Some Alexandria area neighbors saying 'no' to data centers near their homes
Residents in Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia, are actively opposing the Starwood Plaza 500 data center project and its accompanying electric substation. While the data center itself was approved, the substation's approval is still pending, and residents are protesting the lack of public hearings and the county's decision to exempt this specific data center from newly adopted noise and light mitigation requirements. They express concerns over noise, property values, quality of life, and environmental impact, particularly on a protected watershed.
Maggie Williams, representing residents in the Bryn Mawr area of Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia, detailed the ongoing community battle against the Starwood Plaza 500 data center and its accompanying electric substation. While the Fairfax Board of Supervisors approved the data center, the substation's approval remains pending, set to go before the planning commission on September 24th. Williams emphasized that there were no public hearings during the data center's initial approval, leaving residents' voices unheard and fueling their opposition.
Residents are actively engaged in raising awareness, including heading to polling places, to inform their neighbors about the project's potential impacts. Williams highlighted research by JARC (the research arm of the General Assembly) indicating data centers are largely incompatible with residential neighborhoods, asserting that Plaza 500 on Edsel Road is an unsuitable location given its proximity to a densely populated residential area.
Key concerns include unmitigated noise (a 24/7 hum), light pollution, and the project's close distance to homes—potentially within 100 feet. Adding to resident frustration, Fairfax County adopted new mitigation measures for data centers seven months after Plaza 500's approval but "unprecedentedly" exempted this specific project. Furthermore, a protected watershed borders the site, raising environmental alarms. The proposed substation's proximity, potentially as close as 67 feet from backyards, is also a major point of contention, especially when compared to an average of 3,000 feet for other substations.