Butte County has no dedicated data-center ordinance. In the unincorporated county a server facility is an industrial use, allowed in the Light Industrial (LI), General Industrial (GI), or Heavy Industrial (HI) zones under Zoning Code Chapter 24, with a Conditional Use Permit and CEQA review for larger campuses.
A data center is not named in Butte County's zoning code (Chapter 24), so the Development Services Department classifies a server facility as an industrial use. Three unincorporated industrial zones apply: Light Industrial (LI) for low-impact uses like warehousing and light manufacturing, General Industrial (GI) for a broader range, and Heavy Industrial (HI). A large, power-intensive campus resembling heavy manufacturing requires a Conditional Use Permit heard by the Planning Commission, which triggers CEQA review and, under General Plan policy, an acoustical analysis. Development implements the General Plan's Industrial land use designation. These rules govern only unincorporated land, not the cities of Chico, Oroville, Gridley, and Biggs or the Town of Paradise.
Building a data center on land not zoned LI, GI, or HI, or without a required Conditional Use Permit or CEQA clearance, is a zoning violation. The county can withhold building permits and issue stop-work orders until the parcel conforms.
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