Austin City Council is scheduled to debate and vote Thursday on a resolution that would kick off amendments to the city's Land Development Code governing data centers. If approved, the vote would not itself establish final regulations — that process could stretch into next year, according to reporting by the Bingham Group and Community Impact.
Austin currently has no specific land use classification for data centers. Under the city's existing Land Development Code, they are categorized as 'communication services,' which city staff say limits their ability to track data center development from a zoning or site-plan perspective.
Austin Energy serves ten data center customers, ranging from 1 to 20 megawatts each, according to a city staff memo dated August 19. None meet the state's threshold for a large-load customer. Under Senate Bill 6, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025, Texas defines a large-load user as a single site drawing 75 megawatts or more. For context, the city says 1 megawatt is enough power for roughly 250 homes.
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said at a press conference following a Tuesday work session that she is pursuing a full ban on large-scale data centers in Austin, according to KXAN. She has also said she would support a moratorium on data center construction, according to the Texas Tribune.
A group of council members that includes Ryan Alter has been pushing for new policies on large-load data centers. The full membership of the bloc varies across reports, with different outlets naming different combinations of members.
Austin would not be the first Texas city to act. San Marcos City Council voted 4-3 on June 16, 2026, to make data centers ineligible in all city zoning districts — the first such move by a Texas city, according to multiple reports. A city of Austin staff presentation describes the San Marcos action as a prohibition on hyperscale data centers specifically.
State-level data collection on data center water use has faced compliance problems. The Texas Water Development Board's mandatory water use survey drew responses from only one-third of data centers in 2024 and just 17 percent in 2025, according to the Texas Tribune. Noncompliance is punishable as a Class C misdemeanor carrying a maximum fine of five hundred dollars.
Council is expected to consider the resolution as Item 61 at Thursday's regular meeting, after receiving a staff briefing at Tuesday's work session.
via KSAT San Antonio. Originally published at KSAT San Antonio.
