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The Data Center Divide

Town of Candia

Neutral Data Center Policies

Candia allows data centers in commercial, mixed-use, and light-industrial districts, subject to general zoning and site reviews; residential locations require a special exception.

current law · Town of Candia
Regulates land use and development throughout Candia by setting rules for building size, height, setbacks, density, permitted uses, wetlands, groundwater, parking, open space, and development locations to support orderly growth, public safety, infrastructure, environmental protection, and the town’s rural character.Candia Zoning Ordinance (2026 Revision)

What this means

The ordinance allows data processing centers by right in the Commercial, Mixed Use, and both Light Industrial districts, while requiring a special exception in Residential areas (district use table). That creates a modest benefit, though general zoning and site-review requirements still apply.

People behind it

  • Enacted the Zoning Ordinance and Map.

  • May propose zoning amendments, drafts zoning ordinances, maintains and updates zoning maps, and administers planning-related approvals under the ordinance.

  • May propose zoning amendments and is responsible for enforcing the ordinance.

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  • Administers the provisions of the ordinance and issues building permits and certificates of occupancy.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements15

  • Data processing centers are allowed by right in the Commercial, Mixed Use, Light Industrial 1, and Light Industrial 2 districts, but require a Special Exception from the Board of Adjustment in the Residential district. (data processing centers)

  • A data center in a Residential district that requires a Special Exception must satisfy standards addressing fire or toxic-material hazards, property-value impacts, traffic, municipal-service demand, and stormwater runoff. (Special Exception Standards)

  • Nonresidential data-center construction or a substantial change or expansion of use is subject to Planning Board site-plan review unless an exemption applies; the listed exemptions cover certain single- or two-family dwellings, projects of no more than 200 square feet, and customary home occupations, offices, and shops. (site-plan review exemptions)

  • Before construction, alteration, or excavation begins, a Building Permit is required; before a data center may be occupied or used, a Certificate of Occupancy is required. (Building Permits and Certificates of Occupancy Required)

  • A valid building permit must be exercised within 12 months after issuance; otherwise, a renewal permit is required. (period of validity)

  • Minimum dimensional requirements apply to data-center sites: generally 2 acres, 200 feet of lot width/frontage, 50-foot front setbacks, 25-foot side and rear setbacks, and a 35-foot maximum height in the Commercial, Light Industrial, and Mixed Use districts. Residential sites require 3 acres. (Table of Dimensional Requirements)

  • If a street has less than a 50-foot right-of-way, the required building setback is 75 feet from the centerline of the right-of-way. (Building Set-back)

  • Industrial uses, including uses listed under the ordinance's industrial and transportation category, must operate so that noise, vibration, electromagnetic transmission, odor, air pollution, and other emissions are not perceptible without instruments at the district boundary. (Performance Requirements for Industrial Uses and Utilities)

  • Commercial and industrial data centers must provide adequate on-site parking and loading under the Planning Board's Site Plan Regulations; parking generally must be at least 10 feet from lot lines and must be designed so vehicles do not back into or maneuver in a public street. (Commercial and Light Industrial parking)

  • Because the Groundwater Protection District overlays the entire town, a project rendering more than 15% or more than 10,000 square feet of a lot impervious, whichever is greater, must prepare a stormwater-management plan and requires a Conditional Use Permit. (Groundwater Protection District)

  • In the Groundwater Protection District, storage of regulated substances is restricted to specified containment arrangements; storage exceeding 100 gallons or 800 pounds dry weight at one time requires a Conditional Use Permit and a release-prevention plan. (regulated-substance requirements)

  • Data-center development in the Wetlands Conservation District is subject to the more restrictive overlay rules, including a prohibition on building activity within 75 feet of ponds, flowing streams, or very poorly drained soils and within 50 feet of poorly drained soils, subject to stated exceptions. (wetlands buffer provisions)

  • Outdoor lighting for a data center is regulated: luminaires emitting more than 1,800 lumens must be fully shielded, floodlights of 900 lumens or less cannot create glare or direct light toward nearby residences or public ways, and luminaires generally may not exceed 20 feet in height. (Outdoor Lighting Requirements)

  • If a data center is located on a legal nonconforming lot or operates as a legal nonconforming use, the use may not be enlarged or extended, and it may not be changed to another nonconforming use. (Change and Expansion)

  • The Planning Board is authorized to assess impact fees for development, including building construction and other land-use changes, to fund proportionate shares of municipal capital facilities; collection is generally required before issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. (Authority to Assess Impact Fees)

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions5

  • Data processing centers are expressly permitted by right in the Commercial, Mixed Use, Light Industrial 1, and Light Industrial 2 districts, allowing them to locate in those districts without a special exception. In the Residential District, they require a special exception, and the ordinance does not list them as permitted in that district.

  • Essential services are permitted by right in the Commercial, Mixed Use, Light Industrial 1, and Light Industrial 2 districts, which can facilitate utility and service infrastructure supporting a data center. In the Residential District, essential services require a special exception.

