Dallas council members seek new rules amid data center boom
Dallas council members are proposing new regulations for data centers in the city, driven by the region's data center boom and concerns from residents and environmental advocates regarding water, power, noise, and land use. The city's current development code is deemed insufficient for modern hyperscale facilities, leading to a request for public hearings to update land-use classifications or create new ones.
Dallas city officials are considering new regulations for data centers following a significant boom in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which has emerged as a top global data center market. Council members, including Chad West, submitted a memo requesting city staff to begin considering changes to the development code and to schedule a public hearing within 30 days. The proposed changes aim to either update existing regulations for classifying data centers or create a new, specific land-use category for these facilities.
This initiative comes amidst growing public concern from residents and environmental advocates regarding the substantial electricity and water consumption, heat, noise, and land-use impacts of large-scale data center developments. While Dallas currently hosts smaller data centers, larger wholesale and hyperscale projects are now targeting the city, prompting calls for more tailored regulatory oversight.
Key projects fueling this debate include Crow Holdings' proposal to redevelop its 40-acre Market Hall property near the Medical District into a data center campus, and Equinix's ongoing development of a large campus about a mile away. Critics argue that Dallas's current