San Marcos council votes to prohibit data centers citywide after reconsidering earlier proposal
The short version: San Marcos flipped a permissive data center proposal into a full citywide ban, showing councils can reverse course before shovels hit dirt.
Our Take
Credit to KXAN for catching the reversal — this is the buildout story that usually doesn't make the news, because most fights end the other way. San Marcos didn't just tweak setbacks or add a conditional-use hurdle; the council looked at an earlier draft that would have welcomed data centers into local zoning and instead banned them outright, citywide. That's a rare move, and it matters because it happened before the substation upgrades, water contracts, and tax abatements got locked in, not after.
Most Texas towns we track don't get this chance. By the time residents hear about a hyperscale campus, the land's optioned, the power utility has already promised megawatts, and the incentive package is halfway through council approval. San Marcos reconsidering a proposal shows the window to say no is real, but it's narrow, and it depends on a council willing to walk back its own earlier draft in public.
Every city weighing this same choice — more tax base and jobs versus grid strain, water draws, and noise complaints from turbines and chillers running around the clock — is making a bet on which costs get disclosed before the vote and which show up later on your utility bill. Check our facility map to see what's already sited near you, and use our take-action guide if your own council has a data center item on a coming agenda.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KXAN, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.