Large-scale data processing facilities are allowed only in the RA, GC, HC, LI, or GI zoning districts through a Conditional Zoning District, not by right. This requires a rezoning petition, Planning Board review, a legislative hearing, and approval by the Board of County Commissioners; the application must be submitted 20 working days before the Planning Board meeting.

The facility and its equipment or structures must be at least 50 feet from the facility boundary and at least one-quarter mile (1,320 feet) from any church, school, or residence.

Applications must include a project narrative, detailed site plan, standard component drawings, and the locations of churches, schools, and residences within one-quarter mile of the facility; the County may require additional studies, reports, certifications, or approvals.

Applicants must submit an acoustical-engineer study describing anticipated facility noise and proposed mitigation measures.

Facilities must comply with the North Carolina State Building Code, and electrical wiring must generally be installed underground, except where needed for system-component or utility-grid interconnection.

Facility systems, equipment, and structures generally may not exceed 35 feet in height, excluding electric transmission lines and utility poles.

The entire facility perimeter must have security fencing at least eight feet high and a buffer yard that screens the facility from adjoining properties under County landscaping and screening requirements.

Roads serving the facility must be wide enough to accommodate emergency vehicles, as determined by the Pitt County Fire Marshal.

A grid-connected data-processing system may not be installed until the operator provides evidence that the electrical utility provider has approved the installation; off-grid systems are exempt.

Facility noise must comply with the Pitt County Noise Ordinance and may not disrupt adjacent land uses.

Any data-center structure or equipment not operated for 365 consecutive days is deemed abandoned. After notice, the County may require removal within 90 days and may remove the property and recover its costs if it is not removed; the landowner may be liable if the owner cannot be located or is no longer in business.

Development may not proceed without the required zoning permit, special use permit, high-density watershed protection permit, and approved site plan, as applicable.

Zoning and special use permits generally expire if the authorized use has not commenced or at least 10% of the authorized work has not been completed within one year, or if work is discontinued for one year. Extensions of up to six months may be granted if specified findings are made.

In a water-supply watershed overlay district, development may require a Watershed Protection Permit, and high-density development requires Board of Adjustment approval through a High Density Watershed Protection Permit. Applicable watershed density, built-upon-area, stormwater-control, and vegetated-buffer limits include a 50-foot buffer along qualifying perennial waters and a 100-foot buffer for development exceeding the low-density option.

For projects requiring an erosion-and-sedimentation-control plan, the County must certify that the plan has been approved or can be approved after more detailed plans are submitted; construction and building permits cannot begin or issue until approval is obtained.

Stormwater-management requirements under the Pitt County Stormwater Ordinance for Nutrient Control must be satisfied before a zoning or special-use permit is issued, and qualifying streams, lakes, ponds, and other waters require a 50-foot riparian buffer with restrictions on development within the buffer.

A high-density watershed protection permit expires if a building permit is not obtained within 12 months.

Large-scale data-processing facilities are recognized as a defined use and may be proposed in RA, GC, HC, LI, and GI districts through the conditional-zoning process.

Conditional zoning allows a specific data-center project to be approved based on a submitted sketch or site plan, with project-specific conditions binding the property. Conditions are limited to ordinance compliance, adopted plans, or reasonably expected project impacts and must be accepted by the applicant in writing.

The ordinance establishes specific siting standards for data centers, including structures and equipment up to 35 feet high, a 50-foot separation from the facility boundary, and a one-quarter-mile separation from churches, schools, and residences.

Data centers may use an eight-foot security fence and perimeter buffer-yard screening.

Electrical wiring may generally be installed underground, except where it is brought together for system interconnection or connection to the local utility grid.

A grid-connected data-processing system may be installed after the operator provides evidence of utility-provider approval; off-grid systems are exempt from this notification requirement.

Site-plan review may occur concurrently with building-plan review and other required approvals, and the Zoning Administrator may waive site-plan or plot-plan items that are unnecessary or already available.

Utility facilities and utility lines located within a public right-of-way are exempt from zoning-permit requirements.

Project-specific conditions may support deviations from standard parking requirements when the circumstances justify less or more parking.

Applicants may use the version of a zoning rule, map, or ordinance in effect when the application was submitted if the rule changes before permit action. For projects requiring multiple local permits, this protection can extend to later applications filed within 18 months after approval of the initial permit.

An approved site-specific vesting plan establishes a right to complete the approved development under its terms for at least two years, with the Board of Commissioners able to extend the period beyond two and up to five years based on factors such as project size, phasing, investment, market conditions, or economic cycles.

A vested right generally prevents later county zoning actions from changing, impairing, preventing, diminishing, or delaying the approved development, subject to exceptions including owner consent, serious hazards, compensation, materially inaccurate information, or superseding state or federal law.

A multi-phased development of at least 25 acres with an approved master development plan may obtain a vested right when the initial phase is approved, remaining valid for seven years.

Development may proceed in phases under an approved phasing plan, allowing each phase to proceed as its own development for permit completion and compliance.

Zoning and special-use permits may be extended for periods of up to six months, including successive extensions, if the permit has not expired, the recipient has proceeded diligently and in good faith, and changed conditions do not require a new application.

Minor modifications to an approved permit, conditional-zoning district, or site plan may be approved by the Zoning Administrator without a formal application, hearing, or additional fee when they do not change the permitted use or development density.

Zoning, special-use, and sign permits attach to and run with the land, allowing them to transfer to successors or assigns subject to continued compliance with the permit terms.