Addressing Data Centers through Business Regulations

[Max Lars]

Council,

Back on May 15th of this year, I posted on the message board a request of the City Manager to evaluate the impact of large load data centers on the City of Austin, stating my concerns that large-load data centers could impact our water, energy, and land resources. I was joined by Council Members Ellis, Alter, Velásquez, and Siegel. We asked the City Manager to provide a way for Council to do this, including looking at land use regulations and other regulatory mechanisms. These directions resulted in a Council resolution passed at the August 27th Council meeting initiating changes to the Land Development Code (Title 25) and other code provisions, establishing communication between the City Manager’s office and Council regarding potential upcoming data center development, and requiring that the “simplest amendments” be initiated by the end of the year.

After discussions with our professional staff and in order to meet the end of the year goal, I suggested to staff that we address data centers through the City’s business regulations. This idea is reflected in the October 28th memo to Mayor and Council and is identified as Phase 1. We will continue to explore land use regulations in Phase 2 and can expect land development code changes to be brought to Council in the Spring of 2027 to accomplish the initial proposed framework.

City legal is prepared to bring a code amendment to Title 4 that establishes a definition for data centers at the December 3rd Council Meeting. I thank our city staff for their efforts.

Thanks

Kirk
On Behalf of Mayor Watson