As lawsuit hearing looms, Goochland residents keep up fight against controversial tech overlay district
Goochland residents are continuing their legal challenge against the county's approved Technology Overlay District (TOD), which allows data centers by-right in a 4,400-acre area. A court hearing is scheduled to determine which documents will be reviewed in the lawsuit, which alleges the county violated state law in adopting the TOD. Residents claim inadequate public notification and material changes to the proposal were made the night of its approval.
A lawsuit filed by four Goochland residents against county supervisors and planning commissioners is heading to a hearing in Goochland Circuit Court next week. The residents, Cynthia Haas, Peggy Knisley, Virginia H. Reed, and Gail A. Minnick, allege that the county violated state law in November by failing to clearly and lawfully explain the adoption of a controversial Technology Overlay District (TOD).
The TOD, approved by a 4-1 vote, spans approximately 4,400 acres along Route 288 and permits by-right uses for data centers, pharmaceutical companies, and biomedical researchers. It also allows for conditional use permits for utility generating facilities, such as small modular nuclear reactors or natural gas peaking plants. The lawsuit claims that residents were not properly notified of the proposal and that required advertising was