More than 200 concerned residents from Gloucester and Middlesex counties filled a lecture hall and two additional classrooms at Rappahannock Community College’s Glenns campus last Wednesday, May 28, to learn more about and voice their opinions about the potential designation of the Glenns area as a Technology Overlay District. This would allow data centers to be developed in the northern part of Gloucester County.
“Know this is only the first public meeting,” said County Administrator Carol Steele, who gave the presentation. This meeting was not a public hearing to approve a data center or a Technology Overlay District, but an opportunity for the public to learn more and ask questions about the potential of this in Gloucester.
This initial meeting was held at RCC as the TOD would impact the northern end of the county the most. The only transmission line in Gloucester that could support a data center is located in Glenns. The meeting was held to gauge county residents’ interest in creating a TOD.
According to Tripp Little, staff member of Gloucester County Planning, Zoning & Environmental Programs, a TOD can be used to permit or prohibit uses within the district. An example of a use would be the establishment of a data center. Regulations the county could impose within a TOD include requirements for setbacks, buffers, sound levels, environmental protections, historic preservations and more.
Any change to county code would require a public hearing with the Planning Commission and another public hearing with the Board of Supervisors.
Steele discussed the pros and cons of having a data center in Gloucester.
Benefits could include a source for economic development and tax revenue, higher paying jobs than other local employment opportunities and increased property values for landowners who would be interested in selling their property for a data center to be built.
“Economic development is a pretty important thing,” said Steele. The county is facing tough budgetary issues, causing infrastructure, routine maintenance and contributions to volunteer organizations to fall behind. “How are we going to keep our county thriving?”
Potential drawbacks include loss of agriculture or forested land, having an aesthetically displeasing building in the area and additional noise to nearby residents.
Steele quelled concerns about local waterways being used to cool a potential data center.
“There are waterless data centers,” said Steele. “We would have to have a waterless data center if one comes to Gloucester County.”
No developer has approached Gloucester to create a data center, Steele said, but starting these conversations now is important for the future of the county.
“For solar, we sort of weren’t ready for it,” said Steele. The county changed its solar ordinance to limit these facilities multiple times, based on public input. The county is trying to gauge input from the public now before any developers become interested in building a data center in Gloucester.
The public mostly asked questions about a data center’s potential impacts to the environment. Many residents also brought up issues they have had with existing solar farms and voiced their concerns about unintentional consequences with the construction of a data center that were experienced with some solar facilities.
“We all are very sorry about the erosion and pollution,” said Steele about solar’s impacts on the community. “I do want to make sure that you all know that we have been working with the state. We’ve reported their violations to the state.”
Steele also mentioned that other communities are having difficulty with solar companies, including King and Queen and Essex counties.
The public is encouraged to take a survey on creating a TOD in Glenns online at s.surveyplanet.com/vdabrxlf. During tonight’s Gloucester County Planning Commission meeting, members of the commission will discuss the TOD education session. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, and will be held in the T.C. Walker Education Center auditorium.