[ ITEMS ]
>> MAYOR JONES: GOOD AFTERNOON. THE TIME IS NOW 2:03 P.M. ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2026. AND THE SAN ANTONIO SPECIAL SESSION IS CALLED TO ORDER. >> GAVITO:. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL ROLL. THANK YOU. THIS IS ON A TOPIC THAT IS NOT ONLY PRESSING IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SO APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A DISCUSSION. WE'RE HAVING A SPECIAL MEETING TODAY BASED ON A MEMO FILED BY SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES REQUESTING A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS. MARIA, OVER TO YOU, PLEASE. >> ... INCLUDING POTENTIAL U UDC AMENDMENTS AND THE OPTION OF A TEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM. OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT HAS CONDUCTED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WITH INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND POLICY EXPERTS. SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION WE ARE GOING TO BE PRESENTING TWO POTENTIAL PATHS FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION. THE FIRST ONE IS UDC AMENDMENTS THAT WOULD ESTABLISH LONG-TERM REGULATIONS GOVERNING WHERE DATA CENTERS MY LOCATE AND THE STANDARDS THEY MUST MEET MEET. IF COUNCIL CHOOSES TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS AMENDMENT, WE WOULD BE READY TO HAVE THOSE REVIEW IN MID OCTOBER. THE SECOND PATH IS A DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM THAT WOULD PROVIDE A TEMPORARY PAUSE THAT IS SUBJECT TO A SPECIFIC STATE REQUIREMENTS, TIMELINES, FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS. SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION WE WILL OUTLINE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, THE LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH A MORATORIUM AND THE TIMELINES FOR EACH OF THE OPTIONS THAT I DESCRIBE. SO WITH THAT I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO AMIN TOW TOMÁ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
MOVE FORWARD WITH THE UDC AMENDMENTS WE CAN PRESENT THOSE COMMITMENTS TO THE ZONING COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 15TH, BRING IT TO COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 15TH AND HAVE IT ADOPTED POTENTIALLY. AGAIN, A SUMMARY OF THE UDC AMENDMENTS THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS SO FAR IS TO RESTRICT DATA CENTERS TO BE DEVELOPED IN INTENSE COMMERCIAL ZONE PROPERTIES AND INDUSTRIAL ZONE SUCH AS C3, I1, I2 AN OTHERS. ALSO ESTABLISH MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THEM, SO MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN ANY DATA CENTER AND A RESIDENTIAL USE PROPERTY OR SCHOOLS OR DAY CARES. TO HAVE A BIGGER SETBACK, LARGER SETBACK FOR THE BUILDINGS AND TO REQUIRE LANDSCAPE BUFFER AND FENCING FOR THE PROPERTY. ALSO WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO PROTECT DATA CENTERS FROM BEING BUILT OVER EDWARD'S AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE. LASTLY IF THE DATA CENTER OR THE DEVELOPER DOES NOT MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS THEY CAN COME FORWARD TO COUNCIL AND ASK FOR SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION FROM COUNCIL. AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS SO FAR. SO THE SECOND PATH IS THE MORATORIUM SO HERE IS A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THAT. MORATORIUMS ARE GOVERNED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN CHAPTER CODE 212, SUBCHAPTER E. THEY ARE VERY SPECIFIC, THEY HAVE THREE OPTIONS AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE WRITTEN FINDINGS BEFORE YOU FILE FOR EITHER ONE OF THOSE OPTIONS. AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S UP TO 90 DAYS AND IT CAN BE EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER 90 DAYS FOR A MAXIMUM OF 180 DAYS MAX. NOW, I GUESS BEFORE I JUMP INTO THE OPTIONS, I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS THAT WE DID SOME ANALYSIS ON. SO WE LOOKED AROUND IN TEXAS TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY CITIES THAT ADOPTED A MORATORIUM OR ISSUEED ONE. SO WE FOUND A COUPLE. HILL COUNTRY, IT'S NEAR WACO AREA, THEY DID THE MORATORIUM FOR ONE YEAR, WHICH AGAIN THAT'S ILLEGAL, AND THEY GOT SUEED AND THEY DROPPED THE CASE IMMEDIATELY THE VERY NEXT DAY. FORT WORTHFORT WORTH, THEY STAR PROCESS JUST RECENTLY, FORT WORTH, AUGUST 8TH I BELIEVE THEY FILED IT, AND THEY HAVEN'T YET ISSUED ANY PUBLIC FINDINGS. THEY DIDN'T ISSUE WHAT'S THE REASON. AS I SAID, I'M GOING TO GO OVER THE THREE OPTIONS THAT WE NEED TO FILE FOR IF WE CHOOSE ANY OF THOSE. THEY HAVEN'T STATED WHAT IS THE REASON YET SO WE'LL MONITOR THAT ONE AND SEE. THEY HAVE UP TO 30 DAYS TO DO THAT. SAN MARCOS WE THOUGHT THEY DID MORATORIUM, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT IT THEY ACTUALLY PURSUED CODE DEVELOPMENT CHANGES LIKE US, LIKE THE UDC. KEEP IN MIND IF WE PROCESS THE MORATORIUM AND IT IS ISSUED, THAT DOES NOT STOP ANY PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS. SO ANY PROJECT THAT RECEIVED THEIR UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENT, THAT MEANS BASED ON THE STATE LAW THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE WORKS AND WE CANNOT ACTUALLY PAUSE THAT PROJECT. SO HERE'S THE THREE OPTIONS FOR MORATORIUMS THAT THE STATE REQUIRES US TO CHOOSE ONE FROM. AND AGAIN, ANY OF THESE THREE OPTIONS THEY ARE REQUIRE WRITTEN FINDINGS TO PROVE -- TO SHOW AN EVIDENCE OF WHAT ARE WE LACKING AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? WE HAVE TO FIX THE ISSUE AFTER WE STATE THE ISSUE. SO THIS ONE APPLIES TO QUARRYIES AND HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY -- I'M SORRY, IT APPLIES TO EVERYBODY EXCEPT QUARRYIES AND HEAVY INDUSTRIAL ZONED PROPERTIES. AND AGAIN, THE MAIN THING IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE LACK OR THE SHORTAGE OF ESSENTIAL PUBLIC FACILITYIES SUCH AS WATER, SEWER, STORM DRAINAGE DRAINAGE, STREET IMPROVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS. THE SECOND OPTION IS VERY SIMILAR BUT TOTAL -- UTILITIES THEMSELVES. WE HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE AGAIN THE LACK OF ANYTHING THAT'S RELATED TO HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTSS AND IT DOES AFFECT THE RESIDENTS BY ANY MEANS OF HARM. AGAIN, ANY OF THOSE OPTIONS WE HAVE TO HAVE THE FINDINGS IN WRITING AND WE HAVE TO ISSUE THAT AND THEY NEED TO BE PART OF, AGAIN, THE PUBLIC RECORD. OPTION 3 IS FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT SO THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO PROPERTIES ZONED AS SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING UNITS UNITS, MULTI-FAMILY, HEAVY INDUSTRIAL USE OR A QUARRY. SO IT'S BASICALLY EVERYBODY ELSE. AND AGAIN, WE NEED TO HAVE THE FINDINGS IN WRITING AND WE NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE EXISTING COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCES ORDINANC REGULATIONS ARE INSUFFICIENT
INSUFFICIENT. THIS IS THE TIMELINE FOR A MORATORIUM BASED ON THE STATE REQUIREMENTS. AGAIN, THIS IS MANDATED BY THE STATE, SO IT TAKES ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MONTHS FROM DAY ONE. SO THE FIRST STEP IS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO INITIATE THE MORATORIUM PROCESS, SO LET'S SAY SEPTEMBER 3RD. AND FROM THAT POINT ON WE START OUR NOTICES SO WE HAVE TO ISSUE A PUBLIC -- WE HAVE TO PUBLISH NOTICES. LET'S SAY OCTOBER 1. AND AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THAT WE HAVE THE FIRST HEARING AND THEN WE HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 30 DAYS TO DO A SECOND HEARING AND THEN WITHIN 12 DAYS WE HAVE TO DO THE FIRST READING AND THEN AT LEAST 28 DAYS LATER WE MOVE ON TO THE SECOND READING. AT THAT TIME COUNCIL CAN VOTE FOR IT. TECHNICALLY THE BEST CASE SCENARIO, WE START SEPTEMBER 3R EARLIEST WOULD BE DECEMBER DECEMBER 30TH UP TO JANUARY JANUARY 1ST IS WHEN WE GET THIS APPROVED AND VOTED FOR. AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION SO UP TO 90 DAYS. THIS SLIDE HERE IS TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STATE LEVEL ACTIONS. AS EVERYBODY HEARD, GOVERNOR ABBOTT, HE PROPOSED ON JUNE JUNE 10TH, 2026, DIRECTED THE UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS TO PROPOSE STATEWIDE STANDARDS TO ASK THE FACILITYIES TO HAVE THEIR OWN POWER GENERATION, TO HAVE A CLOSED SYSTEM FOR THE WATER COOLANT SYSTEM, REQUIRE THE CENTERS TO PAY FOR THEIR OWN GRID INTERCONNECTION WITH THE UTILITIES AND SO FORTH. AUGUST 3RD THE GOVERNOR ISSUED A STATEWIDE MORATORIUM ON NEW DATA CENTERS CONNECTIONS TO THE TEXAS POWER GRID. AND ERCOD IS WORKING ON THAT -- THAT AND THEY COMMITTED TO AN AUDIT BY END OF THE YEAR, BY SEPTEMBER 2026. THERE IS A LOT OF -- DECEMBER 2026. THERE IS A LOT OF CONVERSATION AT THE SESSION, THE 90TH ONE, AND I KNOW OUR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS IS MONITORING THAT AND KEEPING TRACK OF IT. SO AGAIN WITH THAT SAID, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO PURSUE THE AMENDMENTS FOR THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE BECAUSE AGAIN IT'S QUICKER AND MORE PERMANENT