El Paso City Council adopts a Data Center Policy Framework requiring a Special Permit for hyperscale projects
The El Paso City Council voted on July 20th, 2026 to adopt a Data Center Policy Framework. The resolution came through a City Council Work Session and passed on a motion by Representative Boyar Trejo. The framework routes future hyperscale data center applications through a Special Permit with public notice, City Plan Commission review and a public hearing. It sets standards on water use, energy demand, noise and lighting. It also eliminates local economic incentives for future hyperscale projects. Implementation has to return to council as ordinance amendments, so the framework by itself changes no rule until those pass. El Paso sits in the Western Interconnection served by El Paso Electric and is not on ERCOT.
How to take part
Implementation returns to City Council as ordinance amendments and Special Permit applications. Each carries public notice, a City Plan Commission hearing and a council vote. Agendas and matter records are published in the city's Legistar system. Council meets in Council Chambers at City Hall, 300 North Campbell Street, and virtually.
Where
1 county. In El Paso.
Timeline
- filed
Matter 26-0778 introduced
- ordered
City Council Work Session approved the resolution adopting the framework
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-08-19
Checked and unchanged. The city's own action record still carries the July 20th motion approving the resolution and still marks it passed.
- 2026-08-22
Checked and unchanged. The city's own action record still carries the July 20th approval of the resolution adopting the Data Center Policy Framework. It was moved by Representative Boyar Trejo and seconded by Representative Limon, and it is still marked passed.
- 2026-08-26
Checked and unchanged. The council's data center policy framework still stands as adopted and the city still describes it as the product of months of public engagement.
- 2026-08-29
Checked and unchanged. The policy framework still stands and a hyperscale data center still needs the special permit the council wrote into it. The environmental and public participation conditions are unaltered.
- 2026-09-02
The policy framework stands as adopted. The council's own history for the matter shows nothing after the vote that approved it.
- 2026-09-05
El Paso still requires a special permit for a data center under the framework it adopted. Nothing has been amended.
- 2026-09-08
El Paso's Data Center Policy Framework still requires a special permit for a hyperscale project, and the framework has not been amended since adoption.
- 2026-09-09
El Paso's Data Center Policy Framework still requires a Special Permit, and the council record behind it is unchanged.
- 2026-09-12
El Paso's Data Center Policy Framework still requires a Special Permit for a hyperscale project, and the council's own vote record behind it is unchanged.
- 2026-09-13
El Paso's framework still requires a Special Permit for a hyperscale project, and the council's own item record on it is unchanged.
- 2026-09-16
El Paso's framework still requires a special permit for a data center, and the ordinance record behind it is unchanged. No amendment has been introduced.
- 2026-09-19
The framework still makes a hyperscale project wait for a special permit, and the council has not amended it.
- 2026-09-24
El Paso's framework is still in force and still requires a special permit before a hyperscale project can proceed.
- 2026-09-27
El Paso's framework still stands in the council's own record, and a hyperscale project still needs a special permit before it can proceed.
- 2026-09-30
The council's adoption of the data center framework still stands in the city's own legislative record.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Discussion and action to approve a Resolution for the adoption of the Data Center Policy Framework.City of El Paso Legistar Web API, Matter 26-0778 Primary source, official · webapi.legistar.com
A motion was made by Representative Boyar Trejo, seconded by Representative Limón, to Approve the item. The motion carried by the following vote:City of El Paso Legistar Web API, Matter 26-0778 Histories Primary source, official · webapi.legistar.com
This framework reflects months of listening, public engagement and careful policy development.El Paso City Council approves data center policy framework, KVIA Journalism · kvia.com
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The El Paso City Council voted on July 20th, 2026 to adopt a Data Center Policy Framework. The resolution came through a City Council Work Session and passed on a motion by Representative Boyar Trejo. The framework routes future hyperscale data center applications through a Special Permit with public notice, City Plan Commission review and a public hearing. It sets standards on water use, energy demand, noise and lighting. It also eliminates local economic incentives for future hyperscale projects. Implementation has to return to council as ordinance amendments, so the framework by itself changes no rule until those pass. El Paso sits in the Western Interconnection served by El Paso Electric and is not on ERCOT.
Who decides it?
El Paso City Council decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
Implementation returns to City Council as ordinance amendments and Special Permit applications. Each carries public notice, a City Plan Commission hearing and a council vote. Agendas and matter records are published in the city's Legistar system. Council meets in Council Chambers at City Hall, 300 North Campbell Street, and virtually.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers El Paso County in the El Paso, TX area.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was ordered on July 20th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is June 22nd, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under data centers.
What sources back it?
Three sources back it. Two of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
No. It sits outside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 30th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, El Paso City Council adopts a Data Center Policy Framework requiring a Special Permit for hyperscale projects. Tracked since June 22nd, 2026. Last verified September 30th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0033/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0033.
Beat
Filed under Data centers, with every other decision on that beat.