Each data center developer that wants to build in San Antonio will have to get a special permit from the city before it can begin construction.

Council members approved new rules for data center development and chose stricter requirements, rather than allowing data centers to build by right.

Council members approved the new policy in a 9-2 vote on Thursday. 

Councilman Ric Galvan (D6), who kicked off discussion about the issue last year, voted for the new rules, along with Sukh Kaur (D1), Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Phyllis Viagran (D3), Edward Mungia (D4), Teri Castillo (D5), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8) and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.

Council members Misty Spears (D9) and Marc Whyte (D10) both voted no.

City officials have been mulling land use rules for data centers since Galvan asked city staff to start writing regulations on Oct. 29, 2025. After meeting with community members and developers throughout the summer, the city’s Development Services Department put forward a series of rule proposals this fall.

The choice included two extremes: Data centers could be allowed to be built by right when they met a list of requirements or they would need case-by-case approvals, also known as a specific use authorization, from the council.

In the end, council members overwhelmingly approved a case-by-case approach.

“Every single data center that is proposed to come to San Antonio must come to council … and make sure that there is clear coordination with the community and with council on how this data center will come to our city,” Galvan said.

New rules explained

The new rules will only allow the approved data centers in commercial or industrial zones. 

Galvan said council members will be able to unpack each proposal individually and ask questions about distance from neighbors, noise, water and energy use, lighting and a list of other concerns community members have presented.

“Residents will be able to voice their opinion. It means that residents will be able to get their thoughts and feedback,” Galvan said. “Not only will they be able to ask those questions, council will have their back, too.”

Galvan said he expects some questions around water, power and site plans to be asked consistently, but the policy is wide open. Residents will be able to raise whatever issues concern them about nearby projects.

Council members also unanimously supported rules for the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the South Side. Data centers built near those sites would need to go in front of City Council for specific setback requirements.

Four proposals

Council members were considering four options entering the meeting. City staff recommended by-right development in commercial and industrial zones. The second option, which was approved, required case-by-case approvals.

Mayor Jones put forward her own policy, which would have a list of requirements, including 1,000-foot setbacks, noise limits, water and energy use information and frequent public notifications from data centers. After meeting those requirements, data centers would still have to get a specific use authorization from council.

Last week, the city’s Zoning Commission presented its own proposal, allowing by-right development in heavier industrial areas and case-by-case approvals in business parks or commercial zones. The by-right rules included downward facing lighting, 350 feet of separation between data centers and neighborhoods, and landscape buffers.

Council members navigated a complex web of decisions and motions. Even city staff members were confused at times before council members landed on the blanket case-by-case policy.

Jones pushed for her proposal hard this week, holding a news conference for it on Monday. She put the policy in front of council members Thursday, but it lost in a 6-5 vote.

Galvan, McKee-Rodriguez, Castillo and Mungia all supported Jones’ proposal, while Kaur, Viagran, Alderete Gavito, Meza Gonzalez, Spears and Whyte voted it down.

Whyte then pushed for the Zoning Commission policy, which he called a compromise between by-right and case-by-case approvals. Meza Gonzalez became the critical vote in the room, flipping sides to defeat that proposal 6-5.

That cleared the way for case-by-case specific use authorizations, which a majority of council members decided to support.

The night before the vote, a group gathered in front of City Hall to speak, chant and protest against data centers. Many wanted to go beyond limiting future data center development.

“We need to start thinking about how to shut down the data centers that are already here,” Anayanse Garza told reporters.

It’s a window into how invested community members have become in the issue.

Throughout the Development Services Department’s regulatory process, residents have raised concerns about noise and light pollution, water and energy use and the impact on property values for those who live around data centers.

“We cannot sell houses that are near brownfields, and that is exactly what they are — the air pollution, the noise pollution,” local real estate agent Nikki Rosas told council members on Thursday. “The community is not talking about what we are going to lose in value in homeownership.”

Other public commenters raised concerns about air pollution and public health and a lack of transparency during development, advocating for specific use authorizations.

Developers and construction workers have argued that data centers provide essential digital infrastructure while creating property tax revenue and good-paying jobs. They want consistent regulations to allow for predictable development and said the Zoning Commission proposal was the best way to get there.

“Utilizing responsible data center development guidelines, as proposed by the Zoning Commission, will allow San Antonio to keep responsible data center development on track,” said Anthony Bolner, a San Antonio resident and founder of Stream Data Centers.

On Thursday, workers in construction vests flooded City Hall to emphasize the economic impact from data center development.

Dale Hanson, an assistant business manager at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the union has grown from 1,500 workers to 3,500 workers in the past decade. Much of that growth comes from data center work, which he said is often ongoing as facilities scale up and install new equipment.

Concerns about data centers have been expressed across the state. A University of Houston survey released on Oct. 27 found that 80% of Texans are concerned about the impact of data centers and 79% want limits on their development.

Ultimately, the future of data centers may come down to who gets elected on Nov. 3. Many candidates in Austin and Washington, D.C., have called for stiffer regulations.