Fort Worth zoning commission recommends against staff’s proposed data‑center zoning rules after wide public outcry

The Fort Worth Zoning Commission on July 8 voted 7–4 to recommend denial of a city text amendment that would have added new zoning and development standards for data centers, following a long staff presentation and more than three hours of public comment.

Jessica McCacker of the city manager’s office, who led the staff presentation, said the draft ordinance aimed to balance two goals: protecting residents’ health, safety and quality of life while allowing Fort Worth to “responsibly capture the economic benefits” of data‑center investment. Staff proposed defining and prohibiting cryptocurrency mining in nonresidential districts, setting a 250‑foot minimum building setback from residential uses, requiring acoustic screening for rooftop and ground‑level mechanical equipment, limiting standby generators’ placement and reducing parking expectations for data centers to 1 space per 4 employees, McCacker said.

“The goal is to adopt regulations that allow development but ensure it is the right development that is not harmful to our residents,” McCacker told the commission during the staff presentation. She also told the audience the city would continue to refine related policies — notably noise and water rules — before City Council consideration.

The public comment period was crowded and nearly unanimous in urging stronger limits. Speakers included neighborhood leaders, environmental advocates, technical consultants and representatives of historic sites. Lydia, introducing herself as a member of the Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities, said data centers should be limited to heavy industrial zoning and kept well away from residential neighborhoods. “These neighborhoods … have industrial corporations in and around their community. They get up and say they’ll be a good neighbor, and then they never follow it,” she said.

Technical witnesses and residents raised a range of concerns: low‑frequency and continuous noise from HVAC and generator systems, the potential for higher local temperatures and “heat‑island” effects, heavy water use and wastewater discharge from cooling systems, threats to historical resources from constant vibration, and weak enforcement mechanisms for promised mitigation. An audio engineer who visited existing sites recorded noise levels and urged that any setback standard be tied to scientific baseline studies and 24/7 monitoring with calibrated equipment.

Several speakers asked for much larger buffer distances than staff proposed, with multiple public commenters urging setbacks of one mile from residences, hospitals and schools, or for data centers to be allowed only in the heaviest industrial districts. Others pressed for a public transparency dashboard, real‑time water and energy usage reporting, prohibitions on incentives or abatements for data‑center projects, and enforceable annual operating permits.

Commissioners debated how prescriptive the zoning amendments should be and whether the draft struck an appropriate balance between regulation and allowing projects to remain in the city rather than move to unincorporated areas outside the city’s authority. Several commissioners said they supported stronger setbacks and tougher limits on where data centers may be sited; others said the proposed draft is a reasonable starting framework that staff can refine.

After deliberation, Commissioner Wurman moved to deny the draft amendment and Commissioner Rogers seconded. The motion to recommend denial carried 7–4. The commission’s recommendation is advisory; Fort Worth City Council will receive the staff‑draft ordinance and the commission’s recommendation and is scheduled to consider related items including zoning and noise and water policies in August.

What happens next: the City Manager’s Office said staff will continue to collect public feedback through July 15, incorporate technical input, and present updated material to City Council in early August. The zoning commission’s recommendation to deny will travel with the staff packet to the council for final action on the proposed ordinance.

Key quote: “We are setting a standard … a development either meets it or they don’t develop,” Jessica McCacker said, describing staff’s intent to set thresholds that projects must meet to move forward.

Outcome: The commission recommended denial (motion passed 7–4). The text amendment and related policy proposals will be returned to council with the commission’s recommendation and the public record.