Principal data centers may be located only as a special land use in the M-2 district, rather than as a permitted use by right.

Principal data centers are classified as high-intensity industrial uses and must satisfy all additional high-intensity industrial standards.

Accessory data centers are allowed only when incidental to a permitted principal use, solely serve that use, do not provide services to third parties, are not in a separate standalone building, and occupy no more than 10% of the principal use’s gross floor area.

High-intensity industrial requirements apply when a use exceeds 75,000 square feet, occupies more than 10 acres, has more than 500 kilowatts of on-site generation or battery storage, or includes permanent energy production, storage, or an electrical substation.

Applicants for principal data centers must submit a development impact statement, parking study, phasing information when applicable, a decommissioning plan, a performance guarantee, and fire and emergency response plans.

A development impact statement must evaluate impacts on land use, utilities, public services, traffic, stormwater, natural resources, and nearby properties, including water demand and available utility capacity.

Data center proposals must provide detailed traffic-impact information, including traffic counts, trip generation, capacity analysis, access design, construction-truck routing, heavy-truck routing, and mitigation measures prepared by a qualified professional engineer.

Buildings larger than 75,000 square feet face enhanced setbacks: at least 100 feet from residentially zoned or used property, at least 75 feet from commercial districts, and at least 55 feet from nonresidential M-1 or M-2 property, with additional setback increases for each additional 25,000 square feet.

Principal buildings in a high-intensity industrial development must be separated by at least 50 feet, and accessory equipment must be at least 30 feet from principal buildings.

Cooling, ventilation, power-generation, and other operational equipment must be fully enclosed; if enclosure is not mechanically feasible, the equipment must be muffled and screened by an obscuring acoustic barrier or masonry wall.

New high-intensity industrial uses must use public water and sewer, and applicants must provide letters confirming that adequate utility capacity is available.

Principal data centers using water-based cooling must use closed-loop circulation. Adiabatic, wet, evaporative, and hybrid cooling systems are prohibited unless the Planning Commission approves an alternative that has equal or lower net water consumption.

Before site-plan approval, a principal data center must submit a noise study showing compliance with the city noise ordinance, followed by a post-construction noise study when operations begin.

Noise studies for high-intensity uses and facilities with on-site power generation or battery storage must model dB(A), dB(C), and dB(G) levels at property lines and at residential properties within 1,500 feet, including worst-case operating conditions and a corrective-action plan.

The proposed noise standards limit industrial noise to 80 dB(A) during the daytime, 75 dB(A) during the nighttime period, and 65 dB(A) during the seasonal nighttime period, while also limiting noise to 70 dB(C) and infrasound to 80 dB(G) at property lines.

On-site generation using hydrocarbon fuels is prohibited for continuous, prime, peaking, or routine non-emergency electricity supply. Any other on-site generation requires site-plan approval, and non-solar generation requires a noise study.

High-intensity industrial facilities must obtain required county, state, and federal approvals before building permits can be issued and must report outside-agency violations or enforcement actions to the city within one week.

Operators of completed high-intensity facilities must submit annual compliance reports addressing approval conditions, ordinance performance standards, noise standards, and any cessation of operations.

A decommissioning plan and financial performance guarantee are required for specialized exterior equipment and infrastructure. Decommissioning must generally be completed within 12 months after abandonment or permanent cessation, defined in part as 12 consecutive months without the industrial activity.

Phased developments must submit a general development plan and schedule, have each phase independently provide required services and protections, update the impact statement for each phase, and begin each phase within one year of its scheduled start or risk expiration of approval.

Accessory data centers are permitted for all uses whose operations require them, without requiring special-land-use approval.

An accessory data center may support operations at multiple locations of the same principal user, although it may not provide data storage or processing services to third parties.

Accessory data-center space is excluded from parking calculations when it is incidental to a permitted principal use.

Principal data centers are allowed as special land uses in the M-2 district, rather than being prohibited outright.

A principal data center may use an alternative cooling method if the Planning Commission finds that it will result in equal or lower net water consumption than the prohibited water-based cooling methods.

For high-intensity industrial developments, including principal data centers, the initial approval may include a general development plan for the full project and approve later phases through site-plan review; later phases generally do not require a new special-land-use approval unless they add a use not covered by the original approval.

Cooling, ventilation, generator, and other operating equipment may remain unenclosed when the Building Official determines that enclosure is not mechanically feasible under the manufacturer's specifications, subject to masonry-wall screening for principal data centers.

The decommissioning requirements for high-intensity industrial developments apply to specialized exterior equipment and infrastructure, but exclude buildings and principal structures from the required decommissioning scope.