Data centers are authorized only in the A-D (Airport Development), M-1 (Light Manufacturing), M-2 (General Manufacturing), and M-X (Heavy Manufacturing) zones; the amendment does not authorize them in other zoning districts.

A Special Use Permit is required before a data center may be established in any authorized zone. The permit requires an application, appropriate fees, property-owner notice, public advertising, a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing and recommendation, and approval by the Board of Supervisors.

A nonresidential data center must obtain an approved site plan before building permits may be issued. The site plan must demonstrate adequate public facilities and compatibility with adjoining uses, and approval may require phasing, rights-of-way or easements, additional setbacks, or buffers. A certificate of occupancy cannot be issued until the site-plan conditions are satisfied.

Building, zoning, and other applicable permits are required before construction or operation. Where a data center processes, handles, or stores hazardous materials or is subject to Arizona environmental or air-quality permitting, it must obtain the required state installation permit before the County issues a building or zoning permit and an operational permit before a permanent certificate of occupancy.

Data centers in industrial zones must comply with industrial performance standards, including controls on lighting, heat, electrical interference, loading and maneuvering, noise and vibration, odors, and emissions. Noise or vibration may not be discernible at neighboring residential sites for three minutes or more during the day or thirty seconds or more at night, and emissions may not damage health, animals, vegetation, or property or create a nuisance or hazard.

Data centers must comply with applicable zone height, setback, screening, parking, loading, drainage, and other development standards. In particular, industrial uses generally require screening of open storage and may require screening along property lines; parking for industrial uses is based on employees and vehicles kept on the premises, with on-site loading and maneuvering required.

Creates a formal zoning definition for a “Data Center” covering facilities used to store, manage, process, and transmit digital data, including computer, network, server, and related equipment. This gives the use a defined regulatory classification. formal zoning definition

Makes data centers eligible for approval through a Special Use Permit in four zoning categories: Airport Development (A-D), Light Manufacturing (M-1), General Manufacturing (M-2), and Heavy Manufacturing (M-X). Data centers are not allowed by right under these amendments; each project must obtain the required Special Use Permit and undergo the applicable public-review process. data centers