New Kent planning board sounds off on data center guidelines
New Kent County is drafting stricter standards for potential data centers after rejecting a technology overlay proposal and a proposed two-year moratorium. The draft rules would require conditional use permits, public meetings, sound studies, decommissioning plans, industrial zoning, and limits related to noise, water use and energy consumption.
New Kent County officials are developing new data center standards following public backlash over a proposed technology overlay district. The draft ordinance would require pre-application meetings, community forums, public hearings and conditional use permits for all data center applicants, while limiting development to industrially zoned areas.
The proposed rules also include noise, cooling-system and water-use regulations, sound studies, decommissioning plans, minimum acreage requirements and proximity to transmission lines. County officials recently rejected a two-year data center moratorium, and the ordinance is not expected to be finalized until next year while Virginia revises its statewide guidance.