Judge delays decision on controversial Westlake data center proposal
A Tarrant County judge on Friday delayed a decision on the future of a controversial proposed Westlake data center, saying she needed more time to review recent court filings.
Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick set a hearing for October 23 and dissolved the temporary restraining order.
The decision came after attorneys dropped hundreds of pages of new documents late Thursday.
Westlake welcomes the delay
"We are confidence the entire dispute will be fully resolved during the upcoming October 23 hearing," said town spokesman Jon Sasser. "Westlake will continue to follow the directives laid out by Gov. Abbott regarding the development of data centers."
The Lakes of Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association and the City of Keller filed suit against Westlake, alleging that the town violated its own zoning ordinances and attempted to conceal the development's true purpose.
The suit alleges the site plan omits the 150-foot setback and landscaped buffer mandated by the town's zoning ordinance between the data center and the plaintiff's single-family homes. In December 2024, the town's planning and zoning commission considered a text amendment that would nearly double the permitted building height from 45 to 80 feet. The agenda's notice did not contain the words "data center," according to the lawsuit.
Homeowners ask Gov. Abbott to act
A spokesman for the homeowners' association, Kevin Myers, told CBS Texas the data center restrictions put in place by Gov. Abbott will prevent Westlake from moving forward with the project in the short term.
"Gov. Abbott has put out some directives, and a couple of them are that data centers aren't to impact neighborhoods or the Texas way of life," Myers said. "Gov. Abbott needs to... put out a specific set of guidelines as to what that means."
