Data centers are expressly permitted only in the Town Center, Mixed Use, Commercial, Light Industrial, Industrial, and Hamlet districts. They are not listed as permitted or conditional uses in the Residential, Rural 40, Rural 218, Upland Conservation, or Shoreland Conservation districts; an unlisted use is prohibited unless the Zoning Administrator finds it materially similar to a listed use or the Development Review Board grants conditional-use approval. An unlisted use is prohibited

Building, expanding, converting, or changing the use of a data center generally requires a zoning permit because all land development requires a permit unless specifically exempt, and data centers are not among the listed exemptions. All land development in the Town of Berlin requires a zoning permit

In each district where data centers are listed as permitted uses, the applicant must obtain site-plan approval before the Zoning Administrator may issue the zoning permit. The applicant must receive site plan approval

Site-plan review is classified as a major project, requiring Development Review Board review and a public hearing, if the data-center project includes a new principal building, a major renovation, a new curb cut, more than 10 parking spaces, or more than 2,000 square feet of new impervious surface. Construction of a new principal building

Additional conditional-use approval is required in the Town Center for more than 16,000 square feet of commercial or industrial space, in the Mixed Use district for more than 12,000 square feet, and in the Hamlet district for more than 3,000 square feet. Construction of more than 16,000 square feet

Conditional-use approval is required for a data-center project expected to generate at least 75 peak-hour trips accessing a state highway or at least 25 peak-hour trips accessing a town highway, where the applicable district provisions impose that threshold. 75 or more peak hour trips

Conditional-use applicants must demonstrate that the project will not impose a disproportionate or unreasonable burden on schools, emergency services, transportation infrastructure, parks, water, wastewater, or stormwater systems. The proposed development will not cause a disproportionate or unreasonable burden

Data centers must provide off-street parking under the applicable parking ratios; data processing or similar office-like uses require one space per 900 square feet of gross floor area. Providing more than twice the minimum generally requires a professionally prepared parking study and Development Review Board approval. Research or development, data processing or similar office-like uses

Projects increasing impervious surface must comply with stormwater requirements. If total impervious surface will exceed 50% of the lot, the applicant must submit a licensed professional engineer's stormwater plan using green stormwater infrastructure to manage at least one inch of rainfall from new impervious surfaces; smaller projects must satisfy specified low-impact-development, green-infrastructure, or engineered-plan options. Exceeding 50% of the lot area

Major site-plan applications generally require a professionally prepared outdoor-lighting plan. Lighting must use fully shielded, 100%-cutoff fixtures, keep total site output at or below 2 foot-candles, use approved lamp types, and comply with specified extinguishing times. Applicants for major site plan approval must submit a lighting plan

Data-center operations must comply with performance standards prohibiting off-site noise, glare, odors, discernible vibration, electrical or radio interference, harmful waste storage, and unauthorized releases of hazardous substances. Noise emanating off site must be muffled

Projects requiring a new or modified curb cut must obtain a town or state highway access permit before the zoning permit may be issued. A lot generally may have only one curb cut, and applicants must provide shared or cross access with adjacent properties whenever physically feasible. Before the Zoning Administrator may issue a zoning permit

Applicants must pay applicable permit fees, and the town may charge the applicant for independent technical review, legal review, monitoring, and inspection. The Development Review Board may also require a performance bond or similar surety for required improvements. The cost of which will be paid by the applicant

Applications create mandatory review and waiting periods: the Zoning Administrator generally must act on a complete zoning-permit application within 30 days; major site-plan or conditional-use hearings require at least 15 days' public notice; the Development Review Board must issue its written decision within 45 days after closing the hearing; and an approved zoning permit generally does not take effect until the 16th day, after a 15-day appeal period. A zoning permit takes effect on the 16th day

A zoning permit and associated Development Review Board approval generally expire two years after taking effect unless the project is commenced or substantially completed, or the Zoning Administrator grants one extension of no more than 12 months. Expires two years from the date the permit takes effect

Data centers or information-services facilities are listed as permitted uses in the Town Center, Mixed Use, Commercial, Light Industrial, and Industrial districts. They generally require site-plan approval, but do not require conditional-use approval unless a district-specific threshold or impact trigger applies. Data center or information services

In the Town Center and Mixed Use districts, commercial or industrial projects below the applicable floor-area thresholds—16,000 square feet in the Town Center and 12,000 square feet in Mixed Use—avoid conditional-use review, subject to site-plan requirements and other applicable standards. Construction of more than 16,000 square feet and construction of more than 12,000 square feet

In the applicable districts, a data center avoids conditional-use review based on traffic unless it is expected to generate at least 75 peak-hour trips from a state highway or 25 peak-hour trips from a town highway. 75 or more peak hour trips

The minimum parking ratio for data processing or similar office-like uses is one space per 900 square feet of gross floor area, and shared or off-site parking may be approved within a quarter-mile walk under a recorded agreement lasting at least 20 years. Research or development, data processing or similar office-like uses

A zoning permit is not required for telecommunications equipment and related site development that is no more than 300 square feet in footprint and 10 feet high, which can facilitate qualifying data-center communications infrastructure. does not exceed a footprint of 300 square feet and a height of 10 feet

A zoning permit is not required for a small renewable-energy system connected to the grid when the land development receives a Certificate of Public Good, allowing qualifying on-site power infrastructure to proceed without local zoning approval. a small renewable energy system that is connected to the grid

Lots housing utility facilities are exempt from minimum lot-size and frontage requirements, which can simplify siting associated utility infrastructure; the facility must still meet security and a 15-foot landscaped perimeter-buffer requirement. Minimum lot size and frontage requirements will not apply

Lawfully established nonconforming data-center structures or uses may continue indefinitely. A nonconforming structure may be expanded without further Development Review Board approval if the expansion does not extend farther beyond the existing nonconforming building line and does not otherwise require site-plan or conditional-use approval; expansion or intensification of a nonconforming use may be approved conditionally. A nonconforming structure may continue to exist unchanged indefinitely

A complete application is reviewed under the regulations in effect when the Zoning Administrator determines it is complete, protecting a proposed data-center project from later regulatory changes during review. review an application based on the regulations in effect

A lawfully issued zoning permit remains effective without a new or amended permit after later regulatory changes, subject to its expiration and completion requirements; an approved, recorded subdivision plat also remains valid regardless of later regulatory changes. will not need a new or amended permit