SOLUTION. HOPEFULLY WE GET THAT TAKEN CARE OF. AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU, AMIN. WE DID NOT POST THIS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT SO WE WILL MOVE STRAIGHT INTO COUNCIL DISCUSSION. COUNCILMAN GALVAN IS RECOGNIZED. >> GALVAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR AND THANK YOU AMIN FOR THE PRESENTATION AS WELL AS ALL THE WORK YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE DONE SO FAR. ON THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR NOT ONLY THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BUT PARTICULARLY FOR DISTRICT 6 WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF DATA CENTERS EXIST IN OUR COMMUNITY. I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR SUPPORTING THIS REQUEST TO BRING THIS MEETING TO THE FOREFRONT AND ALSO VERY GRATEFUL OF COURSE TO THE CITY COUNCILMEMBERS WHO SUPPORTED THE INITIAL CCR ON THIS TOPIC AS WELL TO LOOK AT THE UDC CHANGES. WE PUSHED THIS CONVERSATION FORWARD GIVEN THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT THAT WE WERE SEEING IN OUR DISTRICT. OF COURSE, THE CHANGES AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL AS WELL AND OF COURSE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO HEAVILY INVEST IN THIS INDUSTRY AND WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPACTS WOULD BE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW WE COULD BETTER ENSURE THEY WERE MITIGATING ANY OF THE NEGATIVE I WILL PACKETS WE'VE BEEN SEEING FOR OUR RESIDENTSS, AND IN PARTICULAR ORGAN TALKING ABOUT SAWS AND CPS POTENTIAL RATE INCREASES INCREASES, UNDERSTANDING HOW DO THESE TWO THINGS INTERTWINE. DURING OUR MARCH MEETING WE HAD A CONVERSATION AS WELL WHEN WE HAD THE FIRST CONVERSATION AS A FULL COUNCIL ABOUT THIS UDC ZONING CHANGES HERE AT CITY HALL. WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT NOT ONLY THE IMPACT WE'VE BEEN HAVING? DISTRICT 6 BUT ALSO THE FUTURE OF IT OF THE DATA CENTER GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE SAW A CLEAR MAP THAT WILL THERE WILL LIKELY BE AN EXPANSION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY THROUGHOUT MULTIPLE DISTRICTS. I BELIEVE IT'S PERTINENT THAT WE BRING THESE CONVERSATIONS TO THE FOREFRONT TO NOT ONLY ADDRESS THE CURRENT ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING, BUT MAKE SURE NOT ONLY THE DISTRICT 6 RESIDENTSS ARE SUPPORTED IN THIS EFFORT BUT ALL RESIDENTSS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON DATA CENTERS, MAKE SURE THEY'RE COMMUNICATING AND HAVE TRANSPARENCY WITH ALL THIS, PREFERABLY HAVE SOME ACTION AT CITY COUNCIL AS WELL. DISTRICT 6 RESIDENTS HAVE ADDRESSED NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE ISSUES FROM LIGHTING, NOISE, CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC, ROADWAY WEAR AND TEAR AND LOSS OF TREES IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND THROUGHOUT OUR DISTRICT. FURTHER AND FURTHER OUT INTO THE WEST OF SAN ANTONIO, THE FAR WEST OF SAN ANTONIO, INCLUDING INTO BEXAR COUNTY THOSE SAME ISSUES HAVE BEEN RAISED FOR RESIDENTS WHO ARE NOT REPRESENTED HERE AT CITY HALL. ADDITIONALLY MAJOR CONCERNS ON THE ENERGY GRID AND WATER SYSTEM HAVE BEEN RAISED AND OF COURSE EVEN THE CONCERNS ABOUT AIR QUALITY AND THE CITY'S OVERALL ENVIRONMENT HAVE BEEN RAISED AS WELL AS INDUSTRY WORKS TO ADDRESS INDUSTRY NEEDS BY HAVING
BACKUP ONNIGHT. WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE OF THAT IN OUR DISTRICT AS WELL AS CERTAIN ONES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR STATE PERMITTING AS WELL TO DO THOSE KIND OF OPERATIONS. SO I BELIEVE THIS MEETING TODAY IS GOING TO HELP US ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION TODAY. BACK AT THE PCDC MEETING IN APRIL THERE WAS A CLEAR LINE THAT WE WOULD COME BACK IN AUGUST TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS WERE COMPLETED AND GONE THROUGH. I FELT IT WAS CRITICAL AND COMMUNICATED TO RESIDENTS THAT WE BRING THIS CONVERSATION BACK UP TO LET FOLKS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. OVERALL I THINK THE UDC RECOMMENDATION LOOK FAIRLY GOOD. I THINK THE ONLY THING THAT STILL IMPACT ME AND RESIDENTS OF MY COMMUNITY IS THE COMMERCIAL ZONING THERE. OF COURSE I KNOW IT'S MORE INTENSE AT THE C3 LEVEL, BUT ULTIMATELY I THINK REGARDLESS OF THE BUFFERS, REGARDLESS OF THE THINGS HERE, EVERY SINGLE ONE SHOULD HAVE A SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION SO THAT IT HAS TO COME TO CITY COUNCIL SO RESIDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON THE PROJECT AND HEAR ABOUT IT. THE DEVELOPERS CAN WORK WITH COMMUNITIES NEARBY TO ADDRESS CONCERNS AND OF COURSE THAT IT NEEDS TO HAVE APPROVAL FROM THIS BODY TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS NO MATTER WHAT PART OF THE CITY IT'S COMING FROM. I HOPE MY COLLEAGUES CAN SUPPORT ME ON THAT PARTICULAR PORTION OF THIS CONVERSATION IN PARTICULAR. NOW, OF COURSE IT'S A BIT OF A RUNWAY HERE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENING IN THE MOMENT. BACK IN MARCH WE HAD OUR FIRST CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS. WE WERE TOLD BY CPS AND SAWS THAT THEY WERE WORKING ON LOCAL POLICY CHANGES AND EVEN RATE REVIEWS RELATED TO DATA CENTERS AND LARGE ENERGY USERS. I KNOW SOME ARE BEING PILOTED WITH DIFFERENT POLICY IMPLEMENTATIONS AT THE MOMENT BUT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED JUST YET. BACK IN MAY OUR OFFICE ALSO SENT A MEMO TO CITY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO SHAPE THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FRAMEWORK TO HELP ENOUR OUR RESIDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO WELL PAID UNION JOBS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATUS OF THAT WORKING GROUP IS, BUT I THINK GIVEN ALL OF THESE LOCAL ACTIONS THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN BY US AND THE UTILITIES, EVERYTHING ELSE OF OF THE SORT, AND THE STATE LEVEL AS PRESENTED TO EXPLORE HOW WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THE KEY ISSUES NOT ONLY HERE IN THE CITIES, BUT THE RURAL AREAS AS WELL AND THE COUNTIES THAT A MORATORIUM IS WORTH THE CONVERSATION. TO LOOK AT, EXPLORE AND SEE WHAT THE STEPS ARE HERE LOCALLY IN OUR COMMUNITY. I UNDERSTAND THE RUNWAY IS PRETTY LONG AND ARDUOUS FOR THAT CONVERSATION. I THINK IT'S WORTHWHILE FOR IT TO BE THAT. AND THIS CONCERN ABOUT OF COURSE WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD HAVE ON OUR ECONOMY IN A WAY, RESIDENTSS HAVE WAITED FOR THE ZONING CHANGES FOR NEARLY A YEAR. YOU COULD ARGUE BEFORE THE CCR LONGER THAN THAT. SEEING THE THINGS THAT IMPACT COMMUNITY WITHOUT ANY RECOURSE OR ANY SHIFT IN THIS AREA, SO I THINK IF OUR STAFF NEEDS IT TIME TO IMPLEMENT THE UDC CHANGES IF WE NEED TIME FOR THE CVA CONVERSATION, IF OUR UTILITY NEED TIME TO IMPLEMENT POLICY AND RATE CHANGES AND OUR STATE LEGISLATURE NEED TO MAKE CHANGES, I THINK IT'S REASONABLE TO CONSIDER A MORATORIUM ON INDUSTRY WITH SUCH INTEREST FROM THE PUBLIC AND FROM POLICYMAKERS POLICYMAKERS. EXCITED TO HEAR WHAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES THINK OF THIS CONVERSATION TODAY. OF COURSE THERE'S NO ACTION THAT WILL BE HAD IN THIS MOMENT, BUT I THINK IT'S WORTHWHILE TO SEE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE FOR THE IMPACTS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. AMIN, IF YOU WANTED TO DISCUSS THE THINGS HE JUST MENTIONED. >> YES. ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCILMAN, IS YOU PREFER TO HAVE THE SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION ON ALL DATA CENTERS. I THINK THAT COULD BE DOABLE DOABLE, THAT COULD BE POSSIBLE DISCUSSION WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS. WHEN WE DID MEET WITH THEM AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT, THE GOAL WAS TO CREATE THE BUFFER FOR THE NOISE ISSUES, THE AIR POLLUTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IF YOU HAVE THE BUFFER AND THEY ARE IN A HEAVY INDUSTRIAL LOCATION OR COMMERCIAL, THEN THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED BY RIGHT. AND IF THEY DON'T MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS TO COME BEFORE COUNCIL FOR SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION. BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT OR THE COUNCIL WANTS, WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT. >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE, PLEASE. >> WHYTE: THANKS, MAYOR. I'M GOING TO BE REALLY BRIEF BRIEF. FIRST, THANK YOU TO COUNCILMEMBER GALVAN BRINGING THIS FORWARD. HE'S REALLY BEEN A LEADER ON THIS ISSUE AND I KNOW IT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED BY MY COLLEAGUES AND I. HE AND I ALSO GOT A CHANCE TO VISIT A DATA CENTER A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I ENJOYED THAT TOUR WITH HIM AND LEARNING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THESE DATA CENTERS. WITH THAT SAID, THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE FOR ME WHEN LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE IS THAT WE MUST PROTECT THE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS FIRST AND FOREMOST, THEIR DAY-TO-DAY QUALITY OF LIFE HAS TO BE NUMBER ONE.
