ST. LOUIS, MO – August 28, 2026 (STL.News) St. Louis is moving closer to adopting a comprehensive regulatory framework for data centers as city leaders try to balance billions of dollars in potential technology investment with concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, noise, environmental effects, and impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen on Friday perfected Board Bill 49, legislation establishing specific zoning and operating requirements for data centers. The measure passed 13-0 with one abstention, according to the City of St. Louis.
The legislation is not yet law.
Because aldermen amended the proposal, it is expected to return to the St. Louis Planning Commission on Sept. 9. City officials anticipate the Board of Aldermen could consider final passage on Sept. 11. Mayor Cara Spencer has indicated she is prepared to sign the legislation once the remaining procedural steps are completed.
The development matters because St. Louis currently has no dedicated zoning classification for data centers. They have instead generally been treated as office or warehouse uses even though large-scale facilities can consume substantially more electricity and water and generate different environmental and infrastructure impacts.
Board Bill 49 would change that.
St. Louis establishes specific data center rules
Board Bill 49 was introduced June 18 by Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer and was recommended by the Planning Commission. City legislative records identify the measure as an ordinance amending the zoning code to create comprehensive data center regulations.
The proposal separates data centers into three categories — micro, standard, and major — based on characteristics including size and electrical demand.
Major data centers would face the strongest restrictions.
Under the framework advanced Friday, major facilities generally would be limited to unrestricted zoning districts and would require additional city approval. They would also face a 600-foot setback from certain sensitive uses, including residential properties, schools and public parks.
Electricity consumption is a central issue.
Standard and major data centers would be required to demonstrate that at least 25% of their electricity comes from renewable sources when operations begin. The renewable-energy requirement would rise to 50% after five years and ultimately 100% after 10 years, subject to provisions addressing situations in which sufficient renewable power is unavailable.
For major projects, the electric utility would also have to provide information concerning whether supplying the facility could affect electricity rates for other customers or reliability of the electrical grid.
Water use would also be addressed.
The framework would prohibit data centers from relying exclusively on water-intensive evaporative cooling systems. Larger projects would need agreements with the St. Louis Water Division and would be responsible for applicable costs associated with their demands on the municipal water system.
The rules additionally address noise, lighting, heat, air pollution and other potential impacts associated with operating large computing facilities.
Board of Aldermen President Megan Green described the sustainability provisions as particularly significant, telling First Alert 4 that the city had collectively developed some of the strongest data-center regulations in the country and pointing specifically to the renewable-energy requirements.
Schweitzer said the legislation is intended to protect St. Louis residents while the city deals with powerful development interests.
Mystery north St. Louis project emerges
The debate took another turn Friday when Spencer confirmed that discussions are underway involving another possible data center development in north St. Louis.
KSDK reported that Spencer acknowledged conversations concerning the potential project but did not identify the developer or disclose a specific site.
That disclosure could matter as St. Louis tries to establish its regulatory system before additional large-scale projects move further through the development process.
Unlike the already-approved Armory Innovation District data center project in Midtown, a future project could be subject to the city’s new requirements, depending on its timing, location, and approvals.
The possibility of another data center also shows why city officials are trying to establish regulations now rather than evaluating every proposal under zoning rules written for more traditional industrial, warehouse, or office developments.
Data centers have become increasingly important infrastructure as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, streaming services, and other digital applications increase demand for computing capacity.
But their economic potential comes with unusually large infrastructure requirements.
Electricity demand matters because a major data center can require enormous amounts of continuous power. That has prompted communities across the country to examine whether the infrastructure needed to serve new facilities could ultimately affect utility customers or require major investments in generation and transmission.
St. Louis officials are trying to address some of those concerns before approving additional projects.
Armory project would not fall under new rules
One important distinction involves the approximately $3 billion Armory Innovation District data center project planned for Midtown.
That project has already received conditional-use approval and therefore would not be retroactively subjected to Board Bill 49, according to local reports.
The city previously established nine areas of mandatory compliance and commitments specifically for the Armory project. Those conditions were designed to address demands on city infrastructure, resources and the surrounding community.
The proposed Midtown development involves the former Famous-Barr warehouse on Market Street and has been described as a planned 120-megawatt data center.
The project intensified the broader debate over whether St. Louis needs permanent rules governing future facilities.
Instead of regulating each large data center through project-specific negotiations, Board Bill 49 would establish a baseline regulatory structure developers could evaluate before pursuing projects.
Debate extends beyond zoning
Board Bill 49 is not the only data-center legislation moving through City Hall.
City legislative records show Board Bill 48, also sponsored by Schweitzer, addresses data center environmental impact monitoring.
A separate measure, Board Bill 55, sponsored by Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, would prohibit the city from awarding tax incentives to data centers. The measure contains an emergency clause and has also reached the perfection stage.
That legislation raises another major policy question: Even if St. Louis welcomes data-center investment, should taxpayers subsidize facilities that may already have strong economic incentives to locate in the region?
Sonnier told First Alert 4 that city officials are discussing how data-center revenue could benefit St. Louis residents and the city.
The combination of zoning, environmental monitoring, and incentive legislation suggests St. Louis officials are trying to build a broader policy framework rather than simply deciding whether to approve individual data centers.
Planning controversy adds another layer
The regulatory process has also generated controversy involving the St. Louis Planning Commission.
St. Louis Magazine reported Friday that Planning and Urban Design Agency Executive Director Don Roe clarified that he did not have direct communications with an elected official who was not in the room concerning an Aug. 12 Planning Commission vote.
His earlier comments raised questions about whether an unidentified elected official tried to influence consideration of changes to the regulations.
The issue could receive additional attention when the amended regulations return to the Planning Commission.
The commission’s Sept. 9 consideration is important because aldermen changed provisions after the commission’s earlier review.
If the remaining process proceeds as city officials anticipate, Board Bill 49 could return to the full Board of Aldermen for final passage Sept. 11.
The city’s official Board of Aldermen calendar currently lists a full board meeting for 10 a.m. Sept. 11.
Once the Board of Aldermen adopts a board bill and the mayor signs it, it becomes a city ordinance.
Spencer’s support therefore makes mayoral approval likely if the legislation clears its remaining steps.
For St. Louis, the larger issue extends beyond one project.
The city is trying to determine how an industry that requires extraordinary amounts of electricity, sophisticated infrastructure, and potentially substantial water resources can coexist with residential neighborhoods, environmental goals, and existing utility customers.
At the same time, data centers can represent billions of dollars in private investment and strengthen the region’s position in the rapidly expanding digital infrastructure economy.
Board Bill 49 represents St. Louis’ attempt to establish the rules before the next wave of projects arrives.
Newly disclosed discussions about a potential north St. Louis development suggest the next wave may already be forming.
