The Fort Worth City Council will hold a work session Tuesday to receive an update on proposed regulations governing local data center developments, including potential building restrictions and a path toward a moratorium.
City staff are set to present council members with regulatory options, community feedback, and the formal process required to enact a temporary halt on new facilities.
If data center projects are permitted to proceed, officials are considering stricter standards to mitigate environmental and neighborhood impacts. Proposed rules include requiring a 250-foot building setback from residential properties and mandating a 50-foot landscaped buffer designed to dampen operational noise.
Water conservation is also a central focus of the proposal. To protect municipal water supplies, the city is weighing a requirement that would force data centers to utilize closed-loop cooling systems.
Council members could vote as early as next week to initiate the legal process, which would trigger a months-long period of public hearings before a full moratorium could be enacted.
