Data processing and computer centers are permitted only in the Light Industrial (L-I) District under the existing use table, so locating one elsewhere may require additional zoning approval or a zoning change. A proposed amendment would instead classify data centers as a permitted use requiring special approval, allowing the Township to impose operating conditions.

A zoning permit is required before a site or structure is used, erected, moved, enlarged, altered, or demolished.

A zoning permit cannot be issued unless the project conforms to the ordinance and all required site-plan, special-use, or other approvals have been obtained. A conforming permit generally must be issued within 10 business days after the conformity determination.

Zoning permit applications may be required to include detailed, scaled plans and specifications showing the lot, utilities, structures, uses, yards, parking, setbacks, and other information requested by the zoning administrator.

Structures and uses in the L-I District require site-plan review and approval where applicable. Applications must include applicable fees, be signed and sealed, and generally be submitted at least three weeks before Planning Commission consideration.

A site plan is required for additions exceeding 40 percent of an existing structure, additions exceeding 2,000 square feet, or changes affecting ingress or egress, sewer, water, parking, or environmental impacts.

L-I sites must meet dimensional limits, including a minimum 20,000-square-foot lot, 100-foot lot width, 35-foot front setback, 30-foot side setback, 60-foot rear setback, 50-foot maximum building height, and maximum lot coverage of 50 percent for buildings and 75 percent for impervious surfaces.

Data centers must provide required industrial parking, including either five spaces plus one space per 2,000 square feet of usable floor area or one space per on-duty employee, as applicable, plus one space per 300 square feet for accessory offices.

Commercial and industrial buildings must provide loading facilities. Buildings from 5,000 to 19,999 square feet require at least one loading space, with additional spaces at larger floor-area thresholds; loading spaces generally must be paved, at least 10 feet by 25 feet, and set back 50 feet from residential districts or uses unless enclosed or screened.

Outdoor storage of equipment, products, machinery, lumber, or supplies must be enclosed by a six- to eight-foot solid wall or fence, screened from roads and adjoining uses, kept outside required setbacks, and may not include junk, junk vehicles, storage trailers, or materials extending above the screening wall.

Data center operations must comply with performance standards for noise, vibration, dust, smoke, odors, glare, heat, fire and safety hazards, gases, electromagnetic interference, and radioactive materials. Sound received in residential districts may not exceed 55 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. or 50 dB(A) overnight.

Exterior lighting must use fully shielded, downward-directed fixtures, generally may not exceed 13 footcandles on the site or 1 footcandle at a lot boundary or road right-of-way, and normally must be shut off by 11:00 p.m. or one-half hour after closing, except for qualifying 24-hour facilities and minimal security lighting.

Where publicly owned water or sanitary sewer service is available, principal buildings must connect to those systems when constructed or expanded. If private water or wastewater systems are used, Monroe County Health Department well or septic permits must be provided before zoning approval.

Applicants must pay permit fees, and the Township may require an escrow for professional review. If review costs exceed the escrow, the applicant must pay the balance before receiving a zoning permit or other approval.

The zoning administrator may require a financial performance guarantee before work begins or permits are issued to cover required improvements such as roadways, lighting, utilities, sidewalks, landscaping, screening, and drainage.

Site-plan approval expires after 365 days unless the construction plan has been submitted for review. One extension of up to one year may be granted if requested before expiration and the site remains compliant.

A zoning permit becomes void if construction does not start within 365 calendar days. The zoning administrator may grant one extension of up to 180 calendar days upon written request.

For conditional rezoning, bona fide development must begin within two years after the rezoning's effective date or the conditional rezoning becomes void and the property reverts to its former zoning. One extension of up to 365 calendar days may be granted for good cause if requested before the deadline.

Violations of a conditional rezoning agreement may be treated as a nuisance per se. After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the Township may issue a stop-work order and withhold or revoke permits and certificates.

Ordinance violations may result in a $500 fine plus prosecution costs, imprisonment for up to 90 days, or both. Violations generally must be corrected within five days after an order to correct, an extension of up to 30 days may be granted, and each day of noncompliance is a separate offense.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may not issue a use variance, except for temporary buildings with a conforming use for periods not exceeding one year.

The Light Industrial (L-I) District expressly permits data processing and computer centers as principal uses.

L-I uses may operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, unless another ordinance provision specifically limits the hours.

L-I allows accessory office and sales operations and private fueling stations when they are clearly incidental to the principal industrial use.

Industrial districts may have accessory retail and service uses for occupants and patrons, generally limited to 10 percent of the building; listed accessory uses require special-use approval.

The Heavy Industrial (H-I) District incorporates L-I permitted uses and permits heating and electric power generating plants as principal uses. Hazardous-material storage, above-ground fuel storage, and accessory incinerators require separate special-use approval.

A planned development may include any land use authorized by the Ordinance, including industrial uses, and may receive departures from minimum lot dimensions, floor-area standards, and setbacks. It requires planned-development review, public hearings, Township Board approval, and a zoning-map amendment.

Planned developments may be approved in phases, with each phase required to function independently regarding services, facilities, and open space, allowing a large industrial project to be built incrementally.

Lawfully established nonconforming uses may continue, and a change of tenancy, ownership, or management does not by itself eliminate nonconforming status. The protection generally ends if the use is discontinued for more than 180 calendar days or changed in character.

Where publicly operated water or sanitary sewer is available, principal buildings must be connected to it at the time of construction or expansion, providing a defined utility-service framework for data-center buildings.

Essential-services buildings and structures are permitted as authorized under any franchise, subject to applicable federal, state, county, and local regulations and the applicable zoning district's use permissions.

Building permits also include required zoning-permit approval, allowing building and zoning approvals to be handled through the building-permit process when zoning compliance is verified.

Once proposed work is found compliant with applicable requirements, the Zoning Administrator must issue the zoning permit within 10 business days.

If construction has not started within the initial 365-day permit period, the Zoning Administrator may grant one extension of up to 180 days for zoning approval upon written request.

Performance guarantees may cover project improvements, allowing required roadways, lighting, utilities, sidewalks, landscaping, screening, and drainage to be secured by a financial guarantee rather than completed before approval. The guarantee is required before work starts or permits are issued and remains until the conditions are met.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant dimensional variances for practical difficulties involving setbacks, height, frontage, bulk, or density when specified site and public-welfare conditions are met. Use variances are generally prohibited.

Site-plan and special-use approvals by the Planning Commission provide a defined approval pathway for data centers requiring those approvals.

Data centers would be classified as a permitted use after special approval, allowing development and operation in the township if the required special approval is obtained and operational conditions are satisfied.