Data centers are treated as special uses in industrial districts, so they require approval of a special use permit rather than being allowed by right.

No zoning permit, building permit, or certificate of use and occupancy may be issued for a special use until the Board of Supervisors approves the special use permit.

A special use permit application must include scaled plans showing the property, buildings, yards, parking, access, circulation, utilities, drainage, natural features, landscaping, screening, buffering, signs, and building elevations and floor plans.

The special use permit process requires review and a public hearing before the Planning Commission, followed by public notice, a public hearing, and final action by the Board of Supervisors.

Approval requires findings that the data center will not conflict with the Comprehensive Plan, adversely affect surrounding property, create unreasonable traffic or safety impacts, overburden utilities or public services, harm water resources, or violate erosion and sediment-control requirements.

The Board of Supervisors may impose additional operating, site, or development conditions and may require a guarantee or bond to ensure compliance.

A data center approved as a special use must comply with the underlying industrial district's requirements, including a minimum 100-foot front yard, 100-foot rear yard, and generally 100-foot side yards; side yards may be reduced to 50 feet where they abut A-1, R-1, or R-2 property.

Where an industrial site's side or rear lot line abuts A-1, R-1, or R-2 property, a continuous opaque fence, wall, or evergreen screen at least six feet high is required, subject to the ordinance's setback from street rights-of-way.

The special use permit becomes void if no building-permit application for the approved improvements is submitted within one year after approval, although the Zoning Administrator may grant one one-year extension upon written request.

Failure to comply with the approved plans or special-use conditions is a zoning violation and may lead to revocation of the special use permit if the violation is not corrected within 90 days after written notice.

Data centers meeting VA Code § 58.1-609.3(18) are subject to a special personal-property tax of $0.24 per $100 of assessed value on qualifying computer equipment and enabling software, instead of any other personal-property tax on that property. All other county assessments, taxes, and fees remain applicable. § 15-10

A zoning text amendment treats data centers as a special use in industrial districts, creating a zoning pathway for their construction and operation in those districts. Lee County supervisors approve zoning text amendment to treat data centers as special use in industrial districts