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Plan commission recommends PUD rezoning for Becknell Industrial with condition to remove 'data center' use and strengthen screening
Summary
Following a lengthy public hearing on petition 26‑09, commissioners voted to recommend rezoning the site at 61st Avenue and Liverpool Road to a PUD for a multi‑building industrial park, with conditions that 'data center' be removed from permitted uses and that the petitioner work with staff to add berms, stronger fencing and additional evergreen screening to address neighbors' concerns about noise, lights and truck traffic.
After an extensive public hearing and resident comments, the Plan Commission voted to forward a favorable recommendation to City Council on petition 26‑09 for Becknell Industrial’s proposed PUD at the southwest corner of 61st Avenue and Liverpool Road, subject to two principal conditions: striking 'data center' as a permitted use in the PUD and requiring the petitioner to work with staff on enhanced screening and buffering.
Becknell representatives said they are proposing four smaller industrial buildings intended for shallow‑bay/flex tenants rather than large bulk distribution, and that the site’s 20‑foot sewer easement has historically limited larger building footprints. They described building sizes, parking and an estimated total project cost (hard cost and total project cost figures were offered by the presenter as planning‑level estimates).
More than a half‑dozen residents spoke during the public hearing, raising concerns about truck traffic, nighttime noise and lights, previous failures to install or maintain promised fences, and the possibility that a 'technology park' could be used as a data center. Several residents asked that data‑center language be removed so that future use would not be decided without a separate public process.
Petitioners and staff told the commission the site could not practically host a full‑scale data center and that they were willing to strike 'data center' from the PUD language. They also agreed to work with staff on a class‑3 (or better) combination of berm, taller fencing and evergreen plantings to reduce light, noise and visual impacts; petitioners described an 8‑foot fence atop a 3‑to‑4‑foot berm that would reach roughly 11–12 feet in total height and additional plantings such as arborvitae as possible enhancements.
The commission’s motion to send a favorable recommendation to common council included the strike‑data‑center condition and a directive that the petitioner coordinate with staff on screening and landscaping. Commissioners noted the tradeoffs between truck access and neighborhood impacts and asked staff and the petitioner to refine access, traffic study and buffer solutions during subsequent site‑plan review.
Next steps: the recommendation will go to City Council, and staff will work with the petitioner to refine screening, truck access and engineering details during site‑plan and engineering review.
