An immediate moratorium prohibits data-center development in Seward County, including commencing construction, issuing building permits, issuing conditional-use permits, and granting any other authorization for projects intended to include data-center construction. The moratorium lasts up to 12 months or until new data-center zoning regulations are formally adopted, published, and legally effective, whichever occurs first.

Data centers are allowed only in specified zoning districts and require a Conditional Use Permit; other base districts prohibit them. The drafts conflict on which districts allow them: the July regulations and July 5 draft list A-1, TA-1, and I-2, while the changes presentation lists MU-2, I-1, and I-2.

A Conditional Use Permit requires review, public hearings before the Planning Commission and County Board, advance legal notice, and mailed notice to landowners within one mile. Approval is subject to review criteria that include public health and safety, nearby-property effects, access, utilities, noise, air pollution, odor, and glare; the Board may impose conditions. One draft gives each decision-making body 90 days to act and says the permit is deemed granted if the Board does not decide within its 90-day period after the application is complete.

Under the July 5 draft, an approved Conditional Use Permit generally requires development to start within six months and finish within one year, unless the Board provides otherwise; otherwise, the authorization is automatically revoked.

Zoning permits are required before construction or other covered development, and a Certificate of Zoning Compliance is required before use or occupancy. Applicable fees must be paid before a permit request is issued or investigated.

Under the July 5 draft, a zoning permit expires if work does not start within three months, substantial progress is not made within six months, or work is not completed within one year, unless the Zoning Administrator grants a written extension.

Applicable district bulk rules limit lot size, width, setbacks, building coverage, and height. The drafts list a five-acre minimum lot in A-1, TA-1, and I-2; the July 5 draft allows the I-2 lot area to be reduced to 20,000 square feet if connected to municipal water or sewer, unless a larger area is required. Additional highway and county-road setbacks may apply.

Data center sites must have compliant road access. The July 5 draft bars further development without a public road or an approved private road or access easement built to County standards, and does not accept a zoning-permit application for a non-agricultural structure accessed by a minimum-maintenance road until the road is reclassified. The July 2026 draft also requires industrial uses to have direct legal access to an improved road.

I-2 uses must meet light-industrial performance standards addressing matters including noise, liquid waste, air contaminants, odor, vibration, glare, and heat.

Before occupancy, a new commercial or industrial building must have domestic water and electric service and an approved waste-treatment system. Required water and sanitary sewer systems must be on the same legal lot as the principal use or connect to an approved municipal or community system.

The drafts provide a conditional-use-permit path for data centers, but differ on eligible districts: the July 2026 version and July 5 draft list A-1 Agricultural, TA-1 Transitional Agriculture, and I-2 General Industrial, while the changes presentation lists MU-2, I-1, and I-2. Projects still require conditional-use review and approval. Data Center conditional use in MU-2, I-1 and I-2

For conditional-use applications, the County Board generally has 90 days after finding an application complete to approve or deny it. If it does not act within that period, the permit is deemed granted. If the Board receives information that materially affects the application, it may require a new application or additional information, with a new hearing and decision period. the conditional use permit shall be deemed granted

A conditional-use permit may be temporary, permanent, or for a specified period, and generally runs with the land unless the County Board provides otherwise. A change in use requires a new permit. may grant a CUP temporarily, permanently, or for a specific time interval

Certain public utility and public service facilities are exempt from district lot-size and bulk regulations, including electric and telephone substations and distribution systems, and equipment for transmitting electricity, gas, or water. The exemption applies to qualifying utility infrastructure, not automatically to a data-center building. shall be required to comply with the lot size requirements and bulk regulations