A City Council vote to zone 7.9 acres west of the airport to industrial use and annex it to the city brought an almost full house to Tuesday’s meeting – most driven by fear of a data center going in there.
Stephen Sanders, former mayor candidate, who’s leading a campaign for a data center moratorium, asked people to come to the meeting in a frustrated and animated Monday Facebook post.
Extra police officers were at the meeting, citing “an increased presence by the public and comments made on social media suggesting a possible level of aggression,” said Kasie Davis, LPD spokesperson Kasie Davis.
“While we have a presence at every city council meeting, due to the nature of these specific circumstances, … the decision was made to have additional officers present,” Davis said. “While the LPD respects the right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right of a citizen to peacefully engage in city government, our department’s goal is to protect life and property at all times.”
Most of the speakers during two public hearings were against an annexation and rezoning of a property on Lubbock’s northern edge. Credit: Staff photo.
During the meeting, officials including John Osborne, CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA), said a data center is not likely going into the location west of Interstate 27.
LEDA bought the property this year because it’s close to a railroad.
“That’s BNSF’s main rail line. So, while I guess technically a data center could go on a property like this, it’s not the highest and best use for that property. It’s actually a much better use for a rail-served industrial client or possibly a rail-served distribution type client,” Osborne said.
Critics were not satisfied.
“Shame, shame!” multiple people in audience yelled at the council right after the first of two “yes” votes on the property along Drew Street.
About 30 seconds into the chaos, a woman could be heard over everyone else yelling, “Everybody here should vote to take them off. That’s a disgrace! A disgrace!”
She continued screaming, “Stand up and fight! We are citizens! And they just listened to us and didn’t ——- care! Stand up! We’re going to recall you all!”
Mayor Pro-tem Jennifer Wilson was able to restore order after about a minute. She chaired the meeting as Mayor Mark McBrayer was out.
Roughly 150 people attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting, larger than a usual meeting.
During two public hearings, 21 citizens spoke out against rezoning the property and eight spoke out against (two in favor of) annexing the same piece of land. (Some of the 10 were among the 21 and spoke twice.)
Some who spoke against the project live in homes bordering the property to the west. But most lived in other parts of town and were focused on their opposition data centers.
800 block of Drew Street
LEDA assembled land near the airport for industrial use – purchasing 383 acres west of Interstate 27 near Drew Street in 2023 for just more than $9 million.
This year LEDA purchased another two acres in the same general area for $552,000 and another 44.5 acres in May for nearly $668,000.
7.9 acres in the 800 block of Drew Street were not in the city, which is why it came to the Council. Annexation and rezoning can be done at the same time – so, two Council votes.
Osborne said, “I don’t anticipate a data center ever going there, primarily because we’re trying to put the highest and best use on a particular property. And we are in such short supply of rail-served properties.”
No specific company was identified in the meeting as planning a project in that spot.
Protests and responses
Despite Osborne saying a data center was probably not going on the site, Sanders said, “If you approve that, tomorrow morning I believe that LEDA will take a permit out for a data center.”
Sanders said he and his volunteers have enough signatures – due by August 3 – to force Council action. If the Council agrees, then there would be an 18-month moratorium on permits or rezoning for data centers. If not, the issue would then go to Lubbock voters – possibly in November or March.
Adam Hernandez, a community activist and former candidate for City Council, said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a data center – doesn’t matter if it’s a concrete batch plant – doesn’t matter what it is. It’s an industrial use.”
City Council Districts 1 and 2 get disproportionately affected by industrial projects – calling it “yet another slap in the face” for people in North and East Lubbock, he said.
Phylis Gant said, “You can vote with us today, the people that voted and put you in place. Or you can watch us do a recall.”
Morgan Polson opposed the annexation of 7.9 acres of land along Drew Street west of Interstate 27 during a public hearing. Credit: Staff photo.
Morgan Polson said she had concerns about the annexation, saying, “Number one, the severe lack of transparency surrounding this.”
Christy Martinez Garcia, Councilwoman for District 1, said in business deals, some things are confidential.
“Some of the information, … it’s very sensitive,” she said.
“I personally have made lots of efforts to be aware of the projects happening in my district. … Every single decision is made by seven council people, not one.” Martinez Garcia said.
Martinez Garcia voted against the zoning change but in favor of the annexation.
Brayden Rose, outgoing Councilman for District 4, said, there’s more power to regulate companies in the city and less power out in the county.
“That’s what we have city limits and UDCs [Uniform Development Codes] for. I mean, these are important things. That’s why we have development codes,” Rose said of his support for annexation.
Rose also thought it was unlikely a data center would find the property attractive because of the extra cost to be near a rail line.
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Previous tension
In a July 9 gathering to discuss data centers, a man got angry and screamed at McBrayer. Two days earlier some of the speakers were angry about the idea of data centers in Lubbock during a meeting hosted by the city. There were a small group of protesters outside a data center discussion on the Texas Tech campus in late May.
The night before the Council meeting, Sanders posted a video on Facebook calling on people to show up in force. He said Lubbock residents would die prematurely because of data centers. He blamed a “heartless council” and “heartless mayor.”
“Lubbock is a machine, a well-oiled machine that has got to die. It’s got to die,” Sanders said in the video.
His reference to “got to die” was not explained in his Facebook video. LubbockLights.com asked him about it before the Council meeting.
“The good old boy system – it’s been that way since the beginning. It always has been. And until we get those kind of people out, we’re going to have to deal with this over and over and over again,” Sanders said.
LubbockLights.com asked Sanders about his claim Council members are “gonna get some money underneath the table.”
“It hasn’t happened yet, but that could happen,” he said.
LubbockLights.com also asked about his claim data centers would kill people.
“The hyperscale AI data centers that are going to use backup generators and pump pollution into our air is going to kill people. … I’m not making anything up.” Sanders said.
Sanders said he was not aware of any hyperscale data centers coming to Lubbock. But that’s the whole point of his signature petition, he said.
“Give us more time to look at Abilene and to look at what’s going to happen with … the Matador Project [in conjunction with Texas Tech near Amarillo], and what’s going to happen in Childress,” Sanders said.
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