Cupertino has no data-center ordinance and no "data center" use in Table 19.64.020. A server facility fits the ML light industrial district as a manufacturing, research, or communications equipment building use, or needs a Planning Commission use permit.
Table 19.64.020 of the Cupertino Municipal Code lists every permitted, conditional, and excluded use for the OA, OP, MP, ML, and ML-rc districts. No line names a data center. A server building is classified by the Director of Community Development into the closest listed ML use - manufacturing, processing, assembly, research and development, or a public utility communications and equipment building - both permitted by right in ML. Anything the Director cannot fit is a Planning Commission conditional use permit under row 47, a discretionary approval that triggers CEQA review and a public hearing. The OA and OP office districts and the MP industrial park district allow only offices and laboratories, so a data center does not belong there.
Operating a data center in a district where Table 19.64.020 does not permit it, or without a required conditional use permit, is a zoning violation enforced by Cupertino Code Enforcement.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Santa Clara County.
See how other cities in Santa Clara County handle data center zoning & siting.
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