Lakeville Planning Board advances data center zoning restrictions to Town Meeting

Planning Board · Meeting of May 14, 2026

Lakeville Planning Board opens and closes a public hearing on a proposed bylaw restricting data centers to a special overlay district. The board voted unanimously Thursday to advance Article 16, a Special Permit for Data Centers, which would add a formal definition to the town's zoning code, prohibit data centers outside a renamed marijuana and data center overlay district covering industrially zoned parcels, and require a special permit from the planning board with conditions on electrical load, water use, and noise. The chair said the amendment closes a gap in the Planned Special Purpose District that had allowed data centers without definition or meaningful review, noting "they are coming in with NDAs so that where they're going are not prepared." Town Counsel had reviewed and approved the draft language.

The board also unanimously approved a site plan for a 29,400-square-foot cold storage addition at 234 Kenneth Welch Drive, continued an ADU application at 57 Kingman Street to May 28 for plan corrections, and voted to request a joint meeting with the Select Board on the stalled Lakeville Country Club redevelopment.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of May 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.