Ordinance No. 5033

City of Chandler — Regular Meeting (2022-11-10)

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ORDINANCE NO. 5033 
 
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHANDLER, 
ARIZONA, AMENDING ARTICLES II. DEFINITIONS, AND XXII. 
ADDITIONAL HEIGHT AND AREA REGULATIONS OF CHAPTER 35 OF 
THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF CHANDLER, RELATING TO DATA 
CENTERS.   
 
WHEREAS, in accordance with A.R.S. 9-462, the legislative body may adopt by ordinance, any 
change or amendment to the regulations and provisions as set forth in the Chandler Zoning Code; 
and 
 
WHEREAS, this amendment, including the draft text, has been published as an 1/8-page display 
ad in a local newspaper with general circulation in the City of Chandler, giving fifteen (15) days’ 
notice of time, date and place of public hearing; and 
 
WHEREAS, a public hearing was held by the Planning and Zoning Commission as required by 
the Zoning Code, on October 19, 2022. 
 
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Chandler, Arizona, 
as follows: 
 
Section 1.  
Section 35-200, of Article II. Definitions, of Chapter 35 of the City Code of the 
City of Chandler, is hereby amended by adding the following definition: 
 
Data Center: A facility or portion of a facility housing networked computer 
systems and telecommunications equipment used for remote storage, processing, 
and distribution of data.  
 
Section 2.  
Section 35-2214, of Article XXII.  ADDITIONAL HEIGHT AND AREA 
REGULATIONS, of Chapter 35, of the City Code of the City of Chandler, is hereby 
added to read as follows: 
35-2214. Data Centers. 
(1) Data Centers are not permitted to operate in the City of Chandler unless 
explicitly approved as part of a Planned Area Development zoning 
district. Data Centers that are ancillary to another primary use are 
permitted if they a) occupy no more than ten percent of the building 
footprint, b) are used to serve the enterprise functions of the on-site 
property owner and are not used to lease data storage and processing 
services to third parties, and c) are not housed in a separate stand-alone 
structure on the parcel. 
(2) Before a Data Center is constructed within a Planned Area Development 
zoning district, the property owner proposing to build a Data Center must 
comply with the following:

Ordinance No. 5033 
Page 2 
a. The Data Center operator or property owner must notify residents 
within a half-mile radius of the parcel, including any affiliated 
homeowners’ association operating within the half-mile radius, that 
the property owner intends to build and operate a Data Center on the 
property. The notice required in this section must be mailed to all 
postal addresses and homeowners’ association addresses contained 
within a half-mile radius extending from the property line where the 
proposed Data Center will be built.  
b. The Data Center operator must schedule and attend two 
neighborhood meetings with residents to describe the project and the 
proposed sound-mitigation aspects of the project design. Notice of 
the neighborhood meetings must be mailed to all residents and 
homeowners associations within a half-mile radius of the parcel. A 
representative of the developer or owner with decision-making 
authority on the design of the Data Center must attend the 
neighborhood meetings. The Data Center operator or property owner 
must also post a sign on the subject property, at least fifteen days 
before each neighborhood meeting, in accordance with design 
standards specified by the City of Chandler. The sign must be located 
along an arterial street or other high-visibility location as determined 
by the Zoning Administrator. The content of the sign must be 
reviewed and approved by the Zoning Administrator before 
installation. The applicant must remove the sign at the conclusion of 
the citizen review process. 
(3) Upon request by City staff, the operator of a Data Center must provide 
an on-site neighborhood liaison between the hours of 8:00 am and 10:00 
pm MST each day to respond to complaints about noise emanating from 
the Data Center. 
(4) Before the first neighborhood meeting is held, the property owner 
proposing to build a Data Center must conduct a sound study performed 
by an independent acoustic engineer to document baseline sound levels 
at the proposed Data Center. The property owner must provide a copy of 
the results of the study to the City before the first neighborhood meeting. 
(5) The Data Center must be designed and built to incorporate sound 
mitigation methods sufficient to prevent the sound levels emanating from 
the Data Center from exceeding those levels that were observed in the 
baseline study. Design specifications for such sound mitigation must be 
provided to the City before building permit approval. 
(6) Upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion, 
whichever occurs first, the Data Center operator must conduct a noise 
study performed by an independent acoustical engineer to document 
noise levels emanating from the Data Center during peak operation of 
the Data Center mechanical equipment. The Data Center operator must 
also conduct an additional noise study annually during peak operation of 
the Data Center mechanical equipment for five years after completion of 
the initial post-construction noise study. The Data Center operator must

Ordinance No. 5033 
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provide the results of the noise study to the City within thirty days of the 
anniversary of the date on which the certificate of occupancy or 
certificate of completion was issued by the City.  
(7) If the Data Center operator intends to use backup power generators on 
the parcel, the operator must maintain a public website announcing the 
times when the generators will be in operation. Any routine operation of 
the backup generators, including for testing purposes, must be announced 
on the website at least twenty-four hours in advance. The operator shall 
also notify the City of Chandler Communications and Public Affairs 
Department at least 24 hours in advance of a test. Unless the generators 
are supplying backup electrical supply during a power outage, backup 
generators may operate between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, 
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Upon request by City staff, 
the Data Center operator must provide the address of the website where 
the notices required by this section are published. 
 
Section 3. 
Providing for Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances.   
 
 
 
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this 
ordinance, or any parts hereof, are hereby repealed. 
 
Section 4. 
Providing for Severability. 
 
 
 
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is 
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of 
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining 
portions thereof. 
 
 
INTRODUCED AND TENTATIVELY APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Chandler, 
Arizona, this _____ day of ____________________, 2022. 
 
ATTEST: 
 
_______________________________________ 
____________________________________ 
CITY CLERK  
 
 
 
 
MAYOR 
 
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chandler, Arizona, this _____ day 
of _____________________, 2022. 
 
ATTEST: 
 
_______________________________________ 
____________________________________ 
CITY CLERK  
 
 
 
 
MAYOR

Ordinance No. 5033 
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CERTIFICATION 
I, HEREBY CERTIFY, that the above and foregoing Ordinance No. 5033 was duly passed and 
adopted by the City Council of the City of Chandler, Arizona, at a regular meeting held on the 
_____ day of _____________________, 2022, and that a quorum was present thereat. 
____________________________________ 
CITY CLERK 
APPROVED AS TO FORM: 
____________________________ 
CITY ATTORNEY  
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