Jacinto City moves to regulate data center being built despite protests
Jacinto City, Texas, is experiencing growing opposition to a proposed AI data center at a former Budweiser plant. Residents are concerned about noise, pollution, and power reliability, leading to a petition. In response, the City Council adopted an emergency ordinance requiring a specific use permit for data centers, with strict new regulations.
Jacinto City, located just east of Houston, is currently facing significant opposition regarding a proposed artificial intelligence data center slated for construction at an old glass bottling plant. City officials, including City Manager Lon Squires, stated they were caught off guard by the developer's sudden pivot from a planned graphite processing facility to a hyperdensity data center.
The proposed data center, which would leverage the site's existing heavy electrical infrastructure, has raised considerable concerns among the community's fewer than 10,000 residents. Worries center on potential increases in noise and pollution, as well as impacts on power reliability.
In response to this growing backlash, residents, led by Alexis Marino, initiated a petition that has already garnered nearly 800 signatures. The petition highlights potential negative consequences experienced in other cities, such as increased traffic, environmental strain, and declining property values, linked to data center developments.
To address these community concerns and regulate the unforeseen development, the Jacinto City Council passed an emergency ordinance. This new measure requires any data center project to obtain a specific use permit and imposes strict standards related to noise, backup generators, water usage, electrical demand, landscaping, and mandates third-party air and sound monitoring. City leaders are now working with state and county officials as they prepare for the data center's formal application, aiming to protect their community from what they fear could become a cautionary tale.