Lakeville hearing considers zoning amendment to define and limit data centers to an overlay district

The Town of Lakeville held a public hearing on Article 16, a proposed amendment to the zoning bylaw to define and regulate data centers as a distinct land use and to limit their location to a marijuana and data center overlay district, subject to a special permit from the planning board, the presenter said.

The amendment adds a definition to section 270-2.1 specifying that a data center is a facility designed to house computer servers and related IT infrastructure and may include server racks, cooling systems, substations, uninterruptible power supplies, backup generators and telecommunications equipment. The draft text says a facility would be classified as a data center where either more than 25% of gross floor area is devoted to server racks or where the planning board determines the facility’s primary purpose is housing and operating servers, the presenter read.

The bylaw would explicitly state that a data center is not a business or professional office use and would create a marijuana and data center overlay district comprising parcels in the town’s industrial district as shown on a zoning-map handout to be provided at town meeting. Data centers would be allowed only by special permit from the planning board in that overlay; they would be prohibited in other zoning districts, the presenter said.

Applications for a data center special permit must comply with existing special-permit criteria and any additional performance standards the Lakeville Planning Board adopts, the presenter said. Examples cited include limits on maximum electrical load, caps on water usage, noise monitoring or reporting requirements, restrictions on generator-testing schedules, and phasing tied to demonstrated municipal infrastructure capacity. The amendment also authorizes a five-year review after issuance of a special permit to evaluate operational performance and infrastructure impacts; the planning board could modify permit conditions or require an amended application based on that review.

The presenter said the proposed language includes severability and deletes certain planned special purpose (PSP) district references that previously allowed data-center-like uses. A map showing the new marijuana and data center overlay district will be supplied to town meeting as a handout, the presenter added.

Board members raised concerns that parts of the overlay sit over existing residential areas and that some plan special-purpose districts previously allowed the use through site-plan review, which could have let a data center be considered under another category. One question noted the overlay’s proximity to the Ocean Spray headquarters and that any data-center proposal in those areas would likely be redevelopment rather than new sprawl.

Explaining the choice to pair data centers with the marijuana overlay, the presenter said both uses can require high electricity and water demand; because the two areas are already developed, a data center would generally come via redevelopment. The presenter also said the bylaw gives the planning board authority to adopt additional rules and that the board may engage a consultant after bylaw passage to help draft technical regulations. The presenter cautioned that applicants sometimes use nondisclosure agreements so the town may not learn project details until late in the process.

The presenter said town council reviewed the draft language and provided the special-permit language that enables later adoption of additional regulations; the presenter said council had reviewed the warrant and ‘sent it back’ with that language. After inviting questions from the audience, the presenter said there were none and moved to close the hearing.

No formal motion or vote on Article 16 was recorded in the hearing transcript. The bylaw as drafted would create permit standards, a five-year compliance review, and enforcement remedies under section 270-8.1 should approved limits or reporting requirements not be met. The proposed overlay and handout will go to town meeting for consideration.