North Richland Hills TX data center SUP regulations (2026)
North Richland Hills, Texas — Data Centers Removed From By-Right Development and Made Subject to a Special Use Permit, With Residential Distance Rules, Cooling and Water Restrictions and Developer-Funded Site Testing (July 27, 2026)
North Richland Hills, TX · City of North Richland Hills, Tex. — data center zoning regulations requiring a Special Use Permit (adopted July 27, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- July 27, 2026
- Applies to
- Developers of new data centers in North Richland Hills, who must obtain a Special Use Permit, meet residential distance requirements and cooling and water restrictions, and fund site testing
- Enforced by
- City of North Richland Hills Planning and Development / NRH Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council (Special Use Permits)
North Richland Hills City Council unanimously approved updated data center regulations on July 27, 2026. The central change is a change of permission type rather than a prohibition: data centers had been allowed BY RIGHT in certain commercial and industrial areas, meaning a developer meeting the zoning standards could build one without discretionary approval. The city now requires a Special Use Permit for any new data center. That single move converts data centers from an as-of-right use into one the council must affirmatively approve case by case, which is the most consequential thing a city can do short of banning them, and it is the change most often buried in coverage that describes 'new regulations.' The package also includes additional distance requirements from residential properties, restrictions on the types of cooling systems and on water usage, and site testing to be completed at the developer's expense — putting the cost of establishing a project's impacts on the applicant rather than the city. The city acted under pressure: a second data center was proposed in North Richland Hills in June 2026 and many residents opposed it, and the mayor said publicly that data centers near homes are not beneficial. The process ran through a June 22 council work session, a July 20 Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing and the July 27 council hearing. North Richland Hills is in Tarrant County, in the same county as Fort Worth, which took a different route.
Who is protected: North Richland Hills residents, particularly those living near commercial and industrial zones where data centers were previously permitted by right
Legal detail
City of North Richland Hills, Tex. (Tarrant County) — updated data center zoning regulations, approved UNANIMOUSLY by the City Council following a public hearing at its meeting of Monday, July 27, 2026. THE CENTRAL CHANGE: data centers are NO LONGER PERMITTED BY RIGHT in certain commercial and industrial areas; the city NOW REQUIRES A SPECIAL USE PERMIT for any new data center. Converting a by-right use into a discretionary special-use approval is the most significant regulatory step short of prohibition, because it restores case-by-case council control over siting, conditions and denial — and it is routinely under-reported as merely 'new regulations'. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS: (a) additional DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS from residential properties; (b) RESTRICTIONS ON TYPES OF COOLING SYSTEMS and on WATER USAGE — the cooling-technology restriction mirrors the evaporative-cooling prohibition contemplated in Aurora CO resolution directing data center regulations, moratorium rejected (2026); (c) SITE TESTING TO BE COMPLETED AT THE DEVELOPER'S EXPENSE, shifting the cost of establishing a project's impacts onto the applicant rather than the municipal budget, which is a cost-allocation choice few of the instruments in this dataset make explicitly. PROCEDURAL SEQUENCE: City Council work session June 22, 2026 → Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing July 20, 2026 → City Council public hearing and vote July 27, 2026. TRIGGER: a SECOND data center was proposed in North Richland Hills (the Provident project) in June 2026 and drew substantial resident opposition; the Mayor publicly opposed data centers sited near homes. REGIONAL CONTRAST: Fort Worth, in the same county, took the moratorium-process route instead (Fort Worth TX 90-day moratorium process + Data Center Commission (Aug 11, 2026)), while NRH went straight to permanent standards. RELATED LEAD: North Little Rock, Ark. approved data center zoning regulations on 2026-09-14 and is not indexed.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | North Richland Hills, TX |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | July 27, 2026 |
| Citation | City of North Richland Hills, Tex. — data center zoning regulations requiring a Special Use Permit (adopted July 27, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | No new data center may be established by right; a Special Use Permit is required and may be denied |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| Agency page | Data Centers — City of North Richland Hills, TX (official) |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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