Imperial CountyData Center Advisory CommitteeSearch
Committee working material

Section 3 Working Paper 2: Existing Rules and the Regulatory Gap

Imperial County Data Center Advisory Committee | September 18, 2026

Bottom line

Imperial County does not start from a blank page. Title 9 expressly lists a “data center (within enclosed building)” as a permitted use in M-1, lists “data centers” as a permitted use in M-2, and carries M-2 permitted uses into M-3. A “data center yard” requires a conditional use permit in M-1. This is the central gap: the ordinance identifies the use, but does not scale review to electric load, water, backup generation, heat, operating noise, financial readiness or proximity to sensitive uses. A small enclosed facility and a 20 MW or 300 MW campus can begin in the same use category even though their infrastructure and community effects are different in kind.

What the current framework does

General Plan

The 2015 Land Use Element: - directs orderly development with adequate public facilities; - allows zoning limits where facilities are inadequate or development would impair agriculture or cause leapfrog growth; - identifies specific plans as the tool for large industrial parks or areas needing study when conventional zoning is inadequate; - requires specific plans to address land uses and the location/intensity of water, sewer, drainage, energy and other facilities; - asks whether a specific plan pays its public-service costs, creates permanent jobs, reduces environmental and compatibility effects, adds distinct local opportunity and advances an unmet General Plan goal.

Title 9 land-use ordinance

The gaps the committee should close

  1. No definition. The located provisions do not define data center, data-center yard, campus, IT load, utility load, accessory generation, or common-control/aggregated phases.
  2. No load tiers. Review does not change at 5, 20 or 50 MW even though IID’s new tariff begins at 20 MW and 80% load factor.
  3. By-right mismatch. A use with regional power and water consequences may be permitted in M-1/M-2 without a project-specific CUP solely because the servers are enclosed.
  4. No infrastructure finding. Title 9 does not expressly require IID confirmation of deliverable capacity, upgrade cost, schedule, power supply or curtailment before land-use approval.
  5. No water standard. There is no data-center water budget, cooling-method preference, independent reconciliation, reclaimed-water analysis or enforceable operating cap.
  6. No sensitive-use rule. General noise limits help, but there is no setback or performance protocol for homes, schools, hospitals, disadvantaged communities, agricultural workers or habitat.
  7. Generator ambiguity. A yard or power plant can trigger a CUP, but the ordinance does not clearly classify hundreds of emergency generators, distinguish testing from routine operation, or cap cumulative run hours.
  8. No heat, light or 24-hour operating standards. The ordinance lacks data-center-specific heat-rejection, glare, security lighting and nighttime maintenance rules.
  9. No anti-segmentation rule. Nothing located aggregates adjacent parcels, affiliates, shared substations or phased buildings.
  10. No proof-of-readiness or expiration system. There are no data-center-specific requirements for parcel control, financing, equipment deposits, IID security, load-ramp milestones or decommissioning security.
  11. No operating verification. No revenue-grade interval-load report, annual water report, generator log, noise confirmation or audit right is tied to the use listing.
  12. No mapped suitability overlay. The rules identify zones, not parcels where power, water, roads, drainage and separation align.

Pending County Counsel review, amend Title 9 so that: - only genuinely small enclosed facilities below a stated threshold remain administrative/by right; - 5 to under 20 MW requires an infrastructure screen and CUP; - 20 MW and above requires the full IID large-load record, independent water review and enhanced CUP findings; - 50 MW and above, or an aggregated campus, requires a specific plan or development agreement and cumulative review; - all phases under common ownership/control, a common entitlement plan or shared substation are aggregated; - approval reserves no electric capacity and becomes effective only when stated IID and water conditions are met; - permit conditions include operating reports, audit rights, milestone expiration and decommissioning security.

Primary sources

Verification note: This audit is based on the County’s posted General Plan and Title 9 PDFs posted as of September 18, 2026. County staff and County Counsel should confirm whether later codified amendments, uncodified urgency measures, policy memoranda or project-specific interpretations alter these provisions.

Source file: view in the public committee library