NORFOLK — Chesapeake's Planning Commission has voted to recommend new zoning rules and a citywide policy governing where data centers can be built, advancing the debate over the growing industry to the Chesapeake City Council, which will have the final say.
The commission's recommendations include rezoning industrial districts and an overlay district for data centers. Commissioners also approved a new data center policy following months of public meetings.
Supporters of the proposal called for a measured approach to welcoming the industry.
"We recommend allowing small scale edge data centers in appropriate commercial districts."
Others urged commissioners to keep large-scale facilities away from residential areas, drawing a distinction between economic growth and industrial encroachment.
"We were not asking to stop economic development. We're simply asking that industrial scale data centers must not be placed at our back doors."
Resident Lee Damore praised the city's deliberate approach.
"I give Chesapeake credit for recognizing we have to protect ourselves. We're not in a position where we can build the first day and then try to put the guidelines in afterwards," Damore said.
Over the past several months, I followed this debate from community meetings to neighborhood concerns, where residents repeatedly said they wanted safeguards in place before any large-scale data centers were approved.
The vote comes as cities across Hampton Roads take sharply different approaches to the industry. Newport News recently broke ground on a new data center at Jefferson Lab. Virginia Beach has taken a far more restrictive stance.
"We're not just saying no to data centers, we're saying hell no to data centers," Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said.
Suffolk has approved a temporary moratorium on new data centers. Norfolk, Hampton and Portsmouth have yet to announce what direction they will take.
The conversation has also reached the state level, where lawmakers are questioning the tax incentives offered to data center developers.
"They need to pay their cash so we can continue to pay for education, public safety, Medicare, Medicaid, and all of our core projects," Sen. Louise Lucas said.
All eyes now turn to the Chesapeake City Council, which will have the final say on the Planning Commission's recommendations.
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