Red Oak, in Ellis County, Texas, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on May 11, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The record reads: "Red Oak approved an 830-acre rezoning plus a tax abatement on a 4-1 vote for a second Compass Datacenters campus despite unanimous public opposition and 1,600+ petition signatures. The Planning & Zoning board had recommended against the… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | May 11, 2026 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Ellis County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Texas context
Texas has 17 documented local actions across 17 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted, June 20, 2025) and El Paso Electric territory has a large-load tariff (enacted, July 31, 2025).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.