On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, City Council discussed an ordinance restricting data centers, following a public hearing.

Currently, data centers are not defined in the City’s General City Ordinances, under Section 275-2.2. The proposed amendment would define data centers in the following way:

A building, structure, facility, or campus, or any portion thereof, used primarily for the housing, operation, management, processing, storage, transmission, or distribution of digital data through computer servers, networking equipment, and related information technology infrastructure. A data center includes associated mechanical, electrical, cooling, backup power generation, energy storage, security, and utility systems necessary to support continuous operations. A data center does not include server rooms or telecommunications equipment that are accessory to another principal use, such as an office, school, hospital, manufacturing facility, or retail establishment. Included in the definition of Data Center is also Hyperscale Data Center (which are defined as): A data center designed to provide large-scale cloud computing, artificial intelligence, or enterprise computing services and characterized by extensive server capacity, high electrical demand, and significant supporting utility infrastructure.

The ordinance could potentially prohibit data centers in all zoning districts, with the exception of the Recycling Industrial District, where a conditional use permit would be required. A conditional use permit and site plan application would both need to be reviewed and approved by the Planning Board.

The City’s Planning Board has already reviewed and supported the amendment as written. Further amendments suggested during the public hearing will require additional discussion, and a final decision by City Council will occur at a future meeting.

Currently, there have been no proposals for data centers submitted to the City of Rochester.

Click here to watch the Public Hearing at (33:58). There is still time for residents to provide input on this matter. Visit www.rochesternh.gov/getinvolved to review public input options.