Westlake Says It Discussed the Circle T Data Center in Public in 2025. Why Did the Neighbors Next Door Hear About It in 2026?

"Any suggestion that this project was developed in secret or without the knowledge of Keller officials is simply not accurate." The Town of Westlake posted that on August 1, 2026, three days after it publicly announced the Circle T data center.

Both sides can be telling the truth. Westlake's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended changes to development performance standards on December 10, 2024, and its Town Council approved the text amendments on January 6, 2025. According to the town, those meetings were publicly noticed, livestreamed, and archived, named the project as a data center, and allowed public comment. Westlake announced the project on social media on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, about eighteen months after that council vote. Keller resident Kevin Myers, who can see the site through a hole in his fence, told NBC 5 he first learned about the project from that post.

Anyone shopping for a home within sight of a city limit sign should understand that gap. The town that zones a piece of land also decides, under state law, whose mailbox the notice goes to. Closeness doesn't put you on that list. Being on that town's tax roll does.

What Is Planned at US 377 and Westport Parkway

Westlake's agenda describes the site as roughly 87.96 acres at the northeast corner of U.S. 377 and Westport Parkway. The land sits in Planned Development District 3-8, and Westlake says data centers are already a permitted use there. Its Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan, with three conditions, on August 4, 2026. The address is 13580 Denton Highway. Site plans reviewed by Data Center Dynamics show up to four 300,000-square-foot buildings totaling 300 megawatts. Local coverage gives about 1.1 million square feet, a bit under the 1.2 million those four buildings would add up to.

PowerHouse Data Centers, a division of American Real Estate Partners, is the developer. The listed owner is Circle T Owner LP. The Star-Telegram reported that Tarrant Appraisal District records tie that partnership to Hillwood, and that it had no information on which company would actually run the facility.

The zoning detail that matters most: under the town's documents, the first data center on this land is allowed by right. Any data centers after that would need a specific use permit. Westlake's position is that the development agreement now in dispute controls how the facility gets built, not whether it can exist. By the time residents in The Lakes at Marshall Ridge learned of it, the "whether" question had already been settled in Westlake's view, about 500 feet from their back fences. Keller puts the distance at 506 feet. The Star-Telegram's September reporting says about 550.

The Notice Rule Follows the Tax Roll

Texas cities do mail notice of zoning changes to nearby owners. The question is who counts as nearby. Under Texas Local Government Code §211.007(c), when the zoning commission holds a hearing on a proposed change to a zoning classification, written notice goes out at least 10 days ahead to:

each owner, as indicated by the most recently approved municipal tax roll, of real property within 200 feet of the property on which the change in classification is proposed

The mailing list comes from the municipality's own tax roll. The statute has a separate provision for land a city has annexed that isn't on its roll yet. It doesn't clearly say what happens to homes that sit in a different city altogether. Westlake has argued it had no obligation to notify people outside its limits. At an August 26 hearing, the two sides also argued over whether the 2024 and 2025 "text amendments" were a substantive zoning change in the first place. The plaintiffs say the site plan leaves out a required 150-foot setback and landscaped buffer. That is an allegation, and no court has ruled on it. No court has decided the cross-boundary notice question either.

Westlake's account adds one more layer. The town says it met with Keller's former mayor and current city manager in December 2024, walked through a preliminary site plan, and left that meeting with Keller's support. Taken at face value, that shows the information reached Keller's officials. It doesn't show it reached homeowners. A briefing between governments and a letter in a homeowner's mailbox are different channels, and the July reaction suggests this news traveled through only one of them.

Why the Two Towns See It So Differently

The incentives explain most of what has happened since. Westlake Mayor Kim Greaves has said the data center will grow the tax base, help pay for public infrastructure and Westlake Academy, and ease the tax burden on Westlake residents. PowerHouse has paid Oncor to build a 350-megawatt substation that will serve both the data center and the town's pump station at no cost to residents.

Keller's homeowners get none of that revenue. They do get the proximity. Keller's own page acknowledges the site is outside its zoning and land-use jurisdiction. On August 13, 2026, the Keller City Council voted 7 to 0 to formally oppose the project. Its resolution asked for a 90-day pause on the agreement, more noise and environmental analysis, disclosure of energy and water use, and either moving the facility north or keeping 1,200 yards between it and Keller homes.

Both towns point in the same direction. In its August statement, Westlake listed its own commitments: place the facility as far north on the property as possible, beyond the required setback, hold it to Westlake's noise ordinance, and add extensive landscape screening with mature vegetation. What they're really disagreeing about is how far north and how far away is enough. Keller Mayor Ross McMullin has said both cities are asking the same question about how close data centers should be to neighborhoods, and that the state needs to give cities guidance.

Where the Dispute Stands as of Early October 2026

Judge Fitzpatrick dissolved the restraining order because the two sides had filed about 1,000 pages the night before, which she said left her no time to review them properly. She didn't rule on the merits. Westlake spokesperson Jon Sasser said the town expects the whole dispute to be resolved at the October 23 hearing. We found no rescheduled council vote as of this writing.

State rules have tightened alongside the local fight. Governor Greg Abbott's June 10 directive requires data centers to pay for their electric infrastructure. His August 3 audit order asks each project for information on setbacks, noise and light mitigation, and traffic, though it sets no specific distance. The September 21 directive says data centers "must abide by setback requirements that will protect the communities in which they operate." According to the Star-Telegram, PowerHouse has agreed to follow the state audit guidelines. A statewide setback number would be the first protection here that doesn't depend on which side of a town line you live on. So far, none has been published.

Questions Worth Asking Before an Offer Near a Boundary

None of this is legal advice. It's the due diligence this dispute shows to be useful anywhere in Northeast Tarrant County, where Westlake, Keller, Southlake, Roanoke, and Trophy Club sit close together.

1. Which city's limits is the house in, and how far is the nearest boundary? A Keller address next to Westlake land means two zoning maps, and only one of them sends you mail.
2. How are the neighboring town's tracts zoned? Look up the planned development or base zoning for any large undeveloped parcel nearby, not only the lots on your street.
3. What's allowed by right, and what needs a specific use permit? At Circle T, the first data center needed no further land-use approval. A use permit usually brings a public hearing. A by-right use may not.
4. Have there been recent text amendments? Changes to performance standards in a planned development can matter as much as a map change, and they may not look like rezoning on an agenda.
5. Is there a development agreement in progress? These often hold the commitments neighbors care about most, such as setbacks, noise limits, and screening.

FAQ

Is the Circle T data center approved? Westlake says the land already allows the first data center by right. We found no record of a council vote on the development agreement that governs how it gets built, and a court hearing on the HOA lawsuit is set for October 23.

Who will operate it? No operator or tenant has been publicly named. PowerHouse Data Centers is the developer.

Does the 2025 Texas grid law, SB 6, set data center setbacks? No. SB 6 covers how large loads connect to the grid and how costs are recovered. It doesn't address land-use setbacks or local zoning notice.

If you're weighing a home near the Westlake and Keller line, or anywhere a neighboring town's zoning reaches your fence, the team at Randy White Real Estate Services can help you pull the nearby zoning, planned development records, and pending agreements before you write an offer. Let's Connect.