Residents urge Waco officials to scrutinize proposed 500‑acre data center, citing water and noise concerns

Several residents told the Waco City Council during the hearing‑of‑visitors section that they oppose plans by a company variously referred to in testimony as Infra Key/Infraqui to build a cluster of large data centers on more than 500 acres north of the city.

Mary Beechner, who submitted a petition she said collected more than 1,500 local signatures, said the project would “consume over 500 acres of residential land” and warned of “water‑guzzling, air and sound‑polluting, nature‑destroying” effects. Lauren Hill described examples from other states in which data‑center water‑use details were redacted and argued that on‑site power plants and cooling systems could create industrial noise and heavy utility demand. Shauna Feniger said Waco already has a year‑round water conservation plan and asked council members to “stand with your constituents and put this matter on the next agenda.”

Speakers urged the council to use annexation and utility control as levers to limit or condition the project, noting that Lacey Lakeview buys water from the City of Waco and that annexation, utility approvals and water‑capacity determinations would affect whether the project could proceed. Council members responded that, to date, no application relating to the development had been presented for city approval and that many of the properties discussed lie in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction rather than the city limits.

The public comments did not cite any formal development application pending before the council; residents asked the council to schedule formal review or a discussion on next steps. No city action on the project was taken at the meeting.