A data center must be authorized in its zoning district; uses not specifically permitted or accessory are prohibited. Because data centers are not expressly named in the provided use lists, the County may determine whether a proposal is sufficiently similar to an authorized use or, if it is not inherently incompatible with the district, allow an application for a conditional use permit.

Development requiring authorization must strictly comply with the zoning ordinance; a conflicting permit is void. Other agency requirements still apply, and the more restrictive ordinance governs when ordinances regulate the same activity.

Depending on the zoning and combining districts, additional discretionary approvals may be required before development, including site development plan approval, plot plan approval, or a Kern River development permit.

A plot plan generally must be approved before a use or development is established or building or grading permits are issued. Exceptions include single-family dwellings and certain additions under 50% of existing building area; a change between permitted uses requiring no building permit is also exempt.

A separate off-street parking plot plan must generally be approved before a use is established or changed, development occurs or expands, or specified permits or a business license are issued. Single-family lots are exempt.

Required off-street parking must meet ordinance minimums; for an unlisted use, the Planning Director sets the requirement based on the most similar listed use. Parking must generally be on-site or within 500 feet. Off-site parking requires a recorded maintenance covenant and an approved plot plan, and parking areas must meet design and construction standards.

Uses that receive or distribute vehicles or merchandise must provide loading space in addition to required parking; the number and dimensions depend on the use and floor area.

Commercial and industrial development in the listed CO, C-1, C-2, CH, M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts must meet standards for matters including road dedications and improvements, paved access and parking, drainage and utilities, fire protection, lighting, refuse enclosures, and landscaping. Projects generating 25 or more heavy-truck trips per day must submit a traffic study, and road improvements may also be required.

Commercial and industrial uses generally must provide landscaping: at least 5% of developed area for industrial uses and 5% of total developed lot area for commercial uses. Parking lots with 10 or more spaces have additional landscaping and tree requirements.

In mapped military review areas, a building or structure exceeding the applicable height limit generally cannot receive a permit without written military concurrence that it would cause no significant mission impacts. If concurrence is not received within a reasonable period, the Board of Supervisors may consider a height variation subject to specified findings.

In an Airport Approach Height combining district, buildings and structures are generally limited to 35 feet, subject to the base district’s height limit. A site development plan is generally required, and proposals over 35 feet require an FAA letter stating they are not an air-traffic hazard and identifying any special conditions.

Where the outdoor-lighting chapter applies, new outdoor fixtures must meet shielding and aiming rules; certain fixtures near residences are subject to an 11 p.m. curfew or motion-sensor limits. In commercial and industrial zones, a building-permit application involving new outdoor lighting must include an Outdoor Lighting Plan with fixture details, locations, heights, and aiming points.

Non-mobile noise from commercial and industrial uses other than uses in the M-3 District, when within 500 feet of residentially developed and zoned property, is subject to exterior limits: a daytime average of 65 dB Ldn and nighttime limits of 65 dB or 5 dB above ambient, whichever is greater.

For new development in commercial and M-1 Districts, roof-mounted mechanical, refrigeration, or heating equipment must be concealed from off-site view; ground equipment must be screened from abutting streets and certain neighboring properties. Industrial outside-storage areas must use an approved dust-control measure, and screening may also be required.

Grading and construction must use adequate measures to control fugitive dust. In the Eastern Kern Desert Region, development causing surface disturbance must continually use best management practices to minimize erosion and avoid creating a nuisance.

Before grading or building permits, operators of permitted uses involving equipment or activities that store, use, or generate specified air contaminants must consult with and meet applicable Air Pollution Control District requirements. The Building Official may withhold final inspection or occupancy certification for noncompliance if requested by the district.

A permitted use placing material directly on the ground that could leach and adversely affect groundwater must consult with and obtain review and approval from the Regional Water Quality Control Board or Kern County Environmental Health Services. A business that normally stores hazardous or toxic chemicals must file a Business Plan with Environmental Health Services.

Accessory storage of flammable or combustible liquids is subject to per-tank and aggregate capacity limits unless the Fire Marshal approves additional capacity. Above-ground storage structures must generally be at least 15 feet from property lines and dwellings for capacities of 6,000 gallons or less, and 25 feet for larger capacities, subject to stated fire-code or Fire Marshal exceptions.

Commercial and industrial uses with five or more employees must provide adequate space to collect and load recyclable materials.

The Board of Supervisors may set application-processing fees, up to the estimated actual cost of processing.

M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts have no minimum lot-size requirement. This removes a zoning-based parcel-size constraint but does not itself authorize a data center use. (No minimum lot size requirement in the M-1 District)

M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts require no side or rear yard or minimum distance between structures. Front-yard setbacks and other applicable standards still apply, and the site and use must otherwise be allowed. (Side Yard. None required)

Industrial districts allow buildings up to ten stories or 135 feet in M-1 and M-2, and up to thirteen stories or 150 feet in M-3. District-specific setbacks and protected military airspace limits still apply. (No building or structure shall exceed ten (10) stories or one hundred and thirty-five (135) feet)

M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts permit accessory solar generators for a permitted or conditionally permitted use, provided their output does not exceed the site's total power demand and applicable zoning and development rules are met. (Solar energy electrical generators which are accessory to a permitted or conditionally permitted use)

Small and large water systems are permitted uses in M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts, providing a zoning pathway for those facilities where the data-center use and site are otherwise authorized. Other agency approvals and requirements still apply. (Water system, small or large)

The zoning rules do not apply to qualifying public-utility distribution and transmission lines and related facilities. Privately built, operated, or maintained electric transmission lines and towers also qualify if they meet CPUC requirements and connect to a public utility grid. (Shall not be construed to apply to the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of public utility distribution and transmission lines)

A structure with a building permit issued before the relevant ordinance's effective date may be completed and used under its approved plans if construction starts within one year of permit issuance and is diligently pursued to completion. The one-year start deadline cannot be extended. (May be completed and used in accordance with the plans)

Street improvements, including curb, gutter, and sidewalks, are not required for individual or cumulative additions that expand development by less than 50%, measured against development existing when the chapter took effect. (Less than fifty percent expansion)

A Chapter 19.80 plot plan review is not required for building additions that increase gross building area by no more than 50%, unless the expansion creates dwelling units. A change between permitted uses also qualifies if no building permit is required; other permits or reviews are not waived. (A plot plan review shall not be required)

The Planning Director may waive listed development requirements when documented hardship unrelated to economics exists or unusual circumstances prevent compliance. (May waive any of the above-listed requirements)

Required parking for a nonresidential use may be located on-site or within 500 feet, subject to a recorded maintenance covenant and approval of a plot plan for the separate parking site. (Within five hundred (500) feet)

For multiple uses sharing a building or premises, the Planning Director may reduce combined parking requirements by up to 20% upon written request and a finding that peak demand is unlikely to require the full total. (Reduce the number of spaces required)

Existing legal nonconforming parking generally does not require additional spaces unless there is a change of use, new building, or expansion. For a new addition, requirements apply only to the new building area; a change to a use requiring the same or fewer spaces also does not require added parking, except as needed for accessible-parking rules. (Only the gross square footage of the new building area)

Outdoor lights in nonresidential zones, or more than 25 feet from an existing single-family residence, are not subject to an illumination curfew, although shielding rules still apply. (Shall not be subject to an illumination curfew)

Outdoor lights legally installed before the lighting chapter took effect are exempt from its requirements. If a property adds 50% or more in specified measures, existing nonconforming lights must be brought into compliance; smaller additions do not trigger that stated retrofit rule. (Are legal, nonconforming uses and are exempt)