Building on its efforts to regulate the expansion of data center construction, the Board of Supervisors approved a Zoning Ordinance amendment for electrical substations on Tuesday.
The new standards ensure that as utility infrastructure expands to support the digital economy, neighboring communities are protected from noise, visual impact and encroachment.
Key Protections Enacted for the Community
The newly adopted ordinance brings substations under tighter regulation. New substation buffer requirements shield neighborhoods from the industrial look and scale of substation equipment (which can be 95 feet or more in height), significant physical barriers are now required:
- 100-foot setbacks: All substation equipment must be set back a minimum of 100 feet from the property line of any adjacent residential area.
- Solid, 12-foot walls: Substations must have a minimum 12-foot-high, visually solid fence or wall along all boundaries facing a street or residential property to obscure the view of the facility.
- 50-foot landscaped buffer: A 50-foot-wide landscaped buffer using dense trees and evergreen shrubs must be installed next to any residential area to create a natural shield.
Guaranteed Noise Compliance
Just as the data center amendment required noise studies, the substation amendment addresses the constant hum from transformers:
- Required Noise Study: Any application for a substation located near a residential zone must include a formal noise study.
- Strict Adherence: This study must prove that the substation’s operation will comply with the County’s Noise Ordinance, ensuring noise levels do not exceed the 55 dBA limit at a residential property line during nighttime hours.
The new rules ensure that as data center growth continues, the necessary high-voltage substations are developed responsibly, with robust protections for neighboring communities.
For more information on the amendment visit Department of Planning and Development’s website.
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