Planning commission backs zoning text creating 'Data Centers' standards

The Clark County Planning Commission voted 10–0 on June 3 to recommend approval of Text Amendment ZA‑2026‑01, which would add Section 749 "Data Centers" and related definitions to the county zoning code.

Staff said the county currently lacked any specific zoning for data centers and proposed making them a conditional use so proposals would go through rezoning and a conditional-use review. "The county did not yet have any zoning regarding data centers, which put the county in a challenging position if someone were to want to build one or operate one," said Mrs. Stephanie Dunlap of Clark County Community and Economic Development.

The draft text includes minimum lot size and setbacks, landscaping and façade standards, site‑plan and stormwater review by the County Engineer, and application requirements such as noise and vibration studies, utility interconnection documentation, fire and EMS confirmation, and a decommissioning plan with financial assurance. Planning staff noted the model text was drawn largely from external examples but adapted for local procedures; "it didn’t feel consistent with what staff considered to be light industrial," Mr. Alex Dietz said when discussing zoning classification.

The commission instructed staff to add a clear definition of "prime farmland" tied to the Clark County soil survey and to refine vague language in the noise and thermal sections before public hearings. The recommended amendment now proceeds to the Rural Zoning Commission public hearing and then to the County Commissioners, with both hearings to be advertised in local notice.