Large-scale data centers in unincorporated San Diego County are classified as Major Impact Services and Utilities and generally require discretionary approval through a Major Use Permit.

Major Use Permit applications require CEQA review, public notices at multiple stages, and review by the applicable Community Planning or Sponsor Group.

A Major Use Permit requires findings that the data center's location, size, design, operations, community impacts, General Plan consistency, and CEQA compliance satisfy County requirements; the Planning Commission's decision may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

Major Impact Services and Utilities are not permitted in the C42 commercial zone.

Data centers in imported-water areas must obtain a will-serve letter or equivalent and undergo project-level water-service feasibility review.

Large-scale data centers in groundwater-dependent areas may be subject to CEQA groundwater review, the County Groundwater Ordinance, and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Diesel backup generators require local air-quality permits and are subject to operating-hour limits, particulate-emission standards, and best-available-control-technology requirements, particularly near sensitive receptors.

Data centers with battery-energy-storage systems of at least 600 kilowatt-hours must submit a site-specific technical study to the San Diego County Fire Protection District, including hazard-mitigation and plume-modeling reports.

Data center projects without onsite battery storage must still undergo review by an external fire-protection engineering firm for fire-safety practices.

In unincorporated San Diego County, data centers and related construction, alterations, expansions, and relocations must conform to the applicable zone, and the premises cannot be used for an unpermitted purpose.

A data-center use requiring discretionary approval may require a Major Use Permit or Minor Use Permit, with Major Use Permits generally under the Planning Commission's jurisdiction and Minor Use Permits generally under the Director's jurisdiction.

A variance cannot authorize a data-center use or other activity that is not otherwise expressly allowed in the property's zoning regulations.

In Scenic Area Regulations areas, no development permit may be issued and no outdoor commercial or industrial use may begin until a Site Plan is approved, unless a listed exemption or Director-approved waiver applies.

Buildings and structures must satisfy road setbacks in addition to the Zoning Ordinance's standard setback requirements.

Parking areas, loading spaces, and driveways generally must be hard surfaced, and most parking areas must provide landscaping covering at least 5 percent of the parking-area size.

In M50 and M52 industrial zones, projects must provide landscaped yard strips of specified widths and dense view-obscuring screening in specified locations.

A nonconforming data-center use or structure may continue, but its expansion, extension, substitution, activity changes, and facility changes are prohibited unless required by law or authorized under the Nonconformity Regulations.

Administrative, Site Plan, and Use Permit applications may require prescribed forms, ownership documentation, environmental review, fees, public notice or hearings, required improvements, security, and operating conditions.

Use Permit approval generally expires after two years if construction or use has not begun; a use permit tied to a subdivision map may instead expire three years after final or parcel-map recordation if construction or use has not begun.

Use Permits apply only within their defined permit boundaries, and additional uses within that area require a permit modification.

Site Plan, Use Permit, and other discretionary decisions may be appealed within specified 10-day periods; a timely appeal stays the decision or further proceedings and can prevent building or other permits from being issued until resolution.

Required permit conditions may require bonds, deposits, monetary security, or other financial instruments for improvements or compliance, and violations can lead to permit modification, revocation, civil penalties, or cease-and-desist orders.

Required public hearings generally must be scheduled no sooner than 10 days and no later than 90 days after an application is complete; when an Environmental Impact Report is required, the hearing generally must occur within one year, subject to a possible one-time extension of up to 90 days with the applicant's consent.

Imperial County adopted a 45-day moratorium temporarily pausing in-process and future data-center application submittals; the moratorium may be extended for a total period of up to two years.

Monterey Park adopted a citywide prohibition on data centers through a voter-approved measure on June 2, 2026.

Pending Senate Bill 887 would prohibit CEQA categorical exemptions for data centers, requiring discretionary land-use review where a project otherwise could be approved ministerially.

Pending Senate Bills 886, 1168, and 978 would impose data-center electricity-rate requirements, including special tariffs or rate structures and, in some proposals, upfront developer payment for infrastructure upgrades.

Pending Assembly Bills 2619 and 2469 would require data-center developers to report water use.

Pending Assembly Bill 1577 would require data-center developers to report energy use.

Large-scale data centers are classified as Major Impact Services and Utilities and may be approved with a Major Use Permit in residential, most commercial, industrial, agricultural, and specified special-purpose zones; they are not permitted in the C42 commercial zone.

Major Impact Services and Utilities may be conditionally permitted in any zone when the public interest outweighs ordinary land-use limits and the facility requires a particular location because of community-wide interest.

The County may provide economic incentives under Board Policy A-124 when a data-center project supports economic-development priorities such as job creation, relevant wages, and alignment with the regional economic ecosystem.

A use permit may authorize a use, structure, or action that would otherwise require a separate Administrative Permit, eliminating that additional permit when it is included in the use permit.

Related permit, subdivision-map, use-permit, variance, and zoning-amendment applications may be processed concurrently under the authority handling the related application.

Administrative Permit and Site Plan applications generally must receive an approval, modification notice, or denial within 60 days after a complete application is received. The Administrative Permit deadline may be extended only with the applicant's written consent.

A Site Plan may be waived when another discretionary permit fulfills its purposes or when the project is minor, including an addition of no more than 500 square feet, window or door replacement, reroofing, restuccoing, or minor facade improvements. The waiver does not remove other legal or zoning requirements and the minor-project waiver does not apply in the coastal zone.

