Residents crowded Red Oak City Hall Monday night as city leaders considered rezoning more than 800 acres for a proposed Compass data center campus.
RED OAK, Texas — Residents packed the Red Oak City Council chambers Monday night as city leaders considered whether to approve rezoning for a proposed 800-acre data center campus that has sparked growing backlash from nearby homeowners.
The proposal by Compass Datacenters would rezone agricultural land for industrial use near Pierce Road, Pratt Road, Oglesby Road and FM 2377.
Hours before the meeting began, residents gathered outside City Hall carrying signs and protesting the project, arguing another large-scale data center would fundamentally change the rural character of the area and negatively impact nearby families.
Inside the council chambers, public comment stretched late into the evening as residents voiced concerns over transparency, noise, traffic, air quality, water usage, property values and strain on the power grid.
Several residents said they only learned about the proposal within the past two weeks after some property owners were approached about selling land.
“Why the data center worries me? Because we don’t know the health risks that come with it,” resident Jazmin Villegas said during an interview before the meeting.
Villegas, who lives near the proposed site, also accused the city of failing to properly notify nearby residents.
“Per that state code, they’re required to let us know, and they did not,” Villegas said. “None of the neighbors within those 200 feet knew anything about it. The only way they found out about it was through my Facebook page. There was zero transparency from the city.”
“We’re not against data centers totally because obviously we’re using technology to get our word out and so forth,” resident Cindi Stephenson said during an interview before the meeting. “We’re against them putting them in this beautiful agricultural land area. They should be in an industrial area near the freeway or some place where homesteads and families and children are not playing.”
Others questioned whether the long-term economic benefits outweigh the potential impact on surrounding neighborhoods.
Red Oak already has five data centers in various stages of operation or development, including a Google facility that is already operational. Other projects involve companies including Compass, DataBank, PowerHouse and Diode Investments.
Monday night’s debate centered on what would become a possible sixth data center project within the city.
During a presentation, Red Oak City Manager Todd Fuller pushed back on many of the concerns raised by residents and said the proposed facility would use newer technology designed to reduce environmental impacts.
According to Fuller, the Compass project would utilize a “closed-loop cooling system” that consumes significantly less water than older evaporative cooling systems and would not connect to the public water system.
He also argued infrastructure improvements tied to the project would improve fire protection in the area and could potentially reduce insurance costs for nearby residents.
Addressing concerns about the Texas power grid, Fuller cited Senate Bill 6, which allows large energy users such as data centers to be curtailed during emergencies that threaten grid reliability.
Noise concerns are also a major focus for locals. Fuller said city ordinances restrict noise pollution to no more than 70 decibels at the property line. He said it would be a low-frequency hum.
More than 30 residents signed up for public comment during the city council meeting.
Longtime resident Martel Edwards told council members she believes nearby data center development has already hurt homeowners financially.
“My property has dropped $107,000 in value since the data center on Steinback was put in,” Edwards said. “It’s hurting people’s homes, their retirement.”
Edwards said she has lived in Red Oak for more than six decades and questioned whether she wants to remain in the city if development continues at its current pace.
As of late Monday night, the city council had not yet voted on the rezoning request and public comment was still ongoing.