Data centers are allowed only in the Industrial Zoning District and require conditional-use approval by the County Commissioners.

Conditional-use approval requires public notice, a public hearing, review by the County Planning Commission and the municipality, and written proof by the applicant that the proposal complies with applicable ordinances, laws, and the Comprehensive Plan.

Conditional-use applications must include extensive documentation and studies covering site design, noise, emergency response, energy, water, traffic, real-estate impacts, environmental and community impacts, historic and cultural resources, decommissioning, and screening.

Conditional-use authorization expires if required permits are not obtained or approval conditions are not satisfied within six months, unless the Commissioners grant an extension.

Data center buildings and accessory uses are subject to an 80-foot maximum height, including rooftop equipment.

Buildings and accessory uses must be set back 250 feet from a road centerline and 150 feet from side and rear property lines.

Data centers and accessory uses must be separated from Sensitive Receptor property lines by 500 feet; the proposed text also identifies an amendment to 1,000 feet.

Applicants must submit preliminary, interim, and as-built acoustical studies, and normal operations may not exceed 60 dB(A) during specified weekday daytime hours, 55 dB(A) during nighttime and weekend hours, or 45 dB(A) at nighttime at an off-site Sensitive Receptor property line.

Noise limits apply during power outages and must account for emergency generators and other emergency equipment. Substantiated violations require corrective action, and the applicant or occupant must reimburse the County for an independent investigation that confirms a violation.

Low-frequency noise must be addressed using the latest available technology in facility design and operating procedures.

Air, dust, smoke, glare, exhaust, heat, humidity, offensive odors, and steam may not be perceptible at or beyond the property line, subject to the ordinance's specified emissions restrictions.

Applicants must provide a qualified vibration study demonstrating that vibration from the data center, accessory uses, and related equipment will not be perceptible beyond the property line.

Data center equipment must be housed in metered, grounded, pre-engineered metal structures with at least a 30-minute internal electrical-fire rating and automatically closing fire baffles.

Battery and other energy-storage systems must comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards and include fire-suppression systems designed for battery storage.

Applicants must submit an Emergency Response Plan accepted by the local fire department and emergency management services, including fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, responder training, radio coverage, supplies, and a 911 address.

Data centers must provide emergency radio-enhancement systems when needed, display 24-hour emergency contact information at the entrance, coordinate with the County 911 Coordinator, and pay for specialized first-responder training.

Energy-generation systems used to supply a data center during normal operations are treated as separate uses and require approval under the zoning rules applicable to those systems.

Grid-connected projects must provide an interconnection agreement and utility certifications addressing capacity, infrastructure sizing, safety, power quality, reliability, and harmful interference, and the applicant must pay the full cost of project-caused infrastructure upgrades.

Before occupancy or certification of completion, electrical work must be verified as having passed a third-party inspection.

On-site or behind-the-meter generation must satisfy environmental, safety, and utility-interconnection standards; generators must be Tier 4 or higher and operate at the lowest feasible noise levels.

Projects involving nuclear energy must submit preliminary and post-construction radiological land surveys, comply with Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, and pay County-selected survey costs. Radiation violations may suspend or revoke zoning permits until corrected.

Applicants must document water needs and, when using nonpublic sources, provide a water-feasibility study addressing wells, groundwater, surface water, geological conditions, safe yield, impacts on nearby supplies, recycling or discharge, and related reviews. The County may require an independent hydrologist at the applicant's expense and may deny a project lacking adequate water or harming nearby wells.

Projects withdrawing at least 100,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days or using at least 20,000 gallons per day of consumptive water use averaged over 30 days must obtain Susquehanna River Basin Commission review and approval.

Applicants must show that water supplies will not be negatively affected, exhaust reasonable efforts to use existing waterlines, use closed-loop cooling where feasible, and obtain required wastewater and cooling-water disposal approvals.

Applicants must provide traffic studies covering construction and operation and evaluating roadways, intersections, bridges, and interchanges within one-half mile; identified hazards and congestion must be avoided or mitigated to the County's satisfaction.

Applicants must provide economic community impact, environmental, PNDI, historic and cultural resource, and other required studies, including analysis and mitigation of impacts on critical areas, wildlife, wetlands, floodplains, air emissions, stormwater, waste, public services, and municipal finances.

Data center sites generally must have vegetative buffering around the perimeter, with plantings near the required fencing, year-round screening intended to reach maximum visibility reduction within 36 months, at least 20% pollinator-friendly species, and ongoing replacement and maintenance.

Fences may not exceed eight feet in height and require County-approved design and materials.

Site lighting must comply with the most current dark-sky standard, be fully shielded, and produce no spillover beyond the property line.

The County may evaluate cumulative impacts from data centers, power facilities, substations, and other high-intensity industrial uses within five miles, including common ownership and foreseeable phases or expansions, and may require additional studies or deny approval.

