Huntington Beach has no "data center" use category. A server facility is classified as an industrial use or a communication facility, both permitted by right in the IG General Industrial and IL Limited Industrial districts under Zoning Ordinance Chapter 212.
The Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance (Chapter 212) does not name "data center." A server building is classified into the closest listed use in the 212.04 table. As "Industry, General" or "Industry, R & D" it is permitted by right (P) in the IG, IL, and RT districts; as a non-wireless "Communication Facility" it is also permitted (note L-12). No conditional use permit is required for a by-right industrial project. A conditional use permit from the Zoning Administrator is triggered only within 150 feet of a residential district, and a large facility read as a "Major Utility" needs Planning Commission approval (PC). Projects in the Coastal Zone require a Coastal Development Permit under Chapter 245 unless exempt.
Building a data center outside an industrial district, or without the Zoning Administrator conditional use permit required near homes or the Coastal Development Permit, is a Zoning Ordinance violation enforced by Community Development through stop-work orders and abatement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Huntington Beach, CA
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