Residents urge pause, raise water, noise and transparency concerns about proposed data centers

Dozens of residents used the May 21 public-comment period to press the De Soto City Council for firmer controls and clearer public engagement as multiple large industrial projects—including data centers and a battery plant—move through planning and permitting.

"A temporary moratorium is not anti-business," said Marie Caldwell, who said she returned to the council after earlier requests and urged the council to "reduce the project to its original scope" and to end nondisclosure agreements that she said limited public transparency. Caldwell asked the council to slow approvals so the city can fully assess infrastructure, franchise fees and potential impacts.

Other speakers focused on specific technical risks. Max Atwell said he was concerned about water usage and electricity during drought or outages and asked how treated wastewater would be handled. Alan Meckley, who said he consulted a family member with expertise in acoustics, read from papers on "infrasound" and urged the council to study potential health and animal impacts of low-frequency noise.

Council responses framed the concerns as legitimate but noted limits on municipal authority. City staff and the city attorney explained that, where a property is properly zoned and a proposal complies with code and law, the city has limited legal grounds to deny development absent a demonstrated, statutory basis. A staff presentation and later discussion clarified that any large industrial user that uses evaporative cooling typically must either pretreat wastewater or build a separate industrial-treatment system; the city's wastewater manager described established pretreatment and discharge practices.

Several residents asked the council to consider using planning tools such as moratoria, but the city attorney said moratoria have been considered in the city's past only when a clear resource shortfall (for example, a water supply emergency) justified a temporary pause. Councilmembers asked staff to research infrasound and low-frequency-noise issues and to return with cost estimates for expert review. Councilmember Zach (last name not stated) made the request and said the city should "reach out to those experts" and review whether the current noise ordinance suffices.

The session included repeated appeals from residents for better outreach and earlier notifications. "The agenda was released only two days before," Caldwell said, adding that many residents do not regularly consult the legal register where notices are posted. Council members acknowledged the public comments and directed staff to follow up: collect more technical information on noise and wastewater management, and publish clearer summaries for residents.

The item was heard as part of the meeting's public-comment period; no formal vote or regulatory action on the projects occurred during this meeting. Council asked staff to report back on study costs and possible regulatory responses at a future meeting.