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Planning commission recommends code changes to define data centers, require special‑use permits
Summary
At its May 19 meeting, the Lewisville Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend amendments to the Unified Development Code that would add a definition for “data center,” create related use categories and require special‑use permits for new facilities in certain industrial districts; the recommendation advances to City Council on June 15.
The Lewisville Planning and Zoning Commission on May 19 recommended that City Council consider amendments to the Unified Development Code to add a formal definition for “data center,” create a data center use category, and require special‑use permits (SUPs) for new data centers in light industrial/warehouse and heavy industrial zoning districts.
Staff told commissioners the change aims to give the city a review process for facilities that, while similar in footprint to distribution warehouses, can have greater demands on electricity and water and produce noise from cooling systems and backup generators. “This is a data center, a facility used primarily for the storage, management, processing and transmission of digital data, which houses computer network equipment, system servers, appliances and other associated components related to digital data storage and operations,” a staff member said during the presentation.
The proposal would also add data centers to the city’s off‑street parking table. Staff said Lewisville currently has two data centers inside the city limits, and that those sites would become legal nonconforming if the amendment is adopted — able to operate under current conditions but constrained if they stop operating for more than six months or seek expansion.
Representatives of existing operators urged caution. Jonathan Vincent, representing Digital Realty, told the commission that while he understands the city’s desire to prepare for future development, the proposed change could create financing and resale complications for existing facilities. “I would respectfully ask you all to consider doing something like that here, especially since there’s only two data centers,” Vincent said, urging either grandfathering for existing sites or an exemption for smaller facilities. He recommended considering a square‑foot threshold (he suggested about 250,000 square feet) below which an SUP might not be required.
Victoria Morris of the law firm Jackson Walker, speaking for Wells Fargo, said the company’s Lewisville facility was designed to industry resiliency standards, received LEED Gold certification and is air‑cooled with no water usage for operations. Morris said the amendment could “significantly limit Wells Fargo’s ability to continue its operations at this facility and bring the project to full completion” and asked the commission to consider allowing existing centers and projects already in permitting to remain conforming.
Commissioners asked staff and the representatives how SUP review would affect projects already in the pipeline; staff and the applicant’s representatives said SUP review is discretionary and can add months to an expansion schedule. Staff noted existing language in the UDC that generally protects projects that already have permits or approved engineering site plans, and suggested options such as a delayed effective date or a carve‑out for projects already in permit review.
After public comment and deliberation, a motion to recommend approval of the UDC amendments passed with five votes in favor, one abstention and one absence. The item will be considered by the City Council at a second public hearing and final decision on Monday, June 15, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
What’s next: the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation is advisory; City Council will hold a second public hearing and make the final determination on June 15.
