Cleveland County, NC Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Section 12-124's Table of Permitted Uses governs what businesses can locate where in the zoned areas of unincorporated Cleveland County, using North American Industry Classification System codes. A 'Z' in a district column means the use is permitted by right; an 'S' means it needs a special use permit from the Board of Adjustment; a blank column means the use isn't allowed at all. The Data Centers row, NAICS code 518210, carries a 'Z' only under the Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) columns. Every other column on that row, Rural Agricultural, Rural Residential, Restricted Residential, Residential, Manufactured Homes and Parks, Neighborhood Business, General Business, and Corridor Protection, is blank, which under the table's own key means the use is not permitted in those districts under any circumstance, not even with a special use permit.

A data center operator still has to file for a zoning permit with the Planning Department administrator under Section 12-32, confirming the parcel's district on the Official Zoning Map, before construction or use can begin. If the administrator can't classify a proposed data center use against the table, the code directs treating it as the most similar listed use; if nothing is similar, the use is prohibited outright.