Santa Monica classifies a data center as a Communication Facility, Equipment within Buildings - indoor space holding computer servers. The use needs a Conditional Use Permit in the IC Industrial Conservation district, is permitted by right in the OC Office Campus district, and is barred from residential zones.
Unlike Los Angeles County, Santa Monica's Zoning Ordinance names the use. Section 9.51.030 defines Communication Facilities, Equipment within Buildings as indoor facilities holding communication equipment and storage devices such as computer servers. Table 9.13.020 makes the use a Conditional Use Permit in the IC Industrial Conservation district - the city's only industrial zone - and permits it by right in the OC Office Campus district. A Conditional Use Permit is discretionary, triggering CEQA review and a Planning Commission hearing. Larger power or transmission functions fall under Utilities, Major or Antennas and Transmission Towers, each requiring a CUP. A site inside the coastal zone also needs a Coastal Development Permit.
Building or operating a data center without the required Conditional Use Permit, or outside a district where the use is allowed, violates the Zoning Ordinance, enforced through stop-work orders, penalties, and permit revocation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Los Angeles County.
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