Westlake Town Council members voted unanimously Monday night to delay their decision on a development agreement for a proposed data center<\/a> project after a Tarrant County judge barred them from approving the deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n A district court judge granted a temporary restraining order, preventing Westlake from taking the next step forward to welcome the roughly 88-acre project. Located within Westlake town limits, the Circle T Data Center would be built at the northern edge of Keller \u2014 about 500 feet from the backyards of several Keller residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n The project has garnered scrutiny from Westlake and Keller residents alike, with residents and elected officials in Keller threatening legal action to stop the project they believe could drain natural resources and harm their quality of life. Two residents and The Lakes at Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association, representing the Keller neighborhood adjacent to the project site, requested the restraining order to prevent \u201cirreparable harm\u201d to their property and neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick, of the 342nd State District Court in Fort Worth, issued the\u00a0 restraining order about one hour before the Westlake Town Council met to consider an agreement with developer PowerHouse Data Centers that would require specific development standards for the data center. The developer would also pay Westlake $914,000 to fund renovations of the town\u2019s pump station, adjacent to the project site, that manages water distribution.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Kim Greaves emphasized that the council did not have authority to stop the data center, as the land it\u2019s proposed to be built on is privately owned and designated for use by right. The development agreement considered by the council would have set standards for noise, water, power, infrastructure and other needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is straightforward: Protect our residents and neighbors, respect existing property and zoning rights, and require this project to meet the exceptional high standards Westlake expects,\u201d Greaves said at the beginning of the meeting, before listening to public comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n The decision to table the vote came more than two hours later, after the council heard from more than 30 speakers in opposition to the project, followed by a roughly 20-minute executive session to consult with the town attorney.\u00a0<\/p>\n The council is not legally allowed to adopt the agreement or take action on the data center project for two weeks. Council members agreed to push the vote until after Aug. 26, when a judge will decide whether to grant a temporary injunction to further halt the project.<\/p>\n Keller City Council member Greg Will asked the Westlake council to \u201cchoose cooperation over confrontation,\u201d saying Keller would pursue every reasonable and legal option available to mitigate resident concerns around the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the residents living near this proposed data center have not received, in my opinion, the transparency or consideration that they deserve,\u201d Will said. \u201cRespectfully, I\u2019m here to say that that is not how government is supposed to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout two hours of public testimony, speakers urged the council to delay the project, evaluate its potential impacts on natural resources, consider moving the project to another site, adopt ordinances to prevent data centers from being built so close to neighborhoods, or reject the project altogether. No speakers were in favor of the data center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kevin Myers, who identified himself as a disabled Army veteran, asked the council to consider Keller residents such as himself as much as Westlake ones. Westlake officials have said the project would be more than 1,200 yards from resident homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 33 years in uniform from \u201989 to the summer of 2022, I\u2019d hope for a nice house for my family, and some peace finally, where I can just live the rest of my life quietly \u2014 and this data center is not going to afford that,\u201d Myers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n