Several Virginia Beach council members push to ban data centers, hyperscale facilities
Several Virginia Beach City Council members are advocating for a ban on large-scale data centers and hyperscale facilities in the city. Citing concerns over land use, infrastructure, power, water, noise, and air pollution, the council directed staff to draft a zoning ordinance amendment to make these facilities non-permitted uses. Smaller subsea cable landing sites and co-location facilities would still be allowed with conditional use permits.
Several members of the Virginia Beach City Council, including Mayor Bobby Dyer, expressed strong support for banning large-scale data centers and hyperscale facilities within the city limits. This discussion arose during a briefing on the city's current zoning regulations for data centers, prompted by concerns raised earlier this year by the Planning Commission. City staff confirmed that no data center projects are currently under consideration or recruitment in Virginia Beach.
Information Technology Director Peter Wallace distinguished between various types of data centers, noting that hyperscale facilities, which can occupy over 50 acres and support artificial intelligence workloads, require substantial power and water, generate noise, and emit air pollutants. In contrast, subsea cable landing sites and co-location facilities have minimal impact.
Council members voiced concerns about the technology outpacing current zoning and the facilities' intensive resource consumption and incompatibility with neighborhoods. Mayor Dyer explicitly called for an ordinance banning data centers beyond co-location facilities, emphasizing land scarcity and neighborhood impact. Deputy City Manager Amanda Jarratt added that, based on the current tax structure, Virginia Beach is not actively recruiting such facilities.
Following the discussion, council members directed staff to prepare a zoning ordinance amendment. This amendment would classify traditional and hyperscale data centers as non-permitted uses, while allowing subsea cable landing sites and co-location facilities through a conditional use permit process. The proposal will first go before the Planning Commission for review before returning to the City Council for a final vote.