The vote came after an hours-long public hearing that started Tuesday night.
SAN MARCOS, Texas — People packed the chambers of San Marcos City Hall on Tuesday evening to voice their support and opposition for a proposed $1.5 billion data center.
At around 2 a.m. Wednesday, council members voted to reject a rezoning plan for the center after hours of public testimony.
Ahead of the public hearing, a crowd was sprinkled across the outside lawn, listening to music, calling on drivers to honk and holding signs in an effort to spread their message that data centers don’t belong in the city.
“The people here who use the river, who are here to live here, who contribute to the community, are going to be negatively impacted by the data center, and it’s really only going to assist people far from here, or people who are already benefiting from AI data centers going into communities,” said Dan Wolf, who was against the project.
Members of Laborers Local 1095 (LiUNA!) spoke for the project and said it will bring financial stability and a closer commute for workers.
“It’s about the families being able to stay in their homes, parents being able to support their children, children and workers being able to build a stable life without having to leave their hometowns to find work,” one member said.
Prior to their decision, council members considered pushing back the vote but instead decided to move forward.
The controversial plan was expected to built a nearly 200-acre data center near Francis Lane, which is southwest of Downtown San Marcos.
The project was stalled last year, but last month, a path was cleared after the city’s Zoning and Planning Committee approved the rezoning of the land.