Planning Board agrees to draft definitions and conditional-use standards for data centers

Planning staff raised data centers as an emerging land-use concern, noting that under current rules a data center would likely fall under "commercial use not otherwise specified," which is allowed by special exception in any district and could be too permissive. Mr. Pimental told the Board that many rural communities are temporarily prohibiting large data centers while the state considers guidance; he referenced the Markley data center in Lowell, Massachusetts as an example (about 350,000 square feet).