Data center moratorium takes first steps after Fort Worth City Council’s unanimous vote

Following months of calls from the public, Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved the first move toward implementing a 90-day moratorium on the construction of data centers.

The moratorium would go into effect by early next year, allowing city leaders to evaluate possible development regulations and data centers’ impact on natural resources and quality of life.

The decision was one of three data center-related votes made in Tuesday evening’s city council meeting, during which residents packed council chambers.

Council members also voted 10-1 to approve the rules that developers will have to follow in submitting data center applications in order to comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive. Abbott’s order requires state utility regulators to perform audits on the facilities.

Data center applications will have to include proof that the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas have approved their connection to the state’s electric grid.

The requirements apply to any data center applications received by the city after Tuesday requesting predevelopment and building permits, according to city documents.

Data centers based in Fort Worth’s extraterritorial jurisdiction or those being supplied by Fort Worth’s municipal water system outside city limits would not be subject to the requirements, Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern said.

The last of the data center-related items, which council members approved 10-1 Tuesday, creates the Data Center & Infrastructure Committee, an advisory committee that would provide evidence-based recommendations to Fort Worth staffers, guiding their development of data center regulations.

In the past year, council members and other Fort Worth officials have been met with concerns and criticism from the public, both within and outside of City Hall, as more developers have sought permission to build data centers amid a nationwide boom in AI and tech hub development.

Before the vote on the moratorium, council member Elizabeth Beck reassured attendees that the city wants to work with its constituents.

“We are here to work with you on this,” Beck said. “We aren’t your enemy in this fight. This is something that impacts everyone in the city of Fort Worth. If it impacts you, it impacts me.”

The moratorium process halts decision-making on applications to rezone land or obtain permits for data centers, according to city documents.

When the moratorium goes into effect, city staff will evaluate noise produced by data centers, their impact on local water supplies, long-term water availability, their compatibility with land uses and infrastructure associated with the facilities. The moratorium should conclude with the creation of long-term ordinances designed to regulate the facilities, as recommended by the advisory committee.

Before Tuesday’s evening meeting, speakers — including community advocates and politicians — gathered inside and outside of City Hall to show their support for the moratorium but also express concerns on the ordinances that will come out of the 90-day hiatus.

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, said the moratorium approval will “send a signal” to state lawmakers.

“It behooves the legislature to put in place some regulation, transparency of energy and water use, making sure that the data center companies … aren’t pushing those costs for new transmission of energy and water onto households,” Goodwin said.

If a moratorium is ultimately approved, the 90-day pause will take effect Feb. 16, after public hearings have been held and votes taken as required by state law and reports and studies from the city’s Data Center & Infrastructure Committee have been submitted to Fort Worth officials.

However, some residents were critical of the city’s approach to considering a moratorium. Kent DeCardenas said council members should have begun studying and exploring a pause on the developments months ago.

“We’re here because the city has had a flawed approach to data centers this whole time,” DeCardenas said. “We’re here tonight because a month ago, the zoning commission told city staff, ‘Your approach is flawed.’”

Before a moratorium can take effect, city council is required to hold two public hearings to allow the public to weigh in. The council must vote on the moratorium 12 days after the first public hearing, followed by a second vote of approval to be held 28 days after the first vote. The final vote requires a three-fourths council majority, instead of the typical majority.

The 90-day pause and the regulations that come out of this period do not apply to projects whose zoning applications have already been submitted or approved, McEachern said.

Caleb Roberts, executive director of environmental advocacy group Downwinders at Risk, also shared concerns about the time required to enact a moratorium. He expressed fear that this would prompt developers to try to push applications through before the moratorium takes effect.

At Tuesday’s meeting, council members were originally set to vote on regulations that would create standards for data centers on zoning and development, water and wastewater, noise and business incentives. The regulations drafted by Fort Worth staffers recommended council members prohibit data centers from cryptocurrency mining and only allow the facilities to be built in industrially zoned areas.

In a July meeting, zoning commissioners voted 7-4 to reject proposed zoning and development regulations, with most citing the need for more stringent regulations and time to review the proposed ordinances.

The plans to vote on all four sets of regulations changed after five council members last month called for a moratorium and a task force that would advise Fort Worth officials on how to best regulate data centers.

State law allows a governing body to request a 90-day extension of a moratorium — allowing for an 180-day maximum — on data center development, while the city prepares regulations to address concerns, McEachern told council members Tuesday.

Residents urged council members to carefully consider the proposed ordinances that come out of the 90-day period.

Gary Hogan, a southwest Fort Worth resident, has actively spoken against the development of Edged Data Centers’ facility near Benbrook.

Hogan urged council members to approve ordinances that protect residents, criticizing the distances between homes and data centers set out in the proposed regulations that zoning commissioners vetoed.

“I don’t think there’s one person on this city council that would like to have this data center 200 feet from their home,” Hogan said. “So why impose it on other neighborhoods?”

Sue Weston, owner of Weston Gardens, shared those sentiments and echoed concerns made by several public speakers.

Weston said council members have come a long way since they allowed the rezoning of land around her garden for Black Mountain’s data center. She said that council members promised they would find a way to protect her land.

“Last September 30th, y’all told me you would find a way to protect the gardens, and I am going to hold you to that,” Weston said.

She asked the council to not only hear her concerns but the many comments made by others.

“We need to listen … and take it seriously,” Weston said.

Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.

The Report’s environment coverage is supported by the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation. 

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.