A proposed data center on the west side of Oklahoma City and Yukon recently won rezoning approval from the Oklahoma City Planning Commission.
Members of the city agency voted 7-0 in support of rezoning two tracts of land totaling 295.5 acres of land near Interstate 40 and North Frisco road, sites about a half mile west of the city of Yukon.
Beltline Energy, a developer based in Atlanta, Georgia asked for the rezoning of 111.5 acres of land at 3025 N. Frisco Road and 184 acres at 13921 NW 23 street in Oklahoma City for development of a data center. The rezoning was to allow light industrial use and development of the center.
The 184 acres sit south of I-40 while the 111.5 acres are on the north side of the interstate. Formal requests were made by the Gamma Resources LLC and The Tony R. Kouba Living Trust for the North Frisco site while the remaining site request was made by William Wulffenstein, Barton Davis, Gamma Resources LLC and The Tony R. Kouba Living Trust.
Whether the 480-acre data center project wins final approval will be determined by the Oklahoma City Council. But the city planning commission decision came despite opposition from adjacent residents.
One resident, Adam Slattery said complaints of continuous mechanical noise, substantial electrical demand and significant water usage were legitimate concerns.
“And without a clear plan for decommissioning, we–the neighbors–risk being left with a large, obsolete structure in our backyard.”
Another opponent, Sam Minick, complained the area was “hot” for residential development.
“And here we are, trying to build a real ugly industrial center.”
Ward 3 Planning Commissioner Jerimy Meek said the city had been heavily involved in the project for many months.
“There was a delegation of people from Oklahoma City that were even sent to tour a hyperscale data center so we could learn about it, which helped us understand better what we wanted and didn’t want. And we needed to make sure how to protect the city and the neighbors in the area from things that were not going to be good,” he said, reported the Yukon Progress.
Beltline, also known as BLE Landholdings, entered into a purchase-sale agreement with the Yukon Municipal Authority for the 184.5 acres of city-owned land at Frisco Road and Highway 66 in Yukon City limits.