WE CANNOT ALLOW NOISE TO INTERRUPT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, WE CANNOT ALLOW ANY SORT OF POLLUTION AND -- ANYTHING ELSE THAT WOULD DISTRACT FROM WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE IN THEIR HOMES. ADDITIONALLY, WATER NOT AS MUCH OF AN ISSUE I DON'T BELIEVE TODAY AS IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO AS IT LOOKS LIKE NOW WITH THIS NEW CLOSED LOOP WATER SYSTEM, ABOUT 75% OF THE WATER BEING USED BY THESE FACILITYIES, YOU KNOW, ARE RECYCLEED WATER SO I THINK WE'RE DOING A LOT BETTER THERE. STILL NEED SOME WORK ON ENERGY SIDE OF THINGS. CERTAINLY WHAT WORRIES ME IS THE IMPACT THIS COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE ON RATEPAYERS IF WE TONIGHT DO THIS PROPERLY. SO -- IF WE DON'T DO THIS PROPERLY. THESE DATA CENTERS CAN BE A SOURCE OF GREAT REVENUE FOR OUR CITY. THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF JOBS THAT COME WITH BUILDING THESE THINGS AND SOME HIGH- HIGH-PAYING JOBS THAT COME AFTER THEIR BUILT. THERE'S A LOT THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE WORKS THAT PEOPLE ARE DEPENDING ON. SO FOR ME I THINK STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS THE WAY TO GO HERE, THE UDC PROCESS LOOKS LIKE WE'VE ENGAGEED THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, WE'RE GOING TO GET SOMEWHERE ON THIS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. I BELIEVE WE SHOULD LET THAT PLAY OUT. AND AGAIN, PUT ALL THE REGULATIONS IN PLACE THAT WE NEED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AS THESE DATA CENTERS CONTINUE TO LOOK TO COME INTO THE SAN SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITIES. THANKS, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER MEZA GONZÁLEZ. >> GONZÁLEZ: THANK YOU, MAYOR AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES GALVAN AND COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO FOR SIGNING THIS MEMO AND PUSHING THIS FORWARD ON THE MORATORIUM. AND TO THE OTHER -- AND THIS WAS YOUR FIRST CCR ABOUT 10 MONTHS AGO, SO I APPRECIATE YOU ASKING ME TO SUPPORT THIS AND I GLADLY DID. I THINK WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION ALL OVER, ANY TIME YOU PICK UP THE NEWS OR READ THE NEWS OR WATCH TV, AND I HEAR IT EVERY HOA MEETING THAT I HAVE, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THEM, IT COMES UP. AND SPECIFICALLY THE QUESTION IS AROUND WATER AND ELECTRICITY, AND NO MATTER HOW YOU EXPLAIN IT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY LANDING. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. MISINFORMATION AND JUST EVERYTHING GOING ON IN REGARDS TO THIS I THINK IS COMPLEX AND SO I GUESS I WOULD WANT TO START TO -- WE JUST RECENTLY GOT A MEMO FROM THE IGR DEPARTMENT, AND I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JUST SUMMARIZE WHAT THAT MEMO SAID BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY IT WAS PUTTING THAT ONUS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, RIGHT? YOU KNOW YOUR COMMUNITIES MORE THAN ANYONE, SO IF YOU COULD SUMMARIZE THE MEMO THAT YOU SENT TO US TODAY. >> SURE, COUNCILWOMAN. THERE WAS A HEARING LAST WEEK ON THE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON DATA CENTERS. IT WAS A LENGTHY HEARING, SIX-PLUS HOURS. A LOT OF PEOPLE ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, WATER, ELECTRICITY, LOCATIONS. AS YOU KNOW AND AS AMIN MENTIONED, ERCOT IS NOT APPROVEING ANY NEW CONNECTIONS OF DATA CENTERS TO THE STATEWIDE GRID WHILE THEY AWAIT AN AUDIT. THEY'VE ESSENTIALLY ASKED EVERY PENDING DATA CENTER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT TAX INCENTIVES THEY'RE RECEIVING, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO GET THEIR WATER, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO GET THEIR ELECTRICITY, THAT SORT OF THING, TO PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD. AND SOME OF THE REPORTS SAY THERE'S ALMOST 2,000 PENDING REQUESTS AT THE STATE LEVEL RIGHT NOW, 1800 OR SO THAT ARE DATA CENTERS. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT LEGISLATION FOR NEXT SESSION SESSION. ONE THING THAT'S BECOME OBVIOUS IS THEY WANT TO UNDO THE STATEWIDE INCENTIVE FOR DATA CENTERS THAT WAS PUT INTO PLACE IN 2014. AND THEN THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO ALLOCATE COSTS SO THAT IT DOESN'T FALL ON HOMEOWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DISCUSSED LAST WEEK IS THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD TRACKS WATER USAGE, BUT DOESN'T GATHER THAT INFORMATION PROSPECTIVELY ON THE FRONT END ABOUT WHAT A CENTER MIGHT USE, SO THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT. SO OUR TEAM, SALLY AND HER TEAM, ARE WATCHING IT REALLY CLOSELY. THANKS TO YOU IT'S ONE OF THE ITEMS IN OUR DRAFT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR NEXT SESSION. AND I HOPE THATNESS AS YOUR QUESTION. >> GONZÁLEZ: YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE -- THE
RECOMMENDATION ON THE UDC AMENDMENT TIMELINE. I THINK THE SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION IS WHERE WE SHOULD GO IN THAT IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO WITH CAR WASHES OVER THE AQUIFER. SO I FEEL LIKE IT'S OKAY THAT WE DO THIS FOR THE DATA CENTERS AS WELL. WHAT OTHER TYPES OF FACILITY FACILITIES REQUIRE THE SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION? >> THE SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION GENERALLY IS A TOOL THAT ENABLES COUNCIL TO SAY THAT THIS USE MAY BE APPROPRIATE IN THESE DISTRICTS, BUT IT'S SENSITIVE ENOUGH THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS. THERE'S A LOT OF USES OVER THE EDWARD'S RECHARGE ZONE DISTRICT. YOU NAMED CAR WASHES. DRY CLEANERS REQUIRE A SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION OVER THE ERZD. AND IN SOME LESS INTENSE DISTRICTS, C2 YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THAT TO PERMIT THINGS LIKE CAR DEALERSHIPS AND MECHANICS. SO IT'S A PRETTY COMMON TOOL IN THE UDC. >> GONZÁLEZ: THANK YOU. AND WHAT'S THE MINIMUM ZONING DISTANCE THAT STAFF IS RECOMMENDING FOR THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE? >> THE MINIMUM USAGE FROM THOSE LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION, RIGHT NOW IT WAS PROPOSED TO BE 500. WE DID HAVE OUR THIRD AND FINAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING THIS MORNING. WE GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK ON THAT. SOME PEOPLE THINK IT'S TOO LARGE OF A DISTANCE, SOME PEOPLE THINK IT'S NOT ENOUGH ENOUGH. SO I NEED TO GET WITH MY TEAM AND KIND OF ANALYZE THE FEEDBACK THAT WE WERE GIVEN, BUT FOR THE TIME BEING IT WAS PROPOSED TO BE 500 FEET. >> GONZÁLEZ: DO YOU HAVE A COMPARISON ON WHERE THAT FITS IN WITH OTHER TEXAS CITIES? >> YEAH. WE TOOK A LOOK AT A COUPLE OTHER CITIES. THERE ARE VERY FEW CITIES THAT REQUIRE A THOUSAND PLUS FEET. TEMPE, ARIZONA ADOPTED AN ORDINANCE AT 500 AND A COUPLE OTHER TEXAS CITIES HAVE 250 TO 350-FOOT DISTANCES. SO IT REALLY SPANS THE SPECTRUM. >> GONZÁLEZ: THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK THESE PROPOSED CHANGES TO ZONING ARE JUST REALLY ONE PART OF ONGOING CITY AND EVEN STATE EFFORT TO ESTABLISH THE NECESSARY GUARDRAILS ON DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR RESIDENTSS. AMONG CITIES IN TEXAS, SAN SAN ANTONIO IS ACTING EARLY AND ENACTING REAL PROTECTIONS FOR OUR RESIDENTSS THAT I BELIEVE WILL SERVE AS A MODEL TO OUR NEIGHBORS ON HOW WE CAN GET THIS RIGHT. IT'S UP TO US AS A COUNCIL. SPECIFICALLY THAT'S SOMETHING I TAKE SERIOUSLY IS ADVOCATEING FOR THE PROTECTIONS OUR RESIDENTSS CARE ABOUT WHILE WORKING WITH OTHER PARTS OF OUR CITY INCLUDING CPS AND SAWS AS WELL AS WITH THE STATE TO ENSURE THAT DATA CENTERS SERVE THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR COMMUNITY AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS, PLEASE PLEASE. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD FOR DISCUSSION, COUNCILMAN GALVAN. THIS IS SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT ALMOST EVERYDAY, BUT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED HERE TODAY. I'LL JUST START BY ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTION IS I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT DATA CENTERS CAN DO FOR US. ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS THAT WE NEED TO REMEMBER ABOUT DATA CENTERS IS THAT THEY'RE HUGE PIECE OF OUR WORKFORCE. THEY SUPPLY A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CONTRACTOR JOBS, TRADESMEN. IT'S A HUGE -- THESE PROJECTS CAN LAST FOR 24 TO 36 MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS CONSTRUCTION. ONE SINGLE LARGE DATA CENTER CAN CREATE MORE THAN 4800 CONSTRUCTION JOBS. THESE ARE REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND WE'RE TELLING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO GO INTO TRADES AND WE'RE LIMITING THEIR ABILITY TO DO SO IF WE TAKE AWAY THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE NEXT BIG WHAT I SEE IS A BIG BOOM THAT'S WILLIAM COMING OUR WAY. WE CAN EITHER LEAD IN THIS SPACE OR WE CAN SIT ON THE SIDELINES AND BE WORRIED AND FEARFUL. I KNOW THAT SAN ANTONIO IS A PRIME SPOT FOR THE DATA CENTERS BECAUSE OF THE KINDS OF INDUSTRY THAT WE'RE PURSUING, OUR PROXIMITY WITH THE MILITARY DEFENSE AND MILITARY MEDICINE, WHICH IS KEENLY IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, LET'S NOT FORGET THAT WE RELY ON DATA CENTERS EVERYDAY. EVERY TIME YOU PICK UP YOUR PHONE AND YOU USE AN APP AND USE CHATGPT, YOU'RE RELYING ON A DATA CENTER. SO I THINK SAN ANTONIO NEEDS TO BE THE ONES LEADING IN THIS SPACE AND NOT ALLOW OTHERS, FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC, TO TAKE THE LEAD. WE ARE SEEING A REAL DISSERVICE BY A LOT OF MIS MISINFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN PUT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW WE CAN REALLY GET THE CORRECT INFORMATION OUT THAT THE DATA CENTERS ARE NOW USING CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS,