A complete permit application is generally governed by the zoning rules in effect when the application became complete, protecting the project from later zoning amendments during review. An application is generally deemed complete after 30 days unless deficiencies are identified or completeness is confirmed earlier.

A building with a permit issued before a zoning amendment may proceed under the prior rules if construction begins within one calendar year and is completed within three years, provided it does not violate another law or ordinance.

Existing nonconforming uses and structures may continue and be maintained after a rezoning or ordinance amendment creates the nonconformity, although expansion, extension, substitution, or other changes remain restricted unless authorized by the Nonconformity Regulations.

Under S88 Specific Planning Area regulations, uses identified in an adopted Specific Plan are permitted under the S88 regulations, and the Specific Plan's use conditions and restrictions control over conflicting zoning provisions.

Under S90 Holding Area regulations, an existing Major or Minor Use Permit may be continued, modified, reinstated, or renewed after holding-area zoning is applied.

M56 areas must use a Specific Plan addressing public facilities such as sewer, water, fire protection, and roads, providing a framework for coordinating industrial development with required infrastructure.

The Director may waive M56 administrative design review when a project would not materially contribute to the applicable Design Manual's objectives and guidelines, subject to considering the designated community or property-owner review body's recommendation.

For County-owned solid-waste sites and associated buffer properties, specified uses such as photovoltaic solar energy systems and above-ground wireless telecommunications facilities are exempt from certain administrative, Site Plan, and Use Permit procedures. The lease must be reviewed by the Director and list the uses, and all other zoning, performance, and design standards still apply.

A photovoltaic solar energy system extending no more than five feet above a roof is exempt from applicable maximum-height limits; larger systems may be approved with a Minor Use Permit.

Wireless telecommunications facilities may exceed an applicable height limit with a Minor Use Permit, subject to the ordinance's other requirements.

The zoning ordinance does not apply to federally owned public lands or Indian Reservation lands, subject to other applicable laws. It also does not apply to qualifying state-owned public lands or certain County-owned, County-operated, County-financed, or public-purpose facilities.

Civic uses, structures authorized by a use permit, accessory structures, temporary structures, and secondary uses are exempt from the Building Type Schedule, allowing additional design flexibility for qualifying data-center buildings and supporting structures.

The Director may approve a Minor Deviation from an approved permit without notice or a public hearing when the change is not substantial, does not adversely affect adjacent property, and stays within stated limits, generally including cumulative changes of up to 10 percent in regulated areas, building or structure size, height, excavation, or the number of buildings or structures.

Large-scale data centers, defined in the report as facilities with more than 1,000 servers at one site, are classified as Major Impact Services and Utilities and require a discretionary Major Use Permit rather than by-right approval.

Major Impact Services and Utilities are not permitted in the C42 commercial zone, so large-scale data centers cannot be developed there under the current zoning classification.

A Major Use Permit requires environmental review under CEQA and findings that the project’s location, size, design, and operating characteristics will not harm community character, conform to the General Plan, and satisfy CEQA requirements.

Major Use Permit applications require public notice at project submittal, during CEQA document review, and before the Planning Commission hearing, with notice generally sent within 1,500 feet of the site or to at least 100 property owners.

Large-scale data centers must be considered by the Planning Commission, which may approve or deny the Major Use Permit; the decision may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

A proposed data center may be presented to the applicable Community Planning or Sponsor Group for a recommendation as part of the Major Use Permit process.

Projects with diesel backup generators must obtain permits from the local air-quality management district and comply with limits on operating hours, particulate-matter emissions standards, and best available control technology requirements, particularly near sensitive receptors.

Data centers in imported-water service areas require a will-serve letter or equivalent from the applicable water district and must undergo project-level water-service feasibility review.

Data centers in groundwater-dependent areas are subject to groundwater availability and usage review under CEQA groundwater guidelines, the County Groundwater Ordinance, and, where applicable, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Data center facilities with onsite battery energy storage may be subject to the County’s battery-energy-storage requirements; facilities with storage capacity of 600 kilowatt-hours or more must submit a site-specific technical study, including hazard-mitigation and plume-modeling information, to the Fire Protection District.

Even without onsite battery energy storage, data centers require review by an external fire-protection engineering firm for project-wide fire-safety practices.

Data centers must comply with applicable County noise standards, including Section 36.404 of the San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances; project-specific noise controls, setbacks, acoustic barriers, or post-construction noise studies may also be required.

Large-scale data centers are currently treated as Major Impact Services and Utilities, allowing them in all residential zones, all commercial zones except C42, all industrial and agricultural zones, and specified special-purpose zones, subject to a discretionary Major Use Permit.

The County may offer potential economic incentives under Board Policy A-124 for qualifying projects, depending on factors such as the number of jobs created and alignment with the County’s economic-development priorities.

Large-scale data centers are eligible project types under the County’s voluntary Community Benefits Agreement guidelines; because the agreements are voluntary, applicants are not automatically subject to mandatory community-benefit requirements.

The County’s planned Letter of Determination would formally confirm that large-scale data centers are processed as Major Impact Services and Utilities and require a Major Use Permit, providing applicants with a standardized interpretation of the existing zoning rules.

The County may define data centers in the Zoning Ordinance through an amendment that can be incorporated into an existing ordinance effort without additional cost or internal Planning and Development Services workplan impacts.