Data centers are allowed only in Agricultural and Industrial zoning districts and require a special use permit approved by the Board of County Commissioners; they are not permitted by right or in other districts.

The special-use-permit process includes Planning and Zoning Commission review and a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners. No building permit, certificate of occupancy, or physical site modification may proceed before the required permit is approved.

The applicant must demonstrate electrical service for the full planned buildout through either permitted dedicated generation or a utility agreement committing capacity and assigning related capacity and infrastructure costs to the data center.

If the required utility certification is unavailable when the application is filed, no site modification or building permit may proceed until it is provided. Separately permitted generation must have capacity at least equal to the data center's designed peak demand and must be approved before site modification or permitting.

The special-use-permit application must include extensive technical, environmental, operational, utility, water-supply, traffic, haul-route, stormwater, noise, generator, and agency documentation, including a site plan prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer.

The applicant must provide written confirmation that the water provider can supply projected construction and operational demand; proposed aquifer or river water use also requires statements addressing the likelihood of obtaining required permits.

The county must notify property owners within three miles of the planned surface-improvement boundary. If more than 300 addresses would be notified, the Zoning Administrator may uniformly reduce the radius to no more than 300 addresses.

Data centers must be in permanent structures complying with the adopted International Building Code and International Fire Code, limited to two stories, and equipped with a closed-loop cooling system using a fixed volume of fluid in a sealed above-ground system.

Equipment and accessory structures must use nonreflective finishes and colors that blend with the surrounding landscape, and lighting must remain within the leased boundary, be shielded, and be directed downward; nighttime lighting must be 3000 Kelvin or warmer.

Electrical and communication lines on private property must generally be buried at least four feet deep, and overhead feeder lines are prohibited within public rights-of-way or drainage easements.

Noise-producing components, including substations and laydown yards, must generally be at least 3,960 feet from the nearest occupied dwelling. The setback may be reduced or waived only through written approval by both the dwelling's owner and occupant, recorded before the application, and the greater distance applies if required by noise standards.

The applicant must submit a qualified ambient-noise study and noise-impact analysis, including at least 48 continuous hours of sound logging; sites larger than 35 acres require four boundary instruments.

During operations, average ambient noise may not increase by more than 3 dB at an occupied dwelling, 5 dB at a park or active church or public building, or 7 dB at a nonparticipating property without an occupied dwelling. Tonal noise may not cross the property boundary.

Noise-producing construction activities are limited to 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekends, unless the Board of County Commissioners establishes different hours.

The facility must meet specified vibration limits at the property boundary and may not produce infrasound above 90 dB(Z), except while emergency backup generators are lawfully operating.

Emergency backup generators may not be used as an ongoing or regular power source and may operate only during qualifying disruptions of the primary power source or maintenance testing. Testing and maintenance are limited to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., with only one generator tested at a time.

The applicant must submit a County Engineer-approved stormwater management plan at least six months before construction. No physical improvements or building permit may proceed until approval, and the plan must prevent increased off-site flows between predevelopment and postdevelopment conditions.

The applicant must submit an emergency operations plan approved by the County Emergency Manager at least six months before construction. No site improvements or building permit may proceed until approval, and any additional staffing, training, or emergency resources required by the plan must be provided at the applicant's expense.

The facility must have at least two access points, each with 500 feet of sight distance in both directions. If that distance cannot be achieved, flaggers must be stationed at the access points for every commercial truck entering or leaving for the life of the project.

The facility must maintain a contiguous perimeter fire break at least 50 feet wide, subject to the Board of County Commissioners' final width determination.

Before construction and before any building permit, the applicant must execute a road-use agreement acceptable to the County Engineer, comply with applicable overweight-load requirements, and restore affected county roads to at least their preconstruction condition.

The applicant must consult with the State Historical Society regarding archaeological resources, conduct any recommended survey, and complete required archaeological and biological-resources studies at least 60 days before construction.

The applicant must designate a human public liaison who responds within 48 hours and mail notices at least 14 days before specified construction activities to properties within one mile and properties adjacent to affected public roads.

The Board of County Commissioners may require a development agreement addressing temporary or permanent housing and mitigation of infrastructure or community impacts.

A special-use permit is automatically suspended for violations of data-center standards and is automatically revoked if a noticed violation is not corrected within 60 days. It may also be suspended for failure to comply with applicable laws or obtain required permits.

