Irving staff recommend denial for Grauwiler data-center CUP; P&Z backed waterless cooling condition

The council heard competing recommendations on Feb. 12 about a proposed data-center campus at 2701 East Grauwiler, where developers proposed three two-story data-center buildings and a substation. Planning staff recommended denial, citing uncertainty about off-site power routing, potential external utility impacts and other unknowns; the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended conditional approval only if the applicant commits to an air-cooled, closed-loop cooling system.

Planning staff noted the site's proximity to residential uses and the importance of transmission access to substations. "One of the concerns that we the staff had was about water usage," the planning presenter said, and flagged external-utility issues that the city cannot directly control.

Council members asked whether the applicant would underground lines on site and pressed staff on how the project’s power would be routed. Staff said Encore (transmission owner) would control off-site routing and that the applicant had indicated a willingness to underground distribution on its property but that any off-site work would require Encore coordination.

On water use, an operations staff member summarized their review: "It really shouldn't use any more water than any other typical commercial development. Since it's closed, I fill it one time. I use it over time ... probably less water use, I would say, than any other typical business that may occupy the site." The P&Z’s suggested requirement for a closed-loop system shaped much of the subsequent council discussion.

Supporters on council emphasized potential tax revenue and job creation; critics and staff highlighted utilities, residential adjacencies, and unknown external impacts (power routing, transmission coordination and cumulative local effects). The council did not take a final vote during the work session; staff said the application would proceed through normal zoning and building-permit reviews and that additional technical details (power routing, substation alignment, and water-cooling plans) would be required before full approval and construction.

Next steps: the applicant must resolve substation routing and cooling-system specifications and complete building-permit reviews; staff said the conditional-use permit could include specific cooling and buffering requirements if council chose to approve with conditions.