6 May 21 - 27, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Shadden was also one of the organizers of the push for incorporation. She said she will continue to fight for noise mitigation and hopes the legal route will provide the relief that previous efforts failed to deliver. “All we can do is try. It’s happening to so many communities all around the United States. We have tried so many things, and we’ve been working at this so hard,” Shad- den said. “You can’t just roll over and die.” Not So Quiet Now Lawsuits in Hood County haven’t been ex- clusive to crypto mining. In April, a group of Granbury residents sued city officials over alleged Open Meetings Act violations during discussion of plans to annex 2,000 acres for a data center development. The suit represents a larger struggle in one of the 20 smallest counties in Texas by land area. Residents are pushing back against the pattern of data center develop- ment and the associated power plants that they feel have upended their once-quiet lives. They have contested permits for new power plants and lobbied county officials for regulatory action. In February, Hood County commissioners rejected a proposed morato- rium on industrial development, which would have halted new crypto mining and data center projects. Amy Flynt lives a few hundred yards from the proposed site of Commanche Cir- cle, a planned 2,100-acre data center park. She has been actively advocating against the development, which gained conditional ap- proval in January. “We came out here for a reason,” Flynt said. “We came out here for the quiet so we could have our peace and quiet and not have to deal with neighbors that are too close. Even though they’re 800 yards from us, the amount of noise coming out of there is going to impact our quality of life out here.” The house she lives in is the first home she and her husband moved into after college. She will move if the development goes for- ward, she said, although that may be difficult. “It’s really upsetting,” she said. “We moved out here, and that was our goal to raise our family here until they graduated, and that’s 100% threatened.” AUSTIN WOOD ‘THIS IS AGAINST GOD’ It was nearly midnight by the time the Red Oak City Council voted in favor of an 830- acre data center that will be built at the edge of town. The May 11 decision was met with out- rage in the packed council chamber, where more than 150 Red Oak residents sat, and dozens more waited outside after being barred from entering due to fire code capac- ity restrictions. For hours, residents took to the microphone to denounce the latest in what has become a booming industry for Red Oak; at least five other centers are either being planned or are under construction in the town, which is 20 miles south of Dallas. Among their objections were traffic con- gestion caused by industrial construction, noise emitted by the centers, water runoff and management and light pollution. Nearly 1,600 people have signed a petition opposing the development. The town has a popula- tion of around 20,000. “[This development] is hurting people’s homes, their retirement. I’ve been here since I was 12 years old. That’s over 64 years,” said Martell Edwards, one of the dozens of oppo- nents to the proposal. “This is where I’ve chosen to stay, but I’m not really sure I’m go- ing to continue.” The plan that was approved last week will be built by the developer Compass. The planned campus spans nearly a dozen data center buildings and several substations. Red Oak’s planning and zoning board rec- ommended denial for the project during a meeting at the end of April, but the council passed the developmen›t in a 4-1 vote after approving several changes recommended by city staff to the zoning ordinance. Among the new requirements are shield- ing to prevent lighting from bothering neighbors, decibel limits and a ban on cryp- tocurrency mining. City staff also assured residents that the centers will operate on a closed-loop water-cooling system that uses less water annually than a Walmart Super- center and will not be hooked up to the city’s utility line. Additionally, the council’s briefing stated that the project will result in $72 million in electric grid reinforcements. Last year, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 6 into law, which requires that during periods of grid strain, high-demand industrial custom- ers, such as data centers, be forced to use a “kill switch” to reduce their load. “Development is coming, and this is just one form of development,” said council member Ricardo Miller, who argued that the demand on city resources caused by a data center is significantly less than that of a 3,200-home development, which is about the size of what could fit in the area planned for the centers. Still, most residents appeared uncon- vinced that the development will offer the town a long-term benefit. The council approved a $2.82 million tax abatement over the next decade, and though the center is expected to create jobs, most will be temporary construction work. Addi- tionally, city staff acknowledged that the construction phase is “when people are go- ing to feel the impact” of the project, as in- dustrial equipment and workers flow through the city’s two-lane roads. Public speakers continually referenced mud runoff, traffic congestion and road deg- radation that have occurred at a nearby data center construction site as examples of the types of nuisances the developments can re- sult in. City staff said the ordinance passed last week will require Compass to maintain the area’s surrounding roads, and notices and fines can be used to enforce rules such as the noise restrictions. “I think a lot of the residents are asking a very reasonable question. What are we get- ting in return?” asked Scott Friend, an Ellis County resident who lives on the same road as the campus. “This conversation is hap- pening everywhere, and Red Oak should take the time to make it right.” According to Data Center Watch, some $64 billion in develop- ment was staunched by community activism between March 2024 and March 2025. Most recently, residents of a rural Utah town have protested a 40,000- acre campus backed by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary. In North Texas, some coun- ties have attempted to pass moratoriums barring the construction of additional cen- ters. Red Oak officials said planning for the development has taken place over the past six years, which seemed to vindicate some community members who suggested that the council had reached a decision long be- fore Monday’s meeting. “I disagree wholly with the idea that we aren’t being transparent, because there’s no money in my pockets being lined,” said council member Sean Flannery. “I think the city has done some heavy work to get the an- swers, … and if you want to run [for election] against me, run against me.” Even as officials touted the advantages of development, some residents lamented Red Oak’s shift towards industrial building. On- line, commenters argued that it is a “dis- grace” to replace farmland with the cold, boxy buildings data centers are known for. “I voted for you guys. I have not ever missed a vote in Red Oak, and I don’t re- member ever hearing a vote for a data cen- ter,” resident Bobby Mason told the council. “This is against God’s word.” EMMA RUBY ▼ HOMELESSNESS NOT VERY HELPFUL DALLAS SHUTS DOWN FOOD HANDOUT DOWNTOWN; ORGANIZERS PLAN TO CONTINUE SERVING. BY AUSTIN WOOD A nonprofit distributing food to homeless people downtown was forced to vacate its usual street cor- ner on May 10 as Dallas mulls stricter distri- bution rules. Organizers of Sandwich Sundays took to social media after they said Dallas code rep- resentatives gave them 40 minutes to pack their food, clothing and sanitary supplies and vacate their standard spot behind City Hall. City Council members recently deferred a discussion on heightened regulations for churches and nonprofits distributing food. People of Dallas Houseless Aid, the non- profit organization behind Sandwich Sun- days, has been distributing food to downtown’s homeless population since 2020. On any given Sunday, volunteers hand out over 200 sandwiches or hot meals behind City Hall in the southern end of downtown, said Jackie Jones, the organization’s secretary. “Our main staples are food, hygiene — that’s Band Aids, antiseptic stuff like that — and then there’s clothes,” Jones said. “We also have drinks. We usually do cold drinks, sodas, all that, water, and then we usually have hot coffee with it.” They have had more trouble with the city over distributions since 2024, she said, roughly corresponding to when Dallas offi- cials announced a major push to end home- lessness in downtown. The group received its first warning in 2025 for failing to provide the city with the required 24-hour advance notice before distribution. The morning of May 10, however, felt different, Jones said. A homeless outreach liaison, two city attorneys, a How You Gonna Keep ’Em Off the Farm? from p4 Emma Ruby Nathan Hunsinger Dozens of Red Oak residents attended a City Council meeting on May 11 to oppose a zoning change that paves the way for a new data center campus. Despite the town outrage, the plan passed in a 4-1 vote. Volunteers hand out meals in Dallas. >> p8