AND THEY ARE ALSO CREATING BEHIND THE METER ENERGY. AND THE NEXT BIG THING WILL BE WHEN THEY ARE USING SMRS SMRS, WHICH ARE SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, SUCH AS NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, AND HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO ADD INTO OUR GRID. I KNOW THIS IS VERY CONTENTIOUS AND IT'S BECAUSE IT'S UNKNOWN AND IT MAKES PEOPLE NERVOUS, BUT I THINK THAT AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH MY COLLEAGUES ON HOW WE CAN POSITION SAN SAN ANTONIO FURTHER. WE HAVE A LOT OF ADVANTAGES HERE. OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, OUR FIBER CONNECTIVITY, AVAILABILITY AUDIO] IS KEENLY ATTRACTIVE FOR FURTHER BUSINESS THAN WITH DATA CENTERS. THIS IS TRULY THE NEW FRONTIER AND I DON'T WANT SAN ANTONIO TO MISS OUT. WE'RE ONE OF THE FEW METROPLEXES THAT DOESN'T HAVE -- WE'RE NOT PEGGED INTO A HOLE YET SO I'M READY FOR US TO TAKE THE REINS ON THIS AND ESPECIALLY AS IT COMES TO WORKFORCE. THAT'S SO IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR TRADES. AND I WANT TO ATTRACT MORE INVESTMENT HERE FOR SAN SAN ANTONIO. AND I ALSO CARE GREATLY ABOUT HOW THIS AFFECTS OUR RESIDENTSS SO AS WE'RE NEGOTIATING LET'S REMEMBER THAT THE COMPANIES WITH THE DATA CENTERS, THEY'RE KEENLY ALIGNED WITH THE SAME THINGS THAT WE CARE ABOUT. THEY WANT TO INVEST IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY'RE IN AND WE CAN ASK THEM TO DO THAT AND THEY WILL WILLINGLY DO SO. AND FURTHER, THEY WANT TO ALSO LIMIT THEIR USE OF OUR RESOURCES BECAUSE IT'S GOOD FOR THEM AS WELL. SO THEY'RE GOING TO MOVE WITH TECHNOLOGY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE AND THAT CAN ONLY BENEFIT US. SO I KNOW THIS IS NOT -- I JUST CARE A LOT ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN SAN ANTONIO AND I THINK THIS IS WHERE OUR HEADED, ESPECIALLY FOR THE INDUSTRIES WE'RE GOING AFTER. SO IT WOULD BE A DISSERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR YOUNG PEOPLE IN FUTURE GENERATIONS IF WE DIDN'T GET AHEAD OF THIS. AND I KNOW THAT WE CAN. WE'RE ALL VERY SMART PEOPLE ON THIS COUNCIL AND I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE WELL IN THIS SPACE SPACE. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER ALDERETE GAVITO, PLEASE. >> GAVITO: THANK YOU. I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN RIGHT-CLICK GALVAN, BRINGING THIS TO THE FOREFRONT. WE DO HEAR FROM THE RESIDENTSS OFTEN ABOUT THE CONCERNS THAT THEY HAVE ABOUT DATA CENTERS. AND I GET IT. I MEAN, DATA CENTERS ARE BIG BIG, THEY'RE LOUD. WE HAVE CONCERNS OVER THE POWER AND THE WATER THAT THEY USE. BUT I'VE ALSO HEARD CONCERNS FROM OUR ELECTRICAL UNION REPRESENTATIVES AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY, AND THEY FEEL VERY DIFFERENT BECAUSE IF WE WERE TO PLACE A MORATORIUM, WE WOULD BE DRIVING THESE JOBS, THESE BIG IMPORTANT JOBS, OUT OF OUR CITY. SO WHEN MAKING BIG DECISIONS LIKE THIS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO LOOK AT ALL THE CONSEQUENCES BOTH INTENDED AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE A REAL IMPACT ON MAYBE OUR UNION WORKERS' ABILITY TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES. AND AGAIN, NO ONE WANTS A DATA CENTER IN THEIR BACKYARD, I GET THAT TOO, RIGHT? AND PUT ON TOP OF THAT, WHAT COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS SAID, THERE'S A SWIRL OF MIS MISINFORMATION ABOUT ALL OF THIS TOO. SO I ALSO THINK OF IF WE WERE TO ENACT A MORATORIUM HOW WE COULD LOSE REGULATORY CONTROL OVER THE IMPACTS THAT DATA CENTERS HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO. I MEAN, THESE DATA CENTERS COULD STILL BE PLACED OVER THE EDWARD'S AQUIFER AND THEN WE HAVE ZERO CONTROL. SO, YOU KNOW, SAYING ALL THIS BECAUSE, AGAIN, BIG DECISIONS LIKE THIS THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES THAT COULD BE INTENDED AND UNINTENDED, AND I THINK IT'S JUST WORTH US TO THINK THROUGH WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES COULD LOOK LIKE. THANK YOU TO CITY STAFF, THANK YOU AMIN FOR LOOKING AT THOSE UDC CHANGES. I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE CITY'S UDC CHANGES. I THINK THAT IT'S A GOOD WAY WHERE WE CAN STILL HAVE COMMUNITY AND RESIDENTS HAVE A SAY IN THIS. WE'RE DOING THAT THROUGH REGULATION, WE'RE DOING IT THROUGH ZONING. I'M DEFINITELY WANTING US TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN BEST REGULATE DATA CENTERS COMING INTO OUR CITY AND I THINK THAT WHAT Y'ALL LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION MAKES SENSE SENSE. WE DON'T WANT THEM IN OUR SCHOOLS, WE DON'T WANT THEM IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, THAT KIND OF THING. AND THERE'S A MESSY MIDDLE AND A HAPPY MIDDLE GROUND THAT WE CAN WORK ON TOGETHER TOGETHER. I ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH MY COLLEAGUES ON THE IGR COMMITTEE SO THAT WAY WE CAN LOOK AT HOW WE CAN MAYBE PUSH FOR GREATER PROTECTIONS
WHEN WE'RE COMING UP WITH THIS ON THIS UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION. AT THE END OF THE DAY ALL OUR JOB IS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT. WHATEVER WE DECIDE RESIDENTS NEED TO KNOW THEIR POWER AND WATER AND NEIGHBORHOODSTER AT THE FOREFRONT AND I THINK THE ACTIONS WE SHOW TODAY ARE DOING JUST THAT. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO, PLEASE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, AMIN, FOR THE PRESENTATION. I'D ALSO LIKE TO EXTEND MY GRATITUDE FOR COUNCILMAN GALVAN FOR ENSUREING THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION REGARDING DATA CENTERS. I'D SHARED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS PRIOR TO THIS MORATORIUM, THERE WAS FILED A REQUEST TO EXPLORE THE UDC AMENDMENT PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT WE COULD PUT MEASURES IN PLACE TO PROTECT AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY'S CONCERNS PRIOR TO THE MASS CONSTRUCTION OF DATA CENTERS THAT WE KNOW ARE ON THE HORIZON. WHETHER IT'S CONVERSATIONS WITH LABOR, COMMUNITY MEMBER MEMBERS, FOLKS REPRESENTING DATA CENTERS, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN THAT IS QUICKLY EVOLVEING. BECAUSE OF THAT THIS CONVERSATION DESERVES URGENCY AND I APPRECIATE THE COUNCILMAN FOR LEADING THIS CHARGE. I'VE VALUED THE QUESTIONS WE'VE HAD WITH IBEW IN TERMS OF THE CONSTRUCTION JOBS THAT THIS PRESENTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SAN ANTONIO SAN ANTONIO'S WORKFORCE. THAT'S WHY OUR OFFICE MOVED FORWARD WITH THE TRADES ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO ENSURE THAT LABOR HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE INPUT REGARDING ANY POLICY COMING BEFORE COUNCIL. SO LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONVERSATION, LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO MEET WITH I IBEW TO SEE WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING EVERY STAKEHOLDER IN MIND WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT WHOA ULTIMATELY DISCUSS AND ADOPT ADOPT. WHEN CITY AND STATE LEADERSHIP ARE ON THE SAME PAGE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH MUCH NEEDED CHANGES. WHETHER IT'S CONCERNS WITH THE TREES THAT ARE BEING RAZ RAZED, SOUND, TRAFFIC, MAR THE CASE MAY BE, THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM RESIDENTS I SEE THIS AS SIMPLE CONSTITUENT SERVICES. WE'RE HEARING THE CONCERNS AND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE ACTION WITH THE POLICY SOLUTION FOR SAN SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS. AGAIN, RIGHT, I KNOW DISTRICT 5 HAS ONE DATA CENTER AND I HAVE CONCERNS FROM CONSTITUENTS, RIGHT, HOW MANY CAN WE EXPECT TO COME TO DISTRICT 5? HOW ARE WE GOING TO MITIGATE THE SOUND? AND IF THERE ARE POLICIES IN PLACE FOR SOUND MITIGATION, WHAT DOES ACCOUNTABILITY LOOK LIKE? I BELIEVE THERE'S LOTS MORE CONVERSATIONS WE SHOULD BE HAVING WITH THE PUBLIC IN TERMS OF HOW ARE WE GOING TO MITIGATE THE COST BECAUSE THE GREAT CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH IBEW IS THAT THE CONCERNS WITH WATER USE AND ELECTRICAL USE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN, WHETHER THERE'S A MORATORIUM OR NOT. THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE IN DIGGING INTO THOSE CONVERSATIONS, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE CONVERSATION THAT MANY DATA CENTERS ARE SHIFTING TOWARDS THEIR OWN ENERGY SOURCES, AND HOW WILL THAT IMPACT THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND IN THAT WE COLLECT FROM CPS ENERGY. SO BIG CONVERSATIONS THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO US HAVING BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT SAWS AND CPS AS THEY PRESENT WITHIN THEIR UPDATES IN TERMS OF HOW THEY'RE PREPARING FOR CAPACITY WITH WATER AND ELECTRICITY. SO AGAIN, SUPPORTIVE OF STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION. THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE SHOULD BE MOVING WITH URGENCY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR CONSTITUENCY. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN, PLEASE. >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR. SINCE I'VE TAKEN OFFICE MY STAFF AND I HAVE HOSTED FOUR SYMPOSIUMS THAT HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS RESEARCHER WHAT THE GROWTH SHOULD LOOK LIKE FOR THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF SAN ANTONIO. DISTRICT 3 HAS BEEN FRONT AND CENTER IN THE DATA CENTER CONVERSATION FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY POTENTIAL DATA CENTER PEOPLE HAVE COME AND MET WITH ME AND TOLD ME HOW THEY WERE INTERESTED IN SOME LAND HERE OR BUILDING HERE, BUT HAD YET TO PURCHASE ANYTHING. BUT I DID HAVE SOME THAT DO AND WANT TO BE IN SAN SAN ANTONIO FOR A MYRIAD OF REASONS. PART OF IT IS BECAUSE OF OUR UTILITIES, SAWS AND CPS. IF WE GO BACK TO SLIDE 3 THERE'S A BULLET POINT FOR ONE MEETING FOCUSED ON UTILITY POLICY. THIS WAS AN ADDITIONAL PUBLIC MEETING THAT MY STAFF AND I PARTNERED WITH DSD STAFF THIS PAST SUMMER IN ORDER TO HAVE A MORE HOLISTIC CONVERSATION THAT INVOLVES OUR LOCAL UTILITY PARTNERS, SAWS AND CPS ENERGY. DATA CENTERS HAVE BEEN A CRITICAL PART OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE WHILE THEY CAN BRING GENERATIONAL INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, WE ALSO HAVE TO CONSIDER THE CHALLENGES AND DEMANDS THEY PLACE ON OUR NATURAL RESOURCES RESOURCES INFRASTRUCTURE, LAND AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. BUT LET'S BE HONEST. WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD, ENERGY AND WATER, THERE ARE A LOT OF INDUSTRIES THAT PUT
