Midlothian commission approves rezoning for nearly 174-acre data center campus on Forbes Road

The Midlothian Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a zoning change to Planned Development District (PD) 182 for roughly 173.94 acres west of B.V. Jones and along Forbes Road to allow a data center campus, commissioners said during their meeting.

Staff told the commission the site is intended as an industrial module under the city’s future land use plan and meets the city strategy to diversify Midlothian’s employment base. The approved PD allows up to eight buildings of approximately 300,000 square feet each, a single electrical substation sized for about 40 megawatts peak capacity, and an impervious cover up to 70 percent. Staff also noted there are currently no sewer lines to the site and that utility extensions will be required.

The applicant’s zoning attorney, Daniel Box of Winstead PC, told commissioners the project will use a mechanical cooling system and said, “we are committed to using a mechanical cooling system.” The PD caps water used for cooling at 5,000 gallons per day per building and limits the site to no more than eight buildings; staff described that cap as applying mainly to domestic and ancillary water use rather than to any water-dependent cooling technology. Box and other applicant representatives said final infrastructure and utility arrangements will be worked out during civil/site plan review and prior to construction.

Commissioners and staff discussed traffic, parking and compatibility with nearby residences. The PD includes a parking exception limited to data center uses: one parking space per 7,500 square feet of building area, a departure from typical industrial parking ratios. The applicant said data centers generally require relatively few parking spaces and that the submitted traffic worksheet shows well under 400 trips per day for the proposed usage. Staff clarified the parking exception is tied specifically to data center uses and would not apply if the property were developed under another use.

Questions about water service drew staff comments that the area is in a dual-certified CCN (certificate of convenience and necessity) arrangement: the Midlothian CCN would serve industrial uses while Mountain Peak covers residential service. Staff and the applicant said water and sewer lines will need to be extended from Forbes Road; the developer would be responsible for those extensions. Commissioners also noted that Forbes Road presently has a narrower cross-section and that road improvements would be required as part of development, with the applicant responsible at minimum for the section abutting the property.

Staff recommended approval, and a motion to approve “as presented” carried. The ordinance as approved places limits and conditions on the data center use (including the water cap and the parking exception) and specifies that if the data center use does not materialize the base zoning protections limit future industrial intensity. The transcript does not give a roll-call tally for the final vote.