Fort Worth Zoning Commission Backs Black Mountain's Data Center Plan

0:00It's April 9th. This is Dallas News today, AI-powered stories from your city. Fort Worth's Zoning Commission just gave a unanimous thumbs up to recommend City Council approval for Black Mountain's tweaks to their massive 10 billion dollar data center plan on the southwest side. This energy group wants to rezone about 431 acres for the project, even as pushback from locals heats up. Earlier this week, they finally reviewed the site plan for the 187 acres spot at Lawn Stephenson Road and Forest Hill Drive, which Council already re-zoned last year. The campus would cover 232.5 acres with four buildings up to 68 feet tall, 2.2 million square feet. Inside, a central encore power substation, and around 300 parking spots. They bumped the setback from the road to 150 feet to ease things for nearby homes. People didn't show up fired up, pointing out broken promises from the CEO to introduce the operator at a community meet, and they pushed hard to delay.

1:03The vote till June, folks worry, this giant setup will bring noise, traffic, and other headaches to their quiet neighborhoods. Black Mountain insists grid approvals are in place, and their studies show no health risks, while one commissioner called his straight-up progress in, the age of AI in 5G. They approve with eight city staff conditions attached. Next up, two rezoning chunks covering 87 acres head to Council in June, so the real decision still looms as his battle plays out.