Data center development requires conditional-use or conditional-district zoning approval, including site-plan review, individualized conditions, and a public hearing.

Data processing facilities are allowed only in the HI-CD zoning district, rather than broadly in all industrial districts.

Construction may not begin until written development approval is obtained from Randolph County Planning and Zoning.

Outdoor data-center equipment must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, day-care facilities, hospitals, churches, youth camps, public parks, community centers, community recreation centers, and existing residences.

Cargo containers, railroad cars, truck trailers, and similar containers may not be used at a data processing facility.

A Level III buffer must be maintained around the facility's property lines.

Before construction, the owner or applicant must obtain a sealed noise study from a third-party licensed acoustic engineer documenting baseline perimeter noise in dBA, dBC, and dBZ, including narrowband and tonal analysis and a noise-contour map.

After construction, facility noise may not exceed documented preconstruction perimeter levels in dBA, dBC, and dBZ, or 60 dBA, whichever is greater.

The application must include a professional-engineer certification that the facility will use closed-loop water or liquid cooling designed to minimize water consumption, along with estimated daily water use and the cooling-water source.

Electronic waste generated by the facility must be handled by a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality-licensed electronic-waste recycling firm.

The facility must be connected to the existing electric grid before a final Certificate of Occupancy may be issued.

On-site generators may be used only for emergency power during grid outages and routine testing limited to four hours per month.

If non-building-mounted solar panels are included on the site, the facility must also comply with the ordinance's solar-energy-facility requirements.

A data processing facility that ceases operations for 12 consecutive months is treated as decommissioned or abandoned unless the owner or another responsible legal-interest holder provides substantial evidence of the intent and ability to resume operations.

After decommissioning or abandonment, the owner or operator must remove technological hardware, private substations, fuel, and hazardous materials and dispose of them in compliance with applicable law.

The applicant must provide financial assurance for decommissioning equal to the estimated decommissioning cost plus a 10 percent contingency through an approved bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or segregated cash escrow.

Decommissioning cost estimates must be prepared, signed, and sealed by an independent North Carolina-licensed professional engineer and reviewed and resubmitted to the Planning Department at least every five years during facility operation.

Facilities in designated water-supply watersheds must comply with watershed density, built-upon-area, stormwater, vegetated-setback, and permitting requirements, with only low-density development allowed in watershed areas.

Data center development in a Special Flood Hazard Area or Community Flood Hazard Area requires a Floodplain Development Permit before construction or other development begins.

Floodplain permit applications must include detailed site plans, flood-zone and floodway information, base-flood elevations, proposed elevations, foundation plans, utility-protection details, certifications, and evidence of other required permits.

Development in regulated flood areas must meet flood-resistant construction standards, including anchoring against flotation and collapse, flood-resistant materials, protected utilities, flood-resistant water and sewer systems, and adequate drainage.

New nonresidential structures and substantial improvements in areas with established base-flood elevations must be elevated to the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation or, where allowed, professionally certified as floodproofed to that elevation.

Fill, including constructing buildings on fill, is prohibited in Special Flood Hazard Areas, and Conditional Letters or Letters of Map Revision based on fill are not approved.

Encroachments or development in floodways and non-encroachment areas are prohibited unless engineering analysis shows no increase in flood levels or FEMA approves a Conditional Letter of Map Revision; qualifying projects may also require a Letter of Map Revision within six months after completion.

In approximate Zone A areas without established base-flood elevations, development encroachments are barred within 20 feet of each side of the stream bank or five times the stream width, whichever is greater, unless a professional engineer certifies that the project will not increase flood levels.

In riverine areas with base-flood elevations but no established floodway or non-encroachment area, development is prohibited unless a professional engineer certifies that cumulative development will not raise the base-flood water-surface elevation by more than one foot.

Structures in shallow-flooding Zone AO must elevate their reference level to the mapped flood depth plus four feet above the highest adjacent grade, or at least four feet above grade when no depth is specified; nonresidential structures may use certified floodproofing instead.

Structures in shaded Zone X with available flood elevations must be elevated or floodproofed to the higher of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance elevation or the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation; where no data exists, the reference level generally must be at least two feet above the highest adjacent grade.

Expansion, repair, rehabilitation, or other improvements may be treated as substantial improvements and required to meet new-construction flood standards when applicable cost thresholds are met, including costs equal to or exceeding 30 percent of market value during a five-year period or a separate 50-percent cumulative-cost threshold during a one-year period.

New development in the Randleman Lake Watershed is subject to protected riparian buffers generally totaling 50 feet, consisting of a 30-foot Zone 1 and a 20-foot Zone 2; clearing, grading, development, or building permits may not violate the buffer rule.

Uses affecting protected riparian buffers may require a written Authorization Certificate, mitigation approval, or exception authorization; prohibited uses may proceed only if a variance is granted.

Randleman Lake Watershed rules require a 100-foot vegetated buffer adjacent to perennial streams for new development, with the first 50 feet subject to all riparian-buffer requirements; low-density development is also subject to a 30-foot vegetated buffer.

A watershed variance expires if the applicant does not obtain a building permit or Watershed Occupancy Permit within six months after the variance decision.

Violations of floodplain requirements may result in stop-work orders, permit suspension or revocation, withholding or revocation of a certificate of occupancy, utility termination, penalties of up to $500 per day, and potential loss of federal flood-insurance eligibility through a Section 1316 declaration.

Data processing facilities are listed as a permitted use in the HI-CD zoning district, subject to applicable conditional-district requirements.

Article 600, Section 621 establishes specific regulations and a defined approval framework for data processing facilities.

Data processing facilities may install on-site solar panels if they comply with the ordinance's solar-energy-facility requirements.

On-site generators are allowed for emergency power during grid outages and for routine testing of up to four hours per month.

Post-construction sound levels may be the documented pre-construction level or 60 dBA, whichever is greater, subject to required acoustic studies and other noise standards.

The County may reduce building-permit fees or provide partial rebates for buildings certified under qualifying sustainable-design or energy-efficiency programs, including LEED, Green Globes, or an equivalent nationally recognized program.

If development regulations change while a development-permit application is pending, the applicant may select which adopted version applies to the permit and permitted use.

Development approvals, including rezonings, special-use permits, and variances, generally run with the land in perpetuity unless otherwise provided by law.

A site-specific vesting plan can preserve the right to complete an approved data-center development under its approved terms, generally for two years and potentially up to five years when justified by project size, phasing, investment, or market conditions.

A multi-phased development is vested for the entire development under the regulations in effect when the initial phase receives site-plan approval, with vesting lasting seven years.

The County may enter into development agreements for large or phased projects to coordinate public facilities, financing, construction schedules, and private development over an extended period.

After a development permit is issued, later inspections and reviews must apply the land-development regulations in effect when the original application was filed, protecting the project from later regulatory changes.

The County's data-processing-facility regulations omit electromagnetic-frequency guidelines because those matters are subject to Federal Communications Commission review, limiting duplicative local review.