The Lowell City Council is scheduled to consider an update on the city’s ongoing Zoning Ordinance rewrite at its meeting on Oct. 20, 2026, according to the published agenda. The agenda item addresses a consultant-led overhaul of the ordinance that will include new regulations specific to data centers.
According to the agenda, the city has engaged Community Scale, LLC to review and update the Zoning Ordinance. The document states the rewrite “will include new zoning regulations for data centers in addition to an overall update of the Zoning Ordinance.” The agenda also notes that the Department of Planning and Development held an initial Data Center Forum in June as part of the process.
For Lowell residents, the agenda item signals that any future data center development in the city could be subject to new zoning standards once the ordinance rewrite is finalized. The specific provisions of those proposed regulations are not detailed in the published agenda.
- Meeting date: Oct. 20, 2026
- Location: Lowell, MA
- Agenda item: Update on Zoning Ordinance rewrite, including new data center regulations
- Consultant named in agenda: Community Scale, LLC
- Prior city action referenced: Initial Data Center Forum held in June by the Department of Planning and Development
According to the agenda, the Oct. 20 meeting will include a council review of the ordinance rewrite process. The agenda does not specify whether a vote on final zoning language is scheduled for this meeting.
Residents can review the full agenda and any related materials at the link provided by the city’s CivicPlus portal. Members of the public may attend the Oct. 20 City Council meeting in person to observe the discussion or submit public comment according to the city’s standard meeting procedures.
Official source: the published record