Any expansion, intensification, operational-capacity change, cooling-technology change, increase in water or energy demand, or addition of accessory infrastructure beyond the approved proposal requires a new conditional-use approval.

Applicants must submit a decommissioning plan and provide financial security equal to 110% of estimated decommissioning costs before SALDO approval. The security must be maintained for the project's life and updated every five years.

A data center that is not operated for 12 consecutive months is presumed abandoned. The owner or operator then has six months to remove the facility and accessory equipment and restore the property, or the County may perform the work at the owner's expense.

Data centers are permitted by conditional use in the Industrial Zoning District, subject to the ordinance’s review standards and approval process.

Data center accessory uses are allowed on the same tract or on adjacent parcels developed as a unified project, including administrative, storage, fiber-optic, generator, substation, utility, cooling, wastewater, water-storage, battery-storage, fire-suppression, and security facilities.

On-site or behind-the-meter generation using natural gas, renewable fuels, or other clean sources may supply the data center to improve reliability, efficiency, or sustainability, subject to environmental, safety, utility-interconnection, noise, and applicable generator requirements.

Energy-generation systems supplying a data center during normal operations are treated as a separate use, allowing them to proceed under the zoning rules applicable to that type of generation.

The ordinance provides a path for connecting a data center to the electric grid through an interconnection agreement and utility certification of capacity, equipment, power quality, reliability, and infrastructure sufficiency; the applicant must pay for infrastructure upgrades required by the project.

The conditional-use process requires a public hearing within 60 days of the request and a decision or written findings within 45 days after the last hearing.

If the required hearing or decision deadlines are missed, the conditional use is deemed approved or decided in favor of the applicant, subject to public-notice requirements and any written extension agreed to by the applicant.

The Commissioners may waive ordinance requirements they determine are not applicable to the ordinance’s intent.

The Commissioners may extend the normal six-month period for obtaining required permits or complying with conditional-use conditions upon the applicant’s written request, and approval of an extension may not be unreasonably withheld.

The County may consider voluntary development agreements covering infrastructure improvements, emergency-services support, environmental mitigation, or community benefits; the ordinance does not require payment in lieu of taxes or community-benefit contributions as a condition of approval except where authorized by law.

Data centers are permitted only as conditional uses in the Industrial Zoning District, not as-of-right.

Applicants must demonstrate compliance with the zoning ordinance, subdivision and land development requirements, applicable local, state, and federal regulations, and the Comprehensive Plan, including mitigation of identified conflicts.

Conditional-use approval requires a public hearing, review by the County Planning Commission and affected municipality, a written project statement, a detailed site plan, compliance narratives, and numerous required studies and assessments.

The ordinance limits data-center height to 80 feet; one version further limits buildings to 45 feet and rooftop equipment to 15 feet.

Data centers must be set back 250 feet from a road centerline and 150 feet from side and rear property lines.

Data centers and accessory uses must be set back from Sensitive Receptors by either 500 feet or 1,000 feet, depending on the ordinance version.

Applicants must provide professional preliminary, interim or permit-stage, and post-construction sound studies, including a study six months after the certificate of occupancy; the County may require additional studies.

Normal operations may not exceed 60 dB(A) during weekday daytime hours or 55 dB(A) during nighttime and weekend hours at the use's property line.

Nighttime noise at an off-site Sensitive Receptor may not exceed 45 dB(A), including during power outages and emergency-generator operation.

Noise violations may require corrective action, and the applicant or occupant must reimburse the County for an independent noise investigation when a violation is found.

Air, dust, smoke, glare, exhaust, heat, humidity, offensive odors, and steam may not be perceptible at or beyond the property line.

Applicants must submit a vibration study showing that vibration from the data center and related equipment will not be perceptible beyond the property line.

Operational equipment must be housed in metered, electrically grounded, pre-engineered metal structures with at least a 30-minute internal electrical-fire rating and automatic fire baffles.

Battery-storage systems must comply with NFPA 855 or similar standards and include fire-suppression systems designed for battery storage.

Applicants must submit an Emergency Response Plan accepted by local fire and emergency-management authorities, addressing fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, responder training, radio coverage, and emergency supplies.

Approval requires sufficient fire-suppression, containment, ventilation, and evacuation procedures to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

Applicants must provide 24-hour emergency-contact information at the entrance, obtain a 911 address, and provide written verification of third-party electrical inspection before final occupancy or completion certification.

Energy-generation systems supplying a data center during normal operations are treated as separate uses and require separate zoning approval.

Grid-connected projects must provide an interconnection agreement and utility certifications addressing capacity, infrastructure, reliability, power quality, and interference; the applicant must pay for project-caused infrastructure upgrades.

On-site or behind-the-meter generators must satisfy environmental, safety, and utility-interconnection requirements and must be Tier 4 or better and operated at the lowest feasible noise level.

Projects involving nuclear energy must provide radiological land surveys, comply with Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, pay County-selected survey costs, and may have zoning permits rescinded or revoked for unresolved radiation violations.

