Sacramento County has no dedicated data center ordinance. In unincorporated areas, data centers are sited in industrial zones (M-1, M-2, M-P) under the Zoning Code, with Design Review required and a Special Development Permit needed to deviate from setbacks. Incorporated cities set their own zoning.
Unincorporated Sacramento County regulates data centers through its standard Zoning Code, not a data-center-specific chapter. Server and computing facilities fall under industrial and business-service uses in the M-1 Light Industrial, M-2 Heavy Industrial, and M-P Industrial Park zones, governed by Use Regulations in Chapter 3 and development standards in Chapter 5. The operating Prime Data Center in McClellan Business Park, North Highlands, shows the path: its expansion secured a Special Development Permit under Section 6.4.6 to cut the 56-foot front-yard setback (Section 5.6.2.A, Table 5.14) to 31 feet, passed Design Review under the Countywide Design Guidelines, and required a full EIR under CEQA. Land inside cities like Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova follows each city's own zoning code.
Building or expanding a data center in unincorporated Sacramento County without required Design Review, a Special Development Permit for any setback deviation, or CEQA clearance stalls permit approval and draws county Planning and Environmental Review enforcement until the project conforms.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Sacramento County.
See how other cities in Sacramento County handle data center zoning & siting.
See how Herald's data center zoning & siting rules stack up against other locations.
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