A proposal to develop a data center on property the city of Festus recently annexed is one step closer to becoming a reality.
By a slight majority, the Festus Planning and Zoning Commission voted on Nov. 20 to recommend a zoning change for a 370-acre property north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC where the CRG company is looking to develop the data center.
The developer asked that the property, which encompasses seven parcels that are zoned either R-1 (single-family residential) or N-1 (non-urban), be rezoned to I-1 (industrial) so that a data center could be built and operated there, said Jim Walker, Festus building and subdivision inspector.
The commission’s recommendation goes to the Festus City Council, which was scheduled to hold a public hearing on the matter and then vote on the rezoning request on Monday evening, after the Leader deadline.
The P and Z meeting drew a crowd of approximately 200 people, but only about 75 of those could cram themselves inside Festus City Hall meeting room due to lack of space, leaving the majority of those who showed up to wait outside during the proceedings.
Most of those in the crowd appeared to oppose the zoning change – based on reactions to speakers and comments they made before the meeting – although there was a small contingent of people who said they supported the development of the data center in Festus.
While the rezoning request is for the entire 370-acre parcel, only about 250 acres of that would be used for the data center, said Chris McKee, president of CRG, which is requesting the zoning change.
CRG is the St. Louis-based data center development arm for Clayco, said McKee, who attended and spoke at the P and Z meeting. He said CRG would develop the property, and then a data center company would operate it, although no operator has yet been identified.
Clayco is the same company that in August withdrew its plans to develop a 440-acre data center in St. Charles following a public outcry against it.
On Nov. 10, the Festus City Council agreed to annex 240 acres of that 370-acre property that previously were outside the city limits. The other 130 acres were already located inside the city and did not need to be annexed.
At the P and Z meeting, separate votes were taken to rezone two bunches of the parcels. Both passed by 5-4 votes. Commission members who voted to recommend the zoning change were Mayor Sam Richards, Ward 4 Councilman Jim Tinnin, Clarence Tucker, Judy Williams and Danny Lipina. Those who voted against the recommendation were Sam Ogle, Bryant Allen, Patrick Henderson and Richard Belleville. An alternate commission member, Tim Bennett, also voted in favor of the zoning change, but his vote did not count in the final total.
During the meeting, 18 attendees spoke during a comments section, and five of those clearly were against the zoning change, five clearly were for it, two asked for city officials to slow down the process so more study could take place before a decision is made, and the rest had questions and didn’t take a stance on the issue.
Those opposed to the data center proposal said they were concerned about how much electricity and water the potential data center would use, as well as noise and light pollution it might generate. Some also said they worried about how the proposed data center might impact their property values.
Some also questioned McKee’s previous statements about how the data center could generate $30 million to $40 million in tax revenue per year and create 200 to 300 permanent jobs at the data center.
“Data centers have extreme infrastructure requirements that may be incompatible with surrounding homes and well water properties,” Festus resident Matt Drinen said during the meeting. “Data centers are not like warehouses or light industrial buildings. They require massive electric load.”
Another speaker, Dennis McDonald of Festus, said a large number of people at the meeting, as well as 700 people who signed an online petition, are worried about the data center project and asked the commission to table the vote until more could be learned about the proposed data center.
“It’s a long-term thing. It’s a big deal,” McDonald said. “It needs more than a few minutes for people to talk at the Planning and Zoning meeting.”
Those who spoke in favor of the data center proposal, including Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon and other business leaders, said they believe a data center would spur the local economy and create jobs.
Gannon, who lives in De Soto, said he has long had business interests in Festus, and he believes a data center would benefit, not hurt, the area.
“I have looked at this project from a corporate citizen standpoint, and I see nothing that’s going to happen there that’s going to adversely affect the property that many of these people in this room today participate in and go to,” he said.
Joe Grohs, a former Festus mayor, said he would only be for a data center if specific requirements were met, such as using modern “immersion” cooling systems that requires far less water than what typically is needed for data center operations and using technology to quell noise.
“There’s so much new technology out there (to address those potential problems), and if you could, in negotiations, get them to toe the line and put new technology in there,” Grohs said.
McKee and his representative were given time to give a presentation and answer commission member questions before the vote.
He said it would take five to seven years for a data center to be built and put into operation. He said his company has 57 data center projects active around the country, adding that currently no data centers are located in eastern Missouri, with the closest being two in the Kansas City area.
If the proposed Festus data center is approved, union labor would be used to build it, McKee said.
He also said he stands by his assertions about the tax money and new jobs the proposed data center would generate, saying the numbers are based on what’s happening at existing data centers and other research.
“We’re trying to give the city some information about what to expect, you know, from let’s call it a tax standpoint or job standpoint, until there is an identified user and a real deal,” McKee said. “Those are just speculation, right? But, we’re trying to give the city an idea of what it might look like.”