Five Fort Worth City Council members have called for a moratorium on data-center development, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But the city’s current schedule puts proposed regulations months ahead of any possible pause.
The City of Fort Worth says the proposed data-center regulations are scheduled for council action Aug. 11. By contrast, the earliest a moratorium could take effect would be mid- to late October 2026.
Which projects would be outside a moratorium?
Even if adopted, a moratorium would not apply to projects that are already vested or approved, according to the city. Projects with zoning applications already submitted also would be exempt.
That limitation matters because Fort Worth already has several projects in its development pipeline. The city counts one data-center facility under construction and four proposed within the city limits. Two more are proposed in Fort Worth’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Two different tracks
The council members’ reported request and the city’s documented schedule are separate tracks. The first is a political push to pause some future development. The second is an Aug. 11 vote on proposed regulations.
City staff is not recommending a moratorium. And because of the October timing and the listed exemptions, a future moratorium would neither precede the scheduled regulations nor stop every project already moving through the process.
