City of St. Louis Shares Report on Data Center Regulations, Community Invited to Public Hearing

The City of St. Louis Planning & Urban Design Agency (PDA) today published a detailed report and proposed framework for data center zoning regulations, as the City seeks to establish clear and thoughtful rules on where and under what conditions and requirements data centers could be allowed in the City of St. Louis.

The framework presented in the report remains a work in progress and will be refined through community feedback, stakeholder conversations and discussions with the Planning Commission and the Board of Aldermen. The recommendations will be presented at the next Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Members of the public will be able to attend and comment at the public hearing held during the meeting.

Prior to Executive Order 92, issued by Mayor Cara Spencer on Sept. 19, 2025, the City of St. Louis had no zoning regulations specific to data centers. The executive order established short-term requirements for potential data center developers and directed City staff to investigate best practices for data center regulations and submit a proposed framework for regulations to be considered by the public, the Planning Commission and the Board of Aldermen within five months. With this report, that deadline has been met.

The goals of the proposed framework include:

• Creating a more predictable process and setting of minimum standards for data center proposals so both developers and community members know what to expect;
• Defining different sizes of data centers so that large data centers can be regulated differently from much smaller, lower-impact data centers;
• Restricting larger data centers to industrial zoning districts, establishing minimum distances between data centers and sensitive uses and minimizing and mitigating noise and emissions; 
• Encouraging energy- and water-efficient design and preserving walkability in places like Downtown; and
• Maximizing transparency in proposal review and preserving opportunities for community input.

Any new zoning rules would only come into effect once passed by the Board of Aldermen and signed by the mayor. Once in effect, new rules would replace the interim approach established by the executive order.

The Feb. 11 public hearing will be held in a hybrid format, with members of the public welcome to attend and participate both in-person and online:

• Time: 5:30 p.m.
• Location: 1520 Market St., 2nd Floor Board Room
• Zoom details

Written comments may also be submitted to the Planning Commission in advance of the Feb. 11 hearing at forms.gle/UcUwfKDVe6d8ZfP28 or at planning-commission@stlouis-mo.gov.