Kirk, I agree with this AND I think the timing point matters. My first instinct was that Dallas's code is thorough enough to handle data centers case by case. But as you point out, we're permitting them under a 1990s telecom use that was never written for megawatt-scale buildings. ( I actually learned to build countries play Utopia on Mattel Intellivision -pre SimCity, lol!)
With the memo already on the agenda, doing nothing isn't neutral, I suppose... it just leaves the pen with the "if" crowd. The better move is a narrow update: create the use, allow it by-right in MU-3, CA, and industrial districts, and fill only the real gaps like cooling, fuel, and batteries. Rules, not a veto.
Insightful and pragmatic, Kirk; but I'm a little more pessimistic.
Check out the conspiracy thriller I directed about a Silicon Valley company that tries to build a data center in Dallas so they can turn it into a smart city panopticon.
Watch "Carousel" (2024/2025) on Tubi, Prime, and Fawesome.
Next you're gonna try and tell us that big transmission line everyone's mad about is also Good Actually™ ;)
Kirk, I agree with this AND I think the timing point matters. My first instinct was that Dallas's code is thorough enough to handle data centers case by case. But as you point out, we're permitting them under a 1990s telecom use that was never written for megawatt-scale buildings. ( I actually learned to build countries play Utopia on Mattel Intellivision -pre SimCity, lol!)
With the memo already on the agenda, doing nothing isn't neutral, I suppose... it just leaves the pen with the "if" crowd. The better move is a narrow update: create the use, allow it by-right in MU-3, CA, and industrial districts, and fill only the real gaps like cooling, fuel, and batteries. Rules, not a veto.
Insightful and pragmatic, Kirk; but I'm a little more pessimistic.
Check out the conspiracy thriller I directed about a Silicon Valley company that tries to build a data center in Dallas so they can turn it into a smart city panopticon.
Watch "Carousel" (2024/2025) on Tubi, Prime, and Fawesome.
Would love to hear your review!
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFbEppth8LY
Full movie: https://tubitv.com/movies/100032130/carousel