the city, what the city knew, and when they knew,” Granbury resident Rachel Jacobson told commissioners and the City Council.
Granbury city leaders said at the January meeting that they had not been previously approached by developers, and that until recently, there was little information about exactly what would be developed on the land.
After the meeting, Jacobson told the Star-Telegram that she had major concerns about transparency.
“[I’m] seeing a lot of different things with our city council and our city manager and the attorney not being transparent, learning that they have actually received information and had communications with the firms far in advance, and are still continuing to say they have no idea and they’re not aware of anything,” Jacobson said. “When you lie, I have a hard time with that.”
Even though the City Council approved the rezoning — in spite of the Planning & Zoning Commission’s recommendation — Jacobson said that she has hope.
“We still have a lot of fight left in us,” Jacobson said. “I do think that in the end, the truth does win, and being transparent and being good leaders and stewards of our land is important.”
Staff writer Tanya Babbar contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 2:58 AM.
