CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE PREPARATION OF A DATA CENTER AND LARGE-LOAD DEVELOPMENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

The City of Lakeland, Florida is seeking proposals from qualified multidisciplinary consulting teams to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for data centers and other large-load developments. The City owns and operates its own electric, water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities, which requires careful coordination between land use planning and utility infrastructure investment. The project aims to produce a technically sound, legally defensible, and implementable set of regulations that will govern the zoning, siting, permitting, utility service, and long-term operation of these facilities. The City has adopted a temporary 12-month moratorium on new data center and large-load development to allow time for this regulatory framework to be developed.

The consulting team will evaluate existing conditions, identify regional and national best practices, assess utility service and municipal infrastructure capacity, develop recommendations for siting and regulation, and prepare implementation documents. These documents will include recommended amendments to the City's Land Development Code, related utility policies, and other implementation documents necessary to establish the recommended regulatory framework. The final product should provide the City Commission with practical recommendations that can be implemented through future legislative and administrative action. The regulatory framework must protect existing utility customers from subsidizing growth-related infrastructure, ensure development-related costs are assigned to the proposed development, maintain reliable utility services, protect environmental resources, preserve community character, and provide a predictable and transparent regulatory process.

Key dates for this solicitation include a Q&A deadline of September 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM local time and a proposal submission deadline of October 19, 2026 at 9:00 PM local time. Proposals are to be submitted electronically via the Opengov procurement portal. The successful consultant will be selected based on criteria outlined in the RFP, including qualifications, approach, and experience. The City anticipates that the regulatory framework will be developed within the timeframe of the moratorium.

Additional attachments required include indemnification forms, a human trafficking affidavit, a contractor audit form, and a sample standard contract form. The project is intended to produce an integrated regulatory framework, not a comprehensive master plan, for managing future data center and large-load development. The recommendations should balance economic opportunity with infrastructure capacity, environmental stewardship, fiscal responsibility, and long-term community objectives.