Merced County has no dedicated data center ordinance. In unincorporated areas a data center is treated as an industrial use, sited in the B-P, M-1, or M-2 industrial zones under the Title 18 Zoning Code, subject to permit review and CEQA. Merced, Los Banos, and Atwater set their own zoning.
Unincorporated Merced County regulates data centers only through its general Zoning Code (Title 18, Unified Development Ordinance, Ordinance 1976, effective November 21, 2019), not a data-center chapter. A server or computing facility falls under industrial uses in the B-P Business Park, M-1 Light Manufacturing, or M-2 General Manufacturing zones (Chapter 18.16). Manufacturing plants are permitted by right in M-1 and M-2, but because a data center is not a named use, Section 18.16.020(E) lets the Planning Director classify it as a similar listed use and set the permit path; higher-nuisance or utility-scale projects need a Conditional Use Permit, which triggers CEQA review.
Building or expanding a data center in unincorporated Merced County without required permit review, a Conditional Use Permit where the Director requires one, or CEQA clearance stalls approval and draws county code enforcement until the project conforms.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Merced County's data center zoning & siting rules stack up against other locations.
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