LEXINGTON, Ky. — The General Government & Planning Committee is scheduled to consider updates to drive-through facility regulations and receive an informational presentation on data center zoning rules when it meets Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber, according to the committee's September 8 agenda.

The committee will examine proposed regulations for drive-through facilities and drive-up windows, the first significant update to those standards since 1983. The revised regulations would take a more tailored approach by distinguishing between drive-through lanes and drive-up windows, with varying stacking space requirements based on business type. Quick-service restaurants, for example, would need six stacking spaces for the first lane and three for each additional lane, while drive-up windows at dry cleaners or casual restaurants would require just three spaces.

The drive-through proposal would also establish minimum standards: a 20-foot standard stacking space, a 10-to-12-foot lane width, and a 10-foot turning radius. The regulations would prohibit stacking in the right-of-way or beyond property lines and would require pedestrian safety markings. Planning staff developed the update to clarify language in the 40-year-old rules and allow for case-by-case flexibility while maintaining uniform safety standards.

The committee will also receive an informational presentation on data center regulations. The presentation will review examples of data center facilities across the country and their operational impacts, including energy demands and potential land use effects. This follows the Urban County Council's June 2026 moratorium on data center development, which continues through October 31, to allow time for regulatory updates.

The Planning Commission recommended restrictions that would prohibit major data centers—facilities over 40,000 square feet with energy capacity of 25 megawatts or greater—in all zones. Minor data centers would be regulated as conditional uses in industrial and commercial zones with enhanced setback requirements from schools, hospitals, and residential areas.

Rounding out the agenda, the committee is scheduled to review the Winchester Road Corridor Study, a $350,000 project funded by the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. The study would analyze the nearly 300-acre corridor to identify opportunities for denser, mixed-use development while improving multimodal transportation safety and connectivity, according to the agenda materials.