The ordinance applies to regulated data centers in unincorporated Jefferson County, defined generally as facilities or campuses with an aggregate electrical design capacity exceeding 5 megawatts. Facilities and phases are aggregated when they share ownership, infrastructure, utilities, control, or other specified connections.

A regulated data center may not begin ground disturbance, site preparation, grading, construction, installation, expansion, or operation without a permit approved and issued by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.

Material expansions, additional construction, or material modifications require a separate permit or permit amendment before the changed work begins.

Applicants must pay an application fee and maintain a review-cost deposit or escrow that can be used to reimburse the County for actual and reasonable professional, legal, engineering, environmental, hydrological, financial, and other review expenses.

A complete application requires extensive project studies and plans, including site and utility plans, power and backup-power plans, stormwater and pollution-prevention plans, water studies, wastewater plans, noise studies, lighting plans, road-use plans, emergency-response plans, agricultural-land reports, waste-management plans, and decommissioning plans.

The application must identify all reasonably anticipated phases and evaluate their combined electrical demand, water use, footprint, infrastructure needs, and anticipated impacts.

The draft requires 500-foot setbacks from data-center property lines and 1,800 feet to the closest outer wall of the nearest structure, occupied or not, as stated in the setback provisions.

On-site power and communication lines must be placed underground to the extent feasible. Above-ground lines require Board approval supported by a finding that underground placement is impracticable or would create unreasonable engineering, environmental, or financial burdens.

A project must provide a hard-surfaced access road with sufficient capacity and a continuous hard-surfaced connection to a county arterial or state or federal highway.

Applicants must enter into a Road Use Agreement covering road conditions, maintenance, dust control, traffic management, damage repairs, oversized loads, scheduling, and restoration. The County may require financial assurance for these obligations.

A regulated data center generally must use a closed-loop cooling system unless the Board of Supervisors authorizes and approves another system.

A permit may be issued only if the Board finds that adequate water, electrical, road, drainage, emergency-response, and public infrastructure capacity exists or will be provided, and that anticipated impacts can be avoided or reasonably mitigated.

Operating data-center equipment may not exceed 50 dBA as measured from the outside wall of an occupied structure on privately owned land adjacent to the data center, except during initial construction.

Before permit issuance, the applicant, property owner, proposed permit holder, and operator must enter into an Economic Development Agreement with the County.

The Economic Development Agreement must require a Community Investment Commitment equal to 10 percent of the total construction cost of the data center and all associated campus phases and facilities.

The Community Investment Commitment must be supported by certified cost estimates, periodic updates, a final accounting within 180 days after substantial completion, and payment of any deficiency. The County may audit supporting records at the applicant's expense.

The County may require financial security for economic-development obligations, including an irrevocable letter of credit, bond, escrow, parent guarantee, or other security.

The applicant must provide at least $10 million in insurance coverage, which may combine primary and excess or umbrella coverage, maintain it through construction, operation, and decommissioning, and name Jefferson County as an additional insured where commercially available.

Permit holders must continuously comply with the ordinance, permit conditions, approved plans, approved agreements, and applicable law, and must submit annual certifications by March 1 reporting electrical demand, water use, material operational changes, significant incidents, insurance, and financial assurance.

Operators must conduct noise, water, and other monitoring required by the permit or approved plans, annually review and update operational and emergency plans, and report specified fires, releases, spills, infrastructure failures, and other significant events to the County within 24 hours.

A regulated data center must be decommissioned after permanent abandonment, after 12 consecutive months of ceased operations without a written extension, or following permit revocation.

Decommissioning must begin within 90 days after abandonment or cessation is established and generally must be completed within 18 months, including removal of buildings, equipment, foundations, utilities, batteries, fuel tanks, hazardous substances, and contaminated soil.

Financial assurance sufficient to cover decommissioning and site restoration must be continuously maintained, reviewed and updated at least every five years and after material expansion, and cannot be released until the County approves completion.

