A data center must be allowed in the applicable zoning district and obtain required planning approval before construction or operation. A use not listed in a district is prohibited unless the Director determines in writing that it is similar and compatible with an allowed use; the determination may be appealed. Any use not specifically allowed shall be prohibited.

Depending on the zoning district, a data center may require a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit, both of which involve a public hearing. A Site Plan Permit may also be required; it requires specified findings, and if they cannot be made the project may be rejected or elevated to a Minor Use Permit. For projects with multiple uses, the highest required permit level applies. A Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit; A Site Plan Permit shall be required.

Expansions of approved uses receive additional review. Expansions up to 10,000 square feet or 25% of existing ground or structure area, whichever is greater, receive staff review with notice; an expansion greater than both 10,000 square feet and 25% is processed under Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit procedures. Any revision that includes an expansion.

Discretionary development projects undergo CEQA environmental review. Projects subject to CEQA must evaluate potential greenhouse-gas impacts, and new commercial and industrial development must meet County greenhouse-gas performance standards. Projects subject to discretionary review; GHG standards.

Planning approvals generally take effect on the 11th day after approval if no appeal is filed; a timely appeal stays proceedings until a decision. Permits generally expire if not exercised within 36 months for Conditional Use Permits, Minor Use Permits, and Variances, or 12 months for Site Plan Permits and Special Use Permits; extensions require a timely written request and County approval. Become effective on the 11th day; shall expire and become void.

Mapped overlays can impose additional requirements, and where an overlay conflicts with primary zoning standards, the more restrictive requirement controls. The most restrictive shall control.

In Fire Safety Overlay areas, development generally must provide two vehicular access points, each with a minimum 26-foot-wide all-weather surface; one may be approved as emergency access only if specified findings are made. Development adjacent or exposed to hazardous fire areas generally also requires a permanent fuel-modification area at least 100 feet wide. A minimum of two points of vehicular ingress and egress.

In Floodplain Safety Review Area 1, new construction and substantial improvements generally must place the first floor at least one foot above mapped base-flood elevation; where that elevation is not shown, residential construction must be at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade. Flood reviews and an elevation certificate are also required. One foot or more above the base flood elevation.

In mapped Geologic Hazard Overlay areas, projects involving roads, structures, or subdivisions generally require a detailed geologic study. Structures for human occupancy generally must be at least 50 feet from active fault traces and critical facilities at least 150 feet away, subject to listed exceptions and approved investigations. Located 50 feet or farther.

Stationary-source noise limits apply to new and existing uses and depend on the receiving land use and time of day; for residences, the limits are 55 dB(A) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 45 dB(A) from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Unpermitted external commercial or industrial activity is also prohibited from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. when it impairs neighbors’ quiet enjoyment or disturbs the public peace. Standards for stationary noise sources.

Commercial or industrial uses abutting residentially zoned property must maintain a setback of at least 15 feet, or the greater setback required by the zoning district. Loading docks, mechanical equipment, utilities, and outdoor storage must be screened, with screening sufficient to meet the stated noise limit at the property line. A setback of 15 feet.

Outdoor lighting from commercial or industrial uses in the Valley Region must prevent light trespass onto residential districts, residential parcels, or public rights-of-way; direct or indirect light there may not exceed 0.5 foot-candles. In the Mountain and Desert Regions, new permitted lighting must meet applicable shielding rules. Fully shielded.

New nonresidential development is subject to regional infrastructure requirements that can include legal and physical access, easements, paved access, drainage improvements, and fire flow. Water and sewer connection requirements apply in specified circumstances, including when the nearest property line is within 200 feet of a line. Standards apply to new non-residential development.

Nonresidential projects larger than 10,000 square feet in the unincorporated County are subject to transportation-control requirements, including bicycle parking and pedestrian/bicycle connections. Shower facilities apply to new nonresidential development generating at least 250 peak-hour trips; passenger-loading areas apply to projects with at least 100 parking spaces; and transit improvements are required for new development along existing or planned transit routes. Projects greater than 10,000 square feet.

Nonresidential uses generally must provide at least four parking spaces, plus one additional space for each facility vehicle, unless the code specifies otherwise. Discretionary approvals may impose more extensive requirements. A minimum of four spaces.

Nonresidential projects with at least 2,500 square feet of installed landscape area must submit a landscape documentation package for review and approval and meet applicable landscape-area, water-budget, and irrigation standards. A total landscape area that is 2,500 square feet or greater.

Where a Water Quality Management Plan is required, the developer must deposit funds for an independent quality-control engineer before building permits are issued and make additional deposits if required. Failure to make an additional deposit by the specified date may result in permit suspension or revocation and a stop-work order. Before the issuance of building permits.

Best Management Practices are required at land-disturbance sites. Projects disturbing more than one acre must have a Soil Erosion Pollution Prevention Plan before permits or disturbance and obtain state construction-stormwater coverage and a WDID number before building or grading permits. More than one acre.

A pre-construction flood-hazard inspection is required before a development permit for land disturbance or construction that could affect a discernible watercourse, unless a prior land-use approval already authorizes the activity; the inspection may lead to further flood-hazard or floodplain review. Before approval of any development permit.

