Lewisville approves stricter regulations on data center applications
Lewisville City Council has approved an ordinance requiring all new data centers to obtain a special use permit, subjecting them to public hearings and council approval. This change redefines data centers in the city's Unified Development Code, restricting them to industrial zones with permits and prohibiting them in residential areas due to concerns over resource strain, noise, and environmental impacts.
The Lewisville City Council has enacted a new ordinance mandating that all future data center applications secure a special use permit, a significant shift from previous regulations that classified them as warehouses. Under the new rules, data centers can only be approved in industrial zones, provided they undergo public hearings before both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. This ensures residents have multiple opportunities to provide input on proposed projects.
City Manager Claire Powell emphasized that while Lewisville welcomes responsible growth, resident well-being is paramount. The city highlighted concerns that data centers, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence, consume substantial electricity and water for cooling, potentially straining local infrastructure and increasing noise and environmental impacts. The new ordinance grants the city the authority to impose conditions on permits or reject proposals that do not meet compatibility criteria, a protection that previously did not exist. The city currently hosts two data centers, with one older facility reportedly using over 40 million gallons of water annually.