The County may issue stop-work orders, suspend or revoke permits, impose county infractions and civil penalties of up to $750 per violation or $1,000 for repeat offenses, and seek abatement, injunctions, correction costs, or draws on financial security for violations.

The ordinance is not a county zoning ordinance and does not establish zoning districts or a comprehensive county zoning system, so regulated data centers are evaluated through this permit process rather than a county zoning framework. does not establish zoning districts

Projects with an Electrical Design Capacity of 5 megawatts or less are not classified as regulated data centers because the threshold applies only when capacity exceeds 5 megawatts. exceeding five (5) megawatts (MW)

A facility that is below the regulatory threshold may continue operating without this chapter applying until an expansion, modification, or increase in electrical capacity or water use causes it to meet the threshold. does not initially meet the definition

For a phased or multi-building campus, the applicant does not have to resubmit information for later phases that were fully identified and evaluated in the original application, provided there is no material change in scope, footprint, electrical demand, water use, or anticipated impacts. shall not be required to resubmit information for a later building or phase

A project within two miles of an incorporated city must generally provide notice and an opportunity for comments, but it does not need general city approval unless it depends on city property, infrastructure, utilities, or services, or another law independently requires approval. General approval by the city shall not be required

A project within two miles of an accredited school must generally provide notice and an opportunity for comments, but school approval is required only when the project proposes to use or materially affect school-owned property, infrastructure, access, or services. The applicant shall obtain any agreement or approval independently required

The Economic Development Agreement may provide county economic-development assistance, incentives, infrastructure commitments, grants, loans, rebates, tax incentives, or other assistance, subject to public-purpose findings, appropriations, and applicable law. tax incentive, rebate, infrastructure participation, grant, loan, or other economic-development assistance

The Economic Development Agreement may allow county participation in infrastructure and other community investments, including construction or funding of public infrastructure that is not required solely to serve the data center. Construction or funding of public infrastructure not required solely to serve the project

The ordinance allows an administrative or judicial appeal without automatically staying a stop-work order, emergency suspension, enforcement order, or other challenged decision, unless the Board or a court orders a stay. does not automatically stay

The ordinance applies to a "Regulated Data Center" with an aggregate electrical design capacity exceeding 5 megawatts, and multiple buildings, phases, parcels, meters, or entities may be aggregated as one campus.

Ground disturbance, grading, site preparation, construction, installation, expansion, or operation of a regulated data center is prohibited until the required permits and approvals have been obtained.

A regulated data center requires a permit approved and issued by resolution of the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors; material expansions or modifications require a separate permit amendment.

Applicants must pay an application fee and maintain a review-cost deposit or escrow to cover the County's reasonable engineering, legal, hydrological, environmental, planning, inspection, and other professional-review costs.

Permit applications must include extensive project information and studies, including site plans, utility and power plans, backup-power plans, stormwater plans, water studies, noise studies, road-use plans, emergency-response plans, agricultural-land reports, and decommissioning plans.

New power and communication lines must be placed underground to the extent feasible; above-ground placement requires a County finding that underground installation is impracticable or would impose unreasonable burdens.

A data center must be set back 500 feet from property lines and 1,800 feet from the closest outer wall of the nearest occupied or unoccupied structure, measured from the data-center property boundary.

Projects within two miles of an incorporated city or accredited school must provide written notice and an opportunity for the city or school to submit comments; hearings also require notice to property owners and occupants within 1,000 feet.

A closed-loop cooling system is required unless the Board of Supervisors authorizes and approves an exception.

Before approval, the applicant must demonstrate that sufficient and reliable water is available without undue adverse impacts on existing users, aquifers, watersheds, groundwater, or surface-water systems, supported by a qualified water study and, where applicable, a Water Use Agreement.

The Water Use Agreement must address monitoring, reporting, data sharing, compliance verification, drought or water-shortage responses, emergency conditions, and interference with existing water users.

Operating data-center equipment may not exceed 50 dBA as measured from the outside wall of an occupied structure on adjoining privately owned land, except during initial construction.

