Virginia Beach mayor: Ban large-scale data centers in the city
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer and the City Council are advocating for a ban on large-scale data centers and hyperscalers due to concerns over land, power, and water demands. The city plans to propose zoning amendments to the Planning Commission to implement this ban, while potentially allowing smaller facilities like subsea cable landing sites with conditional use permits. This decision reflects a broader governmental move against recruiting large data center projects.
Mayor Bobby Dyer of Virginia Beach, backed by the City Council, is advocating for a ban on large-scale data centers and hyperscalers within the city limits. This recommendation follows a Tuesday meeting where Peter Wallace, the city's IT director, outlined four types of data centers, distinguishing between subsea cable landing sites and colocation facilities which have minimal impact, and larger data centers and hyperscalers that demand significant land, power, and water resources. Councilman Stacy Cummings echoed concerns about the city's capacity, stating, "We don’t have the land or the ability to house them."
City Attorney Mark Stiles indicated that the next step involves submitting a zoning amendment to the Planning Commission to prohibit large data centers and hyperscalers as a permitted use. The proposed amendments would, however, allow existing subsea cable landing sites and colocation facilities, such as Globalinx and Telsius in Corporate Landing Business Park, to continue operation, potentially requiring new ones to obtain conditional use permits.
Deputy City Manager Amanda Jarratt confirmed that Virginia Beach is not actively pursuing data center projects due to their extensive acreage and power demands, emphasizing, "This would not be an industry we would recruit." The initiative stems from Planning Commission members' requests to update current zoning regulations, which previously considered data centers as general warehouse or storage uses. The proposed ban will require a vote from the City Council after review by the Planning Commission.