Denton residents support moratorium as city weighs future data center development

Denton residents spoke out Tuesday night as the city considers a temporary moratorium on new data center development.

The Denton City Council held the first of two required public hearings on the proposed moratorium. No vote was taken on Tuesday. The second hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27. 

All 20 people who spoke during the hearing supported the moratorium, with some calling for restrictions beyond the proposed pause, including a longer moratorium or an outright ban on future data center development.

"If you are in support of the moratorium, can you raise your hands?" Mayor Pro Tem Nick Stevens asked during the hearing.

If approved, the moratorium would temporarily halt the city's acceptance, processing, and approval of applications for new data center developments. It would not affect projects that have already been approved.

The city is considering the pause as officials examine the impact of data centers on Denton's electric transmission system.

City staff have warned that the system is already operating near capacity. Denton Municipal Electric has proposed roughly $300 million in transmission projects to address the issue and is awaiting a response from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT.

The city also points to the financial benefits of existing data centers, saying they have generated more than $3.5 million in taxes and nearly $9 million in electric return-on-investment and franchise fees.

But residents who spoke Tuesday focused largely on the potential strain on city resources.

"What do these data centers bring to our community? If the only answer is money, then essentially they are giving us nothing in exchange for our resources," Denton resident Seth Fuller said.

Mayor Chris Watts said the public comments gave city leaders a clear indication of how residents feel about the issue.

"You sent a very clear message to the community, to us, that those are not the kind of conversations that we want to have and it's important to hear your voices," Watts said.

Denton's proposed moratorium comes as Gov. Greg Abbott takes action at the state level.

On Monday, Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to halt the issuance of data center permits until ERCOT completes an industry audit. He also directed state agencies not to proceed with regulatory approvals for data center development until information from ongoing state reviews becomes available.

What happens next?

The Denton City Council is scheduled to hold a second public hearing on the proposed moratorium on Oct. 27. City officials have outlined a process that could bring the proposal back to the council for final consideration in early December.

Denton is among several North Texas communities considering additional restrictions on data center development.