Harris County Commissioners Court passed a motion Thursday directing county departments to tell the court when major data centers apply for permits, and asking the County Attorney’s Office to report on what authority the county actually has over them, Community Impact reported. The motion also directs the county’s intergovernmental affairs office to push for state law changes giving counties more say over data center development in unincorporated areas.
County Attorney Abbie Kamin and Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Lesley Briones held a press conference the same day urging the Legislature to expand that authority. Community Impact reported that Harris County now has 55 data centers operating, under construction or planned, second in Texas only to Dallas County, and that Kamin said the county cannot regulate where they go because it has no zoning.
The unincorporated Lake Houston area is exactly the kind of territory the motion is about. Huffman, much of Atascocita and the land east and north of Lake Houston sit outside city limits, where county authority over large development is thinnest. The Texas Legislature convenes in January. Lake Houston Today reported on October 12 that the court had set this item for Thursday.
Read the full report at Community Impact.
