A data center must be an allowed use in its zone and comply with that zone’s rules; permits or entitlements cannot be issued for a lot that is not legally established. The permit required depends on the use and zone. Allowed-use requirement Legal-lot requirement.

Under the County SOAR ordinance, land designated Agriculture, Open Space, or Rural cannot be redesignated to another land-use category without a public vote. Measure C sunsets December 31, 2050. (SOAR provision)

Development in or near an environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA) or its buffer generally requires a Coastal Development Permit, and only limited uses are allowed. Buffers must be at least 100 feet wide and may need to be larger. Permit and limited-use requirements Minimum buffer width.

Projects in or near ESHA or its buffer may need a site-specific biological assessment, plans and measures to avoid or minimize impacts, and an alternatives analysis identifying the least environmentally damaging feasible design. The County may require further analysis if the evidence is inadequate. Biological assessment Alternatives analysis.

Development adjacent to or within 500 feet of wetlands or coastal open-water ESHA may not reduce habitat size or adversely affect ecological function or water quality. Wet-environment restrictions.

Unavoidable adverse impacts to ESHA require compensatory mitigation when no feasible siting or design alternative avoids them. Baseline ratios are 2:1 for coastal sage scrub or chaparral, 3:1 for other ESHA, and 4:1 for wetlands, estuaries, lagoons, or lakes; an ESHA Mitigation Plan is required. Mitigation ratios.

Zoning standards limit lot area, setbacks, height, and building coverage, with limits depending on zone and land-use designation. Maximum building coverage is 40% in commercial and industrial designations and 5% in open-space and agricultural designations. Standards vary by zone Coverage limits.

New development and expansions must provide off-street parking. If the use is not listed in the parking table, the Planning Director or decision-making body sets the requirement based on a comparable use. Parking requirement Unlisted-use determination.

New development and substantial redevelopment must be evaluated for geologic, flood, and fire hazards; projects in coastal-hazard screening areas also require evaluation of coastal hazards and sea-level rise. Required reports are prepared at the applicant’s expense. In Screening Area A, a Coastal Hazards Analysis Report is generally required; in Area B, a stillwater flood analysis report is generally required. Specified minor or easily removable development and certain habitat projects may qualify for waivers. Applicant-paid reports Screening Area A report requirement Screening Area B report requirement.

Projects in Screening Areas A or B, on a bluff, or in an area with known geologic hazards may also require an applicant-funded geologic or geotechnical report; technical evaluations may be subject to paid peer review. Geologic evaluation requirements.

New development and substantial redevelopment must be sited and designed to minimize risks over their expected life, remain stable without relying on shoreline protective devices except for coastal-dependent development, and avoid significantly contributing to erosion or geologic instability. In a Coastal Hazards Screening Area or FEMA V-zone, a principal structure or accessory dwelling unit must avoid coastal hazards or elevate its lowest horizontal structural member at least one foot above the calculated design flood elevation for its expected life. Siting and safety standards Elevation requirement.

New development and substantial redevelopment in coastal-hazard screening areas must be designed to remain safe without shoreline protective devices. New, enlarged, or extended devices are limited to specified circumstances and require analysis of alternatives, including nonstructural and nature-based options; they cannot be approved unless required alternatives are infeasible or more environmentally damaging. Restrictions on shoreline protective devices.

For new development and substantial redevelopment on a beach or shoreline, the application must include an applicant-funded Mean High Tide Line survey using data collected within 12 months before the application and approved as compliant with State Lands Commission survey standards. Survey requirement and timing.

Discretionary permits require at least one public hearing unless the hearing requirement is waived. Public-hearing requirement.

Residential, industrial, and commercial development requiring a Coastal Hazards Analysis Report is subject to a recorded notice disclosing known hazards, assumption of hazard risks, and possible future removal or relocation if the development becomes permanently unsafe. Recorded hazard notice.

Where grading or vegetation removal requires a Coastal Development Permit, grading must minimize disturbance and may be prohibited during the winter rainy season, October 1 through April 15, unless an exception applies. Rainy-season restriction and exceptions.

Non-residential development may not exceed 50 dB Leq(h) within ESHA; if ambient noise is already higher, the limit is ambient noise plus 3 dB. Outdoor construction within, abutting, or adjacent to an ESHA noise-sensitive receptor is prohibited after sunset. Noise threshold.

Lighting that could affect ESHA is restricted: fixtures generally must be outside ESHA, and buffer-zone lighting must minimize glare and light trespass. Allowed buffer lighting must use minimum output and a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin or less; essential or security lights must turn off within five minutes by timer or motion detector. Lighting requirements.

New structures and additions, and certain remodels replacing glass or windows on at least one façade, must use bird-safe treatments on unbroken glazed segments of 16 square feet or larger; mirrored glass is prohibited. Bird-safe glazing threshold.

Construction staging and equipment storage are generally limited to legally disturbed areas and the approved development envelope, outside buffer zones and away from adjoining ESHA unless an exception is approved. Construction may require invasive-species controls and wildlife surveys, and work may need to be postponed if sensitive species or occupied critical-life-stage habitat is found. Staging and equipment-storage rules.

