Council keeps data centers as conditional use, asks for clearer definitions

Councilors discussed the appropriate approach to data centers in the draft UDO and generally supported keeping them as conditional uses so proposals come before planning and city council. The consultant described a scale framework for data centers — "A data center can be under 5,000 square feet" for an edge facility and larger tiers for small and hyperscale facilities — and recommended adding definitions in the code so applicants know what the city will likely consider.