A STRAIN ON OUR NATURAL RESOURCES, LAND AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. MY GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO APPROACH THIS ISSUE IN A COMPREHENSIVE AND EVIDENCE- EVIDENCE-BASED MANNER. WE MUST NOT REDUCE THIS ISSUE TO SIMPLY EITHER/OR TYPE OF CONVERSATION. THIS FOR ME IS ABOUT ENERGY AND WATER. I'VE GONE TO NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES AND TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUES AND THIS IS THE TOPIC AT HAND, DATA CENTERS. WHAT THEY CAN BRING. THE ENERGY THEY USE. HOW DO WE REGULATE THEM. AND THIS TAKES A CONVERSATION AND WE NEED TO FIND A SAN ANTONIO SOLUTION. WE NEED TO TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE LONG-TERM IMPACTS AND MAKE SURE OUR POLICIES KEEP PACE WITH THE GROWTH WE EXPERIENCE. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE NEED TO ASK WHAT DOES RESPONSIBLE DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT LOOK LIKE IN SAN ANTONIO? THROUGH OUR WORKSHOPS AND OUR DISTRICT 3 DATA CENTER SURVEY, WHICH IS STILL OUT AND IT'S A CITYWIDE DATA CENTER SURVEY SO YOU CAN ALL GO TO [INDISCERNIBLE] AND TAKE IT. WE ARE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE AVENUES FOR OUR RESIDENTS, RESEARCHERS, STAKEHOLDER AND CITY STAFF TO COME TOGETHER AND ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY VOICES ARE -- AND GOOD DATA ARE PART OF THE PROCESS. I UNDERSTAND AND I HEAR THE CONCERNS RAISED AROUND A MORATORIUM AS WELL AS THE CITY STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS TO PURSUE OUT OF CYCLE, UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS. BUT A MORATORIUM WOULD JUST BE A PATCH. WE NEED TO HAVE REAL DEEP CONVERSATIONS. THIS INDUSTRY IS JUST ONE INDUSTRY. THERE ARE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IF WE SIMPLY SAY NO TO ONE INDUSTRY. I WHO WARNED THAT A SHOTGUN APPROACH OF A MORATORIUM WOULD RESULT IN UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOB LOSSES IN THEIR IDENTITY. WE CAN DO THIS RESPONSIBLY AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS. TO THAT POINT I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND DIRECT CITY STAFF TO PRESENT THE ISSUE TO THE TRADES ADVISORY BOARD THROUGH EDWCD AND WORK TOWARDS THAT. WE NEED TO WORK ON THE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES THAT GIVE SAN ANTONIO THE STRONGEST, CLEAREST AND MOST ENFORCEABLE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT TOOLS WHILE ALLOWING US TO PLAN RESPONSIBLY FOR THE FUTURE. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY, THE ACTIVISTS, THOSE THAT HAVE IT RIGHT NEXT DOOR AND THE SOUND IS ANNOYING, AND THOSE THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE IT IN SOME SORT OF INDUSTRY NEAR INDUSTRIAL. WE NEED TO HEAR IT ALL AND WE NEED TO KNOW ITS IMPACT. WE DON'T NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL BUT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE LIVE HERE IN TEXAS, DROUGHT RIDDEN, BUT AN INDUSTRY THAT'S CHANGING AND WILLING TO BRING IN PURPLE PIPES AND WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND NEW ENERGY SOURCES. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AND SEE -- GO DISTRICT BY DISTRICT, COUNCILMEMBER BY COUNCILMEMBER AND SAY THIS IS WHAT WE WANT, NOISE PROTECTIONS. NO DATA CENTERS AT ALL. A COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENT THAT FOCUSES ON LAND. IF THE TAX BASE INCREASES FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THIS IS WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SHOULD NOT SIMPLY MEAN BRINGING INVESTMENT INTO A COMMUNITY, IT SHOULD MEAN CREATING A PARTNERSHIP WITH THAT COMMUNITY. AND I BELIEVE THERE ARE DATA CENTERS OUT THERE THAT WANT TO CREATE A PARTNERSHIP WITH SAN ANTONIO. MY RESIDENTS WANT SAN SAN ANTONIO TO GROW AND CREATE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY CAN BENEFIT FROM. BUT THAT GROWTH MUST ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE, SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE. NOW WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TOGETHER TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS, CIVIL DISCOURSE AND GET THIS DONE AND BE A LEADER FOR THE REST OF THE STATE AND THIS COUNTRY. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ, PLEASE. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, MAYOR AND THANK YOU TO COUNCILMEMBER GALVAN FOR INITIATEING THIS CONVERSATION CONVERSATION. I'M SUPPORTIVE AND WOULD HAVE SIGNED ON TO THE REQUEST IN A HEARTBEAT. I AM GLAD COUNCIL MEMBERS MEZA GONZÁLEZ AND CASTILLO ALSO SIGNED ON TO SUPPORT THIS DISCUSSION. DATA CENTERS ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST AND FASTEST GROWING THREATS TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND WHEN UNCHECKED THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO UTILIZE ELECTRICITY EQUIVALENT TO OVER 100,000 HOMES AND PLACE STRAIN ON OUR ELECTRIC GRID. THEY THEN REQUIRE COOLING OF THOUSANDS OF SERVERS REQUIRING MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER DAILY AND THEY GENERATE NOISE LEVELS THAT ARE HARMFUL TO HEARING, AND THAT'S ONLY AFTER THEY'VE KNOCKED DOWN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TREES AND PAVED OVER NATIVE PLANTS TO ADD CONCRETE. AND WE ARE SEEING IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO HAUL BUCKETS OF WATER TO FLUSH THEIR TOILET AND THEY HAVE TO AVOID DRINKING THE MURKY WATER THAT'S COMING OUT OF THEIR FAUCETS AND THEY'RE SEEING SCARCITY OF
THESE RESOURCES -- OF THESE NATURAL RESOURCES DRIVE UP THEIR UTILITY BILLS. SO WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO PROTECT OUR ACCESS AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO PROTECT THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT WE RELY ON AND TO IMPACT THESE DATA CENTERS CENTERS. I DO SUPPORT A MORATORIUM AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THE IMPACTS DATA CENTERS WILL HAVE ON OUR UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE ALONE, NOT TO MENTION THE STRAIN ON OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY. WHILE WE'RE PURSUING THIS MORATORIUM WE SHOULD FIGURE OUT EVERY POSSIBLE MECHANISM TO MITIGATE THE THREAT POSED BY DATA CENTERS, PARTICULARLY AS I MENTIONED THE THREAT TO OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. AS COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS ALLUDED TO, WE CAN'T ESCAPE A.I. DATA CENTERS DON'T JUST FUEL CHATGPT, BUT THEY INTERACT WITH NEARLY EVERY MODERN PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY WE OWN. WHILE WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH OUR AUNTS AND UNCLES AND GRANDPARENTS ABOUT USING A.I. TO CREATE PICTURES AND VIDEOS AND SONGS, AND EXPLAIN THOSE RISKS TO THEM, IT'S ALSO INCUMBENT UPON US TO HOLD THESE MEGA CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE. A SINGLE PERSON CAN MAKE THE DECISION NOT TO USE PLASTIC STRAWS AND THAT CAN SAVE A TINY AMOUNT OF PLASTIC, BUT IN CORPORATIONS CHANGE THEIR PACKAGEING MATERIAL THEY COULD SAVE MILLIONS OF TONS OF PLASTIC AT ONCE. IT'S THE SAME THING HERE. WE COULD INDIVIDUALLY OPT OUT OF A.I. WHERE POSSIBLE, BUT THE IMPACT IS REALLY GOING TO COME FROM THE BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATIONS MAKING THE DECISION TO RE REEVALUATE THEIR MODEL AND THEIR PLACE IN OUR COMMUNITY COMMUNITY. WE HAVE A VERY CLEAR AND PRESENT MORAL OBLIGATION TO TAKE ACTION WHERE WE CAN. SO I'LL BE SUPPORTING A MORATORIUM AND ANY OPTION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, I THINK WE SHOULD. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA, PLEASE PLEASE. >> MUNGIA: THANK YOU, MAYOR. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO COUNCILMAN GALVAN. WHEN THIS CAME UP AND EVEN WITH THE CCR THERE WERE A LOT OF FOLKS CONCERNED ABOUT IT. I TOLD FOLKS HE HAS TO DO SOMETHING. THERE'S A LOT IN DISTRICT 6 AND IT COMES UP A LOT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, ESPECIALLY PART OF DISTRICT 4 THAT BORDERS DISTRICT 6 IT COMES UP QUITE FREQUENTLY AND OF COURSE THEY MISTAKE US FOR EACH OTHER AND ASK ME WHAT I'M DOING ABOUT IT. ALSO THANK YOU COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN. I ATTENDED SOME OF THE MEETINGS YOU HAD. IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. I THINK YOU HAD A PROFESSOR FROM ONE OF THE COLLEGES ALSO TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS AND THAT'S WHERE I LEARNED THAT TEXAS IS SECOND -- IS THE LARGEST HOME TO DATA CENTERS OUTSIDE OF DC AND VIRGINIA. AND SO WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT GOING TO SEE A DECLINE IN DATA CENTERS EVEN IF THERE'S A MORATORIUM TODAY THERE'S A LOT THAT CURRENTLY EXIST. I THINK FOR THE PUBLIC'S SAKE AND BEING TRANSPARENT, WE NEED TO DISCUSS WHAT THE MORATORIUM LOOKS LIKE AND ASK RESIDENTSS WHAT THEIR FEEDBACK IS ON THAT. AND I GUESS I WOULD ALSO BE INTERESTED IN, AMIN, DO YOU ALL HAVE DATA ON THE UTILITY USAGE OF DATA CENTERS IN SAN SAN ANTONIO, BEXAR COUNTY? >> I DON'T HAVE IT, BUT I KNOW SAWS AND CPS, THEY HAVE THAT INFORMATION. MONEY I WON'T PUT CPS QUITE ON THE SPOT YET, BUT I JUST AM CURIOUS ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I THINK IF WE'RE GOING TO TELL THE STATE THAT WE NEED A MORATORIUM, I THINK HAVING THAT INFORMATION IS VERY VALUABLE AND SEEING IF THAT INFORMATION IS -- OUT WEIGHS SOME OF THE OTHER INDUSTRIES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, RIGHT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF FEDERAL OFFICES AND BUILDINGS HERE, MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, AND I IMAGINE THAT THAT IS PROBABLY DIFFERENT. WE HAVE AEROSPACE ENGINEERS HERE, MANUFACTURING, AND I WONDER WHAT THE COMPARISON IS TO DATA CENTERS WITH USAGE. THE OTHER THING I WANT FOLKS TO BE UNDERSTANDING OF TOO IS EVEN IF WE ARE TO DO A MORATORIUM, MY CONCERN IS ALSO THAT FOLKS IN THE COUNTY CAN STILL BUILD, AND THEY ARE, OF COURSE, UTILITY CUSTOMERS OF SAWS AND CPS, SO WE WOULD ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT. SO THE MORATORIUM WOULD NOT AFFECT BUILDING IN THE COUNTY, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT? OKAY. SO I THINK WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT TOO, RIGHT, IS THAT EVEN IF THIS WAS PLACED, AND I DO THINK THAT IT'S WORTH INVESTIGATING IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THIS AND WHAT THE EFFECTS WILL BE, THAT CONSTRUCTION CAN STILL HAPPEN IN BEXAR COUNTY. AND DO WE KNOW -- DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY DATA CENTERS CURRENTLY EXIST IN IN THE CITY LIMITS AND THE COUNTY? >> THERE IS ABOUT 23 DATA CENTERS IN TOWN RIGHT NOW. >> MUNGIA: JUST IN THE CITY LIMITS OR IN THE COUNTY ALSO. >> THE CITY LIMITS. THERE IS ABOUT 12 GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW. >> MUNGIA: AND THERE'S 12 GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS? >> I'LL LET [INDISCERNIBLE] ANSWER. >> WE HAVE 12 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH SOME LEVEL OF BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW.
