Granbury City Council Meeting Ends In Walkout As Recall Petitions Top 1,300 Over Data Center
Dozens of residents walked out of a Granbury City Council meeting after public comment, expressing distrust over the city's handling of a proposed data center. Recall petitions against city officials have surpassed the required signature count, and a lawsuit has been filed by property owners against the city regarding the project.
A Granbury City Council meeting ended in a walkout by residents, signaling deep distrust over the city's handling of a proposed industrial campus, Project Patriot, which includes plans for data centers. The controversy centers on the council's January annexation of 2,090 acres of the former Knox Ranch and its subsequent rezoning in April for industrial use, a designation that allows data centers.
Opponents argue that city leaders were not transparent about the industrial plans before these votes, leading to a recall campaign against Mayor Jim Jarratt, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Wadley, and council members. Organizers report over 1,300 signatures on each petition, exceeding the required threshold. While the city initially refused to certify the petitions, residents took the matter to court, resulting in the city agreeing to present them to the council, though officials now say the earliest a recall election could occur is May.
Concurrently, a separate lawsuit filed in April by property owners alleges that city officials violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, specifically citing an alleged "walking quorum" during a data-center tour in Dallas prior to the annexation. Granbury officials maintain that Project Patriot is still merely a proposal, with no development application or site plan for a data center yet approved, despite the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issuing an air permit for generation equipment at the site in 2025.