The principal-use table identifies a data center as a special-exception use in the applicable commercial district, requiring approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals after a public hearing; in a Planned Development district, it is allowed only if included in that district’s approved PD Plan. The table requires special-exception approval for data centers

A data center must be located on a lot of at least 25 acres. Office buildings must be at least 50 feet from all property lines; buildings or structures containing equipment, data-storage facilities, or cooling facilities must be at least 300 feet from property lines and at least 500 feet from property in a Residential or Agricultural district or containing a residential use. The data-center standards require a minimum 25-acre lot and substantial setbacks

Exterior cooling equipment and backup generators must include additional sound buffering, and noise may not exceed 55 dBA when measured at the property line. The ordinance limits exterior cooling and generator noise to 55 dBA

Before a building permit or certificate of occupancy, a data-center project generally must obtain site-plan approval. Projects with fewer than five dwelling units or less than 5,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area may receive minor-site-plan review; other projects require major-site-plan review, and the Director may require major review for a smaller project because of complexity, stormwater, parking, traffic, erosion, or similar impacts. The ordinance requires site-plan approval before a building permit or certificate of occupancy

A zoning compliance certificate is required before construction or a change in use, and a building permit is required before locating, erecting, constructing, reconstructing, extending, changing occupancy, or structurally altering a building or structure. The ordinance requires a zoning compliance certificate before development or construction

A data center must provide at least one off-street parking space per 1,000 square feet, subject to any approved alternative-parking plan. The parking table requires one space per 1,000 square feet for data centers

A traffic study is required with development applications unless the project falls within an exemption, including a nonresidential use generating no more than 10 peak-hour trips per acre. The study must follow County guidelines, be submitted before the application deadline, and may result in developer-funded roadway or access improvements as approval conditions. The ordinance requires traffic studies for most development applications

New data-center development is subject to landscaping requirements, including a landscape plan prepared by a landscape architect, perimeter and parking-lot landscaping, and installation before a certificate of occupancy unless approved financial surety is provided. The ordinance requires a landscape plan for development subject to the landscaping standards

New data-center development is subject to exterior-lighting limits, including full cut-off fixtures, maximum illumination at the lot line, height limits for fixtures, and limits on lighting hours when the development is adjacent to existing residential development. The ordinance regulates new development’s exterior lighting

Data centers are expressly recognized as a principal use in the use table. They may be established through the applicable special-exception approval shown for the use, or in a Planned Development district if included in that district’s approved PD Plan.

A data center may be located on a lot of at least 25 acres. Office buildings must be at least 50 feet from property lines, while buildings or structures containing equipment, data-storage facilities, or cooling facilities must be at least 300 feet from property lines and 500 feet from property lines adjoining residential or agricultural districts or residential uses. Exterior cooling equipment and backup generators must use additional sound buffering and may not exceed 55 dBA at the property line.

Data centers may be incorporated into a Planned Development district, which allows the PD Plan and PD Agreement to establish customized dimensional and development standards and modify many ordinary requirements, including access, parking, landscaping, lighting, agricultural compatibility, neighborhood compatibility, multifamily and townhouse design, large-retail design, signs, and subdivision standards. Open-space, steep-slope, floodplain, and environmental standards may not be modified.

The ordinance provides a process for obtaining approval to create utility systems, including water, wastewater, gas, and electrical systems, in the unincorporated County. The process includes staff review, Planning Commission recommendation, and County Commission decision, allowing supporting utility infrastructure to be approved as part of the County’s development-review framework.

Previously approved development permits and approvals remain valid until their expiration and may be carried out under the terms and development standards in effect when they were approved. Lawfully established uses, structures, lots, and signs that become nonconforming under the new ordinance may continue subject to the nonconformity rules.

An approved Planned Development district is governed by its approved PD Plan and PD Agreement, and later development applications may make specified minor deviations without amending the district when they reduce density or intensity, convert multifamily land to single-family or open-space use, modify amenities, or qualify as another listed minor deviation that does not materially affect the district’s basic concept.