A data center requires City Council approval of a specific use permit before it may be built, operated, expanded, or modified.

Data centers may be located only in BP, I, or PD districts, and the specific use permit process requires public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.

A specific use permit application must include an inventory of the applicant’s existing data centers, a scaled site plan, anticipated maintenance needs, and any additional information requested by the City.

The application must include a noise-impact assessment, generator inventory and emissions assessment, hazardous-materials and fuel-management plan, emergency-management plan, security plan, and traffic-impact analysis.

The application must include a grid-coordination plan addressing utility and regional-grid coordination, interconnection status, load profile, ramp rates, redundancy, and curtailment capabilities.

The application must include a decommissioning plan, a community-engagement plan, and financial assurance—such as a bond or letter of credit—to fund decommissioning and site restoration, with the amount based on the City engineer’s estimate plus a 25% contingency.

A data center must be at least 500 feet from a residentially zoned property line unless the code requires a greater setback.

A primary-use data center building may not exceed 75 feet in height, while an accessory data center structure may not exceed 15 feet.

Buildings visible from public rights-of-way must incorporate at least three specified architectural features, such as decorative cornices, concrete or glass accents, awnings, parapets, or another feature approved by the City Manager.

Ground-mounted and roof-mounted equipment, including generators, fuel tanks, cooling equipment, heat exchangers, and uninterruptible power-supply units, must be screened so it is not visible.

Specific use permit approval requires documented water capacity, a water-capacity availability letter, and use of a closed-loop or similar cooling system that eliminates the need for continuous withdrawals from the public water supply.

Specific use permit approval requires documented electricity capacity and an electricity-capacity availability letter.

Applicants must use best-available noise-control technologies, and cooling operations must be sequenced to minimize nighttime noise; the City may impose stricter noise limits and other mitigation conditions.

Generators must be located as far as practicable from residential property lines and equipped with hospital-grade or better silencers and enclosures.

A data center must provide on-site security 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with at least one trained security person on site at all times.

If operations cease for 120 consecutive days, the decommissioning plan may be triggered; decommissioning requires removal of specified equipment, generators, fuel tanks, hazardous materials, piping, switchgear, and ancillary structures within 120 days unless the City approves retention.

After decommissioning, the owner must address contamination, remove unnecessary impervious surfaces, regrade and revegetate the site, and submit a professional engineer’s completion certification and final report within 30 days.

A data center site-plan review requires an additional fee beyond other required fees, in an amount set by City Council’s fee schedule.

Data centers are expressly eligible for approval in BP, I, and PD districts through a specific use permit, rather than being prohibited citywide.

Existing businesses with currently allowed uses are grandfathered and may continue operating without interruption; the meeting discussion also states they may expand or renovate their facilities.

An existing use may continue after a sale of the property, because the specific use permit runs with the land rather than with the owner or business, including when a new owner operates a similar business.

An existing business may rebuild after a fire or other disaster while retaining its use, provided the use remains continuous; the discussed protection may be lost if the business does not operate for six months or more.