Red Oak council approves rezoning and preliminary plat for 129.62-acre Loop 9 data center complex

The Red Oak City Council voted 5–0 to approve Ordinance 25-052 rezoning roughly 129.62 acres from agricultural (AG) to Planned Development (PD) for a proposed data center complex and to approve the preliminary plat for the Loop 9 Land Partners addition.

City planning staff described the application as a revision to a rezoning first considered nearly two years earlier and said the developer is incorporating an additional parcel (referred to as Lot 1X) into the plan. Staff said the proposal will divide the property into multiple lots so primary uses such as an electrical substation and transmission lines can be identified on individual lots rather than treated as accessory uses on a single large parcel. Planning staff also said the developer will build a park that will be dedicated to the city following completion of improvements.

Rusty Cohen of Lincoln Properties, representing Loop 9 Partners, told council the site will include multiple building lots (one dedicated to Encore), a separate substation lot, and a remainder parcel accommodating roads, access and a pond. "We are creating multiple lots here ... one of them is dedicated to Encore ... and then there's a substation as well up on the north part that will be its own lot," Cohen said.

Council opened and closed a public hearing on the item; no substantive public opposition was recorded in the meeting transcript. Council moved and voted to approve items 9 and 10 together (rezoning ordinance and preliminary plat) on a 5–0 roll call.

The ordinance and preliminary plat approvals allow the developer to proceed to detailed engineering and subsequent permitting steps; staff said landscaping, screening and roadway improvements will follow standards consistent with prior approvals for the property.