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Zoning change sought to consolidate data‑center parcels at 300 N. Loop 12; applicant requests fence, setback and rooftop screening variances
Summary
Planning staff recommended approval of a rezoning to create an SP2 ML‑20A generalized site plan to permit data center use at 300 North Loop 12; the applicant also seeks variances for front-yard fence height and setback and to exempt an existing building from rooftop screening requirements.
City planning staff recommended approval of a zoning change at 300 North Loop 12 that would rezone mixed parcels to SP2 ML‑20A, a generalized site plan for Light Industrial 20A allowing data center as a permitted use. The application includes requests for variances related to site fencing, setback and rooftop equipment screening.
Gina Costanza Grant, senior planner, said the applicant proposes to consolidate the parcel that already contains an existing data center with a southern parcel currently operating as a truck stop/service area (Big D bridal center cited as the current use on the southern portion) and construct a second data center so the two sites would operate together. Staff recommended approval and reported no public comment forms in support or opposition.
The variances sought include: an increased front‑yard fence height (proposing up to 8½ feet where the usual maximum is 48 inches with 50% visibility), a reduced front‑yard setback for the fence (requesting 15 feet where a 30‑foot setback is generally required along Loop 12), and an exemption from rooftop‑equipment screening requirements for the existing (already constructed) data center building on one tract. Grant said the existing facility was built before the city adopted new data center screening standards and is legally nonconforming; staff recommended allowing the existing building to remain without additional screening while requiring the new tract to meet current screening rules.
Commissioners asked about comparisons to fencing at a nearby Wildwood data center and whether security fencing would look similar on the Loop 12 frontage. Grant said the new site would be comparable to the Wildwood site. Staff also said they had been told by the applicant that transmission capacity and the nearby substation could serve the proposed building and that the applicant had discussed the site with Encore. No public vote took place at the work session; the rezoning and variance requests will be considered at public hearings.
