Data centers are conditional-district uses where listed, so they cannot be established by right and require conditional rezoning, including a community meeting and legislative review by the Board of Commissioners, which may impose site-specific conditions. Conditional zoning districts

Data centers may not be located within a Voluntary Agricultural District, Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District, or Water Supply Watershed Protection Overlay District. The use shall not be located within any Voluntary Agricultural District

All mechanical, electrical, and operational equipment, including cooling systems, generators, and backup power systems, must be enclosed in a building or screened from adjacent properties and public rights-of-way. All mechanical, electrical, and operational equipment

Data-center structures and associated development must be at least 500 feet from every lot line and public right-of-way and at least 1,000 feet from residences, churches, schools, hospitals, daycares, parks, group or family care homes, and retirement or nursing homes. a minimum setback of 500 feet

A data-center building may not exceed 40 feet in height. The building used for a data center shall not exceed 40 feet in height

Data-center buildings must meet applicable industrial form and design standards, including at least 15 percent fenestration on facades visible from public rights-of-way and bulk columns approximately every 100 feet. Facades facing and visible from public rights-of-way shall include a minimum of 15% fenestration

Loading areas, service yards, and mechanical yards must be located behind buildings and screened from adjacent properties as far as feasible. Loading areas, service yards, and mechanical yards must be located to the rear of buildings

Perimeter screening is required using qualifying existing vegetation, landscaping, or a combination of berms and vegetation. Existing natural screening

Data centers must be designed and operated to minimize noise, lighting, vibration, and heat impacts on surrounding properties. minimize impacts related to noise, lighting, vibration, and heat generation

Data centers must connect to public water and sewer and may not use groundwater for facility water use or cooling. The facility shall connect to public water and sewer

Data centers must use a non-evaporative cooling system. The facility shall use a non-evaporative cooling system

Applicants must provide a will-serve letter from the local utility provider covering public water, sewer, and electricity. The applicant shall provide a will serve letter

Generators may be used only as a backup power source. Generators shall only be used as a backup power source

A Planned Development rezoning is required when the aggregate gross leasable area of nonresidential buildings on one zoning lot exceeds 50,000 square feet. more than 50,000 square feet gross leasable area

New construction and substantial improvements in Special Flood Hazard Areas must be anchored, use flood-damage-resistant materials, and use construction methods that minimize flood damage.

New electrical, HVAC, plumbing, utility, and service equipment in Special Flood Hazard Areas must be located at or above the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation or specially designed and installed to resist flooding, including hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, and buoyancy forces.

New or substantially improved commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential structures in Special Flood Hazard Areas must have their reference level, including any basement, elevated to the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. In specified zones, certified watertight floodproofing may be used instead.

In approximate flood zones without established base flood elevations, encroachments, fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development are barred within 20 feet of each stream bank or five times the stream width, whichever is greater, unless a registered professional engineer demonstrates that the work will not increase base-flood levels.

For subdivisions and other development proposals in areas without established base flood elevations, projects exceeding five acres or involving more than 50 lots or manufactured-home sites must provide base-flood-elevation data.

In riverine floodplains with base-flood-elevation data but no designated floodway or non-encroachment area, development is prohibited unless engineering data shows that the cumulative effect of the proposed and anticipated development will not increase the base-flood water-surface elevation by more than one foot.

Development in designated floodways and non-encroachment areas may not include fill, new construction, substantial improvements, or other encroachments unless engineering analysis shows no increase in base-flood levels or FEMA issues a Conditional Letter of Map Revision. A Letter of Map Revision may also be required within six months after completion.

In AO shallow-flooding zones, structures must be elevated to the mapped flood depth plus two feet of freeboard above the highest adjacent grade, or at least four feet above that grade when no depth is specified. Nonresidential structures may use certified floodproofing instead.

Enclosed areas below the lowest floor of elevated structures may not be used for human habitation and are limited to vehicle parking, building access, or limited maintenance storage. They must use flood-resistant materials and provide compliant flood openings.

