San Benito County has no data-center ordinance. A data center is treated as a light industrial facility, allowed in the Business Park (BP), Light Industrial (M-1), or Heavy Industrial (M-2) district with an Administrative Use Permit under Title 25, Section 25.03.007, plus CEQA review. County zoning covers unincorporated land only.
There is no data-center-specific use in the county code. Under Title 25, Section 25.03.007 (Ordinance 1043, 2022), a server facility fits the "light industrial facilities" classification in Table 25.03-H, which requires an Administrative Use Permit in the BP, M-1, and M-2 districts, confirmed through the Similar Uses interpretation in Chapter 25.01. Industrial standards set a 25-foot front and street-side setback, a 40-foot height limit, and a 0.8 floor area ratio, with a 25-foot side setback where a use abuts a residential zone. A large facility with backup generators or fuel storage can trigger a Conditional Use Permit and CEQA review of power, water, and noise. This governs unincorporated land only; Hollister and San Juan Bautista set their own zoning.
Building a data center without the required Administrative or Conditional Use Permit, or in a non-industrial zone, is a zoning violation. The Resource Management Agency can withhold building permits, issue stop-work orders, and pursue code enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
san-benito-county-ca
Backyard composting is allowed in unincorporated San Benito County and is encouraged by California's statewide organics law, SB 1383. That law requires resid...
san-benito-county-ca
Unincorporated San Benito County has no specific ordinance banning or expressly authorizing residential artificial turf. Installations must meet general zoni...
san-benito-county-ca
Unincorporated San Benito County does not require or prohibit native-plant landscaping for private yards, but its Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance (follo...
san-benito-county-ca
Rainwater harvesting is legal in unincorporated San Benito County and across California. State law (the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012) lets property owners c...
san-benito-county-ca
San Benito County requires owners of unincorporated property to control weeds and hazardous vegetation that create a fire hazard or public nuisance, under Co...
san-benito-county-ca
Routine pruning of trees on your own property in unincorporated San Benito County generally does not need a permit, but heavy cutting that effectively remove...
See how San Benito County's data center zoning & siting rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.