Hutto data center developer withdraws rezoning request, effectively ending the project

Zydeco Development has withdrawn its application to rezone a parcel of land in Hutto, Texas, for a proposed data center, leading to the project's effective cancellation. The developer had sought to change the zoning from "multi-family residential" to "heavy industrial" for a site on Ed Schmidt Boulevard, a request that would have also necessitated changes to the city's future land use map and comprehensive plan. Howard Koontz, Hutto's director of development services, had recommended denying Zydeco's application at an April 7 public meeting, stating the proposal was inconsistent with the community's vision for growth. Community members, organizing through a Facebook group called "Stop the Hutto Data Center," actively opposed the rezoning, raising concerns about potential noise, impacts on the local power grid, and long-term risks to nearby residential neighborhoods. Katie Martin, a co-organizer of the opposition group, celebrated the outcome as a success of community organizing and vowed continued vigilance against similar future developments. The withdrawal of the application avoided a formal vote by the Hutto City Council, which would have required a three-fourths supermajority if the community's formal protest under the Texas Local Government Code had been successful.