The Brief
- A Tarrant County judge issued a temporary restraining order halting Westlake’s plans for the Circle T data center just before a scheduled council vote.
- The legal injunction stems from a lawsuit filed by a neighboring Keller homeowner’s association over concerns about noise, power, water usage, and property values.
- The planning process is temporarily on hold while the court prepares for a hearing next week to determine the project’s next steps.
WESTLAKE, Texas – A Tarrant County judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the town of Westlake from moving forward with plans for a data center project.
What’s new:
Westlake Town Council’s special meeting on Monday was set to begin at 4 p.m.
Council members were planning to vote on a development agreement for the Circle T data center, which will be located near the Westlake and Keller border.
Monday’s meeting was not about whether the data center should be on the land. That’s already been decided.
Instead, the council planned to decide on things like architecture and landscaping requirements to ensure proper installation and care of the infrastructure.
However, a Keller homeowner’s association filed a lawsuit. And a Tarrant County judge granted a temporary restraining order just before the start of Monday’s meeting.
The TRO effectively halts the project from moving forward until a hearing can be held next week.
The city council meeting was held, but the vote was postponed until after the August 26 hearing.
What they’re saying:
“We were blindsided by how far this project had progressed before our community became aware of it,” resident Chris Pannel said during the meeting’s public comment. “Even our former mayor had no idea that this project was becoming a reality.”
One Keller resident even wrote a song protesting the data center during public comment.
However, Westlake Mayor Kim Greaves says the two cities discussed the data center project in December 2024, and says Keller built homes near land Westlake had long designated for commercial developments.
“Residential neighborhoods were developed next to property that Westlake had already planned for commercial, industrial uses. Specifically, the 15 homes at the lakes at Marshall Ridge were done without the consultation of Westlake or a review of the existing zoning, and they did not include a buffer zone,” Greaves said.
Jason Friedman, the attorney who filed the TRO on behalf of the Keller homeowner’s association, says Westlake didn’t give neighbors fair notice of the project.
“What they really did was did a wholesale change of the use of the property, and nobody knew about it. It was done in secret, and it was done so nobody could have an opportunity to protest it and oppose it,” Friedman tells FOX 4’s Vania Castillo.
“I want the court to shut it down,” Friedman continued. “You don’t get rewarded for skirting the rules.”
The backstory:
The new data center site is off Highway 377 near the border with the city of Keller.
Many Keller neighbors and city leaders have already spoken out against the project. They’re concerned about electricity use, water consumption, noise, and their property values.
On its website, Westlake said the data center will use less water than a Texas golf course uses in a year and that it will not cause electricity bills in Westlake to increase.
Keller neighbors have hired their own legal council to try to fight the project.
Westlake leaders have said at this point they cannot stop the construction.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Westlake Town Council meeting agenda and past news coverage.