  • The Groundwater Protection District allows uses permitted by right in the underlying zoning district unless they are specifically prohibited or conditional, so data processing centers may operate in otherwise eligible districts subject to groundwater-protection performance standards.

  • The ordinance permits existing lawful nonconforming uses and structures to continue, protecting an existing data center or data-processing use from becoming unlawful solely because later zoning requirements change. The use may not be changed to another nonconforming use or enlarged or extended.

  • In the Mixed Use District, all pre-existing uses may continue as permitted uses even if they are not listed as permitted by right in the use table, providing continued-use protection for an existing data center or data-processing operation.

Sources

pending · Town of Candia
Proposes reviewing and potentially removing data centers from Candia’s zoning ordinance, after the Planning Board agreed that the current allowances should be reviewed and an amendment should be proposed for Town Meeting (reviewed and amendment proposed for Town Meeting).Candia proposed zoning amendment to review data-center allowances

What this means

The board proposed removing data centers from the zoning ordinance, which could make them no longer allowed in the commercial, industrial, and mixed-use zones where the minutes say they are currently permitted, and in residential areas where they may receive a special exception (proposal to remove data centers). That would create a significant barrier to building or expanding them, though the proposed amendment’s exact wording and final effect are not provided.

People behind it

  • Agreed to review and propose a zoning amendment to remove data centers from permitted uses and administers site-plan and subdivision review under the ordinance.

  • Administers the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, including issuing building permits and certificates of occupancy.

  • Identified as an authorized proposer of zoning amendments and is responsible for enforcing the ordinance.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements12

  • In the Residential District, data processing centers are allowed only by special exception from the Board of Adjustment; they are permitted by right in the Commercial, Mixed-Use, and Light Industrial districts. The Planning Board minutes also record a proposal to remove data centers from the ordinance, but that proposal is not identified as enacted.

  • A building permit is required before a data-center building or other structure may be erected, added to, or altered, and a certificate of occupancy is required before the building or land may be occupied, used, or changed in use. Permits must generally be exercised within 12 months.

  • Data-center development must comply with district dimensional standards, including minimum lot area, 200 feet of lot width/frontage, front, side, and rear setbacks, and maximum height and story limits. The standard minimum lot area is 2 acres in the Commercial, Mixed-Use, and Light Industrial districts and 3 acres in the Residential District.

  • New structures, changes of use, and expansions of nonresidential use may be subject to Planning Board site-plan review, particularly where the proposed use substantially differs from the prior use of the building or land.

  • Off-street parking and loading must be provided for new structures, enlargements, new land uses, and changes in use. Each parking space must be 9 by 18 feet, and commercial and industrial parking requirements are governed by the Planning Board's Site Plan Regulations.

  • The Groundwater Protection District overlays the entire Town. A project that will make more than 15% or 10,000 square feet of a lot impervious, whichever is greater, must prepare a stormwater management plan and obtain a conditional use permit; the plan must show that groundwater recharge will not violate applicable groundwater-quality standards.

  • Within the Groundwater Protection District, storage, handling, or use of more than 100 gallons or 800 pounds of regulated substances at one time requires a conditional use permit and an adequate release-prevention plan. Regulated substances generally must be stored in product-tight containers on impervious surfaces, with additional security, labeling, precipitation protection, separation, and secondary-containment requirements.

  • The Groundwater Protection District prohibits hazardous-waste facilities, solid-waste landfills, wastewater or septage lagoons, sludge monofills or sludge-composting facilities, and most storage of regulated substances unless the specified building or secondary-containment conditions are met.

  • Where wetlands or wetland buffers are present, no building activity is allowed within 75 feet of ponds, flowing streams, or very poorly drained soils, or within 50 feet of poorly drained soils, subject to limited exceptions. The more restrictive wetland requirements apply where the Wetlands Conservation District overlaps another zoning district.

  • Outdoor lighting must comply with light-trespass controls. Luminaires emitting more than 1,800 lumens must be fully shielded; luminaires are generally limited to 20 feet in height; lighting may not create glare toward residences, pedestrians, or motorists; and moving, blinking, flashing, neon, or tubular lighting is prohibited except for temporary seasonal holiday decorations.

  • Impact fees may be assessed for development to fund a proportional share of municipal capital facilities. The fees are collected as a condition of issuing a certificate of occupancy, and no certificate of occupancy may be issued for new development until the assessed fee is paid or secured by an acceptable bond.

  • A legally nonconforming data-center use may continue, but it may not be changed to another nonconforming use or enlarged or extended. If discontinued or abandoned for one year or more, it cannot be resumed and may only be replaced by a conforming use.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Data centers are allowed by right in the Commercial, Industrial, and Mixed-Use Zones, avoiding the need for a special exception in those districts.

  • Data centers may be allowed by special exception in the Residential Zone, subject to Board of Adjustment review and the ordinance’s special-exception standards and conditions.

  • A lawfully established data center that later becomes nonconforming may continue as a legal nonconforming use. However, it may not be changed to another nonconforming use or enlarged, and it cannot resume if discontinued or abandoned for one year or more. Section 2.02 permits continued operation of legal nonconforming uses.

Sources

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