Commission hears denial recommendation for proposed data center near E. Growwaller Road

Planning staff on Feb. 2 told commissioners they recommend denial of a conditional‑use permit that would allow a data center at 2701 E. Growwaller Road.

Gina Costanza Grant of the Planning Department described the former Exela Technologies site and said the applicant proposes three large buildings (roughly 128,000 square feet each) and a power‑infrastructure area that could include a substation. Grant said the applicant has committed to an air‑chilled cooling system, which staff characterized as a substantially lower‑water option than water‑cooled systems (a one‑time fill to charge cooling lines rather than continuous water use), and has proposed a landscape buffer along the western residential boundary.

Staff recommended denial for the conditional use permit and the rezoning to the ML‑20A district with a CUP for a data center because the site is about 400 feet south of State Highway 183 and sits near residential properties (including a long‑standing mobile home park to the west). Grant said the preferred locations discussed in prior deliberations are farther south of Growwaller where industrial intensity is greater and adjacency to residential uses is reduced. Staff also raised concerns about the likely route and visibility of new transmission lines needed to serve the site and suggested that routing along the State Highway 183 frontage could create visible infrastructure inconsistent with the city gateway in that location.

Commissioners asked staff for any new data on energy consumption and where transmission lines would be routed; staff said energy‑use estimates vary by data center and that the city has no control over transmission‑line routing or whether lines are undergrounded. Commissioners discussed the high cost of undergrounding and options for self‑generation; staff said some facilities use on‑site generation (including gas sources) but noted that these are user decisions and again outside municipal control.

Staff also noted that the applicant provided a landscape plan intended to screen adjacent residences and that staff would recommend a condition requiring air‑chilled cooling if the commission wished to recommend approval. No final action was taken in the work session; the item remains before the commission for a formal hearing and recommendation to City Council.