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Resident pitches LEED-certified data center at 904 Francis Harris, says restrictive covenant will limit water use
Summary
A resident speaking during citizen comment described a proposed data center project at 904 Francis Harris as a LEED-certified facility that would use less water than an approved subdivision and said a restrictive covenant will bind future owners to higher standards.
John Mayberry, a presenter during the City Council’s citizen-comment period Tuesday, described a proposed project at 904 Francis Harris as a data center that, he said, would use significantly less water than a previously approved residential subdivision and would be subject to a restrictive covenant spelling out higher environmental and development standards.
“If it's in the city, it'll be regulated and taxed,” Mayberry told the council, arguing the site’s placement inside the city would allow local oversight and tax revenue rather than putting the facility in the county, where he said it would be “unregulated and untaxed.” He said the building would be a LEED-certified, state-of-the-art facility and not a cryptocurrency-mining operation: “This is not a Bitcoin mining facility. This is a state of the art LEED building.”
Mayberry said a restrictive covenant under stakeholder review would lock in commitments including using about 50% less water than the previously approved plan for the site, higher storm-water management and detention standards, and limits intended to keep water quality above city code. He said the covenant would be recorded on the land and “bind the land forever regardless of who the owner is.”
Mayberry encouraged council members to review a recent newsletter from the San Marcos River Foundation for more detail and said the covenant and other proposed contract language would be brought to council and stakeholders for review prior to any formal council action. He did not ask the council to take action at the May 20 session.
Council members did not take action during the citizen-comment period. Staff later said individual proposals and restrictive-covenant language would be reviewed with council and stakeholders before any item is placed on a formal agenda.
