Data center approvals in City of Fort Worth, TX

Updated October 2026

Data centers are a by-right use in the right districts, so the clock is the site plan and permit sequence rather than a vote. Hearings: Zoning Commission → City Council.

What the timeline looks like

working days; discretionaryApproval converts the City's published '3 months from the monthly application deadline' for a zoning change with an allowance for PD conditions; sitePlan is the platting plus IPRC/CFA sequence (published cycles 21/7 calendar days for plats, 10 business days IPRC first review); gradingPermit covers the drainage study and grading permit (published 10 business days each, two cycles); buildingPermit is two cycles at the published 7-business-day first review; the rest are estimates from the published process

What slows projects here

• Data centers are a by-right use in the right districts, so the clock is the site plan and permit sequence rather than a vote.
• Data centers ('buildings designed to house computers and support systems used mainly to provide data/transaction processing') are a defined use permitted by right in the I Light, J Medium and K Heavy Industrial districts under the Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance with only the general industrial development standards (50 ft side/rear setback adjacent to one- and two-family residential, 55 ft height in I / 120 ft in J and K, landscaping of 4% of net site area or a 30 ft depth along roadways, 20% retained-and-planted canopy, zero foot-candles within 150 ft of a residential district with 20 ft fixture height); there are no data-center-specific standards as of 2026-10-31 (City Manager's June 2, 2026 deck, slides 15-16, verified from the PDF text 2026-10-31). Sites in any other district need a zoning change or Planned Development: Zoning Commission public hearing and recommendation, then City Council public hearing the following month; denial or post-notice withdrawal bars a similar application for 12 months. Proposed citywide data center standards (prohibit crypto mining as primary use; 250 ft building setback from residential districts and uses with parking allowed in the supplemental setback; standby generators at least 300 ft from residential and fully screened; rooftop cooling behind an acoustic barrier 1.5x the equipment height; lighting rules extended to residential uses; 50 ft landscape bufferyard and screening fence; continuous evergreen row along residential perimeters) were recommended for denial 7-4 by the Zoning Commission on July 8, 2026 and were not adopted by Council on Aug 11, 2026; large campuses are being approved as PDs with similar conditions (Black Mountain, ZC-26-041, Aug 25, 2026, 7-4, 300 ft setback from residential property lines, 70 ft height, substation allowed). Since Aug 11, 2026 a new data center must also show proof of all PUCT/ERCOT permits and approvals before the City accepts a development permit application, must use closed-loop cooling and must obtain an NSIU wastewater pretreatment permit (Fort Worth Water service area).
• Moratorium proposed: Council voted unanimously on Aug 11, 2026 to initiate a 90-day moratorium on new data center development applications under Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ch. 212 Subch. E (commercial property moratorium; written findings under Sec. 212.1352). Schedule as published: notice Oct 9; first public hearing Nov 10, 2026; second hearing Jan 5, 2027 (hearings at least 30 days apart with newspaper notice 30 days before each, Sec. 212.134); first reading Jan 12, 2027; second reading and adoption Feb 16, 2027 (readings at least 28 days apart; three-fourths of all Council members, 9 of 11); 90-day term ending May 17, 2027, extendable once by up to 90 days; two-year bar on a repeat data center moratorium. The City's page states it does not apply to vested projects, approved projects or projects with zoning applications already submitted (read 2026-10-31). The Sec. 212.134 procedure was verified against the statute: newspaper notice not later than the 30th day before each hearing, second hearing no earlier than the 30th day after the first, final determination begun within 12 days after the second hearing, at least two readings not less than 28 days apart, three-fourths of all members on final reading. The Data Center & Infrastructure Commission (created Aug 11, 2026 by a 10-1 vote; up to 11 members) reports at a special Council work session Nov 10, 2026, 4 p.m.; permanent zoning, noise, water and incentive standards are expected to follow its recommendations. Separately, the Governor's Aug 3, 2026 directive paused new ERCOT data center interconnections pending an ERCOT verification and audit due to the PUCT by Dec 10, 2026.
• Notice rules are a veto point: Newspaper publication (and City website) at least 15 days before the Council hearing; written notice mailed or emailed at least 10 days before the Zoning Commission hearing to owners within 200 ft on the latest approved tax roll by statute (mail or electronic delivery), which Fort Worth extends to 300 ft, plus courtesy notices to registered neighborhood organizations within one-half mile (City zoning page; sign posting is not stated there, confirm the practice). Written protest signed by owners of at least 20% of the area within the proposed change, or 20% of the adjoining area within 200 ft, requires a three-fourths vote of all Council members (Sec. 211.0061(b), (d); for residential-only upzonings the signature threshold is 60% and the vote a simple majority). Statute and City page verified 2026-10-31. (Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Sec. 211.006(a) (newspaper and website, 15 days); Sec. 211.007(c) (written notice to owners within 200 ft, 10 days before the zoning commission hearing); Sec. 211.0061 (protests, HB 24 eff. Sept 1, 2025); Fort Worth zoning change procedure (300 ft mailed notice)). A defective notice can void an approval after the fact.
• Citywide data center standards (zoning, noise, water, incentives) presented June 2, 2026; open house June 30; Zoning Commission recommended denial 7-4 on July 8, 2026 asking for stricter rules and more time; Council on Aug 11, 2026 adopted the water requirements (closed-loop cooling, NSIU permit) and the PUCT/ERCOT proof-of-approval application requirement, created the Data Center & Infrastructure Commission (10-1) and initiated the moratorium (unanimous) instead of voting the zoning text.
• Black Mountain data center PD (ZC-26-041, west Fort Worth): Zoning Commission advanced it in April 2026; Council approved the revised PD 7-4 on Aug 25, 2026 with a 300 ft setback of data center buildings from neighboring residential property lines, 70 ft building height, an electrical substation and reduced parking (as reported by Dallas Express; verify in Legistar).
• Edged Veale Ranch ($1.1B): Council postponed the 50% / 10-year business personal property tax abatement vote in early April 2026 after resident pushback (projected $16M abated vs $47M revenue over the term, as reported by KERA); Celestica's data center infrastructure plant received a 10-year abatement of up to 80% (about $41.7M) in May 2026.

