DeSoto County Commissioners Deadlock Again, Blocking AI Data Center Rezonings Near Arcadia for Second Night

DeSoto County commissioners have blocked a sprawling artificial intelligence data center complex near Arcadia for the second time in two days, deadlocking 2-2 on Wednesday night on a request to rezone roughly 554 acres of agricultural land. The tie came one day after the same four commissioners split the same way on a separate request covering about 238 acres for the same developer, DCIP Group.

Both votes failed on ties because the commission's fifth member, Commissioner Steven Hickox, did not take part. Commissioners Elton Langford and J.C. Deriso voted for the rezonings, and Commissioners Jerod Gross and Judy Schaefer voted against them. The results leave DCIP with only the 34-acre first phase the county approved in March, far short of a complex that developers had planned to grow to more than 15 facilities in the rural county.

Two nights, two ties

The first request came before the commission on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at a meeting that ran about six hours. The vote on the roughly 238-acre rezoning came early Wednesday morning and failed 2-2, WINK News reported. Commissioners returned Wednesday evening for a second public hearing on the larger parcel and voted "along those same lines again," WGCU reported.

The Bradenton Journal identified the two rejected properties as the Swisher and 3F Ranch properties. Together with the 34 acres already approved, the three pieces add up to about 826 acres, the size of the full complex DCIP had sought.

According to a county staff report cited by WGCU, the developer planned nine data center facilities spanning 2.1 million square feet on the 554-acre site alone.

Hickox sat out at the direction of the Florida Commission on Ethics, WINK reported. He said a stepfamily member was involved in a possible land deal with DCIP, whose full name is DeSoto County Industrial Park Group. He still delivered prepared remarks opposing the project from the dais on Tuesday. "Nothing in this life is free," he said, according to WGCU. He was not present for Wednesday's vote.

How the commissioners explained their votes

Gross said he does not oppose data centers in general but could not support this one in this location. "We talk about the requirements, does it fit? Is it in the right area?" he said Wednesday. "For me, I don't feel that it's the right place and based on our staff report and the conditions that have been put in place, I can't support that."

Schaefer, who said a data center is needed, called the project "too massive" on Tuesday and said it was not ready. On Wednesday she said she would consider future proposals but did not believe hyperscale data centers would fit with the county's current growth plan so close to Arcadia.

On the other side, Langford said, "Hands down, it's a good deal." He argued the tax revenue could help pay for raises at the Sheriff's Office and offset property tax cuts if voters approve Amendment 3 on Tuesday's ballot, WINK reported. Deriso said, "We have a chance to do something here that could have a really big, lasting, positive impact on our community."

Staff found too little detail

County planners recommended against the rezonings, and the county Planning Commission voted 4-1 earlier in October to recommend denial. Planning Director Misty Servia told commissioners that the absence of local data center regulations, combined with thin information about how the complex would operate, made the request hard to evaluate. "There were no operational details of the project provided to us," she said, according to WGCU.

Servia said the project did not align with the county's approach to Arcadia's urban expansion area, that it was unclear how industrial wastewater would be handled and that it was unknown whether diesel generators would be used. County staff said DCIP never provided an operational analysis covering equipment, emissions and noise.

Staff drafted 77 conditions in case commissioners approved the project. Developers objected to six of them, mostly involving sound, WINK reported. Staff proposed noise limits of 45 to 50 decibels at the property line, while the developers proposed 55 to 70. An acoustics expert, Gary Seibein, recommended a 45-decibel limit, and DCIP's consultant opposed continuous noise monitoring in favor of a complaint-based process. Staff also suggested a one-story height limit and 25% open space.

The developer's case

DCIP chief executive Jon Brown disputed the claim that the company had not supplied enough operational detail, WGCU reported. He said the company would dispose of wastewater responsibly and was open to enforceable noise limits as a condition of approval.

DCIP has said the complex would not draw power directly from the local electric grid. It plans to generate its own power from natural gas, and Brown said the facilities would run on electricity produced on the 34-acre site the county already rezoned, the site of a decommissioned natural gas power plant on Roan Street east of Arcadia. Environmental consultant Kerri Burns described a "highly efficient, sophisticated facility" running continuously on microgrid power generation and said the concept plan avoids the county's conservation overlay and includes setbacks and buffers.

The company's land use attorney, Julie Schrader, said DCIP has not sought economic incentives from the county. The project would still need air permits, a protected species survey and an industrial wastewater permit.

Residents pushed back

Some speakers backed the project for its potential tax revenue, and WGCU noted that some of the supporters had financial ties to it. Most who spoke were opposed. "Your constituents have spoken. We don't want the data center," resident Stacy Yoder told commissioners.

Opponents raised concerns about particulate pollution from gas turbines, noise and low-frequency sound, and water use and wastewater. A Charlotte County resident questioned the effect on the regional water supply. One speaker listed details the developer had not provided, including the number of generators and turbines, the cooling method, any reclaimed water agreement and an emergency response plan. A real estate agent who lives half a mile from the site said she would consider legal action if the rezoning passed.

How the project got here

The DeSoto fight has unfolded over most of 2026:

DeSoto is one of several Florida counties wrestling with large data center proposals this fall. Volusia County gave final approval Oct. 20 to a ban on large-scale data centers in its unincorporated areas. Lake County extended its data center moratorium through June 2027. Nassau County has unveiled draft rules as residents push for tighter limits, and Palm Beach County rejected the Project Tango proposal.

What's next

A tie vote means the motion fails, so both rezonings are dead as filed. DCIP has not said publicly whether it will bring back a revised proposal, and WGCU's report did not say what comes next for the company or the two parcels. Any new data center application in the county would run into the one-year moratorium commissioners adopted in July.

The 34-acre first phase on Roan Street remains approved. The commission's split also means the outcome of any future request may turn on Hickox, who has been barred from voting on this one, and on the four commissioners who have now divided evenly twice.