Altering, transplanting, or removing a protected tree generally requires a tree permit. Trees classified as ESHA may be altered or removed only in specified circumstances, such as an imminent hazard, minimum development necessary for economically beneficial use when no feasible alternative exists, or an approved habitat plan. Unavoidable impacts require mitigation; native-tree removal requires at least 10 replacement native trees per tree removed, monitored for at least 10 years. Tree permit requirement Replacement requirement.

For qualifying coastal sage scrub or chaparral impacts in the Santa Monica Mountains overlay zone, the interim in-lieu mitigation fee is $29,170 per acre, adjusted annually for inflation. A reduced fee of $7,340 per acre applies to specified thinning in an expanded fuel-modification zone exceeding 100 feet. The interim program is limited to six years after certification unless extended or replaced by a certified permanent program. Interim fee.

Projects with potential archaeological-resource effects may require a Phase I inventory; moderate-to-high potential for significant resources triggers a Phase II evaluation unless waived under stated conditions. The County notifies qualifying tribes within 14 days after an application is deemed complete, and tribes have 30 days to request consultation. Consultation period.

Projects in specified geologic areas or formations require a paleontological assessment. If earthwork may disturb important resources, a monitoring and mitigation plan and monitoring are required, and work must halt if fossils are found. Paleontological monitoring plan.

Development in agricultural areas must show it will not significantly reduce or adversely affect agricultural resources or commercial agricultural viability, site structures to minimize conflicts with agricultural operations, and remove the minimum amount of agricultural land from production. Agricultural-land requirement.

Specified projects must provide landscaping and meet plant-selection, irrigation, and water-budget standards. Minimum landscape coverage is 5% in Coastal Industrial and 10% in Coastal Commercial zones; estimated total water use must stay within the maximum allowance. Irrigated non-residential landscapes of 1,000 square feet or more require dedicated landscape water meters. Landscape coverage requirements.

Repair or maintain an existing facility without a Coastal Development Permit if the work does not add to, enlarge, or expand it, except for specified work that risks substantial environmental harm. Replacing 50% or more of certain structures does not count as repair or maintenance. repair or maintenance activities

Improvements to an existing, legally permitted non-residential structure are generally exempt from a Coastal Development Permit. Exceptions include specified sensitive locations, changes in use intensity, and, in certain coastal areas, increases of 10% or more in floor area or more than 10% in height. improvements to existing legally permitted non-residential structures

Necessary utility connections between an existing service facility and development approved under the ordinance are exempt from a Coastal Development Permit, though the County may impose reasonable conditions to mitigate coastal-resource impacts. installation, testing, and placement in service

A legally permitted non-public-works structure destroyed by disaster may be replaced without a Coastal Development Permit if it has the same use and location, conforms to zoning, and does not exceed the original floor area, height, or bulk by more than 10%. replacement of any legally permitted structure

A project may seek to reduce required motor-vehicle parking through a parking study, transportation-demand measures, or a parking reserve. For non-residential uses, a reserve may cover one space or up to 10% of required spaces, whichever is greater, but must be landscaped and convertible to parking if required. Written findings are required, and coastal-access parking cannot be displaced. reductions to the required number of motor vehicle parking spaces

Required parking for a non-residential use may be located off-site within 500 feet along an accessible pedestrian route. The Planning Director may approve a greater distance if the applicant shows it will be used as intended and will not displace on-street coastal-access parking; capacity, access, and design requirements also apply. Off-site parking for non-residential land uses

Required parking spaces may be shared by multiple land uses whose peak demand occurs at different times, subject to a parking-demand analysis and a recorded agreement ensuring continued availability. Shared use of required motor vehicle parking spaces

The County may reduce or waive required landscaping in specified circumstances, such as when existing structures or an exceptionally small or irregular lot prevent compliance, or landscaping would eliminate required parking. Approval requires findings that the change will not adversely affect coastal resources or public welfare, increase water demand, or conflict with the rules’ purpose. The size of the required landscape area may be waived or modified

If required parking spaces would otherwise be lost, interior parking-lot landscaping requirements may be met with substitutes such as high-albedo or pervious paving, public art, or shade structures. Whenever feasible, substitutes should not replace more than half of the interior landscaping requirement, with priority given to shade trees. the interior landscaping requirement may be modified

For eligible coastal sage scrub or chaparral impacts in the Santa Monica Mountains overlay zone, a permittee may pay into the County’s Coastal Habitat Impact Fund instead of directly carrying out off-site preservation. The option is limited to specified habitat and locations, and the interim fee option is time-limited. substitute payment of a fee

For eligible in-kind ESHA restoration or establishment successfully completed before project impacts occur, the baseline mitigation ratio is reduced to 1:1. This does not apply to unpermitted impacts, mitigation sites outside the coastal zone, or projects that could affect resources under federal or state natural-resource-agency jurisdiction. ratios will be reduced to 1:1

Removal or alteration of an ESHA-classified tree may be permitted when necessary for a new principal use and the minimum necessary to provide an economically beneficial use of the property, if the required alternatives analysis and other applicable permit and mitigation standards are met. necessary to allow a new principal use