THOSE DO INCLUDE MODIFICATIONS TO EXISTING DATA CENTERS IN SOME CAPACITY. >> MUNGIA: GOT YOU, GOT YOU. I WOULD APPRECIATE MAYBE THE FULL NUMBER, THE ONES THAT ARE EXISTING AND ALSO MAYBE THE NEW ONES THAT ARE TRYING TO COME ONLINE, SO WE GET A BETTER PICTURE OF THAT. BECAUSE I THINK FOLKS AS WE GO THROUGH THE DROUGHT PROCESS AND THE ENERGY DEMANDS, OBVIOUSLY THE RATEPAYERS HAVE TO PAY FOR THINGS TO ENHANCE ALL OF THAT, RIGHT? SO IF CPS WANTS TO PROCURE MORE ENERGY IT'S THE RATEPAYERS THAT ARE GOING TO WANT TO HELP DO THAT. IF SAWS WANTS TO EXTEND THINGS, IT'S GOING TO BE UP TO THEM ALSO. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT THAT. AND AT THE VERY LEAST I DO SUPPORT THE CCV PROCESS THROUGH THE CCR. WAS THAT STILL HAPPENING? AMIN, WERE YOU STILL GOING TO COME TO PCDC AND TALK TO US ABOUT THAT BEFORE THIS MEMO WENT OUT? >> WE PUT A TIMELINE TO GO TO THE ZONING COMMISSION AND THEN TO COUNCIL TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS. IF WE WANT TO GO TO PCDC AS WELL WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT. >> MUNGIA: I WOULD DEFER TO COUNCILMAN GALVAN, BUT I THINK CERTAINLY MAKING SURE WE ARE GETTING AHEAD OF THE UDC PROCESS THAT STARTED IN JANUARY I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT AND I THINK THE SPECIAL USE ZONING IS SORT OF A BARE MINIMUM IN MY MIND TO HELP CONTROL WHERE THESE PLACE ARE GOING TO BE BUILT, IN ADDITION TO OTHER THINGS THAT Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND ALSO REAL QUICK, THE MORATORIUM, WOULD THAT APPLY TO ANY FEDERAL FACILITYIES? SO IF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY WANTED TO BUILD A DATA CENTER IN SAN ANTONIO WOULD THE MORATORIUM -- THEY WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO? >> CORRECT. ANY MORATORIUMS THAT APPROVE BY COUNCIL IS ONLY FOR -- WITHIN THE CITY PROJECTS, PRIVATE PROJECTS. FEDERAL PROPERTIES ARE NOT NOT -- THEY DON'T HAVE TO COMPLY WITH OUR RULES. >> MUNGIA: YEAH. SO FEDERAL PROPERTIES CAN STILL DO IT IN THE CITY LIMITS IF THERE'S A MORATORIUM. >> CORRECT. >> MUNGIA: WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW ALL OF THOSE FACTS. SO YEAH, I THINK IT'S WORTH HAVING THIS GO THROUGH. I ALSO WANT TO BE -- I'M ALSO VERY SENSITIVE TO IBEW AND I SPOKE TO DALE AND WE HAVE A MEETING COMING UP TO TALK ABOUT IT. I WANT TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE JOBS IT PROVIDES AND THE INDUSTRY THAT IT SUPPORTS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IS CERTAINLY PRETTY BIG. WE HAVE TO SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO LIMIT HUGH HUGE OF OUR UTILITIES BECAUSE WHILE THEY DO PAY FOR THEIR SERVICES, IT CERTAINLY CAN BE A DRAIN ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM THAT WE ALL HAVE TO PAY FOR. THANK YOU, QUARTERBACK COUNCILM FOR DOING THIS. >> MAYOR JONES: PLEASE MAKE SURE OF THE HYPER SCALE SCALERS. WE HAVE ONE AT THE UT CAMPUS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE UNDERSTANDING CLEARLY THOSE THAT ARE DISPROPORTIONALLY USING HIGHER RATES OF WATER AND POWER. THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER KAUR, PLEASE. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, MAYOR AND THANK YOU TO OUR COLLEAGUES WHO BROUGHT THIS FORWARD, SPECIFICALLY COUNCILMEMBER GALVAN HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD ON THIS ISSUE LIKE ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID. I KNOW YOUR RESIDENTS ARE SUPER GRATEFUL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS. I TALKED -- ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IS THE JOBS, BUT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA OR ANALYSIS IN FRONT OF ME IN THIS PRESENTATION TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ENOUGH OF A DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED A MORATORIUM. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ARE IN THE PIPELINE. DO WE KNOW HOW MANY ARE IN THE PIPELINE THAT ARE GOING TO BE IN THE NEXT THREE TO SIX MONTHS? >> WE HAVE CURRENTLY ABOUT 11 IN PERMITTING. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEGUN NEGOTIATING UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENTS WITH CPS AND SAWS. THOSE MAY COME ONLINE IN THE NEXT FIVE-PLUS YEARS. ONE DISTINCTION I DO WANT TO POINT OUT ABOUT A MORATORIUM IS THAT ANY PROJECT THAT HAS FILED FOR A REQUIRED PERMIT PERMIT -- AND OFTEN TIMESS THAT CAN HAPPEN YEARS IN ADVANCE OF DIRT TURNING ON THE GROUND, WOULD BE EXEMPT FROM A PERMANENT MORATORIUM ANYWAY. >> KAUR: I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IS IF WE HAD I'M GOING TO SAY SPREADSHEET, SORRY. IF WE JUST HAD A SPREADSHEET OF ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO, PEOPLE THAT ARE CONSIDERING IT, WHERE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS, WHETHER THE MORATORIUM WOULD AFFECT THEM OR NOT. AND THEN IF WE COULD GET ALIGNED WITH THE WORKERS IN TERMS OF WHO THEY'VE ALREADY CONNECTED WITH. BECAUSE I'M ASSUMEING ANYONE THAT'S ALREADY TURNING GROUND AND THOSE JOBS HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMMITTED, THOSE FOLKS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR JOBS. AND SINCE A MORATORIUM' ONLY TAKES EFFECT FOR SIX MONTHS AT THE MAX, MINIMUM IS THREE MONTHS, I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S GOING THAT BE THAT SEVERE OF AN IMPACT ON JOBS. IT'S A TEMPORARY SOLUTION ANYWAYS. I KNOW [INDISCERNIBLE] IS SHAKING YOUR HEAD. I THINK WHAT I'M ASKING FOR
IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DATA AND ANALYSIS. ON THAT SAME SHEET I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND FROM HISTORICAL WHAT IS THE WATER AND UTILITY -- WATER AND ENERGY USAGE FOR THOSE DATA CENTER SITES, HOW MANY RECYCLEED WATER ARE THEY USING? ONE CONCERN THAT I HAVE ABOUT THE UDC IS WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY LIMITS ON UTILITY ACCESS FOR UDC, RIGHT? FOR THE UDC CHANGES? WE CAN'T SAY YOU HAVE TO USE RECYCLEED WATER? >> WE DON'T HAVE THAT IN OUR UDC. THOSE PROVISIONS WOULD BE GOVERNED BY SAWS AND CPS. THEIR SERVICE BOUNDARIES AND REGULATIONS BUT IT'S NOT CONTAINED IN THE UDC. >> KAUR: SO I THINK ONE THING WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING WHEN IT COMES BACK TO PCDC IS WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN COLLABORATION WITH SAWS AND CPS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ALSO INPUTTING THINGS THAT WE KNOW WE WANT BEST PRACTICES USED. AND AS FAR AS WHEN THEY ARE ALLOWING FOR PERMITS AND ET CETERA TO GO THROUGH, HOW CAN WE REQUIRE RECYCLEED WATER? WHAT IS THE CURRENT USAGE LOOK LIKE? AND IF WE DO MAKE THESE CHANGES, WHAT IS GOING TO ACTUALLY BE IMPROVED I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL. I JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE ANALYSIS. OF COURSE I SUPPORT DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY AND OUR RESIDENTS AND THAT'S ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS, BUT IN ORDER FOR ME TO TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I KNOW THIS IS JUST A BRIEFING BRIEFING. BEFORE WE TAKE ACTION I NEED MORE DETAILS AND ANALYSIS ON THE ACTUAL IMPACT, IF WE ARE IMPACTING ANYBODY AT ALL. AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO STRATEGICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE OUTCOME THAT WE WANT IS WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING. I THINK THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD POLICIES IN PLACE BEFORE WE ARE ALLOWING NEW DATA CENTERS TO BE APPROVED AND BUILT. THAT'S WHAT I WOULD THINK THE PURPOSE OF A MORATORIUM WOULD BE TO GIVE US TIME TO ACTUALLY CREATE THOSE POLICIES, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT OUTCOME IS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THE BEST DECISION FOR OUR RESIDENTS. THAT'S ALL I HAVE, THANKS, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: OKAY. COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO ON THE SECOND ROUND, PLEASE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING. AND WHAT I HEAR MISSING AND I FEEL COMPELLED TO HIGHLIGHT, RIGHT, IS WHILE WE TALK ABOUT THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF DATA CENTERS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS BEYOND AN INSTAGRAM APP. THERE IS A CORRELATION IN TERMS OF SURVEILLANCE, WHETHER IT'S A LICENSE PLATE READER AND/OR COLLECTING DATA FROM SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY, THAT THESE ARE ALSO TOOLS OF SURVEILLANCE WHICH ARE ERODEING OUR CIVIL LIBERTYIES. I FEEL COMPELLED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT COMPONENT BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT FOR THE SAKE OF WE'RE GIVING UP OUR PRIVACY AND OUR CIVIL LIBERTYIES, SO AGAIN JUST EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK IT HAS TO BE STATED THAT WE'RE ERODEING AND CHIPPING AWAY AT OUR PRIVACY BECAUSE MANY OF THESE DATA CENTERS ARE COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION WHETHER, AGAIN, LICENSE PLATE READERS AND/OR MANY OF THE CAMERAS THAT WE SEE OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY. BUT I DID HAVE A COUPLE OF CLARIFYING QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF THE MORATORIUM OVER OVERVIEW SLIDE. AMIN, CAN YOU SHARE A BIT ABOUT WHAT INITIATED DEVELOPMENT MEANS? DOES THAT MEAN THE START OF CONSTRUCTION, A SUBMITTED ZONING REQUEST, PULLED PERMITS OR SOMETHING ELSE? FOR INITIATED DEVELOPMENT. IT'S>> IT'S REALLY ALL OF THE ABOVE. AS LOGAN MENTIONED, EVEN THE STARTING POINT IF THEY DO GET THE UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENT, THAT'S LIKE STEP ONE. THAT MEANS THEY ARE ALREADY INITIATED. THEY RECEIVE THE FIRST REQUIRED PERMIT, THEREFORE THEY WOULD BE EXEMPT FROM THE MORATORIUM. >> CASTILLO: I APPRECIATE THAT. IN TERMS OF THE SUMMARY OF UDC AMENDMENT SLIDE, ABOUT HOW OFTEN DO WE SEE SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS APPROVED? IS IT PRETTY COMMON, PRETTY FREQUENT? >> LOGAN? >> I THINK YOU WOULD BE CHALLENGEED TO FIND A COUNCIL AGENDA THAT DIDN'T HAVE A SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION ON IT AT ANY POINT IN TIME IN THE LAST 10 YEARS. THEY'RE PRETTY COMMON. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, LOGAN. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I HIGHLIGHT THAT BECAUSE BECAUSE, AGAIN, IT IS PRETTY COMMON AND WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PUTTING PROTECTIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT THE EXPECTATION IS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH THIS MORATORIUM. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS AND I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE REQUEST OF COUNCILMAN GALVAN ON THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE SECOND ROUND FROM MY COLLEAGUES? YOU DO? COUNCILMEMBER GALVAN, PLEASE PLEASE. >> GALVAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR. JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK THINGS. I KNOW IT MAY BE UPDATEED NOW NOW, BUT IN MARCH FROM CPS WE HAD A PRETTY EXTENSIVE LOOK AT THE FORECASTED LARGE LOAD GROWTH.
