Fort Worth's push to set ground rules for the surging data center industry is on hold after a city zoning body declined to back a proposed ordinance tailored to those projects.
What happened?
Instead of advancing the measure as written, the zoning commission voted 7-4 to reject it, passing it to City Council while asking for more specificity, stronger protections, and additional review time, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Under the proposal, data centers could have been built only on industrial property and could not have been used for cryptocurrency mining. The ordinance also laid out buffers and design rules aimed at shielding nearby neighborhoods from glare, sound, and industrial activity, such as a 250-foot setback from homes, a 300-foot minimum distance for backup generators, and requirements for screening, fencing, evergreen plantings, and a 50-foot landscaped strip.
Zoning Commissioner Matt McCoy said, "I can appreciate the work, it's insufficient at this time." He added, "It's difficult to vote on something that has a lot of variables."
The debate is set to continue soon. City leaders are expected to take the matter up again on Aug. 4, and City Council has scheduled final action on Aug. 11.
Why does it matter?
Opposition has been building in south Fort Worth, where residents say proposed data centers could bring persistent noise and put added pressure on water and power supplies, according to the Fort Worth Report. Lydia Faith of the Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities said those facilities belong in heavy industrial districts, not lighter industrial areas.
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"Corporations get up and say, 'We're going to be a good neighbor,' and then they never follow (through with) it," Faith said.
Data centers are increasingly tied to artificial intelligence, as AI tools rely on enormous computing power housed in these facilities.
AI can help utilities forecast demand, improve grid efficiency, and support cleaner energy systems. Still, the drawbacks are significant, including excessive electricity use, heavy water demand for cooling, security and misuse concerns, and the possibility that communities could face higher bills or more stressed infrastructure as development accelerates.
Cities across the country are trying to balance economic development with quality-of-life protections. In Fort Worth, some residents said the current proposal still does not reflect the scale of the potential impact.
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What's being done?
Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern told officials that the city is trying to act before a larger wave of projects arrives. "We know that we have a lot of interest in this topic," McEachern said. "What is new is … this true boom in interest around data centers."
Among the measures city staff has suggested are closed-loop cooling systems that recycle water, acoustic barriers for rooftop cooling equipment, and possible lighting rules for data centers near multifamily housing. Officials have also said they may revise setback distances after taking public feedback through July 15.
The Fort Worth Report also noted that Ambika Sharma of 817 Gather wants about a 1-mile buffer between data centers and sites, including homes and hospitals, and said the city should consider a moratorium as it continues studying the issue.
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