(TNS) \u2014 Local officials in\u00a0Jack,\u00a0Parker\u00a0and\u00a0Hood\u00a0counties will soon meet about data center projects in their communities.<\/p>\n
The talks are playing out in a state where county leaders have limited options for regulating or halting projects. The\u00a0North Texas\u00a0counties\u2019 meetings are scheduled for the coming days, with commissioners weighing projects as resistance from residents grows.<\/p>\n
Jack County\u00a0postpones<\/p>\n
The Jack County Commissioners Court was expected to review an application during its\u00a0June 8\u00a0meeting from\u00a0Dallas-based CyrusOne for a tax abatement agreement to build a data center with an initial cost of $600 million.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The development would be built on 485 to 940 acres in the southeast corner of Jack County near the intersection of FM 2210 and\u00a0Texas\u00a0199, near the border with\u00a0Wise County, according to\u00a0the tax abatement application.<\/a><\/p>\n A site plan included in the application shows several buildings, with a power substation.<\/p>\n According\u00a0Katy 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.<\/p>\n The first phase of development would cost $600 million, Hancock said, but could grow to $2 billion depending on how many buildings are added.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Jack County Commissioners Court will meet at\u00a010 a.m.\u00a0at the\u00a0Jack County Courthouse,\u00a0100 N. Main St.<\/p>\n Parker County\u00a0to hold special meeting<\/p>\n On\u00a0June 9, the Parker County Commissioners Court will meet to \u201cconduct a comprehensive assessment of industrial data center developments and their potential long-term impacts on local infrastructure, water resources, and the\u00a0Texas\u00a0power grid,\u201d according to a press release.<\/p>\n The meeting was scheduled after residents expressed concerns over the\u00a0purchase of over 2,000 acres<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Black Mountain, which is developing a data center in\u00a0Fort Worth, and a permit held by\u00a0Fort Worth Power Core LLC\u00a0to operate natural gas turbines to provide backup and bridge power for a potential data center.<\/p>\n Commissioners discussed the land purchase at their meeting on\u00a0May 26, and heard from Agriculture Commissioner\u00a0Sid Miller\u00a0and representatives from\u00a0Parker County\u00a0and the city of\u00a0Weatherford.<\/p>\n The meeting is scheduled for\u00a09 a.m.\u00a0June 9\u00a0at the\u00a0County Courthouse,\u00a01 Courthouse Square.<\/p>\n Hood County\u00a0to weigh changes to data center proposal<\/p>\n In\u00a0Hood County, commissioners will consider the proposed 2,100-acre\u00a0Comanche Circle\u00a0data center development near\u00a0Glen Rose\u00a0and\u00a0Dinosaur Valley State Park. In January, commissioners granted conditional approval of a concept plan from\u00a0Florida-based\u00a0Sailfish Investors LLC, but they asked for information including traffic impact and water use studies. According to information on Hood County\u2019s website, those documents haven\u2019t been submitted. Residents from\u00a0Hood\u00a0and\u00a0Somervell\u00a0counties have opposed the\u00a0Comanche Circle\u00a0because of concerns over how the nearby industrial development would impact their rural homes and\u00a0Dinosaur Valley State Park.<\/p>\n The meeting is scheduled for\u00a09 a.m.\u00a0in the central jury room of the\u00a0Ralph H. Walton Jr. Justice Center,\u00a01200 W. Pearl St.<\/p>\n Counties between a rock and a hard place<\/p>\n Conversations about data centers are happening across the state, including\u00a0Fort Worth.<\/p>\n On\u00a0June 2, the city took the first steps toward deciding whether to regulate data centers \u2014 and potentially ban crypto currency mining. Similar talks are also happening in counties, but counties have\u00a0limited governing power when it comes to land use<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Texas\u00a0and fewer regulatory options for data centers that want to open outside city limits.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Pew Research Center\u00a0has found<\/a>\u00a0that 67% of planned data centers nationwide are in rural communities. According to the\u00a0Texas Tribune, nearly half of the state\u2019s planned data centers\u00a0are in unincorporated areas.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCities, with zoning authority, can restrict them to just industrial uses, or to area that are zoned for industrial,\u201d said\u00a0Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas, an advocacy group that works to \u201cprotect the natural world.\u201d \u201cIf there\u2019s a request for a zoning change, they have a lot of authority over that.\u201d<\/p>\n Counties have less control, he said, noting that they do have authority over roads and can require things like road upgrades.<\/p>\n Tax breaks are another regulatory tool for cities and counties, Metzger said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey 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 \u2014 things like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n