Modular and warehouse data centers are not allowed in every zoning district; where the zoning table marks the use “S,” a Specific Use Permit is required before establishment.

Warehouse data centers in the MR and SC zoning districts are limited to 55,000 square feet of gross floor area per lot.

Modular data centers, on-site electrical equipment, and associated outdoor storage must be opaquely screened from public rights-of-way and adjacent residential uses or zoning districts. If non-opaque fencing is used, evergreen plantings must make it opaque at planting.

Modular data center structures, on-site electrical equipment, and associated outdoor storage must be set back at least 100 feet from an adjacent residential zoning district or existing residential use, measured from the property line.

Modular data centers must provide at least two elements from the applicable right-of-way landscape point system along all public rights-of-way, even if no front parking or drive aisles are proposed.

An environmental noise and vibration assessment prepared by a qualified professional must accompany the initial application for modular and warehouse data centers. It must identify operational noise impacts, document ambient noise before installation, and describe mitigation measures.

Data center operations and on-site electrical equipment may not exceed 60 dBA at the property line or increase ambient noise by more than 3 dBA. The applicant must verify compliance with noise and vibration mitigation measures after installation.

Warehouse data center buildings must comply with the applicable nonresidential and mixed-use building design standards.

On-site electric substations associated with data centers must comply with the applicable electric substation design requirements.

New data center construction must comply site-wide with applicable development standards, including dimensional standards, landscaping and screening, parking and loading, site and building design, exterior lighting, and solid-waste requirements.

Major expansions must comply with applicable development standards across the entire site. A major expansion generally includes increasing an existing structure's gross floor area by more than 50 percent.

Minor expansions may require compliance with development standards within the affected development-impact area. A minor expansion includes increasing nonresidential floor area by 10 to 50 percent or by at least 1,000 square feet, as applicable.

Clearing, grading, excavation, stockpiling, demolition, and similar land-disturbing work require a City permit or authorization before work begins. An exception applies to activity disturbing no more than 25 cubic yards and 2,000 square feet if it does not obstruct a watercourse or occur in a floodplain or environmentally sensitive area.

Construction sites larger than five acres, or smaller sites within a common plan exceeding five acres, require a TCEQ Notice of Intent. Sites larger than one acre but less than five acres require a Construction Site Notice.

Construction operators must implement, inspect, and maintain an approved Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and erosion and sediment controls. The City may require corrections, issue a stop-work order, or perform corrective work at the permittee's expense.

Disturbed areas must be stabilized promptly: stabilization must begin by the end of the next workday after earthwork ceases, temporary stabilization must be completed within 14 days, and final stabilization must begin within 48 hours after construction is completed on a portion of the site.

Development in environmentally sensitive areas requires additional review, protective measures, and mitigation, including compliance with floodplain, riparian-buffer, wetland, habitat, and related environmental standards. New structures are prohibited in mapped undeveloped floodplains, and development in riparian buffers, wetlands, and other sensitive areas may be restricted or prohibited without required approvals.

Structures are prohibited in riparian buffers and water-related habitats, and land-disturbing activity in those areas requires authorization under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit or letter of permission.

Nonresidential development in Cross Timbers upland-habitat environmentally sensitive areas must retain 30 percent of the upland-habitat area in a predominantly natural state.

All development must provide drainage facilities and improvements needed for stormwater conveyance, flood protection, and upstream and downstream impact control. Detention facilities generally must use the 100-year flood for storage calculations and may not increase original discharge for the 1-year, 25-year, or 100-year storm frequencies.

Development is prohibited within the floodplain of a stream or watercourse with a contributing drainage area of one square mile or more, subject to limited exceptions or mitigation approved by the Floodplain Administrator.

Floodplain alterations may not increase the fully developed 100-year water-surface elevation on separately owned property, create erosive velocities, or reduce valley storage beyond the stated limits.

Developers must pay the actual cost of required water and sewer main extensions, lift stations, and other serving facilities, in addition to applicable impact fees, tapping fees, and certain pro-rata charges.

The City may prohibit a public sewer connection if the system or line is overloaded or lacks adequate excess capacity for the proposed development.

Commercial or industrial developments exceeding 124,000 square feet generally must have at least two separate water-main connections for domestic and fire-service redundancy, spaced as far apart as reasonably feasible and equipped with adequate isolation valving.

Developments must connect to approved City water and sanitary sewer facilities unless an alternative is approved. Private wells, private water systems, on-site sewage systems, and wastewater treatment systems require specified technical, economic, health, safety, environmental, and maintenance findings and approvals.

Lots using on-site sewage facilities generally must be at least one acre when served by public water or two acres when using a private water well, with additional environmental and technical approval requirements.

