{"id":377832,"date":"2026-07-18T09:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T09:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/377832\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T09:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T09:46:15","slug":"fort-worth-weighs-data-center-pause-as-zoning-rules-sent-back-to-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/377832\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth Weighs Data Center Pause as Zoning Rules Sent Back to Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fort Worth is the latest Texas city considering<\/a>\u00a0how to handle the data center boom as five city council members call for a pause on the projects within city limits. Zoning and development regulations are also being discussed<\/a>\u00a0between residents, the council, and commissioners.<\/p>\n

Council members Carlos Flores, Mia Hall, Chris Nettles, Elizabeth Beck and Jeanette Martinez called for the Fort Worth moratorium in early July, citing environmental impact, power needs, and noise strains as concerns.<\/p>\n

Despite acknowledging the economic importance of data centers, a press release<\/a> from the members stated that a moratorium would be desired, \u201cso Fort Worth can adopt regulations that thoughtfully balance economic opportunity with the protection of our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy taking the time to get this right, we will protect our residents, preserve the character of our neighborhoods, and provide the certainty needed for responsible growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The release also addressed the discussions regarding a zoning and development ordinance that may pave the way for further project implementation in the city.<\/p>\n

The initial ordinance proposal was denied by zoning commissioners due to a desire for greater detail, stricter regulations, and more time for review. The commissioners have sent the ordinance to the city council to deliberate on modifications to the proposal.<\/p>\n

City officials and residents are exploring possibilities such as increased mandatory distance from residential areas, acoustic barriers, closed-loop cooling systems, and even the complete prohibition of centers dedicated to crypto-mining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur staff recommendation is that we go ahead and enhance our rules and we get some good development practices in place,\u201d said Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry is hearing the public\u2019s concerns and they themselves are trying to now design their sites to be really good neighbors, to be even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other local and state officials have begun paying serious attention to data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Marcos<\/a>\u00a0recently became the first Texas city to ban data centers in late June, while Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> has called<\/a>\u00a0for data centers to \u201coperate in ways that reduce costs for residential electricity customers, do not drain water needed for our communities, and take into consideration the needs of our neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Public Utility Commission of Texas is expected to reevaluate<\/a>\u00a0how costs are passed onto consumers to ensure Texans are not footing the bill for data centers.<\/p>\n

While it is currently unclear exactly what regulations and policies will ultimately be adopted by Fort Worth officials regarding data centers, citizens can contact their local representatives with their concerns. Fort Worth City Council is expected<\/a> to review proposed zoning rules at a meeting on August 11.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

\n Hunter Burney is a writer for Texas Scorecard. A native Texan, convert to Catholicism, and husband to a beautiful wife, Hunter is passionate about empowering Texans to pursue what is True, Good, and Beautiful. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Worth is the latest Texas city considering\u00a0how to handle the data center boom as five city council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5304,116,118,117,124418],"class_list":["post-377832","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-local-governance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377832","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=377832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}