Denton council eyes data center rule rewrite and a freeze Oct. 13
One meeting, two data center items: a public hearing on rewriting the use rules and a staff discussion of a freeze. Nothing is adopted yet.
Denton’s City Council is asked to take up data centers twice on Oct. 13: a public hearing on rewriting where and how they can be built, and a work session on whether to pause them altogether. Both are proposals. Neither has been adopted.
For a developer or contractor with a data center or industrial site in Denton, the same meeting could change the zoning rules and open a discussion of a freeze. Treat entitlement timing as unsettled until the council acts.
Why it matters
The hearing item, DCA26-0007a, would amend Denton’s Development Code in three places. It would change Table 5.2-A, the table of allowed uses, covering which zoning districts permit Modular and Warehouse Data Centers. It would change Subsection 5.3.6, the use-specific standards for those same types under Industrial Uses. And it would add a Section 9.2 definition of “Enterprise Data Center.”
The Planning and Zoning Commission already voted 5-0 to recommend approval. That vote is a recommendation, and the council decides.
The second item, 26-1604, asks the council to receive a report, hold a discussion and give staff direction on a proposed data center moratorium. A work session produces direction to staff, not an ordinance.
The numbers
- 5-0: the Planning and Zoning Commission vote recommending approval of the code amendments.
- $2,000: the maximum penalty per violation written into the proposed ordinance.
- 30 minutes: the agenda’s estimated time for the moratorium discussion.
- 3 code sections touched: Table 5.2-A, Subsection 5.3.6 and Section 9.2.
The agenda item for the moratorium does not state a length, a geographic scope or a named project. The agenda names no developer or applicant.
Denton’s industrial pipeline is active. The city issued a $70 million clearing and grading permit on Sept. 16 for a logistics site on Westcourt Road, as covered in our earlier report. That permit is for logistics, not a data center.
What’s next
The council meets Oct. 13, 2026. If it adopts the amendments, the new use table and standards would take effect on the date the ordinance sets. On the moratorium, staff would take direction from the discussion, and any freeze would need a separate council action.
For wider context on regional filings, see DFW data center pipeline filings and the Dallas-Fort Worth market page.
Sources: Oct. 13 agenda PDF, DCA26-0007a, 26-1604.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordThe Oct. 13, 2026 Denton council agenda pairs a public hearing on item DCA26-0007a (changes to Table 5.2-A, Subsection 5.3.6 and a new Section 9.2 definition of Enterprise Data Center, penalty up to $2,000) with a 30-minute work session on item 26-1604, the proposed data center moratorium.View the record on legistar2.granicus.com
On the record
- Primary recordCity of Denton City Council agenda, Oct. 13, 2026 (agenda PDF, public hearing item DCA26-0007a and work session item 26-1604)legistar2.granicus.com/denton-tx/meetings/2026/10/5107_A_City_Council_26-10-13_Meeting_Agenda.pdf
- Primary recordDenton City Council meeting detail, Oct. 13, 2026denton-tx.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?LEGID=5107&GID=371&G=A1619B3C-1B45-4681-B45C-0B3DA512F5D1
- Also reported by
- Denton Legistar, file DCA26-0007a, Data Center Code Amendmentsdenton-tx.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=L&ID=32606
- Denton Legistar, file 26-1604, proposed data center moratorium work session reportdenton-tx.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=L&ID=32772