Why I Oppose the Plan for a New Data Center in Fairfax County

Fairfax County resident Ken Sandler, Ph.D., opposes the proposed sale of 41.7 acres of county-owned Stonecroft property to a data center developer. Sandler argues that the county kept the negotiations confidential for 8 months, only recently announcing the planned March 17th public hearing, which he believes is too late to allow for meaningful public input. He is concerned that once approved, the data center would be considered a "by-right" development, further limiting transparency and oversight. Sandler is also worried about the environmental and energy impacts of a large data center, estimating it could use up to 1.5 trillion BTU of energy per year - nearly the same as the entire county government. He argues this would make it very difficult for the county to meet its Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan goals. Sandler urges the Board of Supervisors to slow down the process, gather more community input, and consider selling the land to renewable energy providers instead.