Planning board recommends conditional rezoning for 400‑acre data‑center campus; board also backs three smaller rezonings

The Mooresville Planning Board recommended that the Town Board approve a conditional rezoning for a 400‑acre site between Patterson Farm Road and Rustic Road to allow a master‑planned data‑center campus, and forwarded three other zoning items to the Town Board with recommendations.

The 4–3 recommendation in favor of conditional rezoning CC 2025‑04 came after a staff presentation, a lengthy applicant presentation and nearly 90 minutes of public comment, much of it from residents who live along Patterson Farm Road and Rustic Road. Planning staff and the applicant offered multiple conditions meant to limit visibility, preserve green areas and require traffic and noise mitigation before occupancy.

Staff presentation and key site conditions

Ms. Martin, a planning staff member, told the board the site is currently zoned Iredell County residential‑agricultural and lies mostly in the Back Creek/Slone (Sloane) Creek watershed, which ordinarily caps development at 30 percent impervious surface or roughly one dwelling unit per acre. She said Iredell County had granted the site potential to reach up to 70 percent impervious — but only if the land is rezoned for industrial use. Martin said staff found the proposal met most map‑amendment standards but noted the town’s future land‑use map designates the area as rural residential.

Applicant presentation: master‑planned campus and community benefits

Kristen Dean, Senior Director of Entitlements for Tract (the applicant), said the application is for a master‑planned data‑center campus and that the team is in an early entitlement phase. "This rezoning application is centered on bringing a master‑planned data center campus to this site," Dean said. She described typical industry benefits that informed the proposal, including capital investment and tax revenue for schools, the town and Iredell County; an expected build‑out job figure; and a large construction employment pulse during construction. Dean said the project team intends to preserve around one‑third of the property as…