Data center approvals in Storey County, NV

Updated October 2026

Data centers are allowed by right where the district permits them, subject to use-specific standards, so the risk sits in the standards and the site plan, not a hearing. Hearings: Planning Commission → Board of County Commissioners.

What the timeline looks like

working days; discretionaryApproval applies only when a special use permit is triggered (on-site generation plant or structures over 75 ft) and is an estimate against the 65-day hearing deadline; sitePlan is the TRI Architectural Review Committee letter (no county site plan review for I-2; estimate); gradingPermit and buildingPermit are within the county's published 30-business-day plan review ceiling for one cycle; certificateOfOccupancy is an estimate from the CO checklist

What slows projects here

• Data centers are allowed by right where the district permits them, subject to use-specific standards, so the risk sits in the standards and the site plan, not a hearing.
• TRIC parcels are I-2 Heavy Industrial under the 2000 Development Agreement (50-year term), which vests the 1999 Storey County Zoning Ordinance as the 'Existing Rules'. Data centers are not a named use; the county treats them as permitted heavy industrial/manufacturing uses (building permits issued; 2024 Master Plan cites 'digital data management' for the McCarran area). A special use permit is required for an on-site 'electric or gas power generating plant' (1999 ZO 17.37.040(W); the current code's equivalents are 17.35.040(II) commercial energy production from fossil fuels and (JJ) from renewables) and for buildings or structures over 75 ft (17.37.040(AA), 17.37.080, 'not including silos, stacks, or equipment'). The Apr 3, 2025 staff report (SUP 2025-022) confirms the 1999 code governs TRIC and that generation used only on the parcel is an accessory use needing no SUP. Standards: 3-acre minimum parcel, 50-ft setbacks (county design sheet shows 50 ft all sides for McCarran/TRIC I-1 and I-2), TRI Architectural Review Committee approval and a TRIGID will-serve letter before the building permit.
• Notice rules are a veto point: Mailed notice at least 10 days before the hearing to the applicant, owners of record within 300 ft (county under 100,000 population; NRS 278.315(3) and 1999 ZO 17.60.040), mobile home park tenants within 300 ft and any area advisory board; the current county code adds at least 30 unique owners nearest the site when fewer than 30 are within 300 ft (SCC 17.03.070(B)(4); this rule is not in NRS 278.315(3), which applies it only to counties of 100,000 or more). Published notice in a newspaper of general circulation at least 10 days before (17.03.070(A)); agenda posting under NRS 241. The county must retain the notice, the list of addressees and the date deposited in the mail (17.03.070(E)). (NRS 278.315(3) (counties under 100,000); Storey County Code 17.03.070(A)-(B), (E); 1999 ZO 17.60.040). A defective notice can void an approval after the fact.
• SUP 2025-022 (Redwood Battery Materials, 875 Innovation Way, Apr 3, 2025): a solar field accessory to an on-site data center needed no SUP, but using its output on other parcels made it an 'electric or gas power generating plant' requiring an SUP under the 1999 code; staff report confirms the Development Agreement and the 1999 Zoning Ordinance govern TRIC
• Amazon Data Services, 3800 Peru Drive (TRIC): NDEP Class I air quality operating permit to construct AP7374-4768 for 358 standby diesel generators, public notice Jan 2026 (comments to Mar 2, 2026)
• MECP1 Reno 1 (RNO1), 3000 USA Parkway: NDEP Class II air quality operating permit AP7374-4772, public notice Jan 2026 (comments to Feb 25, 2026)

What to do about it

• Run the utility large-load study, the state air permit and the land-use approval in parallel from day one; they are separate authorities and nothing requires them in sequence.
• Lock the generator count, size, tier and classification before filing: a density change reopens the air permit, the noise study and the utility load letter together.
• Treat every statutory notice as a checklist with evidence (advertisement text and dates, mailing receipts, posted signs) reviewed by counsel against the statute in force on the hearing date.
• Carry the 25-day appeal window after the approval on the schedule; lenders and tenants will not close across it.
• Use third-party plan review where the code allows it to take plan check off the critical path.
• File complete so the 65-day review clock starts; most delay in review is correction cycles, not review time.

Sources

• Development Agreement between Storey County, Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, LLC and DP Operating Partnership (Jan 31, 2000) — accessed 2026-10-31
• 1999 Storey County Zoning Ordinance (applicable to TRIC) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Storey County Tahoe Reno Industrial Center Info page (agreement, exhibits, I-2 resolution) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Storey County Code Title 17 Zoning Ordinance, Ch. 17.03 and 17.35 (eLaws mirror) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Storey County Code Title 17 (Municode) — accessed 2026-10-31
• NRS 278.315 special use permits (notice, 65-day hearing) — accessed 2026-10-31
• NRS 278.0235 judicial review within 25 days — accessed 2026-10-31
• NRS 278.3195 appeals to governing body — accessed 2026-10-31
• NRS 278.575 independent contractor plan review program — accessed 2026-10-31
• Storey County Planning Commission packet, Apr 3, 2025 (SUP 2025-022 staff report) — accessed 2026-10-31
• Storey County Planning Department application fees — accessed 2026-10-31
• SCCD Policy #8 Commercial/Industrial Construction Packet (rev. Feb 3, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31

Timelines are general information drawn from the sources listed, not advice on a specific project. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the authority.