SAN MARCOS CITY COUNCIL
The San Marcos City Council received a presentation and held public comment over a future data center — unrelated to the Cloudburst Data Center that is slated to be developed in the same area — which would be located on approximately 200 acres on 904 Francis Harris Lane. John Mayberry, the developer, was requesting a change in the Preferred Scenario Map from Conservation/ Cluster to Commercial/ Employment Low, and, if approved, the applicant would be requesting a zoning change to Character Districts and Light Industrial. The first vote on the item will occur at the July 1 meeting.
San Marcos City Council Member Amanda Rodriguez said the fiscal impacts of the project should not be the most important factor in decision making.
“I really want you all to understand that it’s very tone deaf to only talk about the potential fiscal impacts of this project,” Rodriguez said. “The fiscal impacts are not lost on us, especially given the fiscal constraints we are living in and will likely continue to live in. We really have to stop leading with that point. There are things more important like life, than leading with the dollar.”
Nikkye Vargas, a San Marcos citizen, spoke in public comment against the data center.
“Our river and our water resources are an indicator of our health environmentally, economically and even emotionally. It’s not a surprise to any of us here that we have been in a drought for years and have indicators that we are headed toward desertification,” Vargas said. “One must factor in water and energy usage and whether or not the area being proposed has the resources to support that kind of extraction. Stage 5 drought suggests that we don’t even have enough water right now, not factoring in the amount needed for data centers.”
San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce President Page Michel spoke in support of the data center.
“There are other data centers being discussed in our region, but this is the only one we support,” Michel said. “We have taken time to review the information that has been shared publicly, and from what we’ve seen, this project stands out. Unlike other data centers that are trying to locate in our region, this developer has expressed a willingness to enter into a Community Benefits Agreement. That tells us they’re open to working with the city and investing back into San Marcos in meaningful ways. They’ve committed to responsible water and energy use in a time when water is one of our most precious shared resources. … We do not support saying yes to every development, but we say yes to this one because it meets higher standards.”
San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson pointed out that there are very few developmental regulations in the county compared to what the city requires.
“There are some of these data centers, Cloudburst is one, that we know is not going in the city, and there’s just not going to be much … regulation on that. This development is looking to be in the city limits, and all of the regular city requirements having to do with water and watershed protection and all of that will apply,” Hughson said. “They are willing to put forth restrictive covenants on the land. … Given the two options, it appears to me if it’s going to be here and we know that they’re coming, it would be better in the city with regulations and a developer that’s willing to add more regulations to themselves than it be not in the city totally unregulated.”
If the preferred scenario map change is not approved, Mayberry does have the option to de-annex from the city, but he clarified that is not what he would prefer to do.
Rodriguez said she did appreciate the clarification on the lack of desire to de-annex from the city.
“It’s one thing to say you value these things being implemented to protect our people,” she said. “It’s another thing for people to throw the threat of de-annexation because it really makes all of those desires for protection a mute point.”
Mayberry said the lot was initially going to be a housing development with 500 homes, but the data center will use 42% less water due to the “closed loop” system that recycles the same water over and over again. He said they would be willing to put restrictive covenants into the development agreement that would support more stringent regulations than required by city regulations.
Hughson asked at the next meeting that Mayberry distinguish how much water will be used to initially fill the system and how much will be used monthly for other reasons.
Mayberry addressed the crowd, saying he remains open-minded to feedback, if anyone feels that there are other factors that need to be addressed to make the development more appealing.
“We can pivot at this point,” he said.
Mayberry said he was unable to share the potential host of the data center, and Rodriguez said she would not be able to vote in favor of the preferred scenario map change without that information.
Learn more about the data center at sanmarcos datacenterproject.com.
