During the replacement pause, the County does not accept or process covered data-center land-use and permit applications in unincorporated areas. The period runs through June 1, 2027 or earlier completion of the related zoning-text process.

The initial action halted acceptance and processing of covered County data-center building permits in unincorporated areas while permanent regulations were studied. It has been replaced by the October 20 action.

Large-load data centers may be permitted only through a conditional use permit in Heavy Industrial zones. Light-load data centers are limited uses in Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial, Regional Commercial, and Community Commercial zones; the use chart does not authorize them in the other listed zones.

The ordinance applies to building permit applications that have not vested under RCW 19.27.095 when the ordinance becomes effective, subject to stated protections for certain prior final determinations and complete applications.

A complete permit application for any data center must document maximum electrical load, annual electricity consumption, the Serving Utility’s ability to provide power, pre-construction noise conditions, vibration impacts, and required air-quality and environmental permits.

Applicants must pay for third-party acoustical and vibration studies, including a pre-construction ambient-noise study and a study demonstrating that vibration perceptible to people will not cross the property line.

New or expanded electric distribution infrastructure, including substations, must be located onsite or immediately adjacent to the data-center site.

Data centers and associated equipment, generators, and operations may not exceed 50 dBA at the nearest property line or exceed the pre-construction background level by more than 5 dBC.

Data centers must incorporate sound mitigation, obtain a third-party post-construction noise verification study before final inspection, and conduct an operator-funded annual noise study within 30 days of each certificate-of-occupancy or completion anniversary.

Data-center operations must comply with WAC 173-60-040, and failure to meet the noise standards is a code and/or certificate-of-occupancy violation.

Backup generators must be Tier IV compliant and generally may not be tested or operated when the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency reports an Air Quality Index above 100, except during an actual power outage.

Planned generator operation and testing must be posted on a public website at least 24 hours in advance, and the County Communications and Public Affairs Department must receive at least 24 hours’ notice of a test.

Except during a power outage, backup generators may operate only from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Energy-storage systems must provide at least 10 hours of long-duration storage and comply with NFPA 855.

Large-load data centers must follow a preferred cooling-water hierarchy: reclaimed or reused water is preferred; potable water must be used in a closed-loop system; and any lower-tier alternative requires a written exemption request, engineering documentation showing that closed-loop cooling is infeasible, proposed alternative technologies, and potentially a development agreement.

Large-load data centers may not obtain primary cooling water or makeup water for recharging a cooling system from private potable wells.

Large-load data centers must maintain an annual average Water Usage Effectiveness of no more than 0.3 liters per kilowatt-hour of information-technology load.

For Tier 2 cooling systems, net-new withdrawal from an aquifer or other potable groundwater source may not exceed the amount allowed by the 0.3-liter-per-kilowatt-hour standard, averaged over five years. Tier 3 systems may not withdraw from an aquifer or potable groundwater source or exceed that water-use standard.

Water use must be permanently metered, with withdrawal, reuse, and discharge data reported to the County and applicable water authorities; operators must publish annual compliance reports and allow County and Ecology inspections and audits.

Large-load data centers using chemical closed-loop cooling must use nonhazardous antifreeze or heat-transfer fluids when feasible, conduct routine leak testing, and obtain annual certification of containment integrity.

Large-load data centers on or over the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie, Grande Ronde, or Wanapum aquifers, or within a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area, must submit aquifer mapping, critical-materials, stormwater and infiltration, backup-power chemistry, groundwater-monitoring, and emergency-response documentation.

Large-load applicants must demonstrate that they, rather than the Serving Utility or existing residential and general ratepayers, will pay for project-specific transmission, distribution, substation, and generation infrastructure.

Large-load applicants must provide documentation of adequate water supply, pay for water or wastewater improvements needed for the project, and submit a water-feasibility study addressing annual, daily, and peak demand, effects on nearby water resources, cooling-water yield, and wastewater disposal.