IT'S NOT ONLY DATA CENTERS, BUT THEY MENTIONED THE PRESENTATION THAT IT WAS A LARGE CHUNK OF THAT WOULD BE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, 630 630 MEGAWATTS, 1500 1500 MEGAWATTS IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, SO A SIGNIFICANT GROWTH THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN OUR COMMUNITY. NOT SOLELY BECAUSE OF DATA CENTERS, BUT OF COURSE A BIG CHUNK OF THAT WOULD BE THAT. FOR SAWS OF COURSE THANKFULLY HERE LOCALLY IT'S NOT A HUGE IMPACT TO OUR WITH A WATER SYSTEM AS WE SEE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE STATE, WHETHER IT BEING JUST OVER TWO PERCENT OF -- UNDER .2 PERCENT OF OUR POTABLE WATER USAGE. THERE IS A QUESTION ABOUT THE RECYCLEED WATER, THAT THERE IS A NEED TO CONNECT THE RECYCLEED PIPELINES TOGETHER TO BE ABLE FOR THE REQUEST OF OVER 3,000 3,000 GALLONS OF THE WATER PROGRAMS. SO I KNOW, OF COURSE, I THINK WITH THOSE TWO KIND OF MOVING PIECES THERE WITH SAWS AND CPS LOOKING AT THEIR RATE STUDIES, LOOKING AT THEIR TARIFF PILOTS, LOOKING AT THE RECYCLEED PIPELINES AND ANYTHING OF THE SORT, THAT THERE'S STILL A NEED FOR THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO TAKE PLACE AND I THINK IT'S WORTHWHILE FOR US TO LOOK AT OPTION 3 IN THE MORATORIUM TO HELP ENABLE THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO GO THROUGH. BUT RESPECTING THE COUNCIL CONVERSATION HERE, I THINK OF COURSE PURSUING AS AGGRESSIVELY AS POSSIBLE AS WE CAN ON THE STANDARDS THAT WE LIKE TO SEE HERE WITHIN OUR ZONING CODE, BUT OF COURSE CONTINUE TO PUSH ON THE SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION BEING USED TO THE MAXIMUM POTENTIAL AS POSSIBLE NO MATTER WHAT ZONE IT'S IN SIMPLY BECAUSE EVEN JUST BEING ABLE TO GET THE MOST CLEAR SITE PLAN OF THE DEVELOPMENT IS REALLY CRITICAL FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN DISTRICT 6 WHO SAID I WAS TOLD IT'S GOING TO BE THIS PARTICULAR THING. IT IS THAT, BUT NOW THERE'S A BUNCH OF MORE BUILDINGS NEARBY. I WAS NOT PREPARED TO SEE THIS LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THAT IS BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT A SPECIFIC USE AUTHORIZATION NEEDED PRIOR TO THAT. A SITE PLAN ENABLED US TO SEE THE FULL SCALE OF WHAT THIS DEVELOPMENT WILL BE AND THEREFORE GIVE THE COMMUNITY ENOUGH INFORMATION TO THEN SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOPEFULLY WITHIN THIS AND HOPEFULLY GIVE COUNCIL THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN AS WELL AND PUSH ON THOSE HOPEFULLY LOCAL BENEFITS IN SOME WAY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO AGREE UPON FOR ANY FUTURE ONES. IF THERE'S NOT THE AGREEMENT THAT GIVES COUNCIL THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY WE'LL PUSH BACK HARDER ON THIS. THAT INCLUDES ENVIRONMENTAL CONVERSATIONS, THAT INCLUDES A BIT OF THE BUFFERS AND SUCH IF THEY CAN BE EXTENDED EXTENDED. ALL THOSE THINGS CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF THEY HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AVAILABLE AVAILABLE, IF THEY HAVE THOSE REQUIREMENTS TO COME TO COUNCIL AND NEGOTIATE WITH THE NEARBY COMMUNITIES. AND AGAIN, IT'S SOMETHING I PREFER FOR DISTRICT 6 RESIDENTS BUT IT WOULDN'T JUST BE LIMITED TO OUR RESIDENTS IT WOULD BE A CITYWIDE ACT FOR ANY INVESTMENT IN OUR CITY EVEN IF THEY AREN'T INDUSTRIAL ZONING, EVEN IF THEY'RE IN COMMERCIAL ZONING, I THINK IT'S BENEFICIAL FOR THE RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT'S COMING THERE. I APPRECIATE ALL MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES' COMMENTS HERE TODAY AND JUST A THOROUGH LOOK AT WHAT THIS INDUSTRY MEANS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR STATE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: VERY HELPFUL, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THE SECOND ROUND? OKAY. THE -- AMIN AND LOGAN, ON THE RFI THAT MY COLLEAGUE COUNCILMEMBER KAUR TALKED ABOUT, WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW. FRANKLY IN SPEAKING WITH SOME OF THE UTILITIES WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT NDAS ARE A REALLY UNFORTUNATELY KEY PART OF THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. SO WHAT I'D LIKE YOU TO HELP US UNDERSTAND IS HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW AND FOR THE UTILITIES TO SAY WE ARE TALKING TO X NUMBER OF COMPANIES, WE ARE UNDER NDA SO WE CANNOT GIVE YOU TOO MANY DETAILS. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AS WE TRY TO ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON'T KNOW. AND THEN CERTAINLY THE TYPE OF TRANSPARENCY THAT WE SHOULD BE ASKING FOR AS EARLY AND AS OFTEN IN THIS PROCESS. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL. THANK YOU. SIMILAR TO MY COLLEAGUES, THIS COMES UP QUITE A BIT. AND FRANKLY, NO ONE WANTS TO LIVE NEAR AN ICE FACILITY OR A DATA CENTER. SO I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED THAT ONE -- ONE COULD LIVE, BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED HERE, 500 FEET, VERSUS FOR ICE FACILITYIES IT'S 1,000, CORRECT? OKAY. HOW WAS IT DETERMINED 500 VERSUS 1,000, FOR EXAMPLE? >> THE 500-FOOT SPACING WITH THE NOISE TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE DATA CENTER THEY WOULD MEASURE DECIBELS, THEY WOULD MEASURE ABOUT 50 DECIBELS AT THAT DISTANCE, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SAME AS A HUMMING YOU WOULD HEAR FROM A REFRIGERATOR. CERTAINLY IF YOU LOOK AT JUST THE NOISE ORDINANCE GENERALLY IN THE CITY, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES CAN GENERATE 63 DECIBELS. I THINK THAT WAS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT MY STAFF GOT EARLIER TODAY AT OUR THIRD STAKEHOLDER MEETING. AGAIN, A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT IT SHOULD BE 1,000. A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE LESS THAN 500. WE HAVE A LOT MORE HOMEWORK TO DO TO KIND OF COMPARE OURSELVES TO SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES, BUT 500 WE THOUGHT WAS KIND OF A HAPPY
MEDIUM. >> MAYOR JONES: OKAY, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I AM SENSITIVE CERTAINLY TO US AS A CITY AS WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR BUDGETARY CHALLENGES, OBVIOUSLY A PART OF THAT IS BASED ON PROPERTY TAXES AND PEOPLE'S VALUATIONS OF THEIR PROPERTY. SO WE KNOW AS THESE ARE COMING INTO OUR COMMUNITY AFTER FOLKS HAVE OF COURSE PURCHASED THEIR HOME THAT WE'RE SEEING POTENTIAL DECREASE AND VALUATION, WHICH NOT ONLY IS NOT ONLY NOT GOOD FOR THE HOMEOWNER, BUT ALSO NOT GOOD FOR US AS A COMMUNITY. SO BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHEN YOU PRESENT AGAIN IN OCTOBER WHICH IS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE CAN HELP PROTECT PEOPLE'S PROPERTY VALUES. I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WELL FOR THE UDC DISCUSSION -- AND I APPRECIATED YOUR INITIAL COMMENTS DURING MY PRE-BRIEF PRE-BRIEF, BUT JUST FOR THE PUBLIC'S EDIFICATION, ANYTHING YOU'RE ABLE TO SHARE ABOUT WHAT WOULD COME BACK TO US IN OCTOBER RELATED TO PERMITS? WE'RE SEEING UNFORTUNATELY THE THREAT OF A LAWSUIT BY SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS IN OUR COMMUNITY BASED ON WHAT THEY UNDERSTAND TO BE PERMITS THAT WERE NOT APPROPRIATELY SECUREED, WHICH IS THEN LEADING TO -- WHICH ONE INITIALLY LED TO EMISSIONS OR POLLUTING SCALE THAT THEY WERE NOT ANTICIPATING. SO CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND HERE HOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT BE ADDRESSED AS PART OF WHATEVER YOU BRING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE? >> MAYOR, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE CATCHING YOUR QUESTION. >> MAYOR JONES: THIS IS WHAT I BROUGHT UP IN THE PRE-BRIEF AND WITH AMIN AND YOU. THE DATA CENTER, THIS IS WHERE THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP, THE THREE OF THEM ARE THREATENING A LAWSUIT BASED ON THE TYPE OF PERMIT THAT THE COMPANY APPLIED FOR, HOWEVER THEY'RE ACTUALLY POLLUTING AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THAT. >> GOT IT. THIS IS THE STATE PERMIT FOR THE GENERATOR, CORRECT. SORRY. >> MAYOR JONES: YOU GOT IT IT. >> SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO -- WE'RE HEARING ABOUT IN SPECIFIC DISTANCE, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THAT POLICY TOOL SO YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHERE EVERY DATA CENTER WILL BE LOCATED. AND BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK, SOUNDS LIKE AN ASK, IT WILL TAKE A SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION. SO BEFORE THERE IS AN APPLICATION TO THE STATE FOR PERHAPS A GENERATOR, WE'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHERE EACH ONE OF THOSE WILL GO. THERE WILL BE NO BY RIGHT IF WE HEAD TOWARDS THE ES DESIGNATION. THAT'S THE TOOL WE HAVE BEFORE US. I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT IMPACTS THE STATE LEVEL APPROVAL OF THE GENERATOR AND WHAT IT PRODUCES. I DON'T THINK THEY'RE CONNECTED OTHER THAN WE'RE GOING TO KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE. WE KERNEL CAN MAKE SURE THAT JEFF IS TRACKING THAT AND HAS A PART OF IT FOR THE STATE LEGE PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY ABOUT THE OUTPUT OF GENERATORS AND FOLKS ARE MONITORING THAT FROM THE STATE LEVEL, BUT IT'S NOT A CONTROL WE HAVE. >> MAYOR JONES: OKAY. JUST TO COME BACK TO THAT, THOUGH, COULD IT BE AS PART OF WHATEVER YOU BRING FORWARD IN OCTOBER, IF WE'RE THINKING THAT WHATEVER IS HAPPENING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL OR AT THE STATE LEVEL IS INSUFFICIENT FOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING, THEN AS PART OF WHAT YOU BRING FORWARD IN OCTOBER I'D WELCOME YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING THAT WE INCLUDE PART OF THIS AMENDMENT, THANK YOU. >> MAYOR, IF I CAN ADD, WE'LL WORK ON DOING THAT, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S FEDERAL-STATE REGULATIONS WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF IN TERMS OF BOTH COMPLIANCE AND MAKING SURE WE'RE STAYING WITHIN OUR LANE WITH WHAT LEGAL PARAMETERS WE HAVE. >> MAYOR JONES: YEAH, ALWAYS STAYING WITHIN THE LEGAL PARAMETERS. THAT'S WHERE I LIKE TO LIVE TOO. BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING WE CAN HELP OUR SELF. TO THAT POINT, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THIS PIECE. ON THE MORATORIUM AND POTENTIALLY -- I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS FOR LOGAN OR FOR ANDY. EITHER ONE OF YOU. IF WE WERE TO IMPOSE SOMETHING THAT SAYS WE WILL REQUIRE FUTURE USE OF RECYCLEED WATER, WOULD THAT THEN SATISFY POTENTIALLY ONE OF THE MORATORIUM REQUIREMENTS, SPECIFICALLY THE RUN REGARDING STRAINING TOO MUCH OR A STRAIN ON THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE NEED CAN'T BE MET? IE IF WE POSED A HIGHER REDUCTION ON OURSELVES THAT THEN WE COULD DEMONSTRATE AS A RESULT OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH PURPLE PIPE, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD THAT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT TO SHOW US THERE'S TOO MUCH OF A STRAIN ON THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE? >> WE'D HAVE TO ANALYZE THAT THAT, MAYOR, BUT CERTAINLY THAT WOULD BE A CONSIDERATION IN -- IN TERMS OF THE TIMING I DON'T SEE HOW WE WOULD WORK WITH CPS TO IMPOSE THAT AND THEN HAVE A MORATORIUM BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD BE THINKING OF HAVING A MORATORIUM IN PLACE SOME TIME NEXT YEAR, I WOULD IMAGINE.
