Overview
- The Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted 7–4 on July 8 to recommend denying a proposed ordinance that would add data centers to the city’s zoning code because commissioners said the proposal was rushed and needed more review.
- Following the commission vote, five city council members formally asked for a temporary moratorium to allow staff, residents and industry more time to rewrite regulations before the council may consider the proposal on Aug. 11.
- City staff had proposed specific standards such as 250‑foot building setbacks from homes, 300–350‑foot buffers and masonry screening for generators, acoustic barriers for rooftop cooling and tighter lighting and landscaping rules, while noting the city cannot regulate energy use, water planning, air quality or state tax exemptions.
- In Taylor, more than 1,400 residents submitted a petition seeking a temporary ban on data centers but city officials said Texas law bars zoning changes by popular vote; Taylor plans zoning-code updates and could vote on new rules in September.
- The local fights sit inside a larger state issue: ERCOT is tracking roughly 410 gigawatts of large‑load requests, mostly from data centers, and Governor and regulators are pushing for measures that make operators pay for grid upgrades, curb water use and increase reporting.