Data centers are restricted to designated Data Center Overlay District areas and only the zoning districts authorized by the overlay.

In Highway Commercial (HC) areas, only minor data centers are permitted by right; medium data centers require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).

In designated PUD-2 and PUD-3 areas, only minor data centers are permitted by right.

In Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) districts, major and campus data centers, as well as minor and medium data centers, are permitted only within the overlay and require conceptual site plan approval.

Accessory data centers are allowed only as accessory uses on LI and HI parcels and must remain under 2,000 square feet.

Every data center requires conceptual site plan approval under the county's site plan procedures.

New data centers must meet principal-façade design standards, including fenestration or an optional green wall and changes in building materials, patterns, textures, colors, or accent materials at least every 150 feet or every three times the building's average height.

Principal façades must contain fenestration covering at least 30% of the façade, with limits on the size and distribution of individual fenestration placements.

Certain prohibited materials, including aluminum siding, corrugated steel, vinyl siding, plywood, pressed wood products, synthetic stucco, and unfinished concrete block, may not be used on building façades.

Mechanical equipment must be shown on site plans and fully screened on all sides, subject to limited ventilation-related perforation allowances; ground-mounted equipment generally cannot be placed in required front yards or between the building and a public road.

Refuse collection areas must be fully screened, and loading bays must be screened from adjoining parcels and existing or planned public roads.

Each data center building must include a differentiated main entrance feature and foundation plantings along at least 50% of the façade, or provide landscaping at an enhanced rate of 20% above the otherwise required plant units.

Data center buildings in LI and HI districts may not exceed 75 feet in height, and rooftop mechanical equipment may not exceed 30 feet.

When adjacent to residential or agricultural property, parking must be set back at least 50 feet, unless specified existing screening remains or berms, fencing, and plantings are provided.

No new data center may be located within 350 feet of the property line of a residential or agricultural zone.

A data center in an LI or HI district may not be located within 500 feet of the property line of a mixed-use, residential, or agricultural parcel.

Buildings within 400 feet of qualifying residential property must include façade height changes at the specified intervals and a building step-back of at least 15 feet beginning at the top of the second story or 40 feet, whichever is lower.

Generator testing next to qualifying residential property is limited to 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. and no more than 10 hours per month; generators otherwise may be used only for backup or emergencies.

Data centers must submit a photometric plan covering all exterior and security lighting and must comply with the county's maximum illumination standards.

Operations may not exceed continuous noise levels of 60 dBA during the daytime or 55 dBA at night at occupied residential buildings or designated sensitive receivers, and pure-tone limits also apply.

Noise compliance measurements must use calibrated Type 1 sound meters, be taken no closer than 100 feet from an occupied residential structure or sensitive receiver, and be documented in a qualified acoustical professional's report before a certificate of completion or occupancy is issued.

The Planning and Zoning Commission or building and zoning official may require acoustical barriers around exterior mechanical equipment next to residential or agricultural uses.

All cooling and ventilation equipment must operate on a closed-loop system.

Data centers must maintain a Water Usage Effectiveness ratio below 0.75 liters per kilowatt-hour.

Substations associated with data centers are allowed only in LI and HI districts, must be at least 50 feet from a public right-of-way, must be screened by an eight-foot decorative brick-faced wall, and may not share space with vehicle storage or service equipment.

Rezoning and conceptual site plan applications must include a noise impact assessment, water consumption and sustainability plan, energy consumption and sustainability plan, stormwater management plan, and sewer plan.

The water plan must address drought and water-scarcity risks, public-service impacts, mitigation measures, low-water or water-free cooling, and the anticipated WUE target.

The energy plan must document existing and projected loads, address effects on local power infrastructure and transmission lines, identify renewable generation that offsets at least 10% of total power use, provide an electronics recycling decommissioning plan, and disclose the anticipated PUE.

The sewer plan must address daily flows, sewer capacity, treatment equipment and chemical monitoring, system capacity or planned improvements, detailed pipe and utility information, and a closure and disposal plan.

Applicants may be required to provide additional information requested by the Zoning Administrator before an application is deemed complete.

Owners or operators must submit an annual compliance report by January 1 documenting changes to and continued compliance with submitted assessments and zoning conditions.

Municipal water and sewer service is required for data center development.

A CUP is generally required for medium data centers in HC districts, subject to a limited exception for qualifying redevelopment of existing industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing sites.

