A Keller homeowner can see the future site of a 1.1 million square foot data center campus from his backyard. The property line also marks something else: the exact spot where one city's zoning authority ends and another's begins, as the City of Keller explains.
That line, and not the more familiar comparison of home prices or school ratings, is the real subject of a dispute that has occupied Tarrant County courtrooms and two town councils since late July 2026. The land in question sits inside Westlake. The homes closest to it sit in Keller. And the entire fight turns on a fact that matters well beyond this one parcel: a city's zoning power stops precisely at its own boundary, no matter how close the next city's homes happen to sit.
The Line Was Drawn Long Before the Houses Were
The roughly 88-acre site off Highway 377, proposed for a four-building campus known as the Circle T Data Center, has carried commercial and industrial zoning in Westlake since 1998. That predates the houses now closest to it. The Keller neighborhood on the other side of the fence, Marshall Ridge, was zoned residential later: first under a 2006 ordinance, then expanded again under a 2015 ordinance that added 15 more homes directly along the property line shared with the Westlake parcel, according to Westlake's own account of the zoning history.
In other words, the industrial zoning came first. The residential rooftops arrived afterward, built up to a line that had already been designated for a different kind of use. That sequence is the part a headline about "a data center next to a subdivision" tends to skip
The developer behind the project is Hillwood, the company founded by Ross Perot Jr., working with data center operator PowerHouse Data Centers. Westlake's Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan on August 4, 2026, after nearly four hours of public comment. Westlake's town government has described the project as an economic opportunity, estimating it would raise the town's annual revenue by about 14 percent, and has pointed to a proposed $914,000 developer payment toward renovating the municipal pump station next to the site.
Two Cities, One Fence Line, Very Different Authority
Keller's mayor, Ross McMullin, put the jurisdictional problem plainly after his council learned of the project:
Keller leaders cannot rezone the land, deny permits, or impose any conditions on the development.
Keller's city council responded by passing a resolution opposing the project on August 12, 2026, and it later voted to begin the process toward a 90-day moratorium on future data centers inside its own boundaries. Neither action touches the Westlake parcel. Keller can regulate its own future zoning. It cannot reach across the line into Westlake's.
Westlake's mayor, Kim Greaves, framed the town's position around the same boundary, from the opposite side of it, telling residents, according to the Fort Worth Report, that the goal was to "protect our residents and neighbors, respect existing property and zoning rights."
Both statements are true at the same time, which is exactly the friction point. Westlake is exercising zoning authority it has held on this parcel since 1998. Keller has no authority to override it, because the parcel has never been inside Keller's limits.
What the Numbers Look Like From Each Side of the Fence
| Westlake side of the line | Keller side of the line | |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning on the parcel | Commercial/industrial since 1998 | Not applicable, outside city limits |
| Nearest residential rooftop to the site | About 1,200 yards, per Westlake's project page | As close as 506 feet, per the site plan reviewed by NBC 5 |
| Rezoning or permitting authority | Westlake Town Council and Planning & Zoning Commission | None |
The lawsuit itself was filed by the Lakes at Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association along with two residents. It alleges the approved site plan, as CBS News reported, omits a 150-foot setback and landscaped buffer the town's own ordinance requires between the data center and neighboring single-family homes. Westlake's project materials describe a different buffer commitment: a minimum 75-foot landscape buffer along the southern property line, a berm along Highway 377, and an increased building setback beyond what the underlying zoning requires. The two figures, 150 feet alleged versus 75 feet offered, have not been reconciled by a court as of the most recent public reporting, and a Tarrant County judge's restraining order paused any council vote on the project through September 8, 2026, pending a ruling on a longer injunction.
The lawsuit also alleges that a December 2024 planning and zoning text amendment nearly doubled the parcel's permitted building height, from 45 feet to 80 feet, without the notice specifically flagging a data center use. Whether that allegation holds up is now a question for the same court.
What This Means If You're Comparing Boundary-Adjacent Lots
None of this is unique to Westlake, and that's the reason it matters to anyone shopping a wider radius of North Texas suburbs rather than a single town. A parcel's zoning history, not the surrounding town's reputation, determines what can eventually sit behind a specific backyard. A few questions are worth asking before writing an offer on any lot that backs up to a city line, a highway frontage road, or an unusually large undeveloped tract:
- What is the parcel's actual zoning designation, and how long has it carried that designation, not just what the subdivision's own covenants say
- Does any nearby parcel sit inside a different city, and if so, does that neighboring city have any real authority over what gets built there
- Has the underlying zoning or height allowance on an adjacent parcel been amended recently, and did that amendment specifically address the use now being proposed
- What setback and buffer standards are legally required by ordinance versus voluntarily offered by a developer as a courtesy
A title company can confirm the deed. A city's planning department can confirm the zoning map. Neither one will automatically tell a buyer whether a lot two hundred yards from their kitchen window sits inside a jurisdiction that has any say over it.
The Broader Read for North Texas Luxury Buyers
Westlake's overall profile, its scale, its planned communities, its Highway 114 corridor, hasn't changed because of this dispute, and the case has not been decided. What has changed is the assumption that a town's general reputation for careful development standards extends automatically to every parcel inside its limits, or protects every home near its edges. It doesn't. It extends to the parcels that town actually zones, on the timeline that town actually set, sometimes decades before the closest house was ever framed.
That's a useful lens anywhere in North Texas where affluent, well-planned suburbs sit shoulder to shoulder with each other along shared roads and shared fence lines. The town's name on the entry monument tells you a lot. It doesn't tell you who controls the acre behind your fence.
FAQ
Is the Circle T Data Center definitely being built? As of the most recent public reporting, the project has town-level site plan approval but the development agreement remains paused by a Tarrant County court order first issued August 17, 2026 and extended through September 8, 2026. The underlying lawsuit was still active as of that reporting. Anyone evaluating a property near this specific site should check current court records directly, since a case at this stage can move quickly.
Does this affect homes inside Westlake town limits, not just Keller? Westlake's own materials put the closest Westlake residence at roughly 1,200 yards from the site, considerably farther than the closest Keller homes. The lawsuit was filed by Keller-side plaintiffs
How do I check zoning on a specific lot before I write an offer? Every city in North Texas maintains a zoning map through its planning department, and most post current zoning cases and text amendments online. The step buyers skip most often is checking the zoning of adjacent parcels, especially ones just across a city line, rather than only the parcel they're buying.
Boundary lines like this one come up more often in North Texas than most buyers expect, and they rarely show up in a standard listing search. If you're comparing lots near a city line, a highway frontage, or a large undeveloped tract anywhere from Westlake to the surrounding communities, Alex Maloney can walk through the parcel-level zoning questions worth asking before you write an offer. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
