Data centers may not be constructed, installed, or located in the county without prior Technology Overlay District siting approval and building permits.

A Technology Overlay District campus must contain at least 125 contiguous acres.

A proposed Technology Overlay District must be near high-voltage transmission lines rated at least 115 kV and have adequate water, sewer or alternative utility systems, and road capacity.

The Technology Overlay District must be created or amended by county ordinance based on mapped boundaries; it is not automatically applied to any property.

Data centers are permitted principal uses only within an approved Technology Overlay District, while 24/7 operations, including data centers with nighttime deliveries, are classified as special uses requiring additional approval.

Technology Overlay District requirements control when they conflict with the underlying agricultural or industrial zoning rules; otherwise, applicable underlying zoning regulations continue to apply.

Data centers must maintain at least 10 percent open space for each group of contiguous parcels, and required landscaping must be maintained permanently.

Data centers must provide perimeter buffers of at least 200 feet next to residential uses, 100 feet next to agricultural, commercial, or industrial uses, 100 feet next to primary public roads, and 50 feet next to secondary public roads.

No data-center building may be located closer than 150 feet to a primary public road, 200 feet to residential or agricultural uses, or 100 feet to commercial or industrial districts. Parking, loading areas, and refuse-storage areas are subject to the applicable use setbacks.

Buildings on adjacent internal lots or building sites must generally be at least 25 feet apart, although the county board may approve a variation; driveways, parking, and covered entrances may not be closer than five feet to an adjoining lot line.

Data-center buildings are generally limited to 85 feet in height. A county-board variance is required to exceed that limit and must address functional necessity, visual impact, and design or screening.

Data-center lighting must use fully shielded fixtures; parking, access, and security lights may not exceed 30 feet, pedestrian lighting may not exceed 12 feet, and authorized-use signage may not be illuminated. Security gates must have at least three foot-candles of illumination.

Before a building permit is issued, the developer must enter into a road-use agreement with the governing road authorities. The agreement may require traffic analysis, construction-traffic controls, roadway repairs or upgrades, insurance, and financial security equal to 125 percent of estimated roadway repair and upgrade costs.

Data-center noise must comply with Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations. Upon county request, the developer must provide sound-power data and a qualified-professional compliance report within 15 days.

Within 60 calendar days after completing each construction phase, the developer or operator must submit signed and sealed as-built maps, site plans, and engineering plans to the county building and zoning department and the county supervisor of assessments.

A decommissioning plan must address abandonment or cessation of data-center operations for six consecutive months, including removal of structures and hazardous materials, recycling where feasible, site restoration, and removal of foundations and utilities unless the county requests retention.

The decommissioning provisions require financial assurance in the form of cash escrow, an irrevocable letter of credit, or a performance bond equal to 125 percent of estimated decommissioning costs before applicable building permits are issued. The amount must be adjusted for inflation every five years, although the text contains an apparent cross-reference limitation regarding which facilities are covered.

The county building official must conduct annual reviews of active Technology Overlay District facilities. Failure to submit or maintain a required decommissioning plan may result in fines of up to $50,000 per day, revocation of the Technology Overlay District designation, and county use of the financial assurance for remediation.

Before a building permit is issued, the applicant must maintain project-life insurance, including $5 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for commercial general liability, $10 million for pollution or environmental liability, an umbrella policy of up to $100 million depending on the use, cyber-liability insurance, and workers' compensation coverage.

The county, its officers, and employees must be named as additional insureds on the general liability policy, and claims-made policies must include at least a three-year extended reporting period.

The developer must defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Lee County and its officials from claims, losses, damages, costs, expenses, and liabilities arising from the developer's acts or omissions in operating the Technology Overlay District campus.

A Technology Overlay District application must include extensive materials, including a project summary, ownership and PIN information, zoning and land-use information, boundary survey, architectural drawings, elevations, landscape and site plans, engineering, natural-resources reports, topographic maps, stormwater documentation, environmental-review results, protected-land information, and any additional information requested by the county or its consultants.

The applicant must first meet with the county building and zoning department, obtain the petition form, and file the Technology Overlay District petition, application, and filing fee with the department.

The application must be sent to the zoning hearing officer for a public hearing. The officer reviews compliance with requirements such as building appearance, parking, lighting, landscaping, access, drainage, and signs, then submits findings and a recommendation to the county board within seven days after the hearing.

The county board must approve, deny, or conditionally decide the Technology Overlay District petition within 30 days after the public hearing concludes.

Parking for data centers is not set by a fixed standard when Chapter 11 does not specifically address the use; instead, the applicant must submit a parking-demand study and justification based on national standards or comparable data for building and zoning department approval.

Data centers are expressly allowed as a permitted principal use within a Technology Overlay District (TOD), rather than requiring separate special-use approval for the data-center use itself. Data centers

A TOD may overlay existing agricultural or industrial zoning, allowing data-center development to proceed under the TOD framework while retaining underlying zoning rules where the TOD is silent. the TOD shall overlay the existing zoning district

The TOD expressly permits supporting infrastructure and facilities, including water and sewage treatment plants, water-storage towers, telecommunications towers, district heating or cooling, security buildings, storage and maintenance facilities, and structured parking. Accessory Uses

Major utility service is a permitted principal use, including a commercial solar facility producing at least 2 megawatts when the electricity leaves the TOD site, providing a potential on-site or associated power source. UTILITY SERVICE, MAJOR

Energy storage and energy-generating facilities may be approved as accessory special uses, supporting backup power and other operational needs. Accessory Special Uses: energy storage; energy generating facility

Twenty-four-hour operations, including data centers with night deliveries, are recognized as special uses, allowing round-the-clock operation if the special-use process is approved. 24/7 operations

Parking for data centers is handled case by case instead of under a fixed parking ratio; the applicant submits a parking-demand study and justification for approval by the building and zoning department. parking shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis

The TOD has no minimum lot size for individual parcels as long as the overall TOD contains at least 125 contiguous acres, allowing a large campus to be divided into smaller development parcels. There is no minimum lot size

For a TOD master plan containing multiple parcels, perimeter-buffer requirements do not apply to internal parcel lines, which can make phased or multi-parcel campus expansion easier. buffer requirements shall not apply to internal parcel lines

The county may approve alternative building façades, features, and materials, giving developers flexibility in designing data-center buildings. the county may approve alternative building facades

Buildings may be up to 85 feet high, and the county board may grant a variance for greater height when the applicant demonstrates functional necessity, limited visual impact, and design or screening measures to reduce massing. A variance to exceed the maximum building height

The county board may approve variations to the 25-foot setback between buildings on adjacent TOD lots or building sites, subject to county-board approval. unless a variation of this requirement is approved by the county board