Olive Branch is gearing up for a big zoning debate that could open the door to a major data center at the northwest corner of Church Road and Craft Road. City and DeSoto County officials will take their first public look at a proposed "DeSoto Innovation District" at a Planning Commission hearing Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The meeting will be held in the Municipal Court Room at 6900 Highland Street, with the agenda and supporting documents posted on the city’s planning portal, according to DeSoto County News. After hearing from residents, the commission will vote on a recommendation to send up to the Board of Aldermen.
What Officials Will Consider
City staff are proposing ordinance changes that would treat data centers as conditional uses only in industrial districts and require detailed technical vetting before anything gets built. The planning materials spell out conditions that include closed-loop or recycled water cooling systems, studies on how new demand would affect the power grid, buffer zones, a 1,000-foot notification radius for nearby property owners, and plans to deal with traffic and noise, according to the City of Olive Branch. Applicants would also have to show documentation from power providers that the electrical system can safely handle the additional load.
Where The Project Would Sit
Site plans tied to the rezoning request put the potential district footprint at the northwest corner of Church and Craft roads, where agricultural-residential parcels would be reclassified to allow heavier industrial uses needed for a data center, according to WREG. Officials and the applicant have not released a construction timeline or firm cost estimates, and any project would still have to clear site-plan review, a conditional-use process and more rounds of public notice before any dirt gets turned.
Neighbors' Concerns And Regional Context
The backdrop for this proposal is a county that has already been sparring over data centers. In Southaven, public hearings on xAI's planned campus drew residents who urged regulators to block turbines over air-quality and noise concerns, and advocacy groups took their objections to state regulators on appeal, Daily Memphian reported. The xAI investment in DeSoto County, described as a multibillion-dollar project by The Associated Press, has sharpened public scrutiny around water use, power demand and potential health impacts.
What Happens Next
After Tuesday’s hearing, the Planning Commission will send its recommendation to the Board of Aldermen, and any conditional-use application would trigger neighborhood notifications, technical reviews and a second public hearing, according to the City of Olive Branch. City officials say the hearing is open to the public and that all related materials are available online for residents who want to dig into the details.
