Hill County rescinds data center moratorium after lawsuit
Hill County commissioners unanimously voted to lift a data center moratorium after a developer, RCM Hill, filed a lawsuit challenging the restriction. The county also approved a new development review checklist requiring transparency from developers regarding project impacts.
Hill County commissioners have lifted a temporary pause on data center construction following a lawsuit filed by data center developer RCM Hill. The lawsuit, which came one week prior to the decision, challenged the legality of the moratorium, claiming it halted a multi-million dollar project the company had been developing for over a year.
During a recent meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to rescind the moratorium. Officials reportedly acknowledged in public meetings that they knew the moratorium was illegal and stated that it had not achieved its goals, instead creating significant legal liability for the county and its taxpayers.
Alongside lifting the moratorium, the commissioners approved a new data center development review checklist. This checklist mandates that developers be transparent about the potential impacts of their projects, including projections for water use, power demand, construction traffic, noise, and air emissions. It also requires developers to publicly announce projects through signs and news media alerts.
The first version of this development review checklist was initially proposed by residents and was subsequently modified based on advice from residents during an open session.