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Resident urges Lewisville to define data centers in zoning rules as state oversight tightens
Summary
In public comment, resident Susan Fry urged the council to add a data-center land-use definition and performance standards to the UDO, citing House Bill 600's limits on state wetlands and stormwater authority; Planning Coordinator Lynn Cochran said existing definitions for related high-intensity uses may be used but the council should consider proactive local standards.
At the April 9 public forum, resident Susan Fry told the Lewisville Town Council that the town lacks a specific land-use definition and performance standards for data centers in its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and urged the council to act.
"Right now, Louisville has no definition, no zoning classification, and no performance standards for data centers," Fry said. She warned that House Bill 600, which she said narrows state oversight of wetlands and stormwater, could leave the town without the tools to require mitigation for the large impervious surfaces and high-velocity runoff data-center projects can create.
Fry described data centers as "not ordinary buildings" with higher power density, continuous noise and heat output, large generator farms and significant stormwater impacts, and urged the council to add a definition so the town can require appropriate buffering, noise limits and stormwater protections if a proposal arrives.
Planning Coordinator Lynn Cochran responded that the town's UDO already includes related definitions: cryptocurrency data centers, cryptocurrency server farms and a standalone definition for "high-density load service," which are confined to General Industrial and Highway Business districts and subject to planning-board review and approval. Cochran said mapping an unlisted use to the closest defined use is common practice, and that some planning professionals he consulted felt the current definitions could "catch" a data-center proposal, though he acknowledged other municipalities are considering moratoria or new rules.
Council did not adopt a change at the meeting. Cochran's remarks indicate staff views the current ordinance framework as a partial safeguard, but Fry's comments and the state legislative context signal potential interest in drafting explicit standards or a UDO amendment for future council consideration.