The CUP exception for qualifying redevelopment applies only if the prior improvements existed before December 31, 2024, there has been no active occupational tax certificate for the prior six months, the redevelopment meets the supplemental regulations, impervious surface and building footprint do not increase by more than 25%, no portion is within 400 feet of residential property unless separated by specified major roads, and all required studies are submitted for administrative review.

CUP applications must satisfy additional criteria concerning sustainable resource, energy, and water use and compliance with the required impact plans and assessments.

Within the Data Center Overlay District, minor data centers are permitted by right in Highway Commercial (HC) and designated PUD-2 and PUD-3 districts.

Within the Data Center Overlay District, minor, medium, major, and campus data centers are permitted by right in Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) districts.

Accessory data centers under 2,000 square feet are allowed as accessory uses on LI and HI parcels.

Medium data centers may be approved in the HC district through a Conditional Use Permit.

A medium data center redevelopment on an existing industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing site in the HC district may avoid a Conditional Use Permit and receive administrative staff review if specified conditions are met, including qualifying prior development, full regulatory compliance, limited expansion of impervious surface and building area, sufficient separation from residential property, and submission of required plans and studies.

For qualifying redevelopment sites, the exemption from a Conditional Use Permit can cover a replacement or repurposing project involving a medium, major, or campus data center, subject to the ordinance's supplemental regulations.

The overlay preserves all uses permitted by right in the underlying zoning district, allowing those existing by-right uses to continue in the overlay.

Data centers in LI and HI districts may be up to 75 feet tall, with rooftop mechanical equipment allowed to extend up to an additional 30 feet.

Mechanical equipment on a data center site in a manner determined by the Zoning Administrator to have no adverse impact on adjoining LI or HI property does not have to be screened from that industrial property, although it must still be screened from existing or planned public roads.

For Conditional Use Permit applications, compliance with the supplemental criteria is deemed satisfied when the required plans and assessments are submitted, potential impacts are identified, feasible mitigation strategies are proposed, and adverse impacts on public health, the surrounding environment, and infrastructure are minimized.

Data centers are limited to properties within designated Data Center Overlay District areas and may not be developed elsewhere.

In Highway Commercial (HC) districts within the overlay, only accessory and minor data centers are permitted by right; medium data centers generally require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).

In Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) districts within the overlay, minor, medium, major, and campus data centers are permitted by right, subject to the ordinance's supplemental standards.

Accessory data centers are permitted only as accessory uses on LI or HI parcels and must remain under 2,000 square feet.

A conceptual site plan must be approved for every data center, regardless of whether a CUP is required.

The draft states that the County adopted a moratorium on data center development while it evaluated the use and its impacts; the source does not specify the moratorium's duration.

New data center structures must generally be at least 350 feet from residential or agricultural property lines.

Data centers in LI or HI districts must be at least 500 feet from mixed-use, residential, or agricultural property lines.

When adjacent to residential or agricultural property, parking must be set back at least 50 feet and must retain natural screening or provide specified berms, fencing, and plantings.

Buildings within 400 feet of qualifying residential or agricultural property must include changes in façade height and a building step-back of at least 15 feet beginning at the top of the second story or 40 feet, whichever is lower.

Data center buildings in LI or HI districts may not exceed 75 feet in height, and rooftop mechanical equipment may not exceed 30 feet.

Principal façades must include fenestration, or fenestration combined with an optional green wall, covering at least 30 percent of the façade, with specified distribution and design changes at intervals no greater than 150 feet or three times the building's average height.

Specified façade materials, including aluminum siding, corrugated steel, vinyl siding, plywood, pressed wood products, synthetic stucco, and unfinished concrete block, are prohibited.

Mechanical equipment must be shown on site plans and fully screened, subject to limited exceptions for equipment adjacent to LI or HI property that has no adverse impact; equipment must still be screened from public roads.

Ground-mounted cooling, ventilation, and other external mechanical equipment may not be located in required front yards or between the primary building and a public road unless located on the rooftop.

Loading bays may be located on only one building façade, and loading bays and refuse collection areas must be screened from specified public views.

Each data center building must include a differentiated main entrance feature and foundation plantings or enhanced landscaping.

All cooling and ventilation equipment must operate on a closed-loop system.

Every data center must maintain a Water Usage Effectiveness ratio below 0.75 liters per kilowatt-hour.

