Catch up on government news and updates from the Hays County region, including decisions surrounding water conservation.

1. San Marcos denies data center plans: Plans for a proposed 200-acre data center in San Marcos were halted Feb. 17 when council members rejected a Preferred Scenario Map amendment.

2. Legal questions stall Hays County moratorium on water-heavy projects: Hays County Commissioners Court tabled agenda items related to emergency drought response, conservation and a development moratorium during a Feb. 24 meeting.

3. Hays County OKs water study amid severe drought: Hays County will get its first comprehensive water study since 2011 after a Hays County Commissioners Court decision at a Jan. 20 meeting. The study will help commissioners better understand current water conditions and plan for long-term sustainability that supports responsible water management.

Ashlee Thurston and Alex Zavala are seeking votes in the Hays CISD trustee, At-Large election in May. Vanessa Petrea is the current trustee, and her term expires in May.

Voters will also select a candidate for HCISD trustee, Single-Member District 2.

What you need to know: Read some of the key election dates, according to Hays County:

• April 2: Last day to register to vote for the May 2 election
• April 20: first day of early voting in person; absentee ballot application deadline (received in the elections office, not postmarked)
• April 21: San Jacinto Day holiday (no voting)
• April 28: last day of early voting in person
• May 2: election day
• May 8: canvass, release of official results

The developer behind a new resort planned at Circuit of the Americas is seeking to reduce its required public parkland contributions and other environmental enhancements around the project.

Expansion at COTA has taken place in recent years under a planned unit development, or PUD, covering over 1,000 acres in far East Austin. That city zoning designation applies to larger, more complicated mixed-use projects and can grant broad building flexibility in exchange for "superior" improvements on site. While hotel elements were envisioned in the original PUD outline passed in 2020, an expanded $925 million project from RIDA Development is now moving through city review.

The PUD states that any hotel development at COTA wouldn't be allowed to open its doors until an 11.38-acre park and soccer fields were dedicated to the city. However, developers are now seeking to revise that requirement to allow them to donate an off-site park, or a fee payment city staff have graded at a lower value.

Learn more about trending Austin area news from March 2-5. 

1. Audit: Austin 'may not be able to' justify hundreds of millions in recent consultant spending

2. Peach Cobbler Factory to open Round Rock location this month

3. New shopping center, flex campus planned for Pflugerville neighborhoods

4. Bee Cave advances shifts to The Village at Spanish Oaks

5. First Watch debuts breakfast favorites in Bastrop March 16

6. From Petbar to wine bar: Check out 18 business updates in the Cedar Park area