Large-load cooling systems require applicable Ecology authorizations, professional-engineer certification of compliance with SCC 13.840.190, and additional spill-prevention and full-volume secondary-containment plans when hazardous materials are used.

Large-load data centers must submit an Emergency Response Plan accepted by the applicable fire district, covering fire suppression, containment, ventilation, evacuation, emergency access, responder training, annual fire-safety inspections, emergency procedures, 24-hour contacts, and battery-storage fire suppression.

Large-load data centers must submit signal-interface, traffic-management, decommissioning and reuse, and process-wastewater plans. Wastewater or other discharges or transfers must be minimal and treated onsite.

Decommissioning financial assurance, such as a performance bond or letter of credit sufficient for third-party removal and site restoration, must be provided before construction begins.

Large-load data centers using battery storage or other energy-storage equipment must comply with NFPA 855.

Large-load data-center equipment must be housed in metered, electrically grounded, pre-engineered metal-encased structures with at least a 30-minute internal electrical-fire rating and automatically closing containment baffles.

During construction and welding, the applicant must keep a readily accessible water truck and chemical fire-suppression material onsite.

Large-load data centers must provide 24-hour emergency signage with a contact name and telephone number and provide staff with cellular or onsite telephones for contacting emergency services.

A large-load data center may not be located within 1,000 feet of the nearest residential or commercially zoned property line.

Large-load data centers may not exceed 60 feet in height.

Large-load data centers must provide a landscape buffer at least 25 feet wide along specified boundaries and include prescribed quantities of native evergreen, deciduous, ornamental, and shrub plantings.

Large-load data-center lighting must use full-cutoff fixtures, poles no taller than 25 feet, poles set back at least 10 feet from exterior property lines, and no more than 0.5 foot-candles at the property line.

No more than 20 percent of a large-load data-center facade may be exposed with apparatus such as vents, fans, or HVAC systems.

Large-load data centers may not create electric or magnetic fields that adversely affect public health, safety, welfare, equipment operation, or off-site radio, telephone, or television reception.

All data centers must comply with Title 13 project-permit procedures and Chapter 11.10 SEPA requirements, with identified impacts mitigated by the developer.

Large-load data centers may be permitted through a conditional use permit in Heavy Industrial zones, while light-load data centers are allowed as limited uses in Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial, Regional Commercial, and Community Commercial zones. Use chart classifications

Data centers are expressly excluded from the Essential Public Facility classification and its separate siting process, avoiding that additional approval pathway. Data Centers shall not be classified as an Essential Public Facility

The ordinance preserves the possibility of a separate process for data centers combined with qualifying industrial uses on a master-planned site as a Major Industrial Development. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to preclude

Projects with vested rights are protected: the ordinance applies only to unvested building-permit applications, does not reopen final unappealed determinations, and leaves complete applications submitted before the effective date subject to existing vesting and equitable doctrines. shall not be construed to reopen, invalidate, or specially exempt

The County may establish a non-binding coordination framework with serving utilities covering information sharing, notice of large-load service requests, and the County’s position in state or federal utility proceedings affecting large-load data centers. authorized to pursue a non-binding coordination framework

Large-load facilities may request a conditional exemption from the preferred closed-loop or reclaimed-water requirements when a licensed engineer demonstrates that closed-loop cooling is infeasible; the application may propose alternatives such as geothermal, air-cooled, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, or waste-heat recovery. County conditions may be imposed through a development agreement. An exemption may be granted upon written request

Large-load data centers using Tier 1 reclaimed or reused water systems are presumed to satisfy the water-projection objective and are exempt from the separate net-new aquifer-withdrawal limits. Tier 1: Presumed to satisfy the water projection objective

Backup generators are expressly allowed for actual power outages and for limited testing or operation, subject to Tier IV compliance, air-quality restrictions, advance public notice, weekday operating hours, and other stated conditions. Unless backup generators are providing electrical supply during a power outage