Additions and improvements that meet or exceed 50 percent of a structure's market value during any one-year period must comply with new-construction standards. Repairs to structures with substantial damage are treated as substantial improvements, subject to limited exceptions for minimum health and safety corrections and qualifying historic structures.

Gas and liquid storage tanks in Special Flood Hazard Areas must be anchored or elevated to resist flotation, collapse, lateral movement, and other flood forces. Tank inlets, outlets, fill openings, and vents must be elevated or protected against floodwater inflow and contents escaping.

A floodplain development permit may be suspended, revoked, or modified for violations, and the County may terminate utility service or withhold or revoke a certificate of occupancy until violations are remedied.

Floodplain violations are Class 1 misdemeanors and may result in a fine of up to $50, with each continuing day treated as a separate offense. The County may also seek court-ordered equitable remedies.

A Section 1316 declaration may cause a noncompliant property to lose flood-insurance eligibility: coverage is terminated, new or renewal policies cannot be issued, claims cannot be paid, and disaster assistance is denied until FEMA rescinds the declaration after compliance.

Floodplain variances require Board of Adjustment review and generally must be the minimum necessary, supported by good and sufficient cause and exceptional hardship, issued before development-permit approval, and shown not to increase flood heights, threaten public safety, create extraordinary public expense, or conflict with other laws.

The land-use table lists Data Center as a conditional-district use, allowing the use to be approved through a conditional rezoning process in specified zoning districts rather than being categorically prohibited.

The data-center standards establish a defined approval path with specified setbacks, screening, design, utility, and operating requirements. Data centers may not be located in a Voluntary Agricultural District, Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District, or Watershed Protection Overlay District.

Data centers must connect to public water and sewer and may not use groundwater for facility water use or cooling. Where public systems are available, they must be extended throughout a development to serve each lot; approved individual wells or on-site septic systems are allowed where public systems are unavailable.

A data center may use non-evaporative cooling if it meets the data-center-specific cooling requirement and other applicable regulations.

Generators are allowed for data centers as a backup power source, subject to the applicable requirements.

A data-center application may include a utility will-serve letter addressing public water, sewer, and electricity to demonstrate utility availability.

A developer may obtain final construction approval, a permanent certificate of occupancy, final plat approval, or public-use acceptance before all required improvements are complete if the Planning Director accepts a surety bond or letter of credit equal to 1.25 times the remaining improvement cost.

A completed development application accepted before the UDO's effective date is reviewed under the regulations in effect when it was accepted.

Approved zoning or development approvals remain valid until expiration, and projects with valid approvals may proceed under the development standards in effect when approval was granted, provided the approval has not lapsed.

A conditional zoning approval is a permanent zoning change that runs with the land, and its associated plan is subject to statutory vested rights.

A landowner may obtain a vested-rights determination for an approved Planned Development site plan, Special Use Permit, or Preliminary Plat if it was lawfully approved, has not expired, and specifies the development type and intensity with reasonable certainty.

If an existing data-center use or structure becomes nonconforming, a nonconforming structure may be expanded by up to 10 percent administratively; expansions above 10 percent may be approved by the Board of Adjustment through the applicable quasi-judicial process.

Nonresidential structures in Zones A, AE, AH, AO, and A99 may be floodproofed instead of elevated to the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. The structure and attendant utilities must be watertight, resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces, and be certified by a registered professional engineer or architect.

The Board of Adjustment may grant floodplain variances for any type of development when the applicant demonstrates good and sufficient cause, exceptional hardship, and compliance with flood-safety requirements. A variance may not increase flood heights, create additional public-safety threats, cause extraordinary public expense, create a nuisance, or conflict with other laws.

Development with a floodplain permit granted before the ordinance takes effect may proceed without changes to its approved plans, construction, size, or designated use, provided construction begins within six months after the permit is issued.

Buildings or structures existing on September 3, 1980, and located wholly or partly in a floodway, non-encroachment area, or stream setback may be repaired, reconstructed, or replaced without additional encroachment below the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation, provided all other ordinance requirements are met.