What Shawnee Homeowners Should Know About Data Centers
Shawnee’s city commission is already weighing in. Here’s the context you need.
Update (August 17, 2026): The resolution passed unanimously, 7-0. City staff estimated the study and code update work will take approximately 90 days. The commission gave them until December 31, 2027, a generous runway that should allow time for thorough public hearings and a thoughtful policy framework. The conversation continues.
Data centers have become one of the fastest-moving land-use issues across the country, and Shawnee, Oklahoma is no exception. If you’re a homeowner, buyer, seller, or REALTOR® in this market, this is a conversation worth understanding. How Shawnee handles it will have real implications for property values, utilities, and community character for years to come.
The Shawnee City Commission agenda dropped this morning. I follow it like a heat-seeking missile, so here I am. On Monday evening, August 17, commissioners will consider a resolution to place a temporary moratorium on new data center applications. It would pause any new rezoning requests or building permits that would allow a large-scale data center to be built in Shawnee, with the moratorium lasting through December 31, 2027. And depending on how a property is currently zoned, a rezoning may not even be required, which is part of why the permit side of this matters just as much.
Commissioner Chris Odneal is sponsoring the resolution, and the city attorney’s office is recommending approval.
Before anyone gets alarmed or dismissive, it’s worth understanding what this actually is and why it matters for Shawnee homeowners, buyers, and sellers.
What Is a Data Center, Really?
Think of a data center as a massive warehouse stuffed floor to ceiling with servers. Servers power everything you do online: video streaming, cloud storage, e-commerce, AI tools, and even FaceTime. Every time you ask a question, stream a show, or buy something with one click, a server somewhere is doing the heavy lifting. The more we live online, the more of them the world needs. And they have to land somewhere physical.
I’ve been deep in the weeds on this topic, and the more I learn, the more convinced I am that every REALTOR® and every homeowner should understand it.
The takeaway isn’t “data centers are evil” or “data centers are great.” It’s: ask better questions, and show up.
Why It Matters to Shawnee Homeowners
Here’s where it gets personal. Data centers don’t just affect the tech industry; they affect the neighborhood, your utility bill, and the value of your house.
Water.
These facilities need a lot of it, mainly to cool all those servers (they run hot). The key question is whether a proposed facility uses a closed-loop system, which recycles the same water over and over, or an open system that draws continuously from the potable water supply. That distinction matters more than most people realize, and it’s the first thing worth asking about any proposed facility.
Electricity.
Data centers draw enormous amounts of power, and aging electrical infrastructure doesn’t always handle it gracefully. In markets where large facilities are already operating, some homeowners have seen utility costs climb 200-300% as the local grid struggles to keep up. That’s not a typo. It’s serious enough that I’ll need to start adding utilities to the list of things I help buyers budget for. Not just principal, interest, taxes, and insurance anymore, but utilities too.
Noise.
These facilities run 24/7, and they’re not quiet about it. Cooling systems hum constantly. When backup diesel generators kick in during peak grid demand (which happens during heat events, exactly when everyone’s AC is maxed out), it gets louder and less predictable. For homes nearby, that could be a disclosure issue. In a softer market, it’s the kind of thing that shrinks your buyer pool.
Jobs. (But read the fine print.)
Yes, data centers bring jobs. Construction jobs, mostly, which typically last 18-24 months. Once the facility is built, the ongoing staffing footprint is surprisingly small. That’s not nothing, but it’s not the economic engine some proponents suggest.
Property taxes, a genuine plus.
Here’s where data centers can actually deliver for a community. A large facility generates significant property tax revenue without demanding much back in the way of roads, schools, or city services. For a city minding every dollar, that’s meaningful revenue that’s hard to walk away from.
Long-term use.
Every data center proposal gets evaluated on today’s numbers: jobs, utility load, and water usage. But technology doesn’t stand still. The servers filling that building today will likely be replaced by far more powerful hardware in a fraction of the space within a few years. So what happens to the building? We’ve seen this before with shopping malls. Crossroads Mall, for example. Built big for a moment in time, and now largely vacant with no clear second act. It’s a fair question to put to any developer before the first shovel turns over any dirt.
Why Shawnee’s Moratorium Makes Sense
Data center developers aren’t just chasing major metros anymore. They’re actively scouting rural and suburban sites with available land, industrial zoning, and access to water and power. Shawnee checks enough of those boxes to be on someone’s list. NIMBY sentiment is real everywhere, and communities that have a policy framework in place before something’s proposed are in a much better position than those scrambling to respond after the fact.
Even Shawnee’s newly adopted Unified Development Code, which took effect in September 2024, contains no specific provisions for large-scale data centers. Not because anyone dropped the ball. This simply wasn’t on the local radar yet when it was written.
In most communities, data centers can be built “by right” in industrially zoned areas, meaning no public vote, no required community input, just permits. Communities often find out a data center is coming when the dirt starts moving, because nothing required anyone to tell them sooner.
The moratorium gives Shawnee time to:
Charlotte, North Carolina learned this the hard way. A data center was approved there without notice, and residents only found out when construction began. I know this partly because my dear friend and colleague Leigh Brown lives and practices in the Charlotte metro, and the backlash she described was significant enough that the city placed its own moratorium while it rewrote its development code.
Commissioner Odneal’s proposal gives Shawnee the chance to do this right from the start. The moratorium is the right first step.
What I Hope Comes Next
A pause is only as good as what happens during it. I’d hate to see this moratorium simply run out the clock. My hope is that the city uses this window to bring in people who actually understand data center impacts on water systems, power grids, property values, and community character.
The questions worth asking before any facility is approved are: What kind of water system is proposed? Who carries the utility cost burden? What’s the long-range plan as the technology inevitably shrinks?
Those answers need to be in hand before Shawnee’s first application hits the desk.
This Conversation Is Just Getting Started
The August 17 commission meeting is the first public step. The study period, the public hearings, and the policy decisions that follow are where this actually gets decided.
This topic doesn’t have a finish line. As technology evolves, as developers scout new markets, and as other Oklahoma communities wrestle with the same questions, Shawnee will keep having to update its thinking. So will the rest of us.
If you have questions about how data centers might affect home values, what it means to buy or sell near industrially-zoned property, or what to watch for in your neighborhood, I’m here for that conversation. As an active member of the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Committee, I’m engaged in this at the state level and happy to be a resource for anyone trying to get their bearings, whether you’re a homeowner, a business, or a local entity.
Community involvement matters at every stage, not just at commission meetings. In Shawnee, zoning changes are first recommended by the Planning Commission before they ever reach the City Commission. I serve on the Planning Commission, so I’ll be in that room as these conversations develop. Public comment periods and conversations with your elected officials are part of it too.