Moratorium covers all development approvals for data centers, data processing facilities, cryptocurrency mining and related uses, limited to unincorporated territory outside municipal ETJs.

Applications for development approvals that were complete and submitted before the moratorium’s effective date may continue to be processed under the rules in effect when they were submitted.

The moratorium does not prevent development that has already received the required approvals or permits, preserving the ability to proceed with those projects.

The moratorium does not affect projects protected by previously established vested rights, allowing qualifying projects to continue despite the temporary suspension of new approvals.

The moratorium does not prohibit ordinary maintenance, repair, or other work on existing facilities, allowing existing data-center-related operations to continue.

Imposes a temporary 12-month moratorium on permitting data centers, data processing facilities, cryptocurrency mining operations, and associated uses in the unincorporated areas of Chatham County.

Computing infrastructure providers, including data processing and web-hosting facilities, require rezoning to a parallel conditional district, Board of Commissioners approval, compliance with use-specific standards, and a subsequent Zoning Compliance Permit when the use is marked “C” in the principal-use tables. The use is allowed by right when Chatham County or Town of Sanford water and sewer infrastructure is used.

Applicants must provide final approvals from all other required local, state, and federal permitting agencies with a zoning application, or submit those agencies’ applications and provide the final permits before operations begin if outside approvals depend on local zoning approval.

Development must have adequate water and sewage systems; if adequate systems are unavailable, the County may require larger lots or deny the development.

Non-residential development requiring a stormwater plan must preserve tree-save areas generally covering 20% to 30% or more of the site, depending on the zoning district, and submit tree surveys, ecological evaluations, landscape plans, and tree-protection plans with ongoing maintenance and construction-protection requirements.

Developments exceeding 100,000 square feet of gross floor area or two acres of built-upon area must install a solar energy system producing at least 25% of the development’s energy needs.

Non-residential developments must provide required pedestrian, multimodal, signage, utility, wastewater, water-supply, street, and driveway improvements, complete them or provide a performance guarantee, and pay the costs without County reimbursement.

Industrial and other applicable developments must comply with exterior-lighting limits and obtain approval of a lighting plan, fixture schedule, photometric information, and manufacturer specifications before a building permit is issued.

Watershed-area development is subject to maximum density or built-upon-area limits, stormwater requirements, and minimum lot sizes. Projects using the high-density option must pay a County fee based on built-upon area exceeding the low-density allowance, and some areas or land-use designations are ineligible for that option.

In watershed areas, toxic or hazardous materials may be prohibited or allowed only when associated with a permitted use and covered by an approved and implemented spill-containment plan. Handling, storage, or processing of hazardous materials and installation or removal of tanks also requires a Fire Marshal permit.

Non-residential or multifamily developments required to provide at least 50 parking spaces must provide electric-vehicle infrastructure. For other uses, at least 3% of spaces must have EV charging points and 15% must be EV-ready, subject to the applicable rounding and design requirements.

A Watershed Protection Permit is required before erecting, moving, enlarging, or structurally altering a building or built-upon area, before approval of a building permit, or before changing a land or building use. Watershed Protection Permit requirement

A Watershed Protection Occupancy Permit is required before occupying a new or altered building or structure or changing a building or land use. occupancy permit requirement

A Watershed Protection Permit expires if the applicant does not obtain a Building Permit or Watershed Occupancy Permit within 12 months after issuance.

Development or redevelopment that cumulatively disturbs more than 20,000 square feet generally requires stormwater review and written Stormwater Management Plan approval before work begins. Projects of 20,000 square feet or less are exempt unless part of a larger common plan or sale.

Stormwater projects must generally capture and treat runoff from the 1-year, 1-hour storm and remove at least 85% of average annual total suspended solids from development-produced runoff. stormwater quality standards

Post-development peak discharge generally may not exceed pre-development discharge for storms up to and including the 25-year, 24-hour event, with analysis required for the 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, and 25-year events. The Stormwater Administrator may require additional reductions where downstream capacity is limited or flooding would worsen.

