Facility would have been located next to residential area.
A land rezoning proposal for a potential data center project in Chesapeake, Virginia, has received a recommendation of denial by local planners.
First submitted in late January, the proposal intended to rezone an approximately 22.6-acre land parcel, located on the west side of Centerville Turnpike and south of Etheridge Manor Boulevard, for a 350,000 sq ft (32,000 sqm) data center.
First reported by The Virginian Pilot, more than 50 locals spoke during the May 15 meeting of the Chesapeake Planning Commission, which concluded with a 6-1 vote against recommending approval for the proposal to the city council. Joshua Gerloff, the chair of the commission, said during the meeting that 650 emails and a petition with 450 signatures had been received in opposition to the project.
Concerns about the environmental impact, water supply, the power grid, and noise were raised. The location of the project, directly across from the Etheridge Lakes residential area, proved particularly controversial.
Douglas Fuller, speaking on behalf of the landowner Emerald Lake Estates, told The Virginian Pilot that “There were a lot of valid questions that were asked last night that I did not have the answers for. Reason being, it was not part of the application process.”
The project could still be approved by the city council.
Chesapeake is a city on the southern border of Virginia. Though it has little in the way of data centers, most large operators have a presence in the state, concentrated in Northern Virginia and around Richmond.
Opposition within Virginia has grown in lockstep with the industry, and grassroots anger has morphed into organised activism. Democratic and Republican state legislators have taken action, which recently culminated in a controversy over delays introduced by the state Governor, Glenn Youngkin, to a data center environmental transparency bill.
