San Diego County, CA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

San Diego County's Zoning Ordinance has no use category named "data center." The County treats a large-scale data center as "Major Impact Services and Utilities," a use type permitted in the general-impact and heavy industrial zones only with a Major Use Permit. In the M54 "General Impact Industrial" zone, Section 2545 lists Major Impact Services and Utilities among the uses requiring that permit. The permit is discretionary and requires a public hearing, findings, and CEQA review of water, power, and noise. In January 2026 the Board of Supervisors directed staff to study whether tailored data-center standards are needed; no ordinance, cap, or moratorium has been adopted. The unincorporated area is large but mostly rural, so industrial parcels are limited.