Chesapeake puts 8-month pause on data center applications

Chesapeake city officials have initiated an eight-month moratorium on all new data center applications. This pause, enacted following a City Council vote, will remain in effect until the council adopts its new data center policy or for eight months, whichever comes first.

This action follows the unanimous approval by the Planning Commission on July 8 of new zoning ordinances designed to establish stricter regulations for data center development. These ordinances aim to close a 'by-right' development loophole, requiring future data center projects to secure conditional use permits and limiting development to industrial zoning districts. City Attorney Catherine Lindley indicated that these ordinances are the first step in a broader regulatory effort and are expected to be voted on by the City Council in August.

Public input opportunities are planned as the city formulates its comprehensive land use plan, which will outline detailed standards and requirements for data center projects. During the July 8 planning meeting, residents, including Mike Hoffman, voiced concerns and called for extended public input periods, increased setback distances from residential, recreational, and agricultural properties, and the implementation of decommissioning standards and infrastructure investment requirements for operators. Several speakers at Tuesday's meeting praised the temporary ban while urging the council to prohibit large-scale data centers entirely.

This local moratorium occurs as the state of Virginia also addresses data center policies. The General Assembly explored ending a state sales and use tax exemption for data centers but instead established a new energy consumption tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour, capped at $600 million annually for two years before its expiration.