Westlake has started replacing the comprehensive plan it adopted in 2015. The town's request for qualifications set an August 2026 kickoff and said the work should wrap up about 16 months later. On that schedule, the project would finish around the end of 2027. The town has not set an adoption date. At its September 15, 2026 meeting, the Town Council chose the firm LJA as the consultant. Over the next year, the town will hold open houses, run surveys and publish draft maps showing where Westlake expects to grow.
If you're weighing a Westlake address next to open acreage, you may want to wait for those maps. They will tell you less than you'd hope. Texas law and Westlake's own planning documents say a future land use map does not create or remove the right to build anything. Those rights already sit in zoning and Planned Development ordinances, many of them years old. The town's most heated land-use fight of 2026 showed how that works.
The Sentence Every Future Land Use Map Has to Carry
Chapter 213 of the Texas Local Government Code lets a city adopt a comprehensive plan "for the long-range development of the municipality" and decide what the plan contains. It also requires one thing of every future land use map. Section 213.005 says the map must show this statement where people can see it:
"A comprehensive plan shall not constitute zoning regulations or establish zoning district boundaries."
The same chapter lets a city define, by charter or ordinance, how closely its development rules have to match its plan. Westlake's current Land Use Plan answers that question bluntly. Its disclaimer says the districts on the map "in no way modify the permitted uses and/ or conditions of use (FAR, building height, etc.) specified in any zoning or Planned Development Ordinance approved by the Town of Westlake." The map's job, according to the same text, is to guide the Council when it reviews site plans and requests to move commercial square footage between districts. The 2015 plan describes the character it wants to see "manifest in development of existing entitlements." The plan was written around rights that already existed.
In practice, a plan shapes the look and character of what gets built. The zoning or PD ordinance decides whether it can be built at all.
Circle T Showed the Order of Operations
The proposed data center on Circle T land off Highway 377 near Keller went through each layer of Westlake's approval process in turn. Here is how it unfolded:
- The land use was already settled. In an August 10 notice, the town said Council would not vote on whether a data center belonged on the land because "that's already been established." The use was "allowable by right," and Council "does not have the authority to deny the use as a data center."
- The site plan came next. Community Impact reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan on August 4 after extensive public comment, with conditions on sound barriers, equipment acoustics and tree screening. A town spokesperson told the outlet the meeting was about compliance with site-plan standards, since the use was already permitted.
- Then the development agreement. Council scheduled a special meeting for August 17 to vote on it. The town described the agreement as a legally binding document that defines infrastructure, can add architecture and landscaping requirements, and "runs with the land."
- Then the courts. The Fort Worth Report covered a temporary restraining order that stopped Council from moving the agreement forward on the roughly 88-acre proposal. WFAA later reported that the order was dissolved at a September 25 hearing and that another hearing was set for October 23.
All the public debate went to conditions, screening and the agreement. None of it reached the question of use, because an earlier decision had already answered it, and no step on that list involved the comprehensive plan.
Where Rights Actually Moved This Year
When Westlake does change what a property can become, it passes an ordinance for that specific parcel. It happened this summer, while the plan rewrite was still being procured.
On August 18, Council approved Ordinance 1050, rezoning 1.33 acres at 1550 Solana Boulevard from a Planned Development (Entrada) to the Town Center Core Zone. The town said the change allows a modern, contemporary style for a proposed office building, which it described as a better transition to the nearby Ventanas and Knolls developments than the Catalan style previously required. That night Council also approved Ordinance 1049, a set of text changes to the Town Center Form-Based Development District. It limits new monument signs to four feet and, by an added condition, makes "toy store" an allowed use.
Both changes came through public agenda items with ordinance numbers, outside any long-range plan. They are what a buyer near Entrada or Solana would want to find. Details like a lot's allowed architectural style or whether a specific shop is permitted change through ordinances like these, and each one shows up on a council agenda before it takes effect.
What the Rewrite Can Shape
None of this makes the plan unimportant. It controls the next round of proposals, the requests that haven't been filed yet. The 2026 RFQ calls for a new plan that guides policy for 10 years and, preferably, considers land use over 20 years. The areas it names give a fair preview of where Westlake's next debates will happen:
- Economic issues, with emphasis on corporate offices and on commercial development "that serves the ordinary daily needs of the Town's residents and businesses" while drawing regional customers
- Catalyst properties, meaning new development or redevelopment that could attract investment
- Transportation, including regional corridors, possible connecting roads, pedestrian and bicycle connections and the Master Thoroughfare Plan
- Utilities, quality of place and capital improvements, covering parks, arts and cultural assets, and how public money supports the plan
One requirement goes beyond guidance. The plan has to review the zoning districts created under Westlake's Unified Development Code and recommend any new districts or text amendments. The scope of services also lists "applicable Town codes (i.e. the Unified Development Code)" next to the plan itself. If the rewrite eventually changes what can be built somewhere in Westlake, the change is most likely to come through those codes, not the map.
The consultant must also run public outreach at every phase. The RFQ lists open houses, stakeholder meetings, social media, an interactive online platform, focus groups, surveys and hearings, with final versions presented at public meetings, including the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council, through adoption. The town had not published dates for those sessions as of mid-October.
Reading the Land Next Door Before 2027
For a buyer under contract this fall, the useful documents already exist. Each layer answers a different question:
| Document | What it settles | When it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning or PD ordinance | Permitted uses, density, height and conditions | When Council adopts a new ordinance for that land, as with Ordinance 1050 |
| Site plan approval | Layout, screening, acoustics and other standards for a specific project | When P&Z reviews a filed project |
| Development agreement | Infrastructure and added design commitments that run with the land | When Council approves it |
| Comprehensive plan map | The town's intended character and guidance for future decisions | At adoption, with the project scheduled to run until about late 2027 |
If you're looking near Circle T acreage, the SH 114 frontage, or the remaining parcels around Solana and Entrada, the ordinance governing the neighboring tract tells you more than any draft plan map will. The plan's public sessions matter in a different way. They are where residents can affect how the next set of proposals is judged. This post is general information, not legal advice. Anyone relying on a parcel's zoning should confirm it with the Town of Westlake's planning staff or a real estate attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will Westlake's new comprehensive plan be adopted? No adoption date has been set. The RFQ called for the project to start by August 2026 and finish about 16 months later, which points to around the end of 2027. Final versions are presented at public meetings, including the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council, through adoption.
Could the new plan reverse the Circle T data center? The town has said the data center use was established by right and that Council lacks authority to deny it. Westlake's current Land Use Plan says its map districts do not modify uses permitted by zoning or PD ordinances.
Who is writing the plan? Council selected LJA on September 15, 2026. Under the RFQ, the consultant reports to the Deputy Town Manager and Town Planner.
If you're considering a Westlake property beside open land, or getting ready to sell one, Sarah Gunnip can help you gather the zoning and development records for the surrounding tracts so you understand what is already approved before you price or make an offer. Request a complimentary home valuation and tailored marketing plan.
