North Texas counties to weigh, discuss data center proposals
Local officials in Jack, Parker and Hood counties will soon meet about data center projects in their communities.
The talks are playing out in a state where county leaders have limited options for regulating or halting projects. The North Texas counties’ meetings are scheduled for the coming days, with commissioners weighing projects as resistance from residents grows.
Jack County postpones
The Jack County Commissioners Court was expected to review an application during its June 8 meeting from Dallas-based CyrusOne for a tax abatement agreement to build a data center with an initial cost of $600 million.
A public hearing notice was filed in early May for commissioners to review the proposal at their June meeting, but the commissioners will instead be discussing rescheduling the vote to a later meeting, according to the agenda.
The development would be built on 485 to 940 acres in the southeast corner of Jack County near the intersection of FM 2210 and Texas 199, near the border with Wise County, according to the tax abatement application.
A site plan included in the application shows several buildings, with a power substation.
According Katy Hancock, CyrusOne vice president of community affairs, the company would receive a 15% abatement on property taxes for 10 years in exchange for meeting requests from the county for noise levels, road repairs, setbacks, local workforce hiring, and outdoor fixtures designed to contain light within the campus, plus a $1.5 million donation for emergency services and the full payment of school taxes.
The first phase of development would cost $600 million, Hancock said, but could grow to $2 billion depending on how many buildings are added.
The development has prompted opposition from residents, who have expressed concerns about the water and power demand of the data centers, in addition to concerns about how the project has been handled by local officials.
The Jack County Commissioners Court will meet at 10 a.m. at the Jack County Courthouse, 100 N. Main St.
Parker County to hold special meeting
On June 9, the Parker County Commissioners Court will meet to “conduct a comprehensive assessment of industrial data center developments and their potential long-term impacts on local infrastructure, water resources, and the Texas power grid,” according to a press release.
The meeting was scheduled after residents expressed concerns over the purchase of over 2,000 acres by Black Mountain, which is developing a data center in Fort Worth, and a permit held by Fort Worth Power Core LLC to operate natural gas turbines to provide backup and bridge power for a potential data center.
Commissioners discussed the land purchase at their meeting on May 26, and heard from Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and representatives from Parker County and the city of Weatherford.
The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 9 at the County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square.
Hood County to weigh changes to data center proposal
In Hood County, commissioners will consider the proposed 2,100-acre Comanche Circle data center development near Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley State Park. In January, commissioners granted conditional approval of a concept plan from Florida-based Sailfish Investors LLC, but they asked for information including traffic impact and water use studies. According to information on Hood County’s website, those documents haven’t been submitted. Residents from Hood and Somervell counties have opposed the Comanche Circle because of concerns over how the nearby industrial development would impact their rural homes and Dinosaur Valley State Park.
The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the central jury room of the Ralph H. Walton Jr. Justice Center, 1200 W. Pearl St.
Counties between a rock and a hard place
Conversations about data centers are happening across the state, including Fort Worth.
On June 2, the city took the first steps toward deciding whether to regulate data centers — and potentially ban crypto currency mining. Similar talks are also happening in counties, but counties have limited governing power when it comes to land use in Texas and fewer regulatory options for data centers that want to open outside city limits.
The Pew Research Center has found that 67% of planned data centers nationwide are in rural communities. According to the Texas Tribune, nearly half of the state’s planned data centers are in unincorporated areas.
“Cities, with zoning authority, can restrict them to just industrial uses, or to area that are zoned for industrial,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas, an advocacy group that works to “protect the natural world.” “If there’s a request for a zoning change, they have a lot of authority over that.”
Counties have less control, he said, noting that they do have authority over roads and can require things like road upgrades.
Tax breaks are another regulatory tool for cities and counties, Metzger said.
“They could just decide to either not make data centers eligible for those programs or to condition any receipt of a tax incentive upon achieving a set of metrics, including cleaner energy, more water efficiency — things like that,” he said.
