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ParksData centers

In Taylor, land neighbors thought was a park became a data center site. In Austin, using parkland for anything else takes a public hearing

A CBS Austin investigation traces how a Taylor tract given for park use ended up sold for $10 million. Austin's council has held nine state-required hearings to change the use of parkland since January 2025. Every one was for city pipes, power lines or drainage.

By Austin Politics staffUpdated

A tract in Taylor, in Williamson County northeast of Austin, that neighbors long believed was meant to become a park is now slated for a data center, CBS Austin reported on Nov. 2 in an installment of its "The Receipts" series.

The story matters in Austin for two reasons. Data centers are spreading across Central Texas while Austin writes its own rules for them. And it raises a question residents here ask about their own green space: what stops a city from turning parkland into something else?

What happened in Taylor

According to CBS Austin's review of the deed and the City of Taylor's property history:

  • In 1999 a family sold the land for $10 to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation. The deed reportedly said it was to be held in trust for future park use by Williamson County. The city says that language was not a deed restriction.
  • After two more $10 transfers, the City of Taylor acquired it in 2003 with no use restrictions noted.
  • In 2008 the city transferred it to the Taylor Economic Development Corp. in exchange for 39 acres elsewhere and $15,000.
  • In April 2025 the economic development corporation sold it to the developer for $10 million.

In September, the Texas attorney general announced an investigation into whether the land was properly released for private development, the station reported. Neighbors sued to enforce the land's original purpose; the case was dismissed over standing and is on appeal. The developer declined to comment, and the city declined an interview but said it would cooperate with the investigation, CBS Austin reported. None of the allegations has been decided.

What our records add

Austin's parkland rule. Under Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, a city must hold a public hearing and find there is no feasible and prudent alternative before it uses or takes dedicated parkland for another purpose. Austin's council holds those hearings as regular agenda items.

Nine hearings since January 2025, all approved, all for public infrastructure. Our records show the council has held nine Chapter 26 hearings since January 2025:

None of the nine involved selling parkland or handing it to a private developer. The item descriptions list about $13.6 million in mitigation payments or projected revenue to the parks department across the nine, the largest about $2.98 million from Watershed Protection for the Adams-Hemphill detention basins. Our Oct. 28 story looked at one of them in detail.

Austin's data center rules. Austin does not yet have zoning rules written specifically for data centers. A council vote on the city's first set could come Dec. 3, according to a city memo covered in our Nov. 1 story. Taylor's case is outside Austin's jurisdiction; Austin's rules would apply only inside its own limits.

What's next

  • Taylor: The attorney general's investigation has no announced timeline, and the neighbors' appeal is pending, CBS Austin reported.
  • Austin: The data center rules could reach the council Dec. 3. Any future change of use of Austin parkland would again require a Chapter 26 hearing, with notice published ahead of the vote.
  • Muny: The city's proposed deal with UT over Lions Municipal Golf Course, which would bring the course into city ownership, is set for a council vote Nov. 19. See our Muny coverage.