Stormwater conveyance systems must generally be designed for at least the 10-year, 24-hour storm, and new systems must be checked to protect existing and proposed structures from flooding during the 50-year, 24-hour storm.

Projects requiring a stormwater management plan must obtain a stormwater permit. The permit is valid for two years, expires if work has not begun or a valid building permit has not been secured, and may be renewed once for an additional two-year period at the County’s discretion.

Sites with stormwater management systems must obtain a Post-Construction Stormwater Permit when the certificate of completion is issued and renew it every 10 years.

Before conveying a private lot or building site served by a stormwater control measure, or before issuance of a permit for development requiring one, the applicant or owner must execute a binding operation and maintenance agreement requiring ongoing maintenance, repair, possible reconstruction, County inspection and repair access, and periodic inspection reports, including quarterly reports during the first year and generally annual reports thereafter.

Nonresidential land-disturbing activity that uncovers more than 20,000 square feet requires an erosion and sedimentation control plan and land-disturbing permit. The plan must be filed at least 30 days before work begins, and work cannot begin until approval and permit issuance.

A land-disturbing permit is valid for two years. If substantial activity has not begun within that period, it becomes void; if activity has begun but the project is incomplete, the permit must be renewed to continue work.

Land-disturbing activity on steep slopes exceeding 5,000 square feet is prohibited, except where necessary and otherwise permitted for septic systems, roadway crossings, or utilities when no practicable alternative exists. Permitted steep-slope work is limited to one acre disturbed at a time and requires stabilization within seven days after grading or inactivity.

Land-disturbing activity near surface water must comply with riparian-buffer requirements, and the buffer may not be less than 30 feet. Activities subject to stormwater regulation must also comply with the County’s riparian-buffer standards.

New nonresidential construction must generally be located outside a Special Flood Hazard Area. Substantial improvements to existing nonresidential structures must elevate the reference level to the regulatory flood protection elevation or, in specified zones, use certified floodproofing instead.

Development within a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a Floodplain Development Permit and supporting plot plans, elevation information, foundation details, utility-protection information, and copies of required federal, state, and local permits. Elevation or floodproofing certificates are generally required before construction and again before a certificate of occupancy.

New solid-waste disposal facilities, hazardous-waste management facilities, salvage yards, and chemical-storage facilities are prohibited in Special Flood Hazard Areas. Incidental chemical or fuel storage is allowed only if elevated or floodproofed to the regulatory flood protection elevation and properly certified.

Discharging wastewater, food waste, petroleum products, grease, chemicals, paint, garbage, chlorinated pool water, sediment, soil, or other non-stormwater substances into stormwater systems, waters of the State, or land where they are likely to reach those waters is prohibited unless authorized by an NPDES permit.

Stormwater and watershed violations can result in stop-work orders, refusal or revocation of certificates of occupancy, injunctions, and civil penalties. Watershed penalties range from $50 to $500 per day depending on repeated violations, while stormwater and erosion-control penalties may be assessed up to the full amount allowed by law or, for erosion-control violations, up to $5,000 per violation.

The data-center moratorium lasts 12 months and does not create a permanent prohibition on permitting data centers or related uses.

The moratorium does not apply to projects with previously issued permits or other development approvals, allowing them to proceed under those approvals.

The moratorium does not apply to development applications submitted and deemed complete before it takes effect, allowing those applications to continue through review.

Projects with legally established vested rights are excluded from the moratorium and may proceed under those rights.

Existing lawful data-center, data-processing, cryptocurrency-mining, and associated operations may continue operating during the moratorium.

The UDO expressly includes “computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services” as principal uses. These uses are allowed by right in specified circumstances when Chatham County or Town of Sanford water and sewer infrastructure is used, although they are conditional in other districts.

The IL Light Industrial District permits principal structures up to 75 feet high, and the IH Heavy Industrial District has no maximum height for principal structures, subject to the applicable setbacks.

