Only facilities with an aggregate designed critical IT electrical load or capacity of at least 75 MW are defined as data centers subject to this article.

A data center property may not be located within 300 feet of residences, commercial properties, child-care facilities, religious institutions, public buildings, hospitals, schools, cemeteries, historical sites, public parks, or other habitable structures.

A data center property may not be located within 200 feet of a railroad right-of-way, interstate or feeder road, state highway, evacuation route, or major thoroughfare.

Residential, commercial, or industrial structures generally may not be built within 500 feet of an existing data center or related facility.

Equipment and buildings associated with a data center must be at least 200 feet from an adjacent property line or public right-of-way.

A data center requires a permit approved by the City Council in addition to all other applicable development, site, MS4, building, inspection, and governmental permits.

The facility must be located on a platted lot approved by the City and recorded in the county records.

Before approval, the owner or operator must submit a Facility Study, and must solely fund and construct any required infrastructure upsizing or extensions, including water, wastewater, streets, traffic signals, storm drainage, or other public infrastructure.

Permit approval requires demonstrated water capacity, use of closed-loop or similar cooling technology that avoids continuous public-water withdrawals, and submission of detailed water-use, wastewater, and Water Capacity Analysis information prepared by a Texas-licensed professional engineer.

Electricity capacity must be demonstrated through an availability letter, redundant electrical service, and on-site emergency generation capable of maintaining critical systems for at least 72 hours; a licensed professional engineer must certify that the backup system is properly sized.

Operational noise may not exceed 5 dBA above ambient sound at any point on the property line, and a qualified acoustical engineer must prepare a Noise Mitigation Plan with corrective measures required when noise reaches 3.5 dBA above ambient.

Data center sites must use specified noise and vibration mitigation measures, minimize nighttime cooling noise, and place generators as far as practicable from protected uses with hospital-grade or better silencers and enclosures.

All data center equipment and buildings must be significantly screened from public view by approved landscaping, berms, structures, or walls.

The site must maintain approved landscaping in a healthy, growing condition and comply with applicable preservation, landscaping, deed-restriction, and other regulatory requirements.

The operator must provide on-site security 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with at least one trained security employee present at all times.

Cooling-system potable-water use is limited to an initial fill of 8 gallons per square foot of gross building area per building, one maintenance drain-and-refill no more often than every three years during the October 1-May 31 off-peak season, and annual makeup water of no more than 6% of installed cooling-loop volume; cooling water must be separately metered.

Cooling-water exceedances require immediate written notice and City approval, generally within five business days; emergency withdrawals are allowed only to stabilize a facility facing an imminent equipment or personnel-safety risk and must be reported within 24 hours.

Treated cooling-fluid discharges require pre-discharge sampling and laboratory verification; planned discharges require at least 72 hours' notice, emergency discharges require notice within four hours and a written report within seven days, and the City may impose flow limits or refuse discharge.

The owner or operator must bear all City costs arising from releases, fires, hazardous conditions, utility disruptions, environmental impacts, emergency responses, remediation, infrastructure repairs, inspections, and restoration related to the facility.

A stormwater pollution prevention plan is required, and the notice of intent must be submitted to the City's Engineering office seven business days before on-site activity begins.

Current hazardous-materials plans and safety data sheets are required; updates to the hazardous-materials plan must be submitted to the fire marshal within two business days of additions, modifications, or amendments.

An emergency response plan must address releases, fires, explosions, natural disasters, emergency communications, personnel and equipment availability, shutdown, restoration, incident investigation, and response times, with updates due within two business days and annual certification required.

A grid coordination plan and ERCOT grid study must demonstrate that the regional power grid can handle the data center's draw and operation.

A site lighting plan, including a photometric plan and specified lighting characteristics, is required and may not unreasonably illuminate neighboring property.

The operator must submit annual compliance registration and notify City officials within one business day of changes to specified operator, supervisory, notice-contact, or emergency-response-plan information.

Decommissioning requires removal of specified equipment and materials within 120 days unless the City approves retention, remediation of contamination, removal of unnecessary impervious surfaces, site restoration, and submission of an engineer-certified final report within 30 days after completion.

A data center permit terminates automatically if construction has not begun within 180 days or operation has not begun within 720 days after issuance, unless the City Council grants an extension.

Permit applications must include extensive technical and operational materials, including 37 listed submission categories such as site plans, infrastructure studies, traffic, noise, vibration, grid, water, environmental, hazardous-materials, emergency-response, landscaping, decommissioning, and engineering documents.

The applicant must pay application and additional-review fees, and must reimburse the City for the actual cost of any third-party consultant or engineer used to review the application.

Before filing an application, the operator must provide mailed notice to property owners within 2,000 feet, notify registered neighborhood associations within 3,000 feet, publish newspaper notice for three consecutive days, and post a sign on the proposed site.

Before the City Council public hearing, the operator must provide additional mailed notice to specified property owners and protected uses within 2,000 or 3,000 feet, publish additional newspaper notice, and post a public-hearing sign.

A complete application must undergo City review, a public hearing, and City Council action; the Council may approve, deny, modify, or impose additional conditions concerning setbacks, operations, safety equipment, screening, lighting, delivery times, or noise.

The applicant bears the burden of proof at the public hearing, and a compliant permit application requires a simple majority of voting Council members for approval.

A variance may not be granted for a proposed data center located within 2,000 feet of a residence, commercial property, child-care facility, religious institution, public building, hospital, school, cemetery, historical site, or public park.

Any other variance request requires a written hardship justification, alternatives analysis, economic-impact explanation, public-health and safety protections, applicable fees, and an affirmative vote of three-fourths of all voting City Council members.

The City's estimated application process takes approximately 120 to 150 days after all requirements and fees are complete, and incomplete applications or required corrections extend the review and public-hearing timeline.

The Article applies only to facilities with an aggregate critical IT electrical load or capacity of at least 75 MW, so smaller data centers are not subject to these special data-center regulations, although other laws may still apply.

A complete, compliant data-center permit application may be approved by a simple majority of the voting City Council members; a three-fourths vote is required only when the application also seeks a variance.

The City must complete its initial data-center permit review within 30 days after receiving a complete application, and the matter must be placed on the City Council agenda for a public hearing within 45 days after receipt of the complete application. These deadlines do not create automatic approval.

A data center may obtain extensions or upgrades to public water, wastewater, streets, traffic signals, storm drainage, or other infrastructure when needed, provided the owner funds the improvements and obtains City approval through an Improvement Agreement.

A data-center permit remains available for construction if construction begins within 180 days and operation begins within 720 days after issuance; City Council may grant an extension of either deadline.

The operator may apply for variances from Article requirements, subject to a written hardship and alternatives analysis and City Council approval. A variance is unavailable for locating a data center within 2,000 feet of the listed protected uses.

The cooling provisions authorize limited use of potable City water for initial system filling, scheduled maintenance refills no more frequently than once every three years, and annual makeup water, subject to volume limits, metering, notice, and seasonal restrictions.

The operator may request approval for cooling-water usage above the normal allowance when caused by equipment failure, manufacturer-recommended maintenance, or system-safety requirements, and may draw water without prior approval during an emergency posing an imminent risk to equipment or personnel, subject to prompt notice and documentation.

The Article establishes a process for planned and emergency discharges of treated cooling fluid to the sanitary sewer, including sampling, advance or emergency notice, and reporting, although the Director of Public Works may impose flow limits or refuse a discharge.

Existing data centers receive a 500-foot separation buffer because new residential, commercial, or industrial structures generally may not be built within 500 feet of an existing data center or related facility, except structures needed to operate it.