Lakeville, MN Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

City Code section 11-2-3 defines a DATA CENTER as a facility within a single building used primarily for the storage, management, processing and transmission of digital data, housing computer or network equipment together with accessory infrastructure such as air handlers, electric power generators, water cooling systems, water storage facilities and utility substations. A DATA CENTER CAMPUS extends that definition to more than one interconnected data center building forming a unified facility, covering what the industry calls a technology or cloud computing campus. Both definitions were added to the Zoning Ordinance by Ordinance 1126, adopted August 3, 2026.

Data centers are listed as a permitted use, not a conditional or interim use, in the C-2 Highway Commercial District, the C-3 General Commercial District, the O-P Office Park District and the I-1 Light Industrial District. A permitted-use designation means a data center may proceed through building permit and site plan review by the Planning and Community Development Department without a public hearing or conditional use permit. Section 11-19-13.A, the citywide off-street parking schedule, sets a dedicated ratio for the use: one parking space for each 3,500 square feet of data center floor area, distinct from the office and warehouse ratios that apply to other commercial and industrial buildings.

Siting is further shaped by each district's building height limit; in the C-2 and C-3 districts, principal buildings are capped at three stories or 35 feet, whichever is less, unless an exception under section 11-17-7 applies. Developers must also meet the district's lot coverage, setback and landscaping standards under the same title.