A special-use permit automatically terminates if construction has not commenced within three years after issuance.

Adding structures, increasing a structure's originally permitted floor area by more than 5%, expanding the project boundary, or changing the energy-generation, energy-supply, water-supply, or cooling method requires a new special use permit.

A transfer of ownership or controlling interest requires an application to and approval by the Board of County Commissioners, and the new owner must agree to comply with the code and original permit conditions.

The special-use-permit fee is the greater of $300 or 0.001 times total project cost, with at least $1,000 due at application and the balance due before final occupancy permits; planning, permitting, land acquisition, and leasing costs are excluded from project cost.

Before site modification or a building permit, the applicant must provide a professional pre-project condition report, a licensed-engineer reclamation plan and cost estimate, and a reclamation bond equal to 115% of estimated reclamation cost. The bond must remain in place throughout the facility's operating life.

A facility that does not operate continuously for six months is considered abandoned, subject to the code's notice and response process. Upon termination or abandonment, reclamation generally must be completed within 365 days unless the Board of County Commissioners grants an extension or waiver.

Upon permanent termination or abandonment, the operator must remove hazardous materials, structures, equipment, appurtenances, and underground tanks; treat wastewater; re-grade wastewater ponds; and restore the site to preconstruction condition. Reclamation provisions must also address possible repurposing if the facility ceases operating as a data center.

Data centers may be permitted in Agricultural and Industrial Districts through a special use permit, without requiring a separate zoning-map amendment. Data Centers may be permitted

Applicants may satisfy electrical-service requirements through dedicated on-site generation or utility-supplied service under applicable tariffs, rates, or large-load programs. Required Demonstration of Electrical Service and Cost Responsibility

An on-site power-generation facility may be included as part of the data center's principal use and reviewed under the data-center special use permit, avoiding a separate energy-conversion-facility permit under Option 1A. Include the power generation facility as part of the principal use

A separately permitted power-generation facility may also be used as the data center's electrical-supply option, allowing the generation facility and data center to be treated as separate principal uses.

A serving utility's certification is conclusive evidence that it has dedicated capacity for the data center's full planned buildout and will apply the required cost-recovery arrangements. The certification shall be conclusive evidence of compliance

If the required utility certification is unavailable when the special use permit application is filed, the County may grant the permit conditionally, but construction and building permits cannot be issued until the certification is provided. If it is not possible for the applicant to produce the required form of demonstration

The County may not regulate or modify the serving utility's rates, tariffs, cost-of-service methods, or cost-allocation arrangements, leaving those matters to the utility and applicable regional transmission organization. No County Rate-Setting Authority

Confidential, proprietary, or commercially sensitive utility certifications and supporting materials may receive confidential treatment, subject to applicable law. Confidential Treatment

The three-mile special-use-permit notice radius may be uniformly reduced when more than 300 addresses would otherwise receive notice. may uniformly reduce the notification radius

A required three-quarter-mile setback from an occupied dwelling for noise-producing components may be reduced or waived in writing by the dwelling's owner and occupant when they are different people.

Noise limits may be temporarily exceeded when a power-grid interruption requires the facility to use emergency backup generation.

Noise from an individual backup generator expected to operate fewer than 52 hours per year, and the cumulative effect of such generators, need not be included in the required noise-impact analysis.

Emergency backup generators may operate during disruptions caused by inclement weather, an act of God, or another rare and unforeseeable occurrence, and during standard maintenance testing, but not as the regular power source. Emergency back-up generators are allowed

A development agreement may be required to organize temporary or permanent housing for construction and operations and address infrastructure or community impacts in consultation with the applicant. require the applicant to enter into a development agreement

Before construction and building-permit issuance, a road-use agreement may establish haul routes and road-repair arrangements with the County. execute a road use agreement with the County

Minor changes to equipment, structures, or appurtenances may be approved in writing by the Zoning Administrator without a new special use permit; specified major changes still require a new permit. Minor changes may be authorized in writing by the Zoning Administrator

A special use permit is generally valid for the life of the project, unless the County sets a different duration or the permit terminates or is suspended under specified conditions; construction must begin within three years. the special use permit shall be valid for the life of the project

A change in ownership or controlling interest may be handled by transferring the existing special use permit instead of obtaining a new permit, provided the new owner agrees to comply with the code and original permit conditions. requesting transfer of the special use permit

Reclamation requirements allow a data-center facility to potentially be repurposed if it stops operating as a data center.