Salt Lake City, UT Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed zones
- M-1 and M-1A only
- M-2 heavy manufacturing
- Not a listed use
- M-1A cooling condition
- Closed-loop system required
- Citywide water cap
- 200,000 gal/day average
- Water cap sunset
- Effective until Sept 20, 2026
Summary
Data centers are permitted only in Salt Lake City's M-1 and M-1A manufacturing districts, and the M-1A location requires a closed-loop cooling system under the zoning use table.
Data center P19 [M-1] / P19, 23 [M-1A] ... 23. Data centers may be permitted provided they utilize a closed-loop cooling system. ... Any new non-residential land use that consumes or uses more than an annual average of two hundred thousand (200,000) gallons of potable water per day is prohibited in all zoning districts.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-21: Code current through: Ord. 40-26, passed June 16, 2026).
Full Breakdown
The manufacturing-districts use table lets data centers locate in the M-1 (Light Manufacturing) and M-1A (Northpoint Light Industrial) zones as a permitted use; they are not listed for M-2 (Heavy Manufacturing) at all. In M-1A, qualifying provision 23 adds a hard technical condition: the facility must use closed-loop cooling. Every data center is also subject to the citywide potable-water cap in Section 21A.33.010.D.1, which bars any new or expanded non-residential land use from consuming more than a 200,000-gallon daily average, a limit set with high-water-use uses like data centers in mind and effective through September 20, 2026.
Violations & Fines
Siting outside M-1/M-1A or skipping required review is an unpermitted use; violating the water-use cap or cooling condition is a city ordinance violation, a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine (corporations up to $5,000) per Section 1.12.050.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a data center locate in any industrial zone in Salt Lake City?
Does a Salt Lake City data center need special cooling equipment?
Is there a water-use limit that affects data centers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake City
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How other cities in Salt Lake County handle data center zoning & siting.