Commission backs rezoning of 63 acres near Paris Road interchange despite neighborhood worries about data center plans

The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 9 recommended approval of a request to rezone 63.11 acres at 3815 Hinkson Creek Road from agricultural to industrial general (IG), a vote that passed 7–2.

Why it matters: the tract sits adjacent to the Paris Road/Route B corridor and state highways that are already zoned for industrial uses; rezoning would make the parcel legally suitable for a broad set of commercial and light‑industrial uses. Public commenters, however, focused on a particular potential use — a data center — and urged the city to require stronger safeguards given possible high electrical and water demand and other local impacts.

What staff told the commission Planning staff described the site and context: the full parcel is 63.11 acres, but roughly 20.55 acres in the southern portion lie in FEMA‑mapped floodplain and will remain agricultural in practice; the developable portion fronts Paris Road and has been identified by staff as more consistent with employment and industrial uses along the corridor. Staff noted regulatory encumbrances: a FEMA floodplain and a regulatory stream buffer (Type‑1 stream buffer) impose development limits (200‑foot…