Applicants must analyze water needs and sources, document municipal water availability when applicable, and provide a water feasibility study for nonpublic sources at the applicant's expense.

The nonpublic-water feasibility study must address nearby wells and surface waters, safe yield, water quality, impacts, recycling or discharge, and related technical information; the County may retain an independent hydrologist at the applicant's expense.

A data center may not be approved without sufficient water or if it would adversely affect nearby wells, dewater neighboring properties, or negatively affect surrounding water supplies.

Applicants must make reasonable efforts to use existing public or private waterlines before proposing withdrawals from local aquifers or surface waters, demonstrate feasible use of closed-loop heating and cooling, and obtain wastewater-disposal approvals.

Projects withdrawing at least 100,000 gallons per day averaged over 30 days, or using at least 20,000 gallons per day consumptively averaged over 30 days, must obtain Susquehanna River Basin Commission review and approval.

Projects require traffic studies covering construction and operational traffic and must avoid or mitigate identified roadway, intersection, bridge, interchange, hazard, and congestion impacts.

Applicants must provide an economic community-impact study addressing effects on surrounding real-estate values.

Applicants must provide environmental, wildlife, stormwater, PNDI, critical-impact-area, historic, cultural, archaeological, and community-impact analyses and must avoid, minimize, or mitigate identified impacts.

A data center may not be approved if historic or cultural resources would be adversely affected unless appropriate mitigation is proposed and accepted.

The County may require additional well testing or Phase I or Phase II environmental site assessments before subdivision and land development approval.

Sites generally require vegetative buffering around the perimeter, with plantings within 50 feet of the fence, year-round screening, at least 20% pollinator-friendly species, ongoing maintenance, and replacement of dead or diseased trees.

Fences may not exceed eight feet, and site lighting must be dark-sky compliant, fully shielded, and produce no spillover beyond the property line.

The County must consider cumulative impacts from data centers, power facilities, substations, and other high-intensity industrial uses within five miles and may require additional studies or deny approval based on those impacts.

Expansion, intensification, changes in operational capacity or cooling technology, increases in water or energy demand, and additions of accessory infrastructure require a new conditional-use approval.

Applicants must submit a decommissioning plan covering facility removal, hazardous materials and electronic waste, utility disconnection, soil stabilization, and site restoration.

Before subdivision and land development approval, the owner or operator must provide financial security equal to 110% of estimated decommissioning costs.

Decommissioning security must remain in place, with costs independently re-estimated after the first year of operation and every fifth year thereafter and the security updated every five years.

If the facility is not operated continuously for 12 months or is otherwise abandoned, the owner or operator has six months to dismantle the facility and accessory equipment and restore the land; the County may perform the work at the owner's expense if necessary.

A conditional-use authorization expires after six months if the required Building or Zoning Permit has not been obtained or its conditions have not been satisfied, unless the Commissioners grant an extension.

Data centers are permitted by conditional use in the Industrial Zoning District, creating a defined zoning pathway for development subject to the ordinance's standards.

The ordinance permits related accessory facilities on the same tract or a unified assemblage of adjacent parcels, including administrative and storage areas, security and fiber-optic infrastructure, substations, utility lines, cooling and wastewater facilities, water storage and pump stations, fire-suppression systems, battery storage, and similar improvements.

The conditional-use process has deadlines: a hearing generally must be held within 60 days of the request, recommendations are due within 45 days, and the Commissioners must decide within 45 days after the last hearing.

If the required hearing or decision is not completed within the specified deadlines, the conditional use is deemed approved unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension.

The Commissioners may waive conditional-use requirements they find inapplicable to the ordinance's intent and may waive unnecessary site-plan or application information, including when little site improvement or development is proposed.

If a conditional-use authorization would otherwise expire after six months because permits have not been obtained or conditions have not been met, the Commissioners may extend the period, and the extension should not be unreasonably denied.

On-site or behind-the-meter generation using natural gas, renewable fuels, or other clean sources is permitted to improve reliability, efficiency, or sustainability, subject to environmental, safety, utility-interconnection, and noise requirements; the proposed changes also require Tier 4 or better generators. Energy-generation systems used during normal operations must be approved as a separate use.

Applicants may establish grid-connection approval by documenting an interconnection agreement, adequate service-line and substation capacity, properly sized utility equipment, and acceptable power quality and reliability; required infrastructure upgrades may be made at the applicant's expense.

Emergency generator testing required by industry standards is permitted, although applicable noise limits continue to apply, including during power outages and generator operation.

The ordinance does not require a payment in lieu of taxes or a community-benefit contribution as a condition of approval, except where otherwise authorized by law; voluntary development agreements may still be considered.

Vegetative buffering requirements may be satisfied by retaining existing trees, and the Commissioners may allow no perimeter buffer—or allow natural topography and vegetation to serve as the buffer—when the facility will not be visible from a public roadway or a Sensitive Receptor property line.