Municipal water and sewer service is required; the draft does not allow reliance on private wells as an alternative in the operative text.

Substations associated with data centers are allowed only in LI and HI districts, must be at least 50 feet from a public right-of-way, require an eight-foot decorative brick-faced wall, and may not share the site with vehicle storage or service equipment.

Data centers must comply with operational noise limits of 60 dBA during the day and 55 dBA at night at occupied residential buildings or designated sensitive receivers, and pure tones are prohibited under specified measurement criteria.

Before a certificate of completion or occupancy, the applicant must submit noise testing results prepared by a qualified acoustical professional.

Generator testing next to qualifying residential or agricultural property is limited to 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. and no more than 10 hours per month; generators may otherwise be used only for backup or emergencies, subject to state and federal requirements.

Data center applications must include a photometric plan covering exterior and security lighting, and applicable maximum illumination limits include security lighting.

Data centers must provide a 30-foot vegetative buffer on an earthen berm at least eight feet high, with specified plant-unit percentages and screening requirements, unless equivalent natural topography and vegetation are approved.

Every rezoning and conceptual site plan application must include a noise impact assessment, water consumption and sustainability plan, energy consumption and sustainability plan, stormwater management plan, and sewer plan.

The energy plan must address peak electricity demand, transmission-line alternatives, renewable generation or other sustainable alternatives offsetting at least 10 percent of total power use, decommissioning and certified recycling of surplus infrastructure, and the anticipated Power Usage Effectiveness rate.

The sewer plan must document projected flows, system capacity and improvements, on-site treatment and chemical monitoring, detailed pipe and utility information, and a closure and disposal plan for treatment systems, chemical waste, and related infrastructure.

The owner or operator must submit an annual compliance report by January 1 describing changes to and continued compliance with application assessments and zoning conditions.

The Zoning Administrator may require additional information before a data center application is considered complete.

A medium data center in HC generally requires a CUP, although a CUP exception applies to qualifying redevelopment of an existing industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing site that satisfies the stated pre-December 31, 2024 development, expansion, residential-separation, technical-plan, and other conditions.

CUP applications for data centers must demonstrate sustainable resource, energy, and water use and compliance with the required technical plans and assessments; proposals that do not meet the redevelopment exception conditions require a CUP.

The overlay permits minor, medium, major, and campus data centers by right in Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) districts, subject to conceptual site-plan approval. Minor, Medium, Major, and Campus data centers in Light Industrial (LI), Heavy Industrial (HI) zoning districts

The overlay permits minor data centers by right in Highway Commercial (HC) districts and in designated PUD-2 and PUD-3 areas, subject to conceptual site-plan approval. Minor data centers in Highway Commercial (HC), and in designated PUD-2 and PUD-3

Accessory data centers under 2,000 square feet are allowed as accessory uses on LI- and HI-zoned parcels, rather than as principal data-center developments. Accessory data centers shall only be permitted on parcels zoned Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI)

Medium data centers are eligible for approval in HC districts through a Conditional Use Permit, rather than being prohibited there. Medium data centers shall only be permitted in the Highway Commercial (HC) zoning district with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit

Certain existing industrial sites in HC districts can be redeveloped for a medium, major, or campus data center without a CUP; County staff instead review the required plans administratively. Conditions include pre-2025 industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing improvements, no active occupational tax certificate for six months, full compliance with supplemental standards, no more than a 25% increase in impervious surface or building footprint, no portion within 400 feet of residential zoning unless separated by specified major roads, and submission of required technical studies. A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) shall not be required for the redevelopment, reuse, renovation, or reconstruction of a site

Substations associated with a data center are expressly allowed in LI and HI districts, provided they are at least 50 feet from public rights-of-way, screened by an eight-foot decorative brick-faced wall, and not colocated with vehicle storage or service equipment. Substations associated with the operation of a data center shall only be permitted in the HI and LI zoning districts

Mechanical equipment located where the Zoning Administrator finds no adverse impact on adjoining LI or HI property does not have to meet the overlay's screening requirement, although it must still be screened from existing or planned public roads. Data Center Mechanical Equipment located in a manner found to have no adverse impact on adjacent properties zoned LI or HI is not required to be screened

Municipal water and sewer service is authorized as the required utility arrangement for data centers, providing a defined path for serving their operational needs. Municipal water and sewer service is required