All land and buildings must be used in conformity with the regulations for the applicable zoning district; a data center cannot proceed as an unlisted or nonconforming use without obtaining the required zoning approval or rezoning. No building or land may be used except in conformity with the district regulations.

The ordinance defines electronic data storage or processing centers, but does not expressly list them as permitted uses in the district use schedules. Depending on the proposed classification and zoning district, a data center may therefore require treatment as a conditional commercial use or a zoning-map amendment rather than approval by right. Electronic data storage or processing centers are defined as facilities where electronic data is processed.

Conditional-use approval requires review by the Planning Commission, a public hearing, and approval by the Board of Supervisors; the Board may impose additional conditions and require a performance bond. The Board of Supervisors may stipulate additional requirements.

A conditional-use application must include a site plan and pay a $500 fee, with an additional $6 charge for each notice letter if more than 50 adjacent landowners are involved. Each application for a Conditional Use Permit shall be accompanied by payment of a fee of $500.00.

The Planning Commission generally has up to 100 days to submit its conditional-use recommendation, and the Board of Supervisors must act within 30 days after receiving the recommendation. A conditional-use permit becomes void if not put into effect within six months unless the permit provides otherwise. The Commission shall have sixty (60) one hundred (100) days.

If the data center is not allowed in the existing district, rezoning requires Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors public hearings, a $500 amendment fee, and generally bars filing the same or substantially similar amendment for the parcel more than once in a 12-month period. No more than one application for the same or substantially the same amendment.

A certificate of zoning compliance is required for permitted uses and structural alterations, and the application may require detailed information on structures, setbacks, easements, watercourses, driveways, and parking. The Zoning Administrator shall issue a Certificate of Zoning Compliance.

Before a building permit or construction may proceed in the M-1 or I-1 industrial districts, a site plan showing the facility's operations and processes must be submitted for review; grading, site finishing, and possible landscaping are also required. A site plan is required before a building permit shall be issued.

Off-street parking is required for data centers where applicable; office buildings require one space per 300 square feet of floor area plus one space for each employee, creating a substantial parking requirement for large facilities. Office buildings, including banks, business, commercial and professional offices.

A certificate of occupancy is required before a newly erected building, an affected alteration, or a change in occupancy or use may be occupied or operated. The certificate requires an existing zoning-compliance certificate and compliance with the submitted plans. A certificate of Occupancy shall be required in advance of occupancy or use.

Development must also satisfy applicable health, highway-access, floodplain, erosion-and-sediment-control, and Virginia building-code requirements before zoning compliance is issued. If the proposed use or construction described in the application.

Buildings and sites must comply with district-specific lot-area, frontage, setback, yard, and height standards in Table 1; for example, M-1 and I-1 districts generally require a 43,560-square-foot lot, 150-foot frontage, and 35-foot front setback. Lot Regulations by District.

Any data center located in the Flood Hazard District must comply with the zoning ordinance and the separate Giles County Floodplain Ordinance; development or construction that does not comply is prohibited. No land shall hereafter be developed and no structure shall be located.

If an individual sewage-disposal system is proposed, the required area is determined by the Health Official, and uses within 500 feet of a public sewer or water system must connect to that system. All uses within 500’ of the public system are required to connect.

Violations can result in a misdemeanor conviction and a fine of $10 to $1,000, with each day of continuing violation treated as a separate offense. Each and every day during which any portion of any violation.

The ordinance expressly defines an electronic data storage or processing center as a facility where electronic data is processed, stored, converted, analyzed, transferred, or used for activities such as transaction processing and telephone sales. This gives data-center-type operations a defined zoning category. (electronic data storage or processing center)

The broad commercial-or-service-establishment category is a conditional use and states that the absence of a separately listed business does not prevent approval of that specific business under the category. This provides a potential conditional-use pathway for a data center where it is treated as a commercial or service establishment. (does not preclude the approval of that specific business as a conditional use)

For a permitted use, the Zoning Administrator must act on a Certificate of Zoning Compliance application within 30 days, with only one additional 30-day extension allowed after written notice; failure to act within the applicable period is deemed approval. (Failure on the part of the Administrator to act)

For conditional uses, the Planning Commission has 100 days to submit its recommendation; if it does not submit a report within that period, the application is deemed approved by the Commission. The Board of Supervisors must then act within 30 days after the recommendation is received. (deemed to have approved the proposed conditional use)

A lawfully established data-center use or structure that later becomes nonconforming may continue after zoning changes. The ordinance generally prohibits enlargement that increases the nonconformity, but allows continued operation and permits certain repairs, restoration, and changes that reduce nonconformity. (such use may be continued as long as it remains otherwise lawful)