Data centers are permitted by right only in the C-N, C-UB, ED-G, and ED-I districts; in the ED-MA district, by-right data centers are limited to healthcare industries, while non-healthcare data centers require a special use permit. Data center use classifications

In the C-N district, each data-center establishment is limited to 10,000 gross square feet and the project is limited to a 0.5 floor-area ratio. C-N size and FAR limits

In the C-UB district, data centers are subject to a maximum floor-area ratio of 4.0. C-UB FAR limit

Data centers in the C-N, C-UB, ED-MA, ED-G, and ED-I districts require site-plan approval before development proceeds. Site-plan requirement

Applicants generally must complete a pre-application conference and submit a concept plan before submitting a site plan, although the Zoning Administrator may waive requirements under the ordinance's waiver criteria. Pre-application and concept-plan requirement

The City may require an environmental impact statement, and data centers must meet standards addressing air pollution, fire and explosion hazards, electromagnetic interference, waste, noise, vibration, glare, and water quality. Environmental and performance standards

The City Council may impose additional conditions and restrictions on a data center to mitigate impacts and protect public health, safety, and welfare. Authority to impose additional conditions

Data-center site development must comply with Virginia stormwater regulations, and applicants must obtain and provide all required state and federal permits. Stormwater and outside-permit requirement

No site preparation or site-improvement work may begin until the required site plan, stormwater and erosion-control plans, applicable subdivision plat, required bonds or surety, and utility-capacity approvals are obtained; a land-disturbance permit is required for projects disturbing more than 5,000 square feet. Preconditions for site work

A building permit is required before construction, enlargement, structural alteration, conversion, or relocation, and issuance depends on applicable zoning, site-plan, stormwater, floodplain, subdivision, and other approvals. Building-permit prerequisites

Applicants must pay applicable site-plan review, inspection, off-site improvement, and cash-proffer fees, and developers are responsible for required public-facility, infrastructure, and other improvement costs; performance bonding may also be required before site work begins. Development costs and fees

Site plans must address stormwater, erosion and sediment control, water and sewer capacity, utilities, access, parking, lighting, landscaping, and related engineering, and post-development runoff volumes and velocities may not exceed pre-development levels. Post-development runoff limits

Data centers must provide and maintain required off-street parking and loading facilities. Parking, access aisles, entrances, and private streets generally must have all-weather, stabilized, dust-free surfaces; existing uses in the C-UB district are generally exempt, but new or redevelopment projects may still be required to provide parking or contribute to public parking. Parking and loading requirements

A freestanding data-center use may have no more than two commercial curb cuts on any one right-of-way, with at least 100 feet between curb cuts; additional corner-lot and side- or rear-lot-line spacing rules apply in the ED-MA, ED-G, and ED-I districts. Curb-cut limits

Where a data-center lot abuts residentially zoned property, a landscaped buffer yard and potentially fencing are required, subject to site-plan approval; standard buffer widths are 50 feet for commercial development and 100 feet for manufacturing, with specified fence or wall substitutions where allowed. Residential-edge buffer requirement

Required landscaping must be installed before a certificate of occupancy, maintained perpetually, and replaced if it dies or is removed; economic-development districts generally require tree canopy equal to 10% of the development site within 20 years. Economic Development Districts: 10% of entire development site

On-site refuse must be kept in completely enclosed and screened facilities. Outdoor storage, where allowed, requires a special use permit, must be shown on the approved site plan, and is generally limited to 15% of the lot area unless enhanced justification, screening, buffers, and landscaping are provided. Refuse and outdoor-storage restrictions

Certain site improvements may require Planning Commission review, a public hearing, approval, and public notice when the Zoning Administrator refers the site plan for Commission action. Planning Commission site-plan approval

Site-plan approval expires five years after the approval date, except for erosion and sediment control plans, requiring resubmission after expiration. Five-year expiration

A data center in an Entrance Corridor Overlay District is subject to Planning Commission review and corridor-specific design, landscaping, screening, signage, access, and circulation requirements; a parcel generally receives only one direct access point unless an access-and-circulation plan is approved. One direct access point

A data center in the Historic Preservation Overlay District cannot receive a zoning, site-plan, subdivision, or building permit for covered work until the Architectural Review Board issues a Certificate of Appropriateness, subject to limited Certificates of No Effect for minor actions. Certificate of Appropriateness requirement

Data centers or call centers are permitted by right in the C-N Neighborhood Commercial, C-UB Uptown Business, C-C Corridor Commercial, ED-G Economic Development—General, and ED-I Economic Development—Intensive districts, avoiding a special-use-permit requirement. Conditions include district-specific limits such as C-N's 10,000-gross-square-foot-per-establishment limit and 0.5 maximum FAR, C-UB's 4.0 maximum FAR, and site-plan approval requirements in C-C and ED-I. Data center or call center

In the ED-MA Medical and Academic District, data centers or call centers serving healthcare industries are permitted by right; non-healthcare facilities may use the special-use-permit process. limited to healthcare industries

For qualifying site-plan projects, the Zoning Administrator may grant final site-plan approval administratively instead of requiring automatic Planning Commission approval. final approval of any given site plan may be granted by the Zoning Administrator

The Zoning Administrator may waive all or part of a required site-plan submission when the applicant shows that the use does not require the improvements under review, the waiver is consistent with the ordinance's intent, and it will not adversely affect public facilities, utilities, drainage, environmental controls, transportation, or the Comprehensive Plan. The Public Improvements Plan requirement cannot be waived. A waiver for submission of a site plan may be granted

An applicant may request an alternative parking plan supported by a professional parking-impact or parking-demand study, including a reduction of up to 30% of required spaces, additional spaces above the normal maximum, or shared parking. Shared parking may reduce the aggregate requirement by up to 50%, generally requires compatible uses within 300 feet, pedestrian access, recorded legal access or agreements, and supporting study. An applicant may submit a request to waive the construction of up to thirty (30) percent

The C-UB district generally has no minimum off-street parking requirement for existing uses, although new or redevelopment projects may be required during site-plan review to provide parking or contribute to public parking facilities. no minimum off-street parking space requirements for existing uses

Telecommunications equipment and towers may be approved through the special-use-permit process in the C-N, C-UB, C-C, ED-MA, ED-G, and ED-I districts, supporting communications infrastructure associated with data-center operations. Telecommunications equipment and towers

The TND-O Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay allows an applicant to propose any by-right or special-permit use in an approved Code of Development, providing a flexible route for data-center uses where the overlay applies. The use remains subject to City approval and the approved Code of Development's restrictions. the option to propose any by-right or special permit land use

A lawful data-center use, structure, or lot that later becomes nonconforming may generally continue after a change in title or possession, although expansions or alterations that increase the nonconformity are restricted. may be continued or maintained

A lawful nonconforming data-center structure damaged by less than 50% of its fair-market value or bulk may be repaired or reconstructed for its prior use if completed within 12 months. Damage exceeding 50% generally requires a conforming use for reconstruction, subject to the ordinance's Act-of-God exception. damaged by less than fifty (50) percent