The applicant must enter into a Road Use Agreement covering road conditions, maintenance, dust control, traffic, damage repair, oversized loads, construction scheduling, and restoration, and may be required to provide financial security for those obligations.

The site must have a hard-surfaced access road with a continuous hard-surfaced connection to a county arterial or state or federal highway.

An Emergency Response Plan must be prepared with County emergency and law-enforcement officials and submitted before any ground disturbance.

The Board will strictly scrutinize projects proposed on land with a crop suitability or corn suitability rating of 55 or greater, which the ordinance generally regards as best suited for agriculture.

Before development, the applicant must submit a decommissioning and site-reclamation plan with a cost estimate and post a bond or other approved financial assurance sufficient to cover the estimated cost.

Applicants must provide at least $10 million in insurance coverage, which may be satisfied through primary and excess or umbrella policies, and must indemnify the County to the extent required by the ordinance.

Before a permit is issued or construction begins, the applicant, property owner, permit holder, and operator must enter into an Economic Development Agreement with the County.

The Economic Development Agreement must require a Community Investment Commitment equal to 10 percent of the total construction cost of the data center and associated campus facilities, subject to final cost reconciliation.

The Board must hold a public hearing and may approve, conditionally approve, or deny a permit by resolution; approval requires written findings that infrastructure is adequate, impacts are avoided or mitigated, required agreements and financial assurance are in place, and the facility will not create an unreasonable threat.

Permit holders must submit annual certifications reporting electrical demand, water withdrawal and consumption, significant incidents, and the status of insurance and financial assurance, and must conduct required noise, water, and other monitoring.

Violations may result in stop-work orders, permit suspension or revocation, county infractions, civil penalties of up to $750 per violation or $1,000 for repeat offenses, and additional recovery, abatement, or litigation costs.

A facility must be decommissioned after permanent abandonment, 12 consecutive months of ceased operations without a written Board extension, or permit revocation; decommissioning must begin within 90 days and generally be completed within 18 months.

Financial assurance for decommissioning must be maintained continuously, reviewed and updated at least every five years and after material expansion, and may be drawn by the County if the responsible party fails to complete the required work.

Facilities with an aggregate electrical design capacity of 5 megawatts or less are not classified as regulated data centers under this chapter, so they do not require a permit under the ordinance unless a later expansion or modification reaches the threshold. Regulated Data Center

The ordinance expressly states that it is not a county zoning ordinance, does not establish zoning districts, and is not a comprehensive county zoning system, limiting the chapter's regulatory process to the specified data-center requirements. not adopted as a county zoning ordinance

For a project within two miles of an incorporated city, the applicant generally must provide notice and an opportunity for comments, but does not need general city approval unless the project depends on city property, infrastructure, utilities, services, or another legally required approval. General approval by the city shall not be required

For a project within two miles of an accredited school, the applicant must provide notice and an opportunity for comments, but school approval is not required unless the project uses or materially affects school-owned property, infrastructure, access, or services. The applicant shall obtain any agreement or approval independently required

A later building or phase does not have to resubmit information if it was fully identified and evaluated in the original application and its scope, footprint, electrical demand, water use, and anticipated impacts have not materially changed. shall not be required to resubmit information

The economic-development agreement may provide county tax incentives, rebates, infrastructure participation, grants, loans, or other economic-development assistance, subject to public-purpose findings, appropriations, and separate legal authorization where required. tax incentive, rebate, infrastructure participation, grant, loan

The economic-development agreement may credit construction or funding of public infrastructure, workforce-development programs, housing, emergency-response resources, water protection, and other community improvements toward the required community investment commitment, allowing those project-related contributions to be negotiated as part of the approval. Form of Community Investment

Although underground utility lines are generally required when feasible, the Board may approve above-ground power and communication lines when underground placement is impracticable or would create unreasonable engineering, environmental, or financial burdens. lines may be placed above ground