All development requires prior County authorization and must comply with the applicable zoning district and all other Unified Land Development Code requirements.

A data center or other use not specifically listed in the Table of Land Uses is presumed prohibited unless the Planning and Development Director determines in writing that it is materially similar to a listed use; the determination may impose the listed use's regulations.

Development approval must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, including its goals, objectives, and policies.

A concurrency determination is required before formal development-plan submittal, and approval generally requires adequate roads, potable water, wastewater, drainage, solid-waste, and recreation capacity.

Nonresidential development requires Site Development Plan approval before a building permit can be issued. The plan must address zoning, concurrency, traffic, utilities, stormwater, wetlands, floodplain, parking, landscaping, buffering, and other applicable requirements.

Construction Plans must be approved before site development begins and must include detailed engineering drawings for grading, drainage, stormwater, utilities, roads, parking, and related improvements, signed and sealed by a Florida-registered professional engineer.

Site Development Plan applications are accepted only on the first Friday of each month and are subject to Development Review Committee review.

An approved Site Development Plan expires after one year, although the Planning and Development Director may grant one extension of up to 12 months. Construction Plan approval is valid for 36 months, with one possible extension of up to one year, and construction may not begin without current approved plans.

Transportation review requires traffic studies based on projected average daily trips: no study below 150 trips, a minor study for 150 to 1,000 trips, and a major study above 1,000 trips. Site Development Plans also require a traffic impact analysis under the County's procedures and a concurrency worksheet addressing required Levels of Service.

If transportation capacity is unavailable, the County may require construction of improvements, payment into a road fund, or a proportionate fair-share agreement; proportionate fair-share payments are generally due within 60 days after the agreement becomes effective.

A development site must be unified by title or an approved covenant, must have zoning accommodating the principal use, and generally may not place required parking, stormwater retention, or other required facilities off-site.

Development plans may require future-phase amenities and stormwater systems to be constructed during the first phase. After a completion schedule is approved, land may not be used and buildings may not be occupied except in accordance with that schedule.

All development must provide stormwater treatment meeting County and SWFWMD standards, generally including treatment of the first inch of runoff. Stormwater systems require certification by a Florida-licensed professional engineer and ongoing maintenance.

Commercial and industrial development must meet utility requirements, including required water and wastewater service and underground utilities. New commercial, manufacturing, warehousing, and industrial buildings must provide emergency backup generators.

Nonresidential projects subject to the landscaping requirements must submit an approved Landscape Plan before a Development Permit; the plan must address items such as canopy, buffers, irrigation, and utilities and may require preparation by a qualified landscape professional.

New nonresidential construction and qualifying expansions must provide required off-street parking and loading before a Certificate of Occupancy can be issued, with parking lots also subject to surfacing, buffering, canopy, and accessibility requirements.

Uses must control noise, vibration, smoke, dust, waste, odors, glare, fumes, and similar impacts. Within 100 feet of a residential district, all processes and storage other than vehicle parking must be inside completely closed buildings.

Flood-hazard-area development requires a floodplain development permit or approval and may be subject to elevation, engineering, and flood-resistant construction requirements. The permit expires if work does not begin within 180 days or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days.

Wetland alteration generally requires a County wetland alteration permit and an approved state or federal wetland management plan. Development in a transitional wetland zone generally requires a natural or created buffer of at least 30 feet with no structures.

Within public potable-water wellhead protection areas, development is prohibited within the first 200 feet except for limited low-density residential encroachment. Hazardous-substance uses, landfills, mines, wastewater facilities, and certain other activities are prohibited throughout the 400-foot protection area.

No building or changed use may be occupied until a Certificate of Occupancy is issued. New buildings and changes in occupancy also require fire-code inspection and approval, and utility connections generally cannot be made until released by the Building Official and a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.

Commonly owned areas, including easements, drainage facilities, open space, recreation areas, and shared structures, must be recorded before a building permit is issued, and evidence of the applicable homeowners' or property owners' association may be required.

Applicants must pay applicable development, review, permitting, advertising, mailing, posting, and other County fees. An application is not sufficient until required fees are paid, and the applicant bears advertising, mailing, and posting costs.

Beginning construction or regulated building work before obtaining required permits incurs a penalty equal to 100 percent of the usual permit fee in addition to the permit fees, except for qualifying emergency work.

Land excavation generally requires a Mining Major Special Exception Use Permit and, after approval, a separate Land Excavation Operating Permit before excavation begins. Operators must maintain financial security for reclamation, submit excavation and reclamation plans, and comply with water, slope, noise, inspection, and monitoring requirements.

Land excavation operations may not exceed 75 decibels at the property boundary, may not adversely affect surrounding surface-water or groundwater levels or quality, and generally must leave at least 10 feet of the semi-confining layer beneath the excavation.

A use classified as a Special Exception requires a concept or site development plan, concurrency analysis, Planning and Zoning Board review and recommendation, and final Board of County Commissioners approval at a public hearing. Conditions may regulate hours, building size, buffers, access, parking, and other operational matters.

Special Exception approval is limited to the approved site and plan, may include time limits and conditions, and may be revoked for noncompliance. Unless a different period is established, the approval expires if the use does not begin within 180 days or is abandoned for 180 days.

Rezoning requires Planning and Zoning Board review, public hearings, and Board of County Commissioners approval. The applicant must provide land-use, infrastructure, traffic, environmental, and compatibility analyses, and the rezoning must be Comprehensive Plan-consistent and maintain required Levels of Service.

Variances cannot authorize prohibited uses, change density or intensity limits, override Comprehensive Plan restrictions, or waive review and procedural requirements. They are limited to dimensional matters and require a public hearing and proof of a unique, non-self-created hardship.

