Planners move forward with data center ordinance after charged hearing
The Shenandoah County Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend a new data center ordinance to the Board of Supervisors, despite significant public opposition. The proposed ordinance would change data centers from a by-right use to a special use, requiring public hearings and implementing new environmental and operational restrictions. Residents expressed strong concerns about inviting data centers into the county and urged the commission to prohibit them entirely.
The Shenandoah County Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend the county's first data center ordinance to the Board of Supervisors, following a heated public hearing where nearly all speakers voiced opposition. Residents, including Cinde Wollenberg, urged the commission to rewrite the code to prohibit data centers entirely, fearing they would be an unwelcome invitation to developers.
Community Development Director Lemuel Hancock and Zoning Administrator Brenna Menefee argued that current by-right language for "data processing" in industrial zones could allow data centers without public input. The proposed ordinance aims to mitigate this by striking the by-right language, making data centers a special use requiring public hearings, and establishing various restrictions. These include requirements for community meetings, detailed water use accounting, public water or closed-loop cooling systems, and noise limits (55 decibels regular, 65 decibels low-frequency hum). Backup generators would also have testing limitations and could not serve as a regular power source.
Several speakers, like Melanie Salins and Robin Mitchell, contested the premise, stating that writing data centers into the code at all opens the door. They referenced issues in other counties like Prince William and Loudoun, and raised concerns about power grid strain and environmental impact. Commissioner Dennis Morris was the lone dissenting vote, moving to table the ordinance to allow more time, but the motion failed due to concerns about leaving the county exposed to by-right development for several more months. The recommendation now moves to the Board of Supervisors, with a potential adoption as early as June 28, where the opposition is expected to continue.