Data centers are not expressly listed in the allowed-use tables. An unlisted use is not allowed unless the Director or another approval authority determines in writing that it is similar and compatible with a listed use, after which it must meet that listed use’s permit and development requirements.

Any required planning permit or other approval must be obtained before construction, establishment, or operation. Depending on the zone and classification, an Administrative Permit, Temporary Use Permit, Minor Use Permit, or Conditional Use Permit may be required.

Permit applications must include the lawful property owner’s written consent, demonstrate that the proposed use is allowed or similar and compatible in the zone, satisfy applicable standards, and address existing County Code or permit-condition violations.

A proposed data center must be located on a legal lot and comply with the applicable zone’s development standards, site-design standards, use regulations, adopted manuals, and prior permit conditions.

If a data center is combined with other uses, the overall project is subject to the permit level required for each individual use, although the County may consolidate permits into one application.

Applicants must pay application fees when submitting a permit application, and the County may impose additional time-and-material fees.

The Department has up to 30 days to determine whether an application is complete. If incomplete, processing pauses until the requested information is provided, and the application expires if deficiencies are not cured within one year.

After an application is accepted, the County must conduct CEQA review unless the project is not subject to CEQA or is exempt, and the applicable CEQA document must be considered and certified before approval of a project subject to CEQA.

Discretionary permits, including Conditional Use Permits, require public notice and a public hearing. Conditional Use Permit notices generally must be mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet, published, posted on the property, and provided to specified agencies at least 10 days before the hearing.

For discretionary projects, the applicant must post a notice sign of at least 32 square feet at least 30 calendar days before the hearing and keep it posted through final action and expiration of the appeal period.

A new noise-generating use likely to exceed County thresholds near sensitive receptors must obtain an acoustic analysis prepared by an acoustic specialist before discretionary authorization or permit approval and must incorporate measures meeting applicable noise limits.

Parking must be provided under the County’s parking schedule. If data centers are not specifically listed, the Director determines the requirement based on the most similar use; combined uses are generally calculated separately.

Industrial, research-and-development, commercial, civic, and utility projects must provide landscaping for qualifying undeveloped areas, and a landscape plan may be required before issuance of a building permit.

Outdoor lighting must be located, shielded, and directed so that direct light does not fall outside the property line or into the public right-of-way.

On lots of at least one acre, new structures generally must maintain a 30-foot fire-safe setback from property lines or the road centerline, unless the fire protection agency or County approves an exception or alternative through a Development Plan Permit.

Development that disturbs natural slopes of at least 30 percent with a vertical height of at least 50 feet is generally prohibited, subject to specified exemptions and reasonable-use criteria. Allowed work requires grading or building permits and erosion and sediment controls.

In special flood-hazard areas, structures may not be located, constructed, extended, converted, or otherwise developed without complying with the flood-damage-prevention chapter. Nonresidential structures must be elevated or floodproofed.

Projects within the Airport Noise and Safety Contour must comply with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan, and no building permit, development permit, or other use entitlement may be issued until compliance is reviewed. Discretionary permits also require Airport Land Use Commission review.

Development that impacts protected oak resources generally requires an Oak Tree or Oak Woodland Removal Permit, a technical report, and mitigation. Mitigation may include in-lieu fees, conservation easements, deed restrictions, replacement planting, or a combination; unauthorized impacts can result in fines of up to three times the replacement-related amount, or up to nine times that amount for a Heritage Tree.

Projects in the Tahoe Basin, other than MAP-zoned projects, are subject to additional Tahoe Regional Planning Agency permitting requirements, development standards, and regulations; where standards conflict, the more restrictive standard applies.

Development in Historic (-DH) Combining Zones is subject to additional historic design regulations and a Design Review Permit process.

In the IL and R&D zones, research and laboratory services and wholesale storage and distribution are allowed by right. General industrial uses are allowed by right or by Conditional Use Permit in IL and require a Conditional Use Permit in R&D, allowing data-center-like facilities to be classified under these industrial uses. Industrial/R&D use matrix

An unlisted data-center use may be approved as similar and compatible with a listed use if it is consistent with the applicable zone and General Plan and is no more intensive than the listed use. If approved, it receives the comparable use's location, permit, and development-standards treatment, subject to written findings and appeal rights. Similar and compatible uses

Utility infrastructure supporting a data center may be established in any zone if it stays within the applicable height limit plus 15 feet and does not create a potential safety or health hazard. Infrastructure under 150 feet that is taller or otherwise nonconforming may use an Administrative Permit; infrastructure over 150 feet or presenting a potential safety or health hazard requires a Conditional Use Permit. Public utility infrastructure

A complete application submitted before a zoning amendment takes effect is generally governed by the ordinance in effect when the application was deemed complete. Projects approved before the amendment may be constructed or used under their approval conditions, subject to limited extension rules and applicable state or federal law. Pending and approved applications

In an area covered by a specific plan, the specific plan's zones, development standards, and implementing ordinance may apply instead of the general zoning ordinance. This provides the applicable project-specific regulatory framework where the specific plan allows the data center; the general ordinance applies to issues the specific plan does not address. Specific-plan provisions