Fort Worth Approves Data Center Over Concerns of Environmental Justice Threat

The Fort Worth City Council agreed last month to allow the construction of a 121-acre data center project at Rock Creek Ranch straddling a portion of the Chisholm Trail Parkway just west of Crowley. 

Supporters tout the project as a potential economic boon for the City of Fort Worth and Tarleton State University. But opponents say the health and well-being of thousands of residents in the nearby Panther Heights and several Crowley neighborhoods are potentially at risk. 

Linda Beckman, president of Panther Heights Neighborhood Association, spoke at the Sept. 17 Fort Worth City Council meeting, saying that the Rock Creek Data Center would add to the tax base and serve as an investment in the future. 

“While it is an uncomfortable notion to support a building project like this when we have so few examples to compare it to, I am confident that developers have made ample conciliatory gestures, most notably the addition of a 15-acre park and walking trails west of our phase three, which was actually in response to a suggestion made by the opposition,” Beckman said. “A project like this can be a tech incubator, connecting our schools to the data center and Tarleton to create vocational programs for future leaders of our community.” 

Opposition to Rock Creek Data Center

In a press release sent days before the City Council meeting, advocates with “Neighbors Working Together” said the City Council has not conducted an environmental impact study on the effects of the proposed development of industrial warehouse-size data centers.

“Local leaders are failing to consider alternative uses for the land, including features like those at Cypress Waters in Dallas County,” the opposing neighbors said at a Sept. 14 press conference. “The richly diverse neighborhoods being threatened are home to hundreds of families, including military veterans who moved there following years of service to our country for the peace the area offered — until now. The data center project is being fast-tracked ahead of a new residential development that will place more homes immediately next door to buildings that will dwarf the houses.”

Caleb Roberts, executive director of Downwinders at Risk, said the advocacy group is not involved in the planned Fort Worth project but he has general concerns about data centers as an industrial use.

“Data centers are known to use an exorbitant amount of energy,” Roberts said. “Some reports claim that a single data center can use an equivalent amount of energy as 50,000 single-family homes. That’s about 13% of the housing units in Fort Worth.”

Watch the Sept. 17 Fort Worth City Council meeting here. Discussion on the Rock Creek Data Center zoning case begins around the 53-minute mark. 

Fort Worth Approves Zoning for Data Center

The project is not a Bitcoin operation but rather a data center for AI services, cell phone connectivity, Internet storage, or streaming services, said Travis Clegg, director of Westwood Professional Services and a representative for developers with Arizona-based Walton Global. The proposed site will consist of five buildings, about 1.5 million square feet on 90 of the 120 acres, Clegg said. The closest residence is about 1,400 feet away, he added. 

According to the Sept. 17 meeting minutes, the proposal was amended, and below is exactly what was approved. 

District 6 Councilman Jared Williams, who represents the Rock Creek area, made the motion to approve, which was seconded by Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck with the following changes: 

Amend “PD 1091” Planned Development for all uses in “F” General Commercial plus data center, excluding Bitcoin mining and all industrial uses with the following development standards:

• A maximum building height of 105 feet from the proposed grade, which is proposed at 30 feet below the existing grade of Phase 3 of the Panther Heights neighborhood, including a parapet wall on the roof. 
• Construction traffic access will be limited to Chisholm Trail Parkway, FM 1187 up to Old Granbury Road. Construction traffic is prohibited from accessing the neighborhoods of Summer Creek Drive. 
• A 15-foot wall around the generators and placement of generators to the south of each building constructed. 
• Treeline buffer along Stewart-Feltz Road along the property line and around the perimeter of the buildings. 
• A 35% open space requirement. 
• Site plan required. 

The motion passed 7-2. Council members Chris Nettles and Gyna Bivens, wary of the project’s potential height, voted to strike down the request, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The rest of the council rallied behind Williams, who defended its virtues and said he’d been working with neighbors and developers since May to fine-tune the project. Council members Charles Lauersdorf and Beck were absent when the vote was taken.

Neighbors said Councilman Williams and the developer went to great lengths to address concerns about traffic, noise, road development, and aesthetics. Williams said his support of the project was a vote for the use, but if the water study comes back and more water is required than the city can provide, the request would be denied. Additionally, if an electrical permit is denied by Oncor or the state, the project will not go forward, Williams said.

“You all have to come back not only to the zoning commission but to the City Council and before the neighborhood to make sure that the promises you committed to, you uphold,” Williams told the developers.