The Wichita Falls City Council will conduct a public hearing and vote Tuesday on rezoning some land in the city limits to allow construction of a large data center.
The meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. in the Seminar Room of the Multi-Purpose Events Center, 1000 Fifth Street. It is open to the public and will be livecast on the city’s website at wichitafallstx.gov.
The land under consideration is 117 acres bounded by Interstate Highway 44, Spur 325, the MKT Railroad and Airport Drive.
The proposed center would consist of nine two-story structures, each totaling 150,000 square feet.
The agenda item said the proposed facility would be a “closed-loop system” that would require 500,000 gallons of water to charge after construction and about 25,000 gallons per year for a humidifier in addition to domestic water usage.
The city’s Engineering Department said the center would have “minimal to no impact” on the overall water supply.
“The proposal also incorporates enhanced performance standards addressing noise mitigation, exterior lighting, protection of public infrastructure, traffic impact analysis, screening, as well as parking and landscaping requirements,” the agenda said.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in January unanimously approved the application for the zoning change from Wichita Falls attorney Brad Altman. The City Council tabled the measure the first time it was considered on Feb. 3.
The proposal asks to change the zoning of the land from general commercial/multi-family residential/light industrial to planned unit development-commercial use to make way for the data center.
In addition to the Airport Drive site, Skybox Data Centers of Dallas has purchased land in the city’s business park.
Fabian Medellin, the city’s director of development services, told a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission on March 11 that data centers were planned on Randy Drive and on U.S. Highway 287 in the City View Wellington areas. Medellin also said the city has been contacted by other parties about platting and water options.
Google is also considering building a large data center southwest of Lake Wichita in Archer County.
Other items on the City Council agenda include
Councilors will also get an update on the Lucy Park Pool and Aquatics.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls officials to consider another data center
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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