The San Marcos City Council voted to deny a Preferred Scenario Map amendment for approximately 200 acres of land west of Francis Harris Lane on Feb. 17.

Why it matters: The requested change would have allowed landowners to develop a data center—a project met with significant pushback from community members.

What happened: Hundreds of residents gathered outside the San Marcos courthouse to protest the proposed data center. Over 100 community members spoke on the data center during the meeting’s almost five-hour-long citizen comment period. Dozens of members of the San Antonio-based labor union LiUNA! Laborers Local 1095 stood in support of the project. Members spoke on the union construction jobs the data center project would create.

A majority of speakers voiced their opposition to the data center, citing high water usage, increased strain on the ERCOT grid and potential environmental impacts on the surrounding land and residents.

Also of note: The water required to operate the proposed data center was a major aspect of the community’s opposition and the council’s denial.

Kyle residents will have a new option for popular Mediterranean food this summer.

On the menu: Zaytoon Mediterranean Grill owner Mohamad Taffory told Community Impact that he will offer dishes such as:

• Chicken shawarma
• Chicken kebab
• Gyros
• Hummus

• Opening in mid-2026
• 1050 Bunton Creek Road, Ste. 300, Kyle

The Lower Colorado River Authority is conducting studies to determine if a site northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County would be suitable for a new, larger water reservoir. 

The details: LCRA already owns the 2,000-acre site, which could add over 13 billion gallons to the Central Texas water supply amid growing water needs. 

Two-minute impact: The river authority, which supplies water and hydroelectric power to many communities throughout Central Texas, is exploring plans to build a new reservoir that could hold up to 90,000 acre feet of water. That would make it larger than the recently opened Arbuckle Reservoir, or two to three times the capacity of Lake Travis. 

Why now? A new reservoir off the river authority's main channel was established in its Water Supply Resource Report, an overview of strategies to address regional water needs, that was approved last year, according to a Feb. 19 news release.