The IL and IH industrial districts are exempt from the UDO’s general building-design standards, reducing applicable architectural and facade requirements.

If a proposed use is not clearly addressed in the use tables, the Zoning Administrator may classify it as permitted, limited, or conditional based on similarity to an expressly listed use, with an appeal available to the Board of Adjustment.

Non-residential development may receive required infrastructure support, including water, wastewater, utilities, and applicable pedestrian or multimodal improvements. Public water and sewer are required where available and feasible; private wastewater facilities may be used where public sewer is unavailable if UDO requirements are met.

Eligible high-density development in specified WS-IV-PA watershed and Future Land Use areas, including Employment Center areas, may have up to 70% built-upon area, subject to the lowest applicable limit and payment of the County-established fee for additional built-upon area.

Most non-residential uses have no fixed minimum off-street parking requirement unless they are listed uses. For an unlisted use, the Director determines whether parking is required based on a similar-use standard, published parking data, or a parking-demand study.

Required parking may be reduced by up to 60% through a professionally prepared parking-demand study showing that standard ratios do not accurately apply or that other parking options are available.

Up to 40% of required parking may be provided off site, subject to walking-distance and safe-access requirements, an approved recorded agreement generally lasting at least 15 years, and on-site accessible parking.

Applications accepted as complete before the UDO’s December 31, 2025 effective date are processed under the prior ordinances. Existing valid approvals remain valid until expiration, and projects may be completed under those approvals even if they do not fully comply with the new UDO.

A performance guarantee may substitute for completing required infrastructure before final plat approval or issuance of a zoning compliance permit, provided conditions such as 75% completion of improvements, emergency-vehicle access, and public-waterline readiness where applicable are met.

Projects with a valid building permit, land-disturbing permit, special use permit, or approved subdivision plan issued before the stormwater chapter’s effective date are exempt from that chapter. valid certificates or approvals prior to the effective date

For redevelopment, additional stormwater controls are required only for the net increase in impervious surface above the preexisting amount. increased stormwater controls are only required for the amount of impervious surface being created

Redevelopment projects may meet stormwater quality and quantity requirements through alternatives such as reducing built-upon area, treating only part of the built-upon area, using approved low-impact-development practices, or demonstrating adequate downstream capacity under the 10% rule, subject to analysis and Stormwater Administrator approval. redevelopment projects may meet the stormwater quality and quantity requirements

A complete stormwater management plan is deemed approved if the County does not review it within 30 days, or a complete revised plan within 15 days. This applies only to complete applications and does not eliminate other required permits. Failure to review a complete plan within 30 days of receipt shall be deemed approval

Stormwater permits remain valid for two years and may be renewed once for an additional two years upon written request; if the project has not begun and no valid building permit has been secured after two years, a new permit is required. this permit may be renewed

A stormwater permit may be transferred at the permittee’s request, and the County may transfer one without the permit holder’s or successor owner’s consent when authorized by state law. Chatham County shall transfer a stormwater permit upon request

An approved erosion and sedimentation control plan is deemed approved if the County does not review a complete plan within 30 days, or a complete revised plan within 15 days, provided the plan is complete and otherwise complies with applicable requirements. Failure to review a complete plan within 30 days of receipt shall be deemed approval

An approved erosion and sedimentation control plan may be transferred to a successor owner under specified conditions, and the County may not impose new or different plan conditions without the successor’s express consent, subject to any revised-plan requirements under state law or the UDO. the County may not impose new or different terms and conditions

Existing non-single-family buildings and structures that are damaged, destroyed, or removed may be repaired or reconstructed if work begins within 12 months and is completed within two years. Built-upon area may not increase unless equivalent or better stormwater controls are provided. repair or reconstruction of the buildings and structures is initiated within 12 months

A legally established watershed-related use that later becomes nonconforming under watershed regulations may continue unless it is discontinued for one year or changed to an allowed use. uses or activities ... are permitted to continue