Nonresidential uses must provide refuse and recyclable-material storage sized according to building floor area, subject to location and access restrictions. Exterior enclosures generally require six-foot masonry walls and steel gates and must be lit. Nonresidential uses shall provide refuse and recyclable material storage areas.

If subdivision approval is required, the County must review the map and make findings on matters including site suitability, public safety, environmental harm, and sewer discharge. Tentative-map approval expires after 36 months unless a parcel or final map is timely filed or an extension is granted. Required findings; valid for 36 months.

For subdivisions, the County may require dedications and improvements, and parcels generally must have qualifying public-road access. Subdivision design also has road, emergency-access, fire-protection, drainage, water-supply, and utility requirements. Adequate public services and utilities.

Subdivision improvement plans must be approved before required improvements are built. If improvements are unfinished when a map is approved, the subdivider must enter an agreement and provide security of at least 100% of estimated improvement costs, plus additional security for labor and materials. Security required.

Construction within an adopted Local Area Drainage Plan can trigger drainage fees, payable before the relevant building, grading, or other County approval; this applies only within plan boundaries. Structures and mobile-home permits within an adopted Local Area Transportation Facilities Plan can trigger transportation-facility fees, subject to stated exclusions. Drainage fees paid prior to issuance; transportation facilities fees.

A legally nonconforming data-center use may not be increased, enlarged, extended, or altered except as allowed by the Code; alteration generally requires an approved Conditional Use Permit. If the use is discontinued for 180 days or more, it loses its nonconforming status and thereafter may be used only in compliance with the Code. Shall not be increased, enlarged, extended, or altered; discontinued for 180 days or more.

Establishing a land use or constructing or altering a structure without required authorization or permits triggers additional permit-processing fees before authorization is granted; violations may also result in enforcement costs and civil penalties. Shall pay the additional permit processing fees.

If a data center use is not listed, the Director may determine in writing that it is similar and compatible with a listed use and allow it to follow that use’s zoning and permit requirements. The determination requires specified findings and may be appealed.

A Planned Development permit can allow greater design flexibility and changes to adopted standards if the Board finds they better serve the planned-development purposes. The project must be commercial or industrial, at least five acres, allowed in the zoning district, and consistent with the General Plan.

An allowed use or structure that meets applicable standards may receive streamlined Site Plan Permit review. This route is generally unavailable in a city sphere of influence, designated redevelopment area, or along a designated state highway; projects that fail required findings may be referred to another review process.

Tenant Review can avoid discretionary review, environmental review, and public hearings for qualifying first occupancy of a building with an undetermined occupant or remodeling for a tenant. It cannot be used for changes to the building footprint or floor area, and projects that fail the criteria are referred for other review.

An approved development agreement can let a project proceed under the policies, regulations, rules, and approval conditions in effect at approval despite later County changes. It requires approval and significant, tangible benefits to the County beyond ordinary project conditions.

Complete applications may be processed under the rules in effect when accepted. An unexpired land-use permit approved before a code change may allow development under its approved terms, subject to the rules that applied when it was approved.

Required parking for new nonresidential development may be reduced when paired with trip-reduction actions, based on a study by a qualified traffic engineer.

An accessory wind energy system may generate electricity primarily to reduce on-site consumption. For a nonresidential parcel, the limit is 50 kW or verified actual energy use; applicable standards and permitting still apply, though a single system no more than 35 feet high is permit-exempt.

A temporary nonresidential structure, including a manufactured or mobile unit, may provide space as an accessory use for an industrial use or as the first phase of a development project, generally for up to 12 months. It must meet applicable standards and obtain a Temporary Use Permit.

Electrical power generation and utility facilities have a Conditional Use Permit pathway in the IC and IR districts. This applies to supporting facilities, not automatically to a data center itself.

For a subdivision of four or fewer parcels, the County may waive the Parcel Map requirement if applicable subdivision and Map Act requirements are met; the Director may still require a Composite Development Plan.

Subdivision improvements may be deferred through an Improvement Agreement backed by approved security instead of being completed before Parcel or Final Map approval. For subdivisions of four or fewer parcels, some improvements may instead be required when a Building Permit is issued or at another specified time.

When required improvements are oversized to serve property outside a subdivision, applicable reimbursement provisions apply.

In adopted drainage or transportation plan areas, a developer may provide construction, land, design work, or other qualifying consideration instead of some or all applicable fees if the County finds the contribution is at least equal in value to the fee.

A developer may advance money for drainage or transportation facilities and be reimbursed from the applicable fund, subject to program limits and an agreement. Transportation advances are reimbursed without interest, are generally capped at about 25 percent of area fees collected in a fiscal year, and the agreement expires after 20 years.

A qualifying replacement of a nonresidential structure or use owes no transportation fee if it does not increase the fee-assessed area and its fee category is no higher than the replaced use. If the new category has a higher fee, only the difference is due.

A legally established nonconforming use may continue, but generally cannot be increased or enlarged; its nonconforming status ends if it is discontinued for 180 days or more.

A nonconforming structure may be reconstructed, repaired, or rebuilt and continue in use after damage if the work costs no more than 75 percent of the structure’s replacement value.