Data processing centers are conditional uses in the Agricultural Land District and require a conditional-use permit, subject to Chapter 5.33 requirements.

Permit applications must include a project narrative, detailed site plan, acoustical-engineer study, owner/operator signatures, and any other relevant studies or approvals the County reasonably requests.

The permit fee is ambiguous: the ordinance lists $2,000, while Resolution 26-3 lists $15,000. Applicants must pay the fee before review and reimburse associated publication and certified-mailing costs before a permit is issued; the ordinance also requires reimbursement of reasonable County review and related expenses beyond the fee.

A grid-connected center cannot receive a permit without written utility-provider approval confirming adequate capacity, suitable and safe infrastructure, and no harmful electrical interference or voltage fluctuations. Off-grid systems are exempt.

Facilities must have a six-foot sight-obscuring perimeter fence and screened buffer yards at least 50 feet wide at the sides and rear and 150 feet wide at the front. Equipment and structures must be at least 50 feet from the property boundary and one mile from any church, school, or occupied residence.

Perimeter-fence signage is prohibited except for one sign of no more than 32 square feet displaying the facility name, address, and emergency contact information, plus appropriate warning signs.

Centers within one mile of a residence, church, or school must submit a detailed noise-mitigation plan. Sound at an occupied residence, church, or government building is generally limited to 55 dBA, or 45 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., subject to specified limited-duration exceedances.

Generators must be enclosed behind a solid concrete or equivalent sound-absorbing wall at least four feet higher than the tallest generator. The requirement may be reduced or removed if an acceptable noise-mitigation plan demonstrates compliance with sound limits.

Facilities must meet the current International Building Code. Electrical wiring must be underground except at interconnections, and cargo containers, railroad cars, semi-truck trailers, and similar storage containers cannot be used for operational components.

Roads must be wide enough for emergency vehicles, as determined by the County Emergency Management Director.

If more than 2,000 gallons of hazardous materials are used, stored, or expected to be used or stored at or within a center, an environmental study of potential effects from containment failure must be provided to the County Commission. Hazardous materials require containment and must be sent to an approved disposal site; contaminated discharges also require approved disposal. Electronic equipment must go to a certified recycling center, and the County Director of Equalization must receive at least 24 hours’ notice before hazardous materials or discharges are removed.

Operators must coordinate an emergency-response plan with local responders and submit it at least 60 days before construction. They must pay for necessary local responder training and equipment and make required response equipment accessible to responders.

At least 30 days before construction, the applicant must submit a decommissioning plan with cost estimates and the anticipated post-decommissioning site condition. The operator must give six months’ written notice before decommissioning and dismantle components within 365 days after it begins; a written agreement with the property owner may extend removal, but not beyond two years.

A center out of service or unused for 24 consecutive months is deemed abandoned. After notice and an opportunity to respond within 30 days, a center found abandoned must be dismantled within 120 days; the landowner may be liable for decommissioning if the owner or operator fails to do it properly or abandons the facility.

Operators must promptly remove construction debris and litter at their expense and may not bury or burn trash or debris on the property. After construction or facility removal, they must restore disturbed areas, as practicable, to preconstruction topsoil, vegetation, elevation, and contour at their expense.

Data processing centers may be approved as conditional uses in the Agricultural Land District if they meet Chapter 5.33 requirements. Conditional-use listing

Off-grid data processing centers are exempt from the requirement to provide utility-provider approval before a permit is issued. Off-grid exemption

A qualifying new commercial structure worth at least $30,000 may receive reduced property-tax assessments over five years: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, then 100% of its pre-adjustment value. A data center qualifies only if it is classified as a covered commercial structure and meets county or city building-permit and zoning requirements. Renewable-energy property is excluded, and the valuation cannot be reduced below the property's pre-construction assessment. New commercial structure

Data processing centers are allowed in agricultural districts only as conditional uses and must satisfy Chapter 5.33.

A county-level conditional-use zoning permit is required, with a minimum $2,000 application fee that the County Commission may increase for a particular project; the fee must be paid before review.

Applicants must reimburse publication, certified-mailing, and other reasonable county review or consulting costs, and those costs must be paid before the permit is issued.

A permit application must include a project narrative, detailed site plan, acoustical-engineer study, any other studies or approvals requested by the county, and signatures from the property owner and data center owner or operator.

A six-foot sight-obscuring fence is required around the entire facility perimeter.

A screened buffer yard is required around the facility, with minimum side and rear setbacks of 50 feet and a minimum front setback of 150 feet.

All equipment and structures must be at least 50 feet from the facility property boundary and 5,280 feet from any church, school, or occupied residence.

A grid-connected facility cannot receive a permit without written electrical-utility approval confirming adequate capacity, properly sized infrastructure, and no unacceptable interference or voltage fluctuations; off-grid systems are exempt.

