The Hood County Development Commission voted on Jan. 2 to recommend that county rules be amended so the commissioners court can impose a temporary moratorium on industrial development types not yet addressed by local regulations. The commission said the pause is needed while it updates a strategic plan and rewrites permit regulations tied to Local Government Code chapter 2.31, Subchapter K.

The motion, made by Matt Long (Development Commission, Precinct 2), asked the commission to amend Section 1 of the county’s development-permit regulations to provide authority for a temporary moratorium on development uses “undefined by the regulations” until the strategic plan and regulations can be revised. The commission seconded the motion and voted to make the recommendation to the commissioners court. The commission’s recommendation is advisory; any moratorium would require a public notice and a vote of the commissioners court to take effect.

Blakely Fernandez, who presented legal and drafting guidance to the panel, said Subchapter K gives Hood County a two-step authority: adopt a strategic plan and adopt development regulations to implement that plan. Fernandez told the commission a concept plan is typically not a final permit and advised that a narrowly tailored interim plan and regulation addendum could be the least risky way to authorize a temporary pause while the county completes environmental and technical review.

Commissioners and staff discussed practical constraints in the proposal: public notice requirements, ties to state permits, and the limited local authorities over state-issued water and wastewater discharge permits. The commission noted that local regulation under Subchapter K can be written to be more stringent than other state or local standards where authorized by the statute, but that enforcement and litigation risk should be considered.

At the meeting, commissioners and staff emphasized next steps: prepare draft language for an amendment to Section 1, publish the required notice in the county’s general-circulation newspaper to meet the 15-day hearing requirement, and place the recommendation on the commissioners court agenda for consideration. Staff said the earliest practical path would require publishing by the county newspaper deadline and a public hearing before the commissioners court.

Public testimony that followed the motion focused heavily on the immediate issue the moratorium is intended to address — a cluster of proposed data centers and gas-fired power plants in parts of Hood County. Dozens of residents told the commission they have experienced or fear harms from heavy industrial development and accompanying power plants, citing water consumption, noise events they called “valve blows,” probable air-emission impacts, property-value losses and threats to tourism and local wildlife.

“If no action is taken, these things will lead to large-scale change,” Matt Long said earlier in the meeting while proposing the moratorium. Residents urged the commission to press the commissioners court for protections that would include water-use disclosure, filtration or mitigation requirements, setback or buffering rules near residences, sound and light controls and environmental-impact studies.

Several speakers cited state and regional authorities — the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Brazos River Authority (BRA) and state water-right processes — and asked the commission to coordinate with those agencies and local representatives. The commission said it will seek technical support (planners and civil engineers) and legal review to draft enforceable, defensible language and to reduce the chance of successful legal challenge.

The commission’s recommendation does not itself impose any moratorium. Any formal pause on permitting would require the commissioners court to adopt an order after the required notice and hearing. The Development Commission will continue work on the strategic plan and the redlines to the permit regulations, and staff said draft language and a public-notice plan would be prepared for the commissioners court’s agenda.