The Wildwood master-plan committee recommended retaining the city’s established land-use categories — the non-urban residential district, suburban residential area and town center regulating plan — and discussed whether the plan should explicitly address data centers.

Why it matters: The land-use designations shape allowable densities and development patterns across Wildwood. Committee members emphasized preservation of the city’s wooded, low-density character in the non-urban district while allowing town-center consolidation of commercial activity.

Staff gave a multi-part presentation on the planning element. Key staff recommendations included: keep the policy consolidating future commercial development within the town-center boundary; retain the non-urban residential district as a primary zoning category; and continue the suburban-residential land-use category with its reduced density ceilings. Staff recounted a history of density changes: the suburban category initially allowed two units per acre and was reduced to one unit per acre after 2006 to address erosion, runoff and tree/woodland loss.

The committee discussed whether to change town-center regulations. Staff noted the town center provides space for mixed uses — retail on the first floor with residential above — and that the city has used regulatory tools to encourage downtown vibrancy without radical changes to design standards. The committee agreed to retain the existing design criteria and the regulating plan after staff advised the current palette has provided architectural variety and flexibility.

Data centers: One committee member urged the planning and zoning commission to act quickly to address data centers. The speaker said, verbatim, “never ever ever ever gonna be data center in the city of Wildwood,” and asked that the policy set describe whether data centers are permitted as utilities or as commercial/industrial uses. Staff noted that the city’s typical non-industrial districts do not automatically include data centers as public utilities and that data centers are most commonly located in industrial zones or as conditional uses; the committee directed staff to add the topic to planning & zoning’s near-term agenda.

Closing: The planning-element policies — retaining suburban and non-urban distinctions and consolidating commercial uses in the town center — remained largely unchanged. Staff will add guidance for the planning & zoning commission on whether and where data centers should be allowed and will draft any recommended regulatory language.