Electrical generators must be enclosed behind a solid concrete or equivalent sound-absorbing wall at least four feet higher than the highest generator point, unless an approved noise-mitigation plan supports reducing or eliminating the wall.

A facility within 5,280 feet of a residence, church, or school must submit a certified noise-mitigation plan containing specified measurements, sound-source information, mitigation methods, and related details.

Noise at an occupied residence, church, or government building may not exceed 55 dBA, or 45 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., subject only to limited short-duration exceedances of 5, 10, or 15 dBA.

Only one perimeter-fence sign is permitted, limited to 32 square feet and restricted to facility identification, emergency contacts, and appropriate warnings.

The facility must comply with the current International Building Code, and electrical wiring generally must be installed underground.

Cargo containers, railroad cars, semi-truck trailers, and similar storage containers may not be used for operational components.

Access roads must be wide enough for emergency vehicles as determined by the McPherson County Emergency Management Director.

If more than 2,000 gallons of hazardous materials are used, stored, or expected to be used or stored at the site, an environmental study addressing potential containment-failure effects must be submitted to the County Commission.

Hazardous materials require containment systems, and hazardous materials, contaminated water, and other discharges must be disposed of at approved sites.

Electrical equipment, computers, hard drives, servers, and their components must be disposed of at certified recycling centers.

The owner or operator must notify the County Director of Equalization at least 24 hours before removing hazardous materials or discharges from the facility.

The owner or operator must coordinate an emergency response plan with local responders, submit it at least 60 days before construction, and include project information, trained response personnel, hazardous-material safety data, and specialized-equipment information.

The owner or operator must pay for training and equipment needed by local fire departments, law enforcement, first responders, and the County Emergency Manager for a worst-case emergency.

Specialized emergency-response equipment must be accessible to designated county and local response organizations.

At least 30 days before construction, the applicant must submit a decommissioning plan to the Board of Adjustment containing estimated decommissioning costs and the anticipated post-decommissioning site condition.

The owner or operator must provide six months' written notice before decommissioning and generally must dismantle all above-ground and below-ground components within 365 days after decommissioning begins; an extension requires a written agreement and may not exceed two years.

A facility is deemed abandoned after being out of service or unused for 24 consecutive months; after notice and an opportunity to respond, the owner or operator has 120 days to dismantle it.

If the owner or operator fails to properly decommission or abandons the facility, the landowner is liable for decommissioning.

Construction debris and litter must be removed at the owner or operator's expense, and trash or debris may not be buried or burned on the property.

Disturbed areas must be restored, as practicable and at the owner or operator's expense, to their preconstruction topsoil, vegetation, elevation, and contour.

A building permit is required for construction or additions exceeding $3,000 in value; the $25 fee increases to the original fee plus ten times that fee, along with related publication and certified-mailing costs, if work begins before the permit is obtained.

Other zoning approvals may impose additional fees, including $250 for a variance, at least $2,000 for a special exemption or conditional-use permit, and $250 for a drainage permit, plus associated county publication, mailing, and other costs payable before issuance.

Data centers are expressly recognized as a land use under the county zoning ordinance and can be evaluated through the established zoning process.

Data processing centers are allowed as conditional uses in the Agricultural Land District if they satisfy Chapter 5.33 requirements.

The definition of a data processing center includes associated operational infrastructure, such as air handlers, power generators, water-cooling and storage facilities, utility substations, and other supporting utility infrastructure.

Off-grid data processing centers do not have to provide utility-provider approval before receiving a permit.

The required wall around electrical generators may be reduced or eliminated if a noise-mitigation plan demonstrates that peak sound levels will comply with the ordinance.

Noise limits may temporarily be exceeded at a receiving residence, church, or government building by up to 5 dBA for 15 minutes per hour, 10 dBA for 5 minutes per hour, or 15 dBA for 1.5 minutes per hour.

The removal and dismantling period during decommissioning may be extended by written agreement between the data-center owner or operator and the property owner, up to two years from the start of decommissioning.

New commercial structures or additions with a full and true value of at least $30,000 may receive a five-year property-tax phase-in: 20% taxable in year one, 40% in year two, 60% in year three, 80% in year four, and 100% in year five. The property must meet building-permit and zoning requirements, and renewable-energy property is excluded.

Utilities may occupy county public rights-of-way to construct infrastructure, subject to advance notice, restoration, maintenance, traffic-flow, and drainage requirements.

The utility-permit schedule charges $40 for standard utility occupancy and no fee for private service or private-service crossings; hazardous utility projects remain subject to specified occupancy, crossing, parallel-mile, open-cut, and road-or-lane-closure fees.

A data center requires a conditional-use zoning permit but does not need additional county-level business licenses beyond licenses required by South Dakota state law.