What to do about it

• Run the utility large-load study, the state air permit and the land-use approval in parallel from day one; they are separate authorities and nothing requires them in sequence.
• Lock the generator count, size, tier and classification before filing: a density change reopens the air permit, the noise study and the utility load letter together.
• Treat every statutory notice as a checklist with evidence (advertisement text and dates, mailing receipts, posted signs) reviewed by counsel against the statute in force on the hearing date.
• Carry the 10-day appeal window after the approval on the schedule; lenders and tenants will not close across it.
• Use third-party plan review where the code allows it to take plan check off the critical path.
• File complete so the 30-day review clock starts; most delay in review is correction cycles, not review time.

Sources

• City of Fort Worth - Data Centers topic page (status of regulations, moratorium, DCIC, adopted water requirements) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Data Center Development Regulations - City Council work session, June 2, 2026 (current zoning, proposed standards, noise, water, incentives) — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth news: Data centers update (Aug 11, 2026 Council actions) — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth news: DCIC schedule update (Sept 29, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Fort Worth Report: Data center moratorium takes first steps after Fort Worth City Council's unanimous vote (Aug 12, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
• KERA: Zoning commissioners deny data center rules, return ordinance to Fort Worth City Council (July 9, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Dallas Express: Fort Worth advances $10 billion data center after heated debate (Black Mountain PD, Aug 25, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
• KERA: $1B data center stalls; city, residents raise questions about tax break (Apr 1, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth Development Services - Zoning (change process, 300 ft notice, 12-month refiling bar) — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance (code library) — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth Development Services - Review timeframes — accessed 2026-10-31
• City of Fort Worth Development Services - Platting information — accessed 2026-10-31

Timelines are general information drawn from the sources listed, not advice on a specific project. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the authority.