By Aparna Sekhar | Gilbert Sun News
Developers hoping to build data centers in Gilbert may soon need to navigate tighter restrictions.
Planner Sal Disanto confirmed that Gilbert’s new regulations are “a bit more strict” than the surrounding communities.
“They may be a bit more restrictive, but they’re now not completely outlandish to what’s existing in the valley,” Disanto said.
The new rules submitted last week for discussion by the Planning Commission include controls for sound mitigation, lighting, parking, water use, fire and safety precautions, electrical infrastructure, building height, design, landscaping and setbacks.
The commission is expected to hold a formal hearing on the measures later this year before submitting a recommendation to Town Council.
Disanto said the proposed measures are necessary for several reasons.
“From the staff’s perspective, the first is recognizing modern infrastructure needs,” he said.
“With data centers becoming essential components of today’s digital economy, supporting everything from business operations and everyday online services, we need to make sure that the town is also staying up to date with those trends to establish clear development standards,” he added.
Another reason is protecting residents from the problems such facilities bring to neighborhoods, ranging from noise and consumption of water and electricity to their visual impact on neighborhoods.
Disanto also said that the proposed amendments to the town code will set a clear development standard for data centers in Gilbert.
Currently, data centers are only mentioned twice in the town’s Land Development Code, Disanto said.
“This is essentially trying to establish new sections in our code to address data centers, which we currently do not have in our code,” he said.
Data centers in the town code today can be zoned under a business park designation or a light industrial designation and the proposed rules would eliminate data centers from business park zoning.
