Harris County Commissioners Court will consider data center development and operations in the county, including the county’s existing authority and oversight, when it meets Thursday, October 15. The item is listed on the published agenda as item 343, a request for discussion and possible action filed under Precinct 4.
The agenda language is narrow and worth reading literally. It puts two things in front of the court: what is being built, and what power the county actually has over it. Counties in Texas have far less land use authority than cities do, so a discussion of existing authority is a real question rather than a formality.
Community Impact reports that the county has 55 data centers that are operating, under construction or planned, and that Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones asked for the item. That count is the outlet’s figure and does not appear in the agenda item itself.
Data centers reach Lake Houston area residents through the utilities rather than through the buildings. They are large and steady consumers of electricity and, depending on the cooling design, of water. Both of those are regional systems that Humble, Kingwood, Atascocita and Huffman draw on, and the court’s authority over siting is what determines whether the county has any say in where that demand lands.
The court meets at 9 a.m. at 1001 Preston Street in downtown Houston, with a livestream. As with any agenda item, this is a request for discussion and possible action. The court has not voted and may take no action at all.
Also before the court Thursday: a full accounting of the county’s license plate cameras, after Precinct 4 took its cameras offline.
