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Olive Branch planners review zoning draft to ban smoking near parks, impose stricter rules on data centers and cut monument sign heights
Summary
The Olive Branch Planning Commission discussed a 25‑page draft zoning text that would bar commercial smoking and vaping within 500 feet of city parks, make data centers conditional uses in industrial zones with setbacks and performance standards, and lower allowed monument sign heights; staff will return revisions after attorney review.
The Olive Branch Planning Commission spent the bulk of its meeting discussing a proposed overhaul of portions of the city zoning code that would create a 500‑foot buffer around city parks for commercial smoking and vaping, subject data centers to conditional‑use permitting in industrial districts, and lower maximum monument sign heights in several commercial districts.
Staff told the commission the smoking provision is intended to protect minors and park users. “This buffer prohibition … is intended to protect public parks,” staff said, adding the rule would not apply to private residences. Commissioners asked staff to clarify whether designated employee smoking shelters at industrial or commercial sites would be exempt; staff said the draft can be amended to state the buffer “does not apply to designated smoking areas.”
The largest discussion centered on data centers, which staff said are “energy conversion buildings” that run 24 hours a day and can generate significant heat, noise and water demand. The draft would permit data centers only as conditional uses in M1 (light industrial) and M2 (heavy industrial) zones and require applicants to submit a site plan and infrastructure studies, including plans showing how power, water and cooling needs will be met without harming nearby residents or public services. Staff recommended setbacks and minimum separation distances for sensitive uses; early proposals ranged from 500 to 2,000 feet, with compromise talk around 1,000 feet if applicants meet performance standards.
Staff outlined technical performance measures in the draft: lower noise limits at property lines (staff cited about 60 decibels for daytime limits as a target), limits on generator testing hours (proposed 12 p.m.–5 p.m.), requirements to screen roof‑ and ground‑mounted equipment, and prohibitions on locating facilities too close to wellhead protection zones or wetlands. “They will have to provide a plan that shows how the water needs will be met without negatively impacting residents of Olive Branch,” staff said.
Commissioners raised a range of technical questions: whether solar arrays are a practical offset for large power draws, how to measure current and future water capacity for growth, and whether active noise‑cancelling technologies should be accepted as mitigation. A commissioner warned against overregulation that would make data centers infeasible; another urged caution about allowing multiple facilities to collocate without strong controls because noise and heat impacts are cumulative.
On signs, staff proposed reducing monument sign heights to 8 feet in office and neighborhood commercial districts and to 12 feet in major commercial districts, reflecting standards staff said the city has typically negotiated informally.
Next steps: staff said it will send the draft to the city attorney for legal review, map proposed buffers against existing parks and commercial properties, and return a revised text for action at a future meeting.
