The City of Downey has no data-center ordinance and no "data center" use category. Data centers site in the M-1 and M-2 manufacturing zones, classified into the nearest Table 9.3.9 use: permitted by right as office, R&D, or warehouse, or needing a Conditional Use Permit as a public utility.
Downey's Zoning Code (Municipal Code Article IX) does not name "data center" as a use, and its use tables state that any use not specifically listed is deemed Not Permitted. So the Planning Division must classify a data center into the closest listed use in Table 9.3.9 for the M-1 (light manufacturing) and M-2 (general manufacturing) zones. Read as business offices, research and development, or a warehouse, a server building is Permitted (P) by right with a ministerial building permit. Read as "Public utilities," it needs a Conditional Use Permit under Section 9824 - a discretionary permit triggering CEQA review and a Planning Commission hearing. Downey has adopted no moratorium.
Building or operating a data center outside the M-1 or M-2 zones, or without a required Conditional Use Permit, is a Zoning Code violation enforced by Downey Code Enforcement through stop-work orders, citations, and abatement.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Los Angeles County.
See how other cities in Los Angeles County handle data center zoning & siting.
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