Fort Worth City Council voted 7-4 Tuesday for an amended site plan<\/a> that accounts for 187 acres of the project headed by Black Mountain.\u00a0<\/p>\n The language in the plan presented in Tuesday\u2019s docket requested the addition of an electrical substation, a maximum building height increase to 70 feet and a maximum distance requirement of 150 feet between the facility and homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the requests of council members Michael Crain and Chris Nettles, the vote was made to approve the site plan and amend the zoning item\u2019s language to reflect a maximum distance of 300 feet between homes and the data center.<\/p>\n Black Mountain CEO Rhett Bennett prefaced the vote by stating the buildings in the revised blueprint are already more than 300 feet away from homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s vote came after the site plan was twice tabled by the council; it was originally scheduled for votes in May<\/a> and June<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to the substation, the 187-acre blueprint includes four buildings that will serve as the data center\u2019s campus, located south of Lon Stephenson Road, east of Forest Hill Drive and west of Anglin Drive.<\/p>\n This is a change from the first draft of the plan, which originally called for 18 buildings encompassing 3 million square feet. The four buildings now account for just over a million square feet in ground space and are separated from homes with trees and green space.<\/p>\n Building heights were originally planned to max out at 55 feet. The new height of 70 feet reduced the development\u2019s land use by 50%, according to a presentation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re here for today is to vote on a site plan that I think is most appropriate for the neighborhood given that the acreage has already been rezoned,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important that we get this right.\u201d<\/p>\n Emerald Khan, a local business owner, expressed her support for the newly presented plan to council members.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI support the better plan \u2026 and pair it with measurable local business engagement,\u201d Khan said. \u201cFort Worth is a city where large investments and small enterprises grow together.\u201d<\/p>\n While some echoed Khan\u2019s support for the new plan, citing increased job opportunities and tax dollars for local schools, other speakers remained wary of the data center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ambika Sharma, a community activist who\u2019s pushed for a moratorium<\/a>, urged council members to table the vote until after the city\u2019s newly formed Data Center and Infrastructure Commission<\/a> provides regulations crafted by its members.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that you\u2019re also financially vesting in that,\u201d Sharma said. \u201cSo if we\u2019re going to make investment in soliciting expert opinions and expert suggestions, let\u2019s wait for those suggestions to be provided.\u201d<\/p>\n Before casting a vote, council member Mia Hall said she has struggled to find a balance with making a decision on Black Mountain given her support for a moratorium but also how far along the data center is in permitting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about a site plan,\u201d Hall said. \u201cFor me, I always want to represent the people that are most impacted. \u2026 I can\u2019t stop a data center from being there. To me, the most important part is to provide the protections or the site plan that is least intrusive, I guess, to the people it\u2019s going to be the most proximate to.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Report\u2019s environment coverage is supported by the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Black-Mountain-site-plan-1024x683.png\")
A rendering reflects the revised site plan for Black Mountain\u2019s data center in southeast Fort Worth. (Courtesy | Black Mountain)<\/p>\n