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Planning Commission backs Scannell PUD on Manchester Pike, adds 100,000‑sq‑ft cap for potential data centers
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Summary
The commission recommended approval of Scannell Properties’ 87.7‑acre Manchester Pike planned unit development and simultaneous annexation, accepting staff changes to building orientation, wetland buffers and use table while adding a 100,000‑square‑foot ceiling on standalone data centers and conditions on utilities and site plan review.
The Murfreesboro Planning Commission recommended approval on March 11 of Scannell Properties’ request to annex and zone roughly 87.7 acres along Manchester Pike as a planned unit development (PUD), with a new condition limiting standalone data centers to no more than 100,000 square feet unless utilities and special conditions are demonstrated.
Planning staff told commissioners the applicant revised the pattern book and site layout after feedback: two buildings were rotated to improve screening for adjacent apartments, a proposed drive through a wetland was removed, permanent preservation buffers were added along the project frontage, and the use table was simplified to remove higher‑intensity uses including a recycling center.
Tom McCarrie, development director with Scannell Properties, said the rotations and added buffer were intended to reduce visibility and truck impacts for nearby residences and to keep options open for future tenants. “We wanted to include both just because…this is a speculative development, and we like to try to keep as many options open because we don't know who our users are going to be,” McCarrie said, adding that potential larger data‑center tenants would be low water users if they employ closed‑loop cooling and only proceed when utility capacity exists.
Staff flagged a standing zoning concern: the city’s code currently treats standalone data centers larger than 15,000 square feet as requiring a special‑use permit but provides no detailed standards for approval. Planning staff said that gap could transfer discretion to a different review body and leave mitigation criteria unspecified.
Commissioners discussed whether to allow larger data centers in the PUD, noting utility capacity and community impacts as the primary limits. One commissioner said the absence of utility service could be a practical limit, while others pressed for a clear ceiling to avoid setting a precedent along the corridor.
A motion to approve the PUD and annexation with staff comments and a 100,000‑square‑foot cap on data centers carried on a voice vote with one commissioner recorded as voting no. The commission's recommendation will go to city council for final action; commissioners and staff said final engineering and any special‑use conditions would be decided during site‑plan review and permitting.
