Unincorporated Maricopa County allows data centers only in the IND-2 (general industrial) and IND-3 (heavy industrial) districts. The modernized zoning ordinance, adopted December 10, 2025 and effective January 9, 2026, defined data centers for the first time; other land must be rezoned.
Under the overhauled Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance, data centers are a defined land use permitted in the IND-2 general industrial and IND-3 heavy industrial districts, which the county steers away from residential neighborhoods. Parcels not already carrying IND-2 or IND-3 zoning must complete the county rezoning process — a public-hearing approval before the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Supervisors. The Board approved the rewrite unanimously on December 10, 2025 (effective January 9, 2026), the first time the county defined data centers alongside other emerging technologies like battery energy storage. County zoning governs only unincorporated areas; Phoenix, Chandler, and other cities set their own rules.
Building or operating a data center on land not zoned IND-2 or IND-3 is a zoning violation; the county can deny permits, issue stop-work orders, and pursue code-enforcement penalties until the parcel is properly rezoned.
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