The Planning Commission denied the 10-lot Wakendaw Road plan, backed gyms or similar uses on La Mesa Road and called for special-exception rules for data centers.

The Mount Pleasant Planning Commission will discuss where data centers can go in town when it meets Wednesday. The same agenda carries 10 new home lots on Wakendaw Road and a request to allow gyms, bowling alleys and similar businesses on La Mesa Road in Belle Hall.

The meeting starts at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Town Hall, 100 Ann Edwards Lane. The items below come from the commission’s Oct. 21 agenda and the staff reports linked from it.

Updated Oct. 29: The commission’s draft minutes of the Oct. 21 meeting are now posted. The outcomes:

  • Wakendaw Road: the 10-lot sketch plan was denied. The vote was unanimous, with one commissioner abstaining for a conflict of interest. Commissioners cited the road length of about 1,100 feet against a 1,000-foot limit, the trees to be removed, the open space count and traffic on narrow Wakendaw Road. Neighbors from Detyens Road and nearby streets spoke during public comment, as did representatives of Trident Academy, next to the site.
  • Belle Hall, La Mesa Road: the commission recommended approval of commercial recreation. Staff said the proposed use is a gym. The request goes on to Town Council.
  • 0 Hale Road: the vested rights extension was approved.
  • Spring Hope Drive: the three-lot plan was approved 6-1.
  • Data centers: no vote. The commission agreed a data center should need a special exception with set criteria. Town Council has already lengthened its data center moratorium to two years.

Data centers

The agenda lists a “Discussion of Data Center Land Use and Zoning.” No staff report is attached, and a discussion item carries no vote.

It follows a temporary moratorium that Town Council had on its Oct. 13 agenda for final reading. Ordinance 26045 would stop the town from accepting, processing or approving any application or permit for a data center for 120 days. Council could extend it by resolution.

The draft ordinance says data centers “may be allowed as uses in certain Town zoning districts” now. It says they “have been determined to cause excessive noise and create significant demand for resources such as water and electricity.” The pause is meant to give council and staff time to review where they are allowed and to consider changes to the zoning code and comprehensive plan.

The town has not yet posted the Oct. 13 minutes, so we cannot yet confirm the final vote on the moratorium. The council agenda for Oct. 13 notes that the Planning Committee recommended approval.

Ten lots on Wakendaw Road

The largest new subdivision on the agenda is on Wakendaw Road. A sketch plan would split a 6.54-acre tract, zoned R-1, into 10 single-family lots. The parcel is TMS No. 559-00-00-533.

The staff report on the Wakendaw Road sketch plan sets out the layout:

  • 2.574 acres in new lots
  • 1.713 acres of open space
  • a 0.307-acre pond
  • R-1 lots at least 80 feet wide, 110 feet deep and 10,000 square feet

The plan removes seven historic trees and four significant trees. One is a 24-inch live oak in good condition, which stands where the new road would go. Staff said it could not recommend a design that saves the tree. The developer would instead pay for 69 inches of trunk diameter into the town’s tree mitigation bank.

Staff also flagged overflow parking drawn inside the open space. R-1 zoning does not allow parking lots, and staff recommended that the parking be removed during construction.

The commission approves, changes or denies a sketch plan itself. No public hearing is required.

Gyms or bowling on La Mesa Road

The one public hearing on the agenda is for the Belle Hall planned development. The request would add “commercial recreation” as a permitted use on a 6.86-acre tract on La Mesa Road, TMS No. 537-00-00-004.

The application for the Belle Hall change lists the property as 488 to 535 La Mesa Road and 535 and 537 Long Point Road. The owner is listed as RCB OM 535 Long Point Road LLC. The application does not say what business would open there.

The town’s code defines commercial recreation as a business that charges the public for an activity. The Belle Hall staff report gives examples from that definition:

  • swimming pools and tennis facilities
  • bowling alleys, billiards and laser tag
  • skating rinks and indoor go-karts
  • theaters and movie theaters
  • gyms and fitness centers

The tract is already allowed office use. The staff report quotes the town’s comprehensive plan, which says office parks with “restaurants, gym, daycare” can be appropriate in economic development areas.

The commission will make a recommendation. The request then goes to the Planning and Development Committee and Town Council for a decision.

The rest of the agenda

  • 0 Hale Road: a second annual extension of vested rights for an approved sketch plan, TMS No. 560-12-00-070. The Hale Road extension staff report shows the site plan.
  • Spring Hope Drive: three lots on 1.44 acres in Magnolia Village, zoned R-4. The rear lot would be reached by a 20-foot access easement, which needs a waiver from the land development rules. The Spring Hope Drive staff report says yard space must stay separate from the driveway.
  • 1520 Rifle Range Road: a 13-lot sketch plan on 4.88 acres. The agenda marks it withdrawn by staff, so it will not be heard Wednesday.
  • Density: a discussion of density in relation to the future land use designations in the comprehensive plan.

What it means for you

  • You can speak. The agenda includes general public comment. The deadline to send written comments to the commission passed Friday, Oct. 16. You can still email the planning department at planning@tompsc.com.
  • Near Wakendaw Road? Wednesday is the decision point. The staff report says the commission itself approves, changes or denies the 10-lot plan.
  • Near Belle Hall or Long Point Road? Wednesday’s hearing on the La Mesa Road change is your first chance to comment. Council makes the final call later.
  • Data centers. Nothing is decided Wednesday. The draft moratorium says council and staff would use the pause to consider changes to the zoning code and comprehensive plan.

For how land use decisions work in town, see building permits and zoning. Meeting and hearing notices are collected on our public notices page.