Data centers are allowed only as conditional uses in the Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) districts; they are not permitted by right.

Approval requires the conditional-use process, including review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, a public hearing, and action by the Board of Commissioners.

Every data center building, cooling system, accessory facility, and related structure must be at least 1,500 feet from any residential zoning-district boundary.

Every data center building, cooling system, accessory facility, and related structure must be at least 1,500 feet from any nonresidential zoning-district boundary.

Every data center building, cooling system, accessory facility, and related structure must be at least 1,000 feet from any stream, wetland, or floodplain shown on official City maps.

No structure, accessory equipment, or appurtenance may occupy a required data-center setback.

The applicant must submit a professional pre-construction study establishing baseline ambient noise and vibration levels and predicting operational impacts.

Noise from data-center operations, including cooling units and backup generators, may not exceed 45 dBA or 60 dBC at a property line adjoining a residential zone from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., or 55 dBA at other times.

Within one month after operations begin, the operator must complete an as-built noise and vibration study confirming compliance.

The applicant must provide a professional vibration study demonstrating that vibration from the data center and associated equipment will not be perceptible to human senses beyond the property line.

Third-party reviews required under the data-center standards must be performed by experts acceptable to the City and paid for by the applicant.

At application, the applicant must provide utility interconnection agreements verifying adequate grid capacity and an analysis of potential impacts on electric rates and service reliability.

At application, the applicant must provide detailed daily and annual water-use estimates and, if using public water, documentation of available capacity and a water-feasibility study.

Data centers must use a closed-loop or similar water system; withdrawing water from or discharging water into any waterway is prohibited.

Diesel backup generators must meet EPA Tier 4 emission standards, undergo annual testing, and have testing reports submitted to the City.

Fossil-fuel emergency generation may be used only during emergency outages or short-duration maintenance/readiness testing capped at 100 hours per year; routine testing is limited to 9:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Any energy-generation system supplying a data center during normal operations is treated as a separate use and requires a separate permit under applicable zoning, state, and federal rules.

Nuclear-, coal-, and oil-powered generation is prohibited for full-time electrical generators serving a data center.

The applicant must submit a comprehensive environmental-impact assessment addressing ecosystems, stormwater and water resources, air quality and emissions, energy consumption and greenhouse-gas impacts, and infrastructure effects including waste, heat, and traffic.

Principal data-center buildings must have an articulated and architecturally differentiated main entrance.

Fencing may not use barbed or razor wire, and all mechanical equipment, including generators, must be enclosed and screened.

A data center exceeding 100,000 square feet of gross floor area must have a minimum lot area of five acres.

The applicable maximum building height includes rooftop appurtenances and rooftop accessory uses.

Roof-mounted equipment must be set back from the parapet by at least the same distance as its height above the roof surface.

All lights and light poles must be at least 10 feet from any street right-of-way or property line, and lighting must be fully shielded and directed away from adjacent streets and properties.

The applicant must submit an Emergency Response Plan prepared by a qualified professional, accepted by the local fire department and City public-safety services, covering fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, responder training, and annual fire-safety inspections.

Data centers proposing battery or other energy storage must demonstrate compliance with NFPA 855 or similar standards, provide battery-specific fire suppression, and obtain approval through a land-development plan.

A data center may not be approved unless its fire-suppression, containment, ventilation, and evacuation procedures are shown to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

The applicant must design emergency-vehicle access routes to every structure in accordance with fire-department practices.

At application, the operator must submit a professional decommissioning plan covering shutdown, equipment removal, material disposal or recycling, and site restoration.

The applicant must provide financial security acceptable to the City equal to 110% of estimated decommissioning and site-restoration costs; the amount must be reviewed and adjusted every two years.

Decommissioning must begin within one year after operations cease or the operator gives notice of abandonment, whichever occurs first, and must be completed within 18 months after commencement unless the City grants an extension for good cause.

Decommissioning must remove all above-ground structures, equipment, and accessory facilities; properly dispose of hazardous materials; stabilize and revegetate disturbed soil; disconnect and cap utilities; and restore the site for surrounding uses or the most restrictive adjacent zoning district.

Each conditional-use application requires a $5,000 fee, and the applicant must pay all professional fees incurred by the City in reviewing and administering the data-center requirements.

The conditional-use application must include required studies and documentation, electricity and water infrastructure plans, mitigation or contingency strategies, off-site-visible building elevations or renderings, an Emergency Management Plan, and a Decommissioning Plan.

The ordinance defines data centers and all uses ancillary to them as principal uses, preventing ancillary data-center facilities from being treated merely as accessory uses.

Data centers are expressly authorized as conditional uses in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial districts, creating a zoning pathway for approval where the use would otherwise not be permitted. Approval remains subject to the ordinance’s additional data-center requirements and conditional-use review.

Energy-generation systems used to supply a data center during normal operations are treated as a separate use rather than as part of the data-center use. This allows associated generation facilities to pursue approval under the zoning rules and permits applicable to that separate use, although a separate permit is required.