Red Oak Council approves rezoning and tax abatement for 828-acre data center after hours of public opposition

The Red Oak City Council on Friday approved a planned‑development rezoning and a tax‑abatement agreement tied to an approximately 828‑acre data‑center campus after a lengthy public hearing in front of dozens of residents.

The council adopted Ordinance 26‑014 to change the property from agricultural to a plan‑development district and approved Resolution 26‑026R to authorize the terms of a tax‑abatement agreement with the applicant. Both measures passed 4–1, with one councilor voting against the proposals.

City staff framed the project as a major infrastructure and revenue opportunity. Fuller, a city staff presenter, said the developer would be required to use closed‑loop or air‑cooled systems and to comply with a range of mitigation measures the council codified in the PD, including enhanced setbacks, screening, directional and shielded lighting, limits on building height, and a 70 dBA/DBZ limit measured at the property line. Fuller also told the council the abatement included a minimum operations clause intended to ensure the project remains active for a set period.

Residents testifying at the public hearing urged the council to reject the rezoning. “We moved here for peace and quiet,” said Martell Edwards, a longtime Red Oak resident, arguing that the city had not been sufficiently transparent about the project. Several speakers asked for legally enforceable guarantees — not voluntary pledges — for buffers, noise limits measured across relevant frequency bands, weekly generator testing, and independent monitoring.

Other neighbors described direct impacts they attributed to existing local data‑center construction: increased truck traffic, mud on local roads, tree loss, and perceived drops in property values. “We don’t want windowless bunkers,” said one resident who urged the council to require architecture and landscape standards in writing.

Councilors pressed staff on enforcement details. Hartman, the planning presenter, said noise limits and screening requirements written into the PD are enforceable through the city’s code‑enforcement process and that enforcement typically begins with investigation following a complaint and can lead to citations and fines if violations are substantiated. He said the 70 dBA/DBZ standard would be measured at the property line and that staff would use targeted monitoring if complaints arise.

Staff told the council the campus would be required to include detention ponds to avoid increasing flood risk, to dedicate road right‑of‑way for future widening, and to build or pay for substations and other electric infrastructure. Fuller said the developer estimated onetime permit fees in the millions and ongoing franchise and impact fees; council presentations compared those revenues to the city’s $24 million annual operating budget.

Supporters of the project and some council members said the proposal would accelerate grid improvements, increase long‑term property tax revenue after abatement expires, and fund parks and public amenities. Opponents said the city should pursue alternatives — including parks or community facilities — and that the long‑term risks to residents warranted a pause and additional independent study.

The council voted to approve the PD rezoning and the abatement resolution after the public hearing closed. The measures include several requirements placed in ordinance language; other commitments discussed during the presentation (for example, some philanthropic donations or nonbinding operational practices) were described by staff as part of developer outreach but are not codified unless specifically written into the PD or contract.

The council then recessed into executive session on other matters and reconvened. The next procedural steps described by staff included finalizing contractual language, scheduling permit review, and beginning the engineering analyses that precede construction. The developer must still secure applicable state approvals and power‑system studies before construction would begin.