Public drainage, water, and sewer facilities outside street rights-of-way generally must be placed in dedicated easements with public-street access. Structures, fences, trees, storage, and other specified improvements are restricted within utility and drainage easements.

The Code expressly recognizes “Data Center, Modular” and “Data Center, Warehouse” as allowed use types, with each permitted by right or through a Specific Use Permit depending on the zoning district.

Data Center, Warehouse buildings are reviewed under established nonresidential and mixed-use building-design standards.

Data Center, Warehouse uses in the MR and SC districts may be developed up to 55,000 square feet per lot, subject to applicable district and site standards.

Modular and warehouse data centers may include modular structures, on-site electrical equipment, and associated outdoor storage, subject to screening, setbacks, landscaping, noise, vibration, and other applicable requirements.

Outdoor electrical equipment and storage for modular and warehouse data centers generally must be screened and located at least 100 feet from adjacent residential zoning or existing residential uses; operations may not exceed 60 dBA at the property line or increase ambient noise by more than 3 dBA.

Modular and warehouse data centers may use an environmental noise and vibration assessment to demonstrate compliance, provided it documents operational impacts, pre-installation ambient noise, and mitigation.

A zoning compliance plan is decided administratively by the Director without a public meeting or hearing and is required only for development activities meeting applicable Tier 2 thresholds.

Zoning compliance-plan review may occur concurrently with rezoning, Specific Use Permit, subdivision, and variance applications to expedite related approvals, although the plan cannot be decided until required related approvals are made.

Electric substations and switch stations may be approved without a Specific Use Permit when associated with a City Council-approved Capital Improvements Plan or master plan and when specified hearing, screening, notice, and neighborhood-meeting requirements are satisfied.

A qualifying applicant may petition for a vested-rights determination identifying which current and prior regulations apply to the project. The determination becomes binding if not appealed within 15 days and protects the project from later regulatory changes for the duration of the project.

Permits, licenses, and approvals authorizing a use transfer with ownership of the land or structure, provided the authorized use continues and approval conditions are followed.

Permits or licenses valid on October 1, 2019, and approved projects with continuing valid approvals, may continue under the regulations in effect when they were approved until the approval expires or lapses.

Lawfully established nonconforming uses, structures, and site features may continue under the nonconformity rules, with minor repairs and maintenance allowed when they do not increase the degree of nonconformity. Rights may be lost after at least one year of discontinuance.

For many minor, Tier 1 nonresidential expansions, development standards apply only to the development-impact area rather than the entire site; major, Tier 2 expansions trigger broader site-wide compliance.

Cumulative expansions of a nonresidential use totaling less than 1,000 square feet are exempt from certain landscaping, screening, buffering, and fence requirements under Section 7.7.

The Director may approve an alternative landscaping plan that reduces or changes required landscaping for conditions such as infill or redevelopment constraints, unusual lots, utility easements, public-safety concerns, or preservation of natural vegetation.

An Alternative ESA Plan provides a discretionary process for addressing environmentally sensitive-area regulations flexibly, subject to City approval and applicable environmental requirements.

A developer required to provide drainage improvements may pay the City the construction cost instead of building them when the Capital Improvement Plan will provide similar improvements within two years and the delay will not adversely affect the development or other property. Payment is required before construction, and unused funds must be returned after five years.

The City may participate in the incremental cost of oversized water mains, sewer lines, booster stations, pressure-regulating valves, or wastewater lift stations needed to serve adjacent properties or comply with master plans, subject to available funds, required approvals, and a written participation agreement.

A developer that funds off-site water or sanitary-sewer extensions, or installs a lift station with excess capacity, may receive pro-rata reimbursement from later users connecting within 20 years, subject to applicable cost, capacity, and total-facility-cost limits.

When connection to centralized City water or wastewater systems is impractical or economically infeasible, the City may approve alternative private water systems, wells, on-site sewage facilities, or wastewater treatment systems, subject to engineering, environmental, health, regulatory, and City-approval requirements.

For an approved alternative wastewater treatment system serving more than one facility, development may proceed with a privately constructed system when City-system connection is significantly more expensive, provided applicable engineering, health, water-quality, state, federal, and TPDES-permit requirements are met.

New planned developments may adopt alternative development standards instead of the ordinary standards when the Director determines that the alternatives are at least equivalent, allowing project-specific flexibility for site design and infrastructure.

Land-disturbing permits are valid for one year and may be extended once for six months upon a showing of ongoing construction activity.

The proposed amendment would identify additional zoning districts for Modular Data Centers and Warehouse Data Centers, establish use-specific development and operating standards for them, and add an Enterprise Data Center classification to the Code.