Data centers are allowed only by Special Use Permit in Agriculture and I-1, I-2, or I-3 zoning districts; the ordinance lists them as prohibited in the other zoning districts.

A Special Use Permit is required for a data center and any battery energy storage facility. An expansion, including increased site area or accessory-equipment area, requires a new permit.

A data-center site must contain at least 200 contiguous acres and may not exceed 1,000 acres unless the BZA approves a site-specific modification. Structures and hard surfaces may cover no more than 60% of the parcel.

Sites must accommodate future growth of incorporated cities, avoid slopes of 15% or greater, and minimize impacts to floodways, flood-hazard areas, wetlands, and stream corridors. Within five miles of an airstrip, the application must include FAA location approval or acceptance.

On prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, grading must preserve natural topography and generally may not exceed 5% of the site area. The BZA may grant a modification for drainage or unusual site constraints; grading for battery storage, transformers, access roads, and grid connections does not count toward the limit.

A primary structure must be in place before installing a standalone modular data center (SMDC), and data centers must be housed in a primary structure or SMDC. SMDCs must be screened by landscaping, opaque fencing, or an opaque wall at least as tall as the unit; chain-link fencing is not an allowed screening method.

Data centers must be at least 1,000 feet from the subject property line and 1,320 feet from another data center. Battery storage systems, generators, and substations must each be at least 1,000 feet from the subject property line. A modification may be approved for specified reasons, but no property-line setback may be reduced below 100 feet; greater setbacks may be required to meet the sound limit.

Unless the neighboring property owner waives it, a 500-foot buffer must be maintained along property lines adjoining non-participating residential properties. The buffer may be within the required setbacks, and waivers must be filed with the Recorder of Deeds.

Data centers and appurtenant equipment may not exceed 40 feet in height. The BZA may approve greater height to accommodate slopes without grading or screening if nearby land uses and area character are not negatively affected.

Substations must serve only the on-site data center, be included in its initial Special Use Permit, meet screening and safety requirements, and be removed during reclamation if the data center ceases operations.

Applicants must obtain written verification from the electric utility concerning capacity, equipment adequacy, and interference, and an agreement that the data center will be secondary to other Cass County uses during a power outage or shortage. If cooling uses water, the application must show the source and adequacy of supply.

Electrical interconnection and distribution lines on the site must be underground. The BZA may allow an exception for site conditions such as shallow bedrock or protected environmental features; generation tie-lines to a utility substation may be above ground.

Generator testing is prohibited from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., is limited to two hours per day, and may occur no more than once per week. Outdoor generators require a screening wall and specified concrete sound barriers.

Sound attributable to data-center infrastructure may not exceed 50 dBC at the property line. Before a certificate of occupancy or completion, the permit holder must submit a supervised, wet-stamped sound report by a qualified Missouri-licensed professional engineer; the County may require independent or additional measurements.

Battery energy storage systems must meet NFPA 855 and other applicable rules, be secured by a fence and self-locking gate unless in a dedicated-use building, have a 20-foot non-combustible cleared area on each side, and include automatic fire suppression and specified safety signage.

Applicants must submit a lighting plan, and operators must submit photometric reports twice a year. Lighting at an adjoining residential property line may not exceed 0.5 vertical footcandles; fixtures generally may not exceed 15 feet, and exterior lighting must be shielded and directed downward so it does not spill off-site. LED lighting may not exceed 3000K.

Video and audio surveillance must be limited to monitoring activity within the subject property and should not extend beyond its property lines.

Applicants must provide a professionally prepared landscape-buffer plan. The site must be designed to accommodate livestock grazing, row crops, or native habitat; clearing must be limited, disturbed areas must be stabilized, and ground cover must be maintained to prevent erosion and runoff.

Construction must preserve topsoil: displaced topsoil must generally be stockpiled on-site and redistributed, and may not be removed except as required for contamination remediation. Applicants must also provide a soil-sampling plan covering specified project stages and testing; remediation is required if contamination or soil degradation is found.

Before applying, an applicant must send certified-mail notice to property owners within one mile, submit proof and a certified owner list, and hold at least one nearby public meeting. Failure to meet the outreach requirements delays the application.

Applications must include existing- and proposed-condition site plans and specified technical materials, including stormwater plans, construction-impact and traffic studies, utility and interconnection information, emergency and fire-safety plans, landscape and vegetation plans, and decommissioning and reclamation plans. Engineered stormwater plans must be reviewed before final BZA action.

Before construction or site preparation, the applicant must provide a bond, escrow, or other County-approved financial security for estimated decommissioning and reclamation costs. The County may hire an independent estimator at the applicant's expense; security must be adjusted for inflation annually and costs recalculated every five years and annually during the final five permit years.

Applicants must maintain general-liability insurance through installation, operation, and decommissioning, providing evidence annually. Construction plan review and required inspections must be performed by a County-approved special inspector or plan reviewer at the operator's expense.

The Special Use Permit may last up to 25 years; continuing the use afterward requires a new permit. The facility must be reviewed for compliance one year after its certificate of occupancy and every five years thereafter; reviews may be conducted by a third party at the operator's expense.

Operators must submit an annual report of proper operation. A facility inactive for 180 consecutive days is deemed abandoned; after notice, the operator has 30 days to respond, and if abandonment stands, must complete decommissioning and reclamation within one year. The plan must provide for removal of structures and equipment and restoration of the site, subject to stated conditions for cables buried deeper than 36 inches.

Liquid-cooled equipment must use a closed-loop system.

Applications may not be accepted from a foreign adversary identified under the cited federal regulation or a person on the OFAC sanctions list. If such an entity later obtains ownership, previously granted approvals or permits are void; designated foreign entities are also restricted where federal or state law requires.

Data centers may seek a special use permit in Agricultural and I-1, I-2, or I-3 zoning districts; the use is not listed as permitted in the other districts shown in the table. Data Centers

A project may exceed the 1,000-acre site limit if the BZA approves a modification based on site-specific characteristics that help preserve rural character or natural features, or promote shared agricultural use. no more than 1,000 acres total

Substations serving on-site data-center operations can be included in the data center’s initial special use permit application, avoiding a separate zoning application. included in the initial Special Use Permit

The County Commission may approve setback changes for site-specific reasons or to provide access or frontage roads, subject to justification and evidence of no negative impact; a change cannot reduce the property-line setback below 100 feet. Additional or modified setbacks

The BZA may approve a height above 40 feet when needed to accommodate slopes without grading or to accommodate screening, provided nearby land uses and area character are not negatively affected. greater height

The BZA may allow grading on prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance to exceed 5% of the site when necessary for proper drainage or to address unusual site constraints. A modification from this grading requirement

The BZA may allow above-ground electrical connections within the site when conditions such as shallow bedrock or watercourses make underground connections detrimental; generation tie-lines to a utility substation may also be above ground. A modification may be granted

A special use permit may authorize operation for up to 25 years; continued use after that term requires a new permit. up to 25 years