The debate over data centers “is an issue that transcends partisan sides” and one where the Texas Legislature could set standard criteria for projects while leaving much else to the cities, Tarrant County Commissioner Matt Krause said after hosting a town hall Tuesday night.
“We’ve got to have some guardrails,” Krause said in an interview with the Fort Worth Report after hearing from constituents at Precinct 3’s Gary Fickes Northeast Courthouse in Hurst.
The town hall’s 23 speakers included some from The Lakes at Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association in Keller, a neighborhood adjacent to a planned data center in Westlake.
A number of the evening’s speakers said they accepted the need for data centers, given the growth in artificial intelligence. However, they added that such developments must include regulations on water usage, power consumption, noise and neighborhood setbacks. They also questioned whether municipalities need to offer financial incentives to attract data centers, and whether developers, operators and public officials can be trusted.
Some compared the growth of data centers to a speculative gold rush that could abate, or to the spread of regional malls that are now outdated and being demolished.
“I am not against development, but it has to be done intelligently,” said Cate Brennan, a Democrat who is running for the open Texas House 98 seat against Republican Armin Mizani. The district is home to 16 cities, including Grapevine, Keller, Southlake, Colleyville, Euless and Westlake.
Krause, a Republican, ran a Q&A session with the crowd after hearing the speakers and acknowledged the need for protections multiple times. “Something new needs to happen,” he told the audience.
To the Marshall Ridge residents who asked who they could trust, Krause replied “that’s a very good question.”
“We’re not on the ballot,” said Krause, whose term runs through 2028. “This isn’t about campaign postures.”
Krause said it’s possible that the county could develop a legislative agenda for the 2027 session and that data centers fit into it.
One conceivable regulatory model that emerges divides responsibility between the state and cities, he told the Report.
“The state has certain responsibility, but they leave a lot of discretion to the cities,” he said. “I could see all that being part of it.”
Checklists that sort out viable projects from speculative ones are already gaining traction in Texas and locally.
The Fort Worth City Council voted last month to require that data center applications meet and follow rules in compliance with Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide audit.
“I can see that the state has a checklist that says you’ve got to meet all these criteria before the project even gets started,” Krause said.
One Keller resident, Holly Doty, called for regulations that “mandate immediate public disclosure” on data center projects that are in the works. She also said zoning regulations should require substantial separation of data centers from neighborhoods so the projects aren’t just “hiding behind landscaping and berms.”
With fears that the growth of data centers will overtax the state’s power grid and lead to inflation in wholesale and retail electricity prices, some speakers said regulations should steer toward projects that generate their own power and have minimal impact on water.
“That’s the baseline of all baselines,” Krause said. “Provide your own energy. Provide your own water.”
Krause probed that question further, asking some of the commenters whether they’d be OK with a data center project that has its own energy source, minimal water usage and minimal noise.
“Do we need to tinker around here, or is it just a nonstarter down in Austin?” he asked.
When one speaker criticized tax incentives for data center projects, Krause responded, “I would be surprised if Austin didn’t take a hard look at getting rid of those” in the upcoming Legislature.
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability and a Fort Worth City Hall reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
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