Community concerns continue at second El Paso data center meeting

The second in a series of community meetings on data center development drew dozens of residents to Northeast El Paso on Wednesday, where some voiced frustration over the format and others spoke out against a major project already underway in the area. The meeting, held at the Veterans Recreation Center, is part of the City of El Paso’s effort to gather public input on a proposed data center policy framework. City officials say the framework is intended to guide future decisions related to data center development. As the meeting began, several attendees raised concerns and spoke up from the crowd. Some said they could not hear important information, while others said the format — which included multiple discussion stations — made it difficult for everyone to receive the same message. “Everyone is getting different information,” one resident said. “Everyone needs to hear the same thing at the same time, because things get lost in translation.” The Northeast meeting follows the first community meeting held Monday in West El Paso, which KFOX14/CBS4 also attended. That meeting drew a large crowd, with some residents raising similar concerns about how information was being presented. The city says the meetings were directed by City Council and are also tied to El Paso’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for evaluating data center development through environmental, economic and community considerations. “The meetings that we're hosting throughout the city is specifically about the data center policy framework. We want to look at the future,” said Laura Cruz-Acosta, a spokesperson for the City of El Paso. Still, many residents focused their comments on the Meta data center project already planned in Northeast El Paso, near U.S. Highway 54. The project has drawn scrutiny from community members concerned about potential impacts on water resources, electricity demand and quality of life. “We need to fight and stop Meta from coming in,” one resident said. “Our city, our communities deserve better. Especially as they're planning to build it in the northeast, one of the most economically impacted communities that we have,” another attendee said. City officials have emphasized that the current meetings are not intended to revisit existing agreements, but rather to help shape future policy. STORY:https://cbs4local.com/newsletter-daily/community-concerns-continue-at-second-el-paso-data-center-meeting Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest news, and turn on the notifications to get alerted when the big stories break as we bring them to you live! For all the full stories seen here, go to cbs4local.com. Follow CBS4 on our other social media pages for more photos, videos and reports: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBS4Local Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBS4Local Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbs4local/ If you see something newsworthy happen, or you just witness something incredible, hilarious or adorable, you can send your videos, photos and news tips to cbs4local.com/chimein. We love sharing our favorites on cbs4local.com, our social media and our broadcasts! You can also email a news tips, or call our newsroom. Email: elpaso-assignmentsdesk@sbgtv.com Call the Newsroom: 915-845-5369 _______________ CBS4 Local is an El Paso-based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates programs or provides sales services to nearly 200 television stations in 86 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches close to 40% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates.