Data centers are permitted only through Special Use Authorization in the HI, LI, RU, and GB zoning districts; they are not authorized under this section in other districts.

Accessory server or data-processing facilities are exempt only if they occupy no more than 10% of the gross floor area, are accessory rather than a principal use, primarily support the owner or occupant, and do not provide colocation, cloud-computing, third-party hosting, or similar services.

A Special Use application must include additional project information, including site plans, equipment and generator details, operational characteristics, utility availability and projected electrical demand, and telecommunications-service information.

The County may require noise analyses and additional site-specific studies addressing issues such as traffic, drainage, flooding, wildfire risk, and visual screening.

Applicants proposing water-based cooling, humidification, evaporative cooling, or other routine water use must submit a water-use plan describing demand, annual consumption, water sources, conservation measures, and the feasibility of non-potable or reclaimed water.

Applicants must provide a fire-protection and emergency-response narrative; sites outside an established fire district or municipal service area must address response providers and times, emergency access, fire-protection water, generators, fuel storage, and hazardous materials.

Construction activity must prevent nuisance impacts, construction hours are limited to 6:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, excluding legal holidays, and construction access points and haul routes must be identified.

Construction lighting must be shielded and directed downward and inward, dust-control measures are required, and emergency access must be maintained during construction.

Buildings and structures must comply with the applicable zoning-district height limits unless modified through the Special Use Authorization.

Buildings and equipment must meet the applicable zoning-district setbacks, and increased setbacks, buffering, or screening may be required when a data center is adjacent to residentially used parcels in residential or rural zoning.

Equipment yards, cooling equipment, and generators must be screened from public roads and residential uses through building placement, walls, fencing, landscaping, or a combination of those measures.

Data centers must provide adequate emergency access and fire protection, and the County may require on-site fire-protection water, fire-flow storage, access improvements, fuel-storage setbacks or containment, and operational procedures when public hydrants or municipal fire flow are unavailable.

The County may require annual inspection or certification of fuel storage, containment, and hazardous-material controls, and may require soil or groundwater testing when objective evidence indicates a potential contamination risk.

Data centers must minimize noise beyond the property boundary; the County may impose mitigation measures or operational limitations, and routine emergency-generator testing is limited to reasonable daytime hours except during emergencies.

Outdoor lighting must provide security while minimizing glare, light spillover, and sky glow on adjacent properties.

Site access must accommodate construction traffic, delivery vehicles, and continuous emergency access; where adjacent to residentially used parcels in residential or rural zoning, the County may limit delivery hours and outdoor loading, unloading, and maintenance activities.

Applicants must demonstrate that adequate electrical, telecommunications, and other utility services are available or will be provided without adversely affecting existing users.

Potable water may not be used for routine cooling or humidification unless the applicant demonstrates that non-potable or reclaimed water is not reasonably available or feasible; the County may require alternative water, metering, and periodic reporting.

Approval of a data center does not authorize off-site utility transmission facilities, substations, or telecommunications infrastructure, which require separate review and permitting.

Security features are allowed only when designed to minimize visual impacts through setbacks, screening, or landscaping where appropriate.

A decommissioning and abandonment plan must be submitted with the building-permit application, addressing site stabilization and management if the facility is abandoned.

If a data center ceases operating continuously for one year, the County may determine that it has been abandoned after providing written notice, unless the owner shows active efforts to resume operation or transfer the facility for lawful reuse.

After an abandonment determination, the County may require removal of unused or unsafe structures and equipment and site stabilization, although lawful reuse or repurposing may be approved instead.

Financial assurance is not routinely required during active operation, but the County may require it as a Special Use Authorization condition when site-specific features create heightened decommissioning or site-stabilization risks, and may require assurance after abandonment.

Data Centers shall be allowed by Special Use Authorization in the HI, LI, RU, and GB zoning districts, creating an expressly available approval path in those districts.

Buildings and structures shall comply with the height limitations of the applicable zoning district unless modified through the Special Use Authorization, allowing project-specific height flexibility.

The County’s requests for additional studies must be reasonably related and proportional to the project’s impacts and the site context, limiting potentially excessive application requirements.

Approval of a Data Center Special Use Authorization shall run with the land, so a change in ownership or operator does not require obtaining a new authorization, although existing approval conditions continue to apply.

Decommissioning is required only upon a County determination of abandonment, rather than automatically when operations stop temporarily.

The owner may avoid a finding of abandonment after one year of nonoperation by demonstrating active efforts to resume operation or transfer the facility for lawful reuse.

Reuse or repurposing of buildings and infrastructure for lawful uses may be approved in lieu of removal, preserving potential future use of the facility.

Financial assurance shall not be routinely required during active operation, and may be imposed during operation only when site-specific features create a heightened risk of decommissioning or stabilization costs.

Accessory server or data-processing facilities are excluded from the Data Center section when they occupy no more than 10% of the site’s gross building floor area, are accessory rather than principal uses, support the owner or occupant’s internal operations, and do not provide colocation, cloud-computing, or third-party hosting services.