Data centers are allowed as a principal use only within a PIRT district, so the property must undergo a planned-development rezoning and receive Board of Supervisors approval rather than relying solely on an existing conventional zoning classification. The rezoning must include a development master plan and is subject to the planned-development review process, including a public hearing.

A PIRT application must include extensive additional materials, including documentation showing control of the property, a general development plan, utility-service evidence, proposed access and parking, buffering and landscaping concepts, mitigation of visual impacts, and architectural elevations.

PIRT properties must have adequate public water, sewer, and electric service available, or the developer must provide utility extensions on a schedule acceptable to the Board of Supervisors. The property must also be served by a road network with adequate capacity.

PIRT buildings must be set back at least 100 feet from exterior property lines and public rights-of-way, with one additional foot of setback for every foot of building height above 65 feet. Additional setbacks include 50 feet from internal roads, 25 feet from internal side and rear lot lines, and 200 feet along rivers.

At least 20 percent of a PIRT site must be preserved as natural open space, and the developer must submit an open-space preservation plan with the first site plan and update it with later site-plan submissions.

PIRT developments must provide a buffer within the required setback along exterior boundaries. The buffer must generally be at least 40 feet wide, must screen the development to a minimum height of 8 feet within three years, and requires an approved landscape plan, ongoing inspections and maintenance, and a cash bond equal to 50 percent of the landscaping estimate that cannot be released for at least two years after planting.

Construction footprints must be identified on the site plan, and no more than 50 percent of the construction footprint may be disturbed at one time without permanent vegetation. Resource Protection Areas generally may not be included in the construction footprint, Resource Management Area encroachments require additional water-quality review and mitigation, and steep or critical slopes in Resource Management Areas must be avoided where practical.

PIRT projects must minimize wildlife-habitat disturbance and provide wildlife corridors where appropriate. A natural-heritage and wildlife-management study consistent with Virginia Division of Wildlife Resources guidance must identify threatened or endangered species, wildlife travel patterns, and needed mitigation.

PIRT buildings are limited to 65 feet in height, with a possible one-foot-of-height bonus for each additional foot of setback up to 95 feet. Certain roof and utility appurtenances are excluded from the height limitation, but the height and setback rules still constrain building design.

Principal building facades must include at least three specified design elements. They must generally use at least two approved exterior materials, with those materials covering at least 50 percent of the principal facade and 25 percent of other elevations, subject to limited Board-approved alternatives.

Vehicle access to PIRT lots must be from an internal road or an upgraded terminating road designed to VDOT standards. Access to an existing state road is limited to one entrance per 1,320 feet of exterior road frontage, with a maximum of three entrances.

PIRT lighting must be shielded, downcast, and oriented inward so direct or reflected illumination does not exceed 0.5 foot-candles above background levels. Parking, access, and security lights are limited to 20 feet in height, and pedestrian lighting is limited to 12 feet.

New or relocated on-site electrical lines below 34.5 kV must be installed underground. New electrical substations must be at least 600 feet from existing residences, places of worship, schools, or certain Highway Corridor Overlay public roads.

Noise at exterior property lines may not exceed 60 decibels from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. or 55 decibels from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The Board may allow an increase of up to 10 decibels only after supporting evidence demonstrates that adjacent properties will not be adversely affected.

Any generator within 1,000 feet of an existing residence, place of worship, or school must be enclosed and muffled. Construction noise must also be minimized using accepted industry practices for soft-noise warning alarms.

Rooftop and ground-level accessory equipment must generally be screened from public roads, places of worship, schools, and abutting residential properties using visually solid screens, compatible walls or panels, fencing, landscaping, or similar measures. Electric substations and certain utility facilities are exempt.

Backup energy or fuel storage is limited to facilities serving individual buildings, with liquefied fuel limited to quantities allowing no more than 120 hours of operation per building. Campus-wide centralized fuel storage or centralized backup-energy systems are prohibited, and idle data-center batteries must be kept in a separate building.

Technology facilities may not manufacture, recycle, or store batteries. Monitored batteries for data-center backup power are expressly permitted, but broader battery-related activities are excluded from the permitted technology use.

Solar photovoltaic projects with accessory battery energy storage, public electric-generation or transmission facilities, and substations are listed as special uses in PIRT and therefore require Board of Supervisors review and approval unless included in and approved with the rezoning application.

A PIRT development cannot proceed directly from rezoning approval to construction. Site-plan approval is required before building permits may be issued, and no building permit may be issued for a building or structure not shown on the approved site plan.

The first site plan must be submitted within one year after development-plan approval. The Board of Supervisors may grant extensions for good cause, but each extension may not exceed one additional year and no more than two extensions may be granted; otherwise, development-plan approval and authority to submit a site plan terminate.

For phased PIRT development, later-phase site plans cannot be approved until construction has begun on the immediately preceding phase or unit. Any change that materially alters the approved development plan, adds or removes a building, increases density, or increases floor area requires resubmission of the development plan.

Before commercial operation begins, the owner or its assigns must provide emergency-response training to the Caroline County Department of Fire and Rescue.

Data centers are listed as permitted principal uses in the PIRT district, allowing them to be proposed as a primary use during PIRT rezoning and site-plan review. Data Centers

Data centers are also permitted by right as a Category I use in Planned Industrial Park districts, subject to the PIRT standards. Data Center

PIRT development may proceed where public water, sewer, and electric utilities are available, or where the developer provides for extensions on a schedule acceptable to the Board of Supervisors. Applicants must provide utility-provider evidence and identify the timing of necessary upgrades. Adequate public utilities

PIRT permits public electric utility offices and distribution facilities, public water and sewer utilities, and certain data-center accessory utility facilities, including electrical substations and on-site ancillary utility facilities. Public Electric Utility Offices, Electrical sub-stations

Individual data-center buildings may have accessory backup energy or fuel storage for up to 120 hours of operation, and monitored batteries for data-center backup power are permitted. Centralized campus-wide backup systems and energy-storage facilities are excluded. 120 hours of operation

Special uses such as generation and transmission facilities, solar photovoltaic projects with accessory energy storage, and substations may be approved as part of the original PIRT zoning amendment when identified in the application or general development plan, avoiding a separate later special-use review for those included facilities. unless such use is identified in the application/GDP

PIRT applications may identify future phases in the general development plan, and a final site plan may be modified to comply with federal, state, or local requirements and site or environmental constraints so long as the changes do not materially alter the approved zoning. Where phasing is proposed

PIRT buildings may exceed the base 65-foot height by receiving one additional foot of height for each additional foot of setback, up to 95 feet. A maximum building height of 65-feet

PIRT applicants may request a noise-limit increase of up to 10 decibels if supporting evidence shows that the increase will not adversely affect neighboring properties or public welfare. request an increase of up to ten (10) decibels

If PIRT standards conflict with Chapter 68 of the Caroline County Code, the PIRT standards control, providing a district-specific operating rule for noise regulation. the provisions of this Division 7 shall control

The Board of Supervisors may approve alternative building facades, features, and materials if they remain consistent with the PIRT architectural-design requirements, allowing design flexibility for data-center buildings. the Board may approve alternative building facades