Wichita Falls council rejects rezoning to allow large data‑center campus near Shepherd Air Force Base

The Wichita Falls City Council on May 5 voted down a rezoning and special‑use request that would have allowed a multi‑building data‑center campus north of Airport Drive and near Shepherd Air Force Base. Council members and dozens of residents spent more than an hour and a half questioning developers and staff about traffic, noise, lighting and water use before the motion to approve failed at the meeting’s close.

Staff opened the public hearing by explaining the applicant’s request: to convert three zoning districts covering about 95.82 acres and 21.11 acres into a planned unit development (PUD) that would lock a site plan and add higher standards for mitigation and screening while explicitly allowing data centers and excluding cryptocurrency mining. Planning staff said the PUD would let the city require traffic, sound and lighting studies and set limits at the property line.

Brad Altman, representing TxData, and members of his development team described a phased campus and…