City planning November 10, 2026 · Brownsville · Data centers

Brownsville says its data center pause can't reach the 444.45 acres it released in August

Brownsville's 90-day pause on new data center applications, in effect since Nov. 5, 2026, does not cover the approximately 444.45 acres the city removed from its limits in August, the city said in a statement posted Nov. 9, 2026. "Because the 444.45-acre property was previously removed from Brownsville's corporate limits and ETJ, the City's moratorium does not extend to that property," it says. "Brownsville cannot exercise its municipal regulatory authority over land outside its jurisdiction simply by adopting a moratorium."

• The pause: the City Commission approved it Nov. 4, 2026. It stops the city from accepting, processing or approving new data center applications inside Brownsville's limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
• The release: Ordinance 2026-1823 passed its first reading Aug. 21, 2026 and its final reading Aug. 29, 2026, removing the land and the right-of-way next to it from the city limits and the ETJ, the city says.
• Other rules still apply: leaving the city "does not exempt the property or future development from applicable laws, permitting requirements or oversight by other governmental authorities with jurisdiction," the statement says.
• The land: it was privately owned, including by "more than 40 families and trust members," and sold in a private sale. The city says it "did not own the property, did not sell the land and did not transfer City-owned property to SpaceX."
• The water deal: the city calls its memorandum of understanding with SpaceX "a significant consideration" in the vote. It describes up to $220 million for water and wastewater projects, a $40 million escrow first and then six quarterly payments of $30 million, released as milestones are met, for projects that could add about 18 million gallons a day of regional water supply. The city says the deal "does not constitute a purchase of water capacity."
• Next requests: any future de-annexation "would be evaluated independently," and the August vote "does not establish an automatic policy of de-annexing property at the request of private companies," the city says.

Background: SpaceX petitioned the City of Starbase to annex a 444.46-acre tract, the "Garcia Lot," and Starbase approved it Sept. 21, 2026 (our Sept. 24 story, our Sept. 13 story). Separately, Starbase's Nov. 6, 2026 hearing notice (PDF) puts the site of SpaceX's proposed gas-fired power plant and "super-compute facility" on "an approximately 444-acre tract just east of the City of Brownsville, between Boca Chica Blvd and the Port of Brownsville" (our Nov. 6 story). Brownsville's statement doesn't mention that project.

What's next: the city's Environmental and Conservation Task Force is studying data center impacts, from water and energy use to public health, and will recommend safeguards. We'll report what it sends the commission.

The Rider, UTRGV's student newspaper, reported the 444-acre point first, on Nov. 9, 2026.

Sources: City of Brownsville News Flash, posted Nov. 9, 2026 · City of Starbase, Sept. 16, 2026 special meeting agenda (PDF) · City of Starbase, Notice of Public Hearing, posted Nov. 6, 2026 (PDF) · The Rider, Nov. 9, 2026

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