INDIANTOWN — A key zoning vote in Indiantown is moving forward plans that could shape the village’s future development, including the possibility of data centers and other industrial uses.
On April 16, the village’s Planning and Zoning Board approved a rezoning tied to a planned unit development, or PUD, covering more than 5,700 acres of land recently annexed into Indiantown. The proposal, known as the Tesoro Groves PUD, applies to approximately 5,722 acres located north and south of Southwest Kanner Highway and west of Southwest Warfield Boulevard.
Village officials emphasized that the approval does not authorize construction or guarantee specific projects.
Community Development Director Deana Freeman said the action taken by the board establishes a framework, not a final development plan.
“It’s important to emphasize there are no buildings at this stage or tenants. There is no final site design. No infrastructure capacity is reserved. And this is not just in Indiantown, this would be in Martin County and other governments in Florida. You reserve capacity at the final site plan stage and not at the PUD master. It is deferred until final. And it requires a future site plan approval for any of those phases,” she said.
The master site plan outlines general land uses, development intensity and infrastructure, serving as a guide for future proposals that would still require additional approvals.
Freeman said the scale of the site presents a significant opportunity for economic growth in the village.
“The size of the site and the location supports major employers. 5,720 acres provides a lot of opportunity for industrial development that can balance out the housing that’s being built within the village. We need to have that employment and residential as a balance,” she said.
The applicant, Florida Power & Light Company, described a range of potential uses allowed under the framework, including utility and technology-related development.
FPL representative Jaime Gentile said the proposal is designed to accommodate multiple types of industrial activity permitted under village code.
“The framework itself supports a range of light industrial and utility related uses that are listed as permitted uses within the village code. These include things like electrical infrastructure, technology, research facilities, data processing centers, and other similar uses, along with the utility operations commonly associated with FPL operations, such as substations, transmission and distribution facilities, solar energy, and battery storage,” he said.
Gentile added that any future development would still be subject to review and approval by the village council.
“We view this framework as a way to ensure future development is thoughtfully planned, responsibly reviewed, and aligned with community expectations over time,” he said.
The proposal drew mixed reactions from officials and residents.
Kloee Ciuperger, CEO of the Economic Council of Indiantown, said the flexibility of the PUD could support long-term economic goals.
“This PUD gives us the ability to have that flexibility to sustain what the village is sustained on, and these goals that the Economic Council has,” she said.
Some residents raised concerns about the types of development that could follow, particularly projects with high resource demands.
Linda Biscoe pointed to potential impacts tied to industrial uses.
“Power generation is just as bad as the data centers. They use a lot of water, they’re noisy, they’re a drain on the resources,” she said. “I know we need it, but if we don’t have these data centers, we don’t need the extra power generation.”
Earlier this year, a separate proposal for a 2 million square-foot data center was introduced in Indiantown, though details remain limited and no public hearing has been scheduled.
That uncertainty influenced opposition from some board members, including Planning and Zoning Board member and Village Councilwoman Susan Gibbs-Thomas, who voted against the measure.
“By that point the genie is already out of the bottle,” she said. “The toothpaste has already been squeezed and it’s not going to go back in the tubes.”
Other members expressed strong support, citing the potential for increased revenue and growth.
Board member Scott Watson described the opportunity in broad terms.
“We have the opportunity in the next 10 years to become the richest city in the state of Florida, without question, because our tax base is going to increase exponentially because of projects like this,” he said.
The board ultimately approved the measure in a 3-2 vote, with Gibbs-Thomas and board member Christa Miley dissenting. No specific developments were approved as part of the action, and any future projects will require additional review and public hearings.