Five members of the Fort Worth City Council called for a data center moratorium on Thursday following feedback from two public meetings.
Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores, District 6 council member Mia Hall, District 8 council member Chris Nettles, District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck, and District 11 council member Jeanette Martinez signed a letter calling for the pause. Two of their colleagues said they were unaware of the letter and were not asked to if they would like to sign it.
The group acknowledged the potential economic benefit of data center development, citing their role in supporting industries like healthcare, finance, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
At the same time, the group argued there are legitimate concerns about the impact of data centers on water, energy, noise and neighborhoods.
The letter comes as the city is in the midst of a push to update its rules around data center development. On July 8, the Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted against recommending that the City Council approve a sweeping proposal that would bring data centers into the city’s zoning code and establish development standards for them.
The city held an open house on June 30 with proposals for ways to regulate data center land use, water use, noise pollution, and economic development incentives. Those proposals were first presented during a Fort Worth City Council work session meeting in June.
Several residents who attended said the open house event was helpful, while others described the city’s efforts as “half-measures.”
During the Zoning Commission meeting on July 8, commissioner Jacob Wurman remarked that the city’s push to approve the new rules by the Aug. 11 council meeting felt rushed.
Commissioners weighed voting to continue the item, but some said that delaying a vote would impact the city’s timeline — the Fort Worth City Council is expected to take up all of the proposed regulations at its meeting on Aug. 11.
The council members, in their letter, agreed with Wurman’s sentiment, stating they were supporting a moratorium to get the new rules right.
“That is the leadership our residents deserve, and it is the commitment we share,” the council members said in their letter.
Two city council members said they were not approached by the council members who signed the proposal to ask if they would like to participate.
“This is the first I’m hearing of any Council proposal on this,” District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf wrote in a statement. “I’m disappointed that the rest of Council was not even asked whether we wanted the opportunity to sign on. I was never contacted by any of the other signers, which makes me question whether this is truly important to them or if this is more about making a statement. They all know how to reach me, just like they know how to reach the others who were left out of the conversation.”
District 3 council member Michael Crain said that he would have been open to discussing the proposal for a moratorium — but the council members who wrote it did not give him the chance to do so.
Crain said that he first heard about the proposal roughly two hours before it was released around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 4:36 PM.
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.