![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/kdfw_fox_local_articles_173\/0857920c19377ded9c5d2de8c004deb3.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe Brief<\/p>\n
Fort Worth zoning officials voted against proposed zoning restrictions for data centers following resident complaints about noise and light pollution.<\/p>\n
Proposed changes would require data centers to be set back up to 250 feet from homes and ban cryptocurrency mining as a primary use.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth City Council will review the new amendments on Aug. 4, with a final vote expected as early as Aug. 11.<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH, Texas – Fort Worth zoning officials rejected proposed recommendations for data centers built in the city on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaders spent much of the day addressing concerns over data centers in nearby neighborhoods and how it affects their quality of life.<\/p>\n
Fort Worth Data Centers<\/p>\n
What we know<\/p>\n
Fort Worth’s zoning commission voted 7-4 against new restrictions on data centers in the city.<\/p>\n
Some members said they need more information before imposing regulations on a constantly changing industry.<\/p>\n
Currently, Fort Worth does not have any specific regulations when it comes to the construction of data centers within city limits. They follow industrial development standards.<\/p>\n
By the numbers<\/p>\n
Fort Worth already has four operational data centers. There are another five that are planned or already under construction.<\/p>\n
According to the city, the data centers have generated more than $83 million in property taxes for Fort Worth over the past five years.<\/p>\n
Complaint data compiled over those five years has been minimal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What they’re saying<\/p>\n
Still, many residents are worried that data centers could impact their quality of life, with concerns about things like noise and light pollution.<\/p>\n
Some of the residents spoke at Wednesday’s zoning meeting.<\/p>\n
“What I’m concerned with is the speed at which these things seemed to be pushed through and it’s too fast in my opinion,” one resident said.<\/p>\n
In response to the feedback, city staff made the following recommendations, including that:<\/p>\n
buildings are set back 250 feet from residential areas<\/p>\n
all standby generators are 350 feet from residential areas and fully screened<\/p>\n
rooftop cooling equipment is behind an acoustic barrier 1.5 times the height of the equipment<\/p>\n
there is a landscape buffering yard of 50 feet with a screening fence along all residential areas<\/p>\n
The city also proposed a zoning agreement that would prohibit cryptocurrency mining as a primary use.<\/p>\n
However, the city cannot regulate energy use, water planning, air quality control, or any state tax exemptions and incentives. Only the state has the authority to regulate those things.<\/p>\n
What’s next<\/p>\n
Despite the vote, Fort Worth City Council will have final say on the recommendations.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth City Council will have a work session on Aug. 4 to discuss the proposed amendments. The council could vote on the final changes during the Aug. 11 meeting.<\/p>\n
The Source<\/p>\n
FOX 4’s Alex Boyer gathered information for this story at a Fort Worth Zoning Commission meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief Fort Worth zoning officials voted against proposed zoning restrictions for data centers following resident complaints about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5304,116,118,117,130041],"class_list":["post-367289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-data-centers","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-zoning-restrictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}