Piedmont City Council delays Cloverleaf data center plan, sends land use map back

The Piedmont City Council voted to delay the proposed Cloverleaf data center campus, one of the largest developments in the city's history, by returning a crucial Future Land Use Map amendment to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further study. This action, taken during a Monday night meeting, also postponed decisions on other related agenda items, including Cloverleaf's request to annex the 633-acre site into Piedmont. Representatives from Cloverleaf, who attended the meeting, stated that annexation would grant the development access to municipal services, including city water.

Cloverleaf indicated the campus would require approximately 1.4 gigawatts of electrical capacity to support a 1-gigawatt cloud data center, noting that the project's current size is limited by the available electrical grid capacity. The company also suggested potential future expansion into Kingfisher County if more power becomes available. Despite the option to build in unincorporated areas, Cloverleaf pursued annexation to leverage city services and foster community collaboration. The company pledged to fund infrastructure improvements, mitigate environmental impacts, and make charitable contributions, projecting about $13 million in annual tax revenue. A contentious moment occurred during a recess when social media personality Ron Durbin alleged unwanted touching during an exchange with a Cloverleaf representative. The council plans to revisit the Cloverleaf data center campus proposal and annexation at a meeting scheduled for August 24.