More than 100 people attended a Fort Pierce planning board meeting last week as residents voiced opposition to a potential data center, but the applicant ultimately asked to table its rezoning request as city officials consider how data centers should be classified and regulated.
The applicant was seeking to rezone a roughly 200-acre property along Midway Road from Planned Development zoning to Light Industrial and General Commercial zoning. About 26 acres along the property's Midway Road frontage were proposed for General Commercial zoning, while the remaining roughly 174 acres were proposed for Light Industrial zoning.
The applicant's stated intent was to develop a data center on the Light Industrial portion of the property. The General Commercial portion could be developed for commercial retail uses, including a hotel, gas station or restaurants and fast-food businesses, according to the meeting agenda.
The property currently has a Mixed Use Development future land use designation, which allows the proposed zoning categories. The applicant also proposed placing a restrictive covenant on the Light Industrial portion limiting its use to a data center.
But before the board could determine whether the proposed rezoning was appropriate, city officials raised a broader issue: Fort Pierce's current regulations do not specifically address data centers.
"We don't have any reference to data centers in the code of ordinances, the land development regulations or even the comprehensive plan. So there are no regulating or review standards that we have in place for data centers. It's very difficult to associate any of the use because this is such a complex activity," said Kevin Freeman, the city's planning director.
Freeman said the uncertainty makes it difficult to determine which existing zoning category should apply to the facilities.
"This is like a use that fits somewhere in between light and heavy," he said. "If the determination is made that data centers fall into the light industrial category, then that puts that entitlement onto any light industrial zone district in the city. And some of those are very proximate to residential."
The city's staff analysis for the proposed rezoning similarly noted that current zoning regulations do not expressly identify data centers as a separate use category. It said the classification would have to be based on a use with similar operational characteristics.
The analysis described a conventional data center as a large, warehouse-like building with limited employees and customer traffic, no public access and substantial electrical, telecommunications, cooling and mechanical infrastructure. It also noted the potential for noise from chillers and other equipment.
The staff analysis concluded that a data center's physical characteristics and infrastructure would be more comparable to a light-industrial facility, warehouse, laboratory or technology plant than a conventional office.
Freeman said the amount of information currently available to the board made it difficult to recommend a particular zoning district.
"I think there's huge public disquiet about data centers wider than the city itself. It's going to be difficult for I think the planning board at this moment with the amount of information that staff can put in front of you to actually recommend a particular zoning district," he said.
Freeman recommended that city staff spend additional time researching the issue before the board makes a determination. Board member Johanna Gromek supported continuing the discussion.
"I actually don't feel comfortable making any determination. The only thing I feel comfortable with is to put it back on you, continue this," she said. "Obviously, people are concerned. We need to do a lot more research before we even categorize it as anything, attach it to anything."
The discussion also raised the possibility of bringing the issue before the Fort Pierce City Commission so commissioners could weigh in and residents could have another opportunity to speak.
Nichelle Clemons, the board's vice chair, said she was concerned that not sending the matter to the commission could limit opportunities for public comment.
"I guess my concern with that approach of not sending it to the commissioner is that it doesn't give the public another opportunity to speak," she said. "Whereas if we do, it gives them two opportunities to meet with the commissioners and two opportunities to meet with the planning board. This is a very big item for the community. I think that they deserve and desire the opportunity to speak."
The applicant ultimately asked the board to table its rezoning request for the property.
The property was originally approved as the Willow Lakes Planned Development by the Fort Pierce City Commission in October 2020. The development was envisioned as a mixed-use community with residential, retail and commercial uses, as well as a surf park.
The proposed zoning change would allow the applicant to pursue the data center project, but a separate site plan application and city approval would still be required before the data center could be developed.
The city's discussion over how to classify data centers remains separate from approval of the proposed project.