>> MAYOR JONES: IR IRRESPECTIVE OF THE TIMING I'M TALKING MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS. >> THAT WOULD BE A CONSIDERATION. I CAN'T DETERMINE RIGHT NOW WHETHER WHETHER IT WOULD BE A DISPOSITIVE ONE OR NOT. >> MAYOR JONES: PLEASE. >> SAWS IS HERE AND THEY CAN TALK TO THEIR UTILITY AGREEMENTS AS YOU HEAR ABOUT LOTS. THAT'S SOMETHING THEY CONTROL. IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE IN CONTROL OF. OBVIOUSLY WE CAN PROVIDE SOME POLICY FEEDBACK. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT. >> GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS KEITH MARTIN, SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL WITH THE SAN SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM. WE ARE LOOKING AT CLARIFYING OUR RULES FOR UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENTS SO THAT WE CAN TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT TYPE OF WATER THEY ARE ASKING FOR, WHETHER IT'S POTABLE USES OR NON-POTABLE USES, AND THEN DETERMINE WHETHER WE HAVE THE WATER SUPPLY TO SUPPLY THAT SERVICE TO THAT REQUEST FOR THAT CUSTOMER. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE LOCATION OF THE REQUEST, THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S REQUESTED AND THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO PROVIDE THAT WATER. BUT WE ARE -- STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE PROVIDE POTABLE WATER SERVICES WITHIN OUR CCN. IT DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT WE PROVIDE NON-POTABLE WATER SERVICES. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE HEAR FROM SAWS THAT WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT POINT. >> THAT'S ME. >> MAYOR JONES: SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU SAID CPS. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELPFUL INFORMATION. AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION IN OCTOBER THAT YOU BRING FORWARD I'D LIKE US TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH MORE WE CAN ACCOMPLISH VIA THE UDC SO I'M NOT READY TO COMMIT TO A MORATORIUM. I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP OURSELVES, I THINK, BUT I'D LIKE SOME RESPONSES ON THAT BEFORE I MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER A MORATORIUM IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE MORE HELPFUL. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT THAT -- I'D WELCOME UNDERSTANDING, WHICH IS HOW QUICKLY WE COULD PUT -- THIS IS IN CONCERT WITH THE UTILITIES, OF COURSE. HOW QUICKLY WE COULD PUT IN THERE -- AND THEN CERTAINLY AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACTS, THE PROVISION OF POTABLE WATER FOR A DATA CENTER FOR THEIR PRINCIPAL AND ACCESSORY USES. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IT NOW. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THINGS. PLEASE GO AHEAD. >> WE WOULD NEED TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO SEE IF THAT IS A LEGAL ZONING OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE. THERE ARE A LOT OF CONDITIONS WE CAN IMPOSE THROUGH A SPECIFIC USE PROCESS, BUT NOT USING POTABLE WATER I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, SO WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK INTO THAT. >> MAYOR JONES: I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. I THINK FOR SOME OF THE CONCERNS IN THE COMMUNITY, ARE WE GOING TO BE IN ANY WAY SACRIFICEING POTABLE WATER FOR THESE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES. SO HAVING A VERY CLEAR ANSWER ABOUT WHETHER WE CAN SAY DEFINITIVELY THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO SIGN OUR COMMUNITY UP FOR AND THEN OF COURSE THAT DOVETAILS INTO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE NEED TO INVEST IN THE PURPLE PIPE INFRASTRUCTURE. I WOULD WELCOME UNDERSTANDING THAT. I WOULD WELCOME UNDERSTANDING OUR ABILITY TO -- NEW DATA CENTERS BE BUILT WITH WATER EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGYIES. I THINK WE'RE ALL ENCOURAGED ABOUT THE RATE OF USE OF CLOSED LOOP COOLING SYSTEMS, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THERE'S POSSIBLE WATERLESS TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY, SO I'D WELCOME UNDERSTANDING WHAT REQUIREMENT WE CAN PLACE ON THE NEW DATA CENTERS WITH RESPECT TO WATER EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGYIES. I THINK 75 IS OKAY, BUT I WAS RAISED BY A FILIPINO MOM MOM, SO 75 IS LIKE C PLUS. SO WE CAN GET AN A. I'D LIKE US TO UNDERSTAND IF WE CAN REQUIRE PRETREATMENT OF COOLING EFFLUENT. IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU HAD ALSO A NUMBER IN MIND WHEN IT COMES TO NOISE LIMITS BUT I'D LIKE SPECIFICALLY TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE COULD REQUIRE NOISE LIMITS FOR NEW DATA CENTERS AT 50 D/B/A FOR DAYTIME OPERATIONS AND 40 D DB AT NIGHT. I'D WELCOME UNDERSTANDING IF WE CAN HAVE DATA CENTERS BACKUP GENERATORS BE LOCATED IN AN ENCLOSED BUILDING WITH NECESSARY VENTILATION. A KEY CHALLENGE WITH THIS UNFORTUNATELY IS THE WAY IN WHICH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY FEELS BROUGHT INTO THE CONVERSATION. SO UNDERSTANDING THERE'S A ZONING PIECE, BUT HOWEVER WE CAN ALSO INCLUDE AS PART OF THAT PROCESS NEIGHBORHOOD -- EARLY NEIGHBORHOOD NOTIFICATION AND MEETINGS FOCUSED ON PROJECT DESIGN, SOUND MITIGATION, THAT WOULD BE PROPOSED FOR DATA CENTER PROJECTS. LIKE THAT JUST BUILDING THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGE PIECE INTO THE PROCESS. AND THEN I'D ALSO LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IF WE COULD
REQUIRE THAT NEW AND REGISTERED STATIONARY GENERATORS, EXCLUDING EMERGENCY GENERATORS, MUST MEET TIER 4 GUIDELINES. WITH ASTHMA BEING ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE REASONS OUR KIDS MISS SCHOOL, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SIDE OF TOWN THAT THESE THINGS ARE BEING BUILT ON, WE OWE IT TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS AND SEE IF IF -- WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN IN THE REALM OF EITHER VOLUNTARILY COMPLYING WITH THESE OR MANDATING THEM. I'D ALSO LIKE US -- AND I APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION OF LANDSCAPING BECAUSE WE DO GOT TO MAKE THESE LOOK NICE, HAVING DRIVEN BY A COUPLE OF THEM. THE -- TO THE POINT THAT WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN GALVAN, THE AMOUNT OF GREEN SPACE THAT IS ELIMINATED BY CLEARING THESE THINGS OUT, THE SPACE, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IF WE COULD REQUIRE THAT THE DATA CENTERS BE REQUIRED TO AS PART OF THAT CONSTRUCTION DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF GREEN SPACE THAT THEY ELIMINATED AS PART OF CONSTRUCTING THE DATA CENTER. AS WE'RE ALSO THINKING LONG-TERM ABOUT WHERE THIS IS GOING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S UNFORTUNATELY DISCUSSION OF OF -- NOT UNFORTUNATELY. I THINK IT'S KIND OF PART OF IT. THERE'S THE URGENCY OF IT, WHICH IS WE COULD BUILD ALL OF THESE THINGS AND THERE COULD BE A HUGE BUST AND THEN WE HAVE ALL THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT. SO I'D LIKE -- THIS MAY BE A LONGER KIND OF CONVERSATION WITH THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE THAT HEY IF THIS THING IS NO LONGER NEEDED IN 10 YEARS, WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT ABOUT THAT ENTITY'S WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO HELP US SAFELY, SUSTAINABLY RE REPURPOSE THAT OR SOMETHING SOMETHING -- KEEPING SOMETHING IN MIND ALREADY ABOUT, HEY, IF THIS DOESN'T GO THE WAY WE ALL THINK IT IS, HOW ARE WE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT AND INVEST IN SOMETHING THAT IS -- THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS AT THAT TIME? OKAY. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED, MARIA? >> YES, MAYOR. I THINK WHAT I HEARD IS THERE'S INTEREST IN US MOVING FORWARD WITH THE UDC AMENDMENTS. THERE'S SOME REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL DATA TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FROM THE UTILITIES, WE WILL PROVIDE THAT TO THE COUNCIL. THERE'S ALSO SEVERAL QUESTIONS RAISED BY SEVERAL OF YOU THAT WE WILL ADDRESS, AND ALSO A REQUEST FOR US TO GO BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF COMING BACK TO YOU WITH AMENDMENTS TO THE UDC. >> MAYOR JONES: GREAT. THANK YOU, MARIA. THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE STAFF FOR YOUR HARD WORK IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION. WE LOOK FORWARD TO FOLLOW ON DISCUSSIONS AND CERTAINLY THE ANSWERS, IF NOT BEFORE OCTOBER, CERTAINLY IN OCTOBER. OKAY. THE TIME IS NOW 3:20 P.M. AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED ADJOURNED.