A Planned Unit Development requires procedures generally applicable to a zoning amendment, plus concept-plan review, a Site Development and Standards Plan, alternative development regulations, utility and circulation details, binding conditions or covenants, and a development-phasing schedule.

An unlisted data center may be classified as materially similar to a listed use under an APA or NAICS classification, allowing the regulations for the similar use to apply. The decision must be recorded in writing, and the use cannot otherwise be prohibited. (Section 3.01.02)

The C/IBC, I-1, and I-2 zoning districts accommodate commercial, warehousing, light-industrial, heavy-industrial, manufacturing, processing, storage, and distribution uses, providing potential locations for data centers that qualify under the applicable use-approval rules. (Sections 3.04.11–3.04.13)

Planned Unit Development zoning may allow any use permitted elsewhere in the Code if consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, has no minimum land-area requirement, and may establish alternative lot-area, setback, height, and other development standards through an approved Master Development Plan. (Sections 3.05.02.08, 3.05.03.01, and 3.05.04.01)

A Planned Unit Development may use alternative development regulations when they provide at least as much development guidance as conventional zoning and are justified, allowing flexibility for specialized projects. (Section 9.05.02)

Planned Unit Development applications may provide for construction in a single operation or in programmed phases under a completion schedule, with conditions that can be incorporated into the zoning ordinance and bind successors. (Sections 9.05.01.01 and 9.05.02)

The County generally may not require an applicant to obtain a state or federal permit before processing or issuing a local development permit unless the outside agency has already issued a final denial. The applicant remains responsible for obtaining required outside permits. (Section 9.01.01)

Concurrency may be satisfied through facilities that are already available, will be completed before the project creates impacts, are already under construction, or are guaranteed through an enforceable development agreement. (Section 8.01.01)

If transportation capacity is unavailable, an eligible project may use the Transportation Proportionate Fair-Share Program by contributing money, land, or transportation improvements instead of being denied solely for lack of roadway capacity. The contribution cannot exceed the project's proportionate share, and the project must comply with the Comprehensive Plan and other applicable regulations. (Sections 8.01.07.02–8.01.07.05)

Projects generating fewer than 150 average daily trips do not require a traffic impact study; projects generating 150 to 1,000 trips require only a minor traffic impact analysis. Projects over 1,000 trips require a major analysis, and the County Engineer may impose access or roadway-connection requirements. (Sections 8.01.01(B)(10) and 8.01.07.01)

Development agreements may identify the public facilities serving a project, assign responsibility for providing them, establish construction schedules, and guarantee that facilities are available when development impacts occur. They may use cash escrow, an irrevocable letter of credit, or prepaid capacity or connection charges to secure facility capacity and support phased development. (Sections 8.10.00 and 9.20.04(A)(4))

A development agreement generally protects an approved project from later County law or policy changes by applying the laws and policies in effect when the agreement is executed for the agreement's duration. Later laws may apply only under specified conditions, including when they are essential to public health, safety, or welfare and are expressly made applicable. (Section 9.20.04(B)–(C))

Development agreements may last up to five years, may be extended by mutual consent subject to a public hearing, and bind successors in interest. (Sections 9.20.04(B) and 9.20.06(A))

The Code supports utility infrastructure for qualifying development by requiring central potable-water and wastewater connections when required by the Comprehensive Plan and when a public line is within 200 feet, and by allowing utility easements of at least 15 feet. It also generally requires underground electric, communications, and gas distribution lines in developments. (Sections 5.10.01 and 5.10.02)

Construction plans may be processed concurrently with a Site Development Plan when authorized by the Planning and Development Director, potentially reducing sequential review time. (Section 9.10.06.01(A))

Previously approved site plans, subdivision plats, and development permits may continue under the regulations in effect when they were approved or issued, provided they have not expired and required development activity begins and continues within the applicable time limits. (Section 1.04.02(A)–(C))

Approved Site Development Plans remain valid for one year, and the Planning and Development Director may grant one extension of up to 12 months if conditions have not substantially changed. (Section 9.10.05.04)

Approved Construction Plans remain valid for 36 months, with one additional extension of up to one year available if requested before expiration. (Section 9.10.06.01(D)–(E))

For an expansion of an existing structure of no more than 30 percent of floor area or seating, the County may reduce or waive certain Site Development Plan submission requirements if the use does not change, no nonconforming use is expanded, and the site is not reduced. (Section 9.10.05.02(B))

Administrative adjustments may reduce minimum parking or loading requirements by up to 20 percent or two spaces, whichever is greater, subject to the Code's limitations and excluding ADA-required spaces. (Section 11.05.04.04)

Administrative adjustments may modify landscaping and tree-preservation requirements by up to 50 percent and may reduce or waive screening and buffering when compatibility buffering is conclusively shown to be unnecessary. (Section 11.05.04.05)

Administrative adjustments may modify sign-placement standards by up to 20 percent and may vary certain sidewalk, roadway, driveway, and similar construction standards by up to 20 percent when alternative materials or methods meet or strengthen the Code's intent. ADA standards cannot be adjusted. (Sections 11.05.04.06–.07)

Minor field adjustments may be approved administratively for technical or engineering issues discovered during construction, including relocating a road, walkway, landscaping, or structure by up to five feet and reducing associated yard area or open space by up to 10 percent. (Section 11.05.04.01)

The Planning and Development Director may authorize a temporary office or construction trailer at an approved construction site for administrative, sales, tool-storage, or construction-support purposes. It may be installed after issuance of the building permit and must be removed when the permit expires or a Certificate of Occupancy is issued, whichever occurs first. (Section 10.02.02)

The Building Official may authorize a temporary utility connection for a nonresidential building or system to test building service systems before permanent utility authorization. (Section 12.04.02)