Data centers could transform Central Texas, but there's no consensus on how to plan for their arrival.
Community organizer Carrie D’Anna and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra participate in the"Does Not Compute" panel during the KUT Festival. Dozens of data center projects have been proposed across Central Texas, and how those projects shape the region’s land, economy and water resources will depend on how local leaders plan for their arrival.
But there is no consensus about what approach to take even among business leaders, Denise Davis, the board chair for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said at the inaugural KUT Festival on Saturday.
“I get that everyone has phones, and the average home has 20 devices, and I get that AI is powering everything, but I also have businesses that need electricity, and I need the grid to be reliable,” Davis said. “So I think it's to be determined where the chamber comes down on the issue.
” Davis was joined on stage by Bradley Dushkin, Round Rock’s director of planning and development services, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and Carrie D’Anna, a Taylor resident and community organizer. Dushkin said data centers have the opportunity to provide cities relief in the form of “ginormous” property tax contributions as local politicians “We have a need to bring in these high-dollar, revenue generating, non-residential properties into the city so that we can help bring in that money and not have to rely on the property taxes generated by the residential side,” Dushkin said.
“Having those large commercial properties helps us subsidize the tax rate across the city and keep the tax rate low for our residents. ” Dushkin said Round Rock’s budget is already a reflection of how data centers could do the heavy lifting for a city’s bottom line: commercial buildings only make up 8% of taxable properties in Round Rock, yet they generate nearly half of the city’s property tax revenue.
“Some of these systems are asking for a million gallons a day,” he said. “You can want ski slopes in San Marcos, but if we don’t have the snow, it’s not going to do you any good. ”proposal in Taylor, and with the help of other plugged-in community members, passed out flyers protesting a data center development in Hutto.
“People who are building data centers, union workers, electricians, they want to sign our petition because they see the value in guidelines,” D’Anna said. “They love the technology. We don't like how it's being capitalized. We don't like how it's replacing us. ”
Bradley Dushkin Carrie D'anna Data Centers Proposed In Austin Denise Davis Hutto Data Center Ruben Becerra San Marcos Data Center Taylor Data Center Data Center Protests
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