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Subject: Restrictions on Data Centers

Dear Councilmember,

This is [Residents’ Name], I live in your district and am reaching out to you due to my concerns around the rapidly growing data center industry in Fort Worth.

We demand:

• Mattie Parker must recuse herself from all votes related to the data center industry due to her husband being a registered lobbyist for the data center industry.

• All elected officials must commit to not taking any money from people/ organizations related to the data center industry including Black Mountain’s CEO Rhett Bennett who has donated $48,500 since 2021.

• The Fort Worth Mayor and Council must pass the 90 day data center moratorium and extend the moratorium for an additional 90 day term.

• While Fort Worth looks into a Data Center Moratorium the city council must deny all permits for data center construction.

• Fort Worth must ban data center construction in all areas of Fort Worth through zoning reforms.

• Fort Worth’s ‘Data Center Task Force’ must be updated so all voting members are Fort Worth Residents.

• Fort Worth must make all Data Centers ineligible for all tax abatements and other economic incentives issued by Fort Worth.

With Regards, [Residents’ Name]

DSA FORT WORTH SAYS 'NO' TO DATA CENTERS

Fort Worth is in the middle of a data center boom, putting working-class communities under growing pressure from industrial development, rising demands on our power and water, and severe environmental harm.

Four data centers already operate in Fort Worth, with as many as five more potentially coming in the next five years. Projects like Black Mountain and Edged Data Center have sparked growing community opposition, especially from communities already bearing the brunt of unchecked development.

The city has the tools to act. Fort Worth can regulate zoning, development, noise, water requirements, and local incentives like Chapter 380 agreements. But the policies proposed so far do not go far enough.

PUSHING FOR A MORATORIUM...

On August 11, City Council unanimously voted to begin the process of considering a moratorium. A 90-day moratorium would give residents the time to demand stronger protections while stopping new projects from being approved as the city evaluates the full impact of data center expansion. This is a start, but it does nothing to stop data centers like Black Mountain or Edged Data Centers from destroying our communities. Now we organize.

If City Council is willing to give us a moratorium, we are ready to demand a real one: one that puts working-class communities and not corporations and developers, in control of Fort Worth's future.

OUR DEMANDS

• Mattie Parker must recuse herself from all votes related to the data center industry due to her husband being a registered lobbyist for the data center industry.

• All elected officials must commit to not taking any money from people/ organizations related to the data center industry including Black Mountain’s CEO Rhett Bennett who has donated $48,500 since 2021.

• The Fort Worth Mayor and Council must pass the 90 day data center moratorium and extend the moratorium for an additional 90 day term.

• While Fort Worth looks into a Data Center Moratorium the city council must deny all permits for data center construction.

• Fort Worth must ban data center construction in all areas of Fort Worth through zoning reforms.

• Fort Worth’s ‘Data Center Task Force’ must be updated so all voting members are Fort Worth Residents.

• Fort Worth must make all Data Centers ineligible for all tax abatements and other economic incentives issued by Fort Worth.

KEY FACTS

• Fort Worth currently has four data centers and could have potentially five more built within the next few years.

• Fort Worth already has strained water reservoirs, we receive billions of gallons of water from east Texas through a 150 mile pipeline.

• Black Mountain has purchased 450 acres of land to build its potentially $10 billion data center.

• Black Mountain’s CEO Rhett Bennett has invested an estimated $48,500 into the mayor city council members campaigns including $20,000 to Chris Nettles who “represents” the district Blackmountain is building its data center in.

• Texas has incredibly relaxed environmental and data center regulations, making it extremely vulnerable to corporate exploitation.

• They use a tremendous amount of electricity, “A single modern AI data center can use as much power as 100,000 homes; many of the larger ones now being built are expected to consume up to 20 times that amount” World Resources Institute

• Water usage, “Mid-sized facilities can use up to 300,000 gallons of water a day, while large facilities can consume as much as 5 million gallons daily” World Resources Institute

• Noise, “Data center construction, rooftop cooling systems and backup generators can be disruptively noisy. Smaller diesel generators reportedly reach 85 decibels, levels that can harm hearing. Larger industrial units can approach 100 decibels — equivalent to a motorcycle or jackhammer “World Resources Institute

• Land use, “Massive data centers are reshaping how land is used in many communities. In 2024, the average data center site covered about 224 acres or 0.35 square miles — roughly the size of 450 football fields” World Resources Institute

• Data centers disproportionately affect already marginalized communities, “A national review of roughly 700 data centers across the country found that nearly half are in census tracts with above-median environmental burdens, such as air pollution, park access and water pollution, as measured by the Center for Disease Control’s Environmental Justice Index. Many were located in areas with social vulnerability indicators, such as poverty and lower education levels” World Resources Institute