Boca Raton, FL Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

The city's zoning definitions in Sec. 28-2 describe a "telecom web-hosting facility" as a telecommunications use characterized by large areas dedicated exclusively to computer server use and related electronic and mechanical equipment, one that primarily serves off-site users or customers, language that squarely captures a modern data center. That use is not permitted by right anywhere in the city; Sec. 28-1043 lists telecom web-hosting facilities as a conditional use in the IG/S1 Industrial General-Special District #1, alongside antennas required for on-site use and interior-access self-storage facilities.

Conditional use approval in IG/S1 must go through the city's division 4 conditional use procedure, meaning a public hearing before the planning and zoning board with a recommendation forwarded to the city council, which can attach conditions or deny the application. The IG/S1 district itself is capped at a 20-foot building height under Sec. 28-1048, requires a minimum 10,000-square-foot plot under Sec. 28-1044, and mandates a 15-foot minimum landscaped front yard and a 7-foot screening wall facing residential areas under Secs. 28-1047 and 28-1050, all of which apply to any data center sited there.

Outdoor storage and parking in IG/S1 abutting major roads listed in Sec. 5 feet above the road crown, a standard likely to affect any large mechanical or generator yard serving a server facility.