Fort Worth City Council members unanimously approved the first steps to initiate a 90-day moratorium on accepting, processing and approving new applications for data centers within city limits.
The details
Approval of beginning the moratorium process was the first of three data center-related items on the agenda at the Aug. 11 meeting. The other items included the creation of the Fort Worth Data Center & Infrastructure Commission and an ordinance amending the city code on filing requirements for applications to develop data centers to mirror requirements issued by Gov. Greg Abbott Aug. 3.
The latter two items passed 10-1. District 7 council member Macy Hill voted no on the commission, while District 10 council member Chris Jamieson voted no on amending the requirements.
Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct an audit of all data centers seeking to connect to the power grid, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
“This is an urgent moment and we have the opportunity to lead by example in Fort Worth to enact smart regulations and bolster existing ordinances that put our city and its residents first,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.
In a nutshell
Jesica McEachern, Fort Worth's assistant city manager, outlined the following steps and possible dates for the 90-day moratorium process on data center development to go into effect:
- Oct. 9: notice of first public hearing
- Nov. 3: committee to present findings at city council work session
- Nov. 10: first public hearing
- Nov. 13: notice for second public hearing
- Jan. 5: second public hearing
- Jan. 12: first reading of proposed ordinance
- Feb. 16: second reading of proposed ordinance and adoption of moratorium by council supermajority, or seven of 11 council members
- May 17: end of 90-day moratorium
- Aug. 15: end of 180-day moratorium if additional 90-day extension is approved
McEachern said the moratorium does not apply to planned or approved projects or projects with zoning applications already submitted. She said that under state law, those already in the works can choose to develop under the current standard or they could voluntarily develop to meet the higher standards.
“We would rather a development still want to come into the city where we can then apply our development regulations,” she said. “Versus a development occurring in the ETJ [extraterritorial jurisdiction] or even just outside our city limits that is pulling from the same water resources we are, but where we would have no development authority to regulate setbacks, noise and lighting.”
Zooming in
The commission would be comprised of 11 members and would be led by Michael Slattery, a professor at TCU and the director of the Institute for Environmental Studies, according to the presentation.
McEachern said the areas of study for the commission would be electricity and energy; water use and local resources; land use and neighborhood impacts; and economic development and fiscal impacts.
“We can't regulate anything that's outside of our control, and that includes electricity and energy,” McEachern said. “However, we are asking that the commission would look at it through the lens of the impact of any additional loads on the grid and the impact that it would have on Fort Worth ratepayers.”
McEachern said concerns include the distance of data centers from residential development and the impact of noise and lighting in those areas. She said the commission would conduct academic research and look at public comments the city has received, including more than 1,600 survey responses.
What they’re saying
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) was one of more than 50 public speakers.
"A moratorium passed by the Fort Worth City Council would send a signal to the state legislature and maybe even to the governor and lieutenant governor," she said. "As I have been traveling around the state, I have been hearing from so many people about all the issues and concerns around data centers. Originally, I thought it was mainly about water and electricity, but it's so much more. I think it behooves the legislature to put in place some regulations, transparency of energy and water use [to make] sure that the data center companies that are building them aren't pushing those costs for new transmission of energy and water onto households."
The background
Five Fort Worth council members proposed a moratorium in a July 9 joint news release, according to previous reporting.
Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores and council members Elizabeth Beck, Mia Hall, Jeanette Martinez and Chris Nettles were part of the press release. The remaining four members of council and Mayor Parker were not asked to sign the joint release.
The Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted July 8 to deny a proposed ordinance that would restrict where data centers could be located in Fort Worth.
