Data Center Ordinance and Policy

Update September 10:

We've been working on recommended redlines to the draft ordinance and policy, based on the Planning Departments August 3 and July 9 drafts of each document.    We're still working to finalize, but these are our key positions that we support to keep our communities save from data centers:

• Support asking Commonwealth AG whether localities can ban data centers.
• Data Centers are not a compatible use in Rural Areas, including the Fentress Airfield Overlay District.
• Support Noise Limits – max 55 dBC nighttime, 60 dBC daytime (Planning Commission recommendation).   Must define enforcement process.
• Support Setbacks – 1320’ from residential/ag property line; 2640’ setback from residential structures (Planning Commission recommendation)
• Also require Setbacks – 2640’ from schools, hospitals, daycare, assisted living; 1320’ from parks and conservation areas 
• Support that onsite generators may only be used as backup power and may not be used behind-the-meter or to provide bridge power.
• Support requirement to use only public water and sewer; no private wells.
• Require Clear Decommission Plans and Bond.
• Must consider cumulative energy, water usage, pollution impacts, fiscal impacts, and environmental justice in any approval process.
• Establish water and power efficiency targets.  
• Require annual reporting by data centers
• Incorporate best practices from other locality ordinances, especially Goochland County and Shenandoah County.

Download Keep our Communities Save from Data Centers flier.

We're working to have a sign on letter on our recommendations ready by the end of September.

In the meantime, we encourage residents to attend the Planning Department Open Houses listed below and share your feedback with the Planning Department.   There is an online survey at Data Center Ordinance and Policy | Chesapeake, VA.  We encourage you to use some of our key points above when submitting comments.   

Update August 29:

As part of the coalition of organizations concerned about data centers, we successfully got the City Council to adopt a clean, interim Data Center Ordinance on August 18th.  We filled the City Council chambers.  39 people spoke in opposition to the original draft Ordinance, and almost that many more were in the room in opposition who did not speak.  The Council likely received dozens, if not hundreds, more e-mails and calls in opposition.  The Council heard loud and clear the overwhelming concern and opposition to large-scale data center development in the City.  We thank Amanda Newins for offering alternative ordinance wording that closed the By-Right Loophole, removed the Fentress Overlay from consideration for data centers by Conditional Use, and tabled the remaining criteria, such as noise limits and setbacks, for further public input.   The Council also asked Staff to request an opinion from the State Attorney General on whether a locality can effectively ban data centers.  The adopted August 18 version of the interim ordinance, and the previous drafts, can be found at Data Center Ordinance and Policy | Chesapeake, VA

But our work is not done yet.   The policy decisions for setbacks, noise, water consumption, landscaping, etc. still need to be finalized.   Even the victory on the Fentress Overlay comes with the caveat that properties anywhere in the City could still apply to be rezoned as M-1 or M-2 industrial zones and concurrently apply for a Conditional Use Permit to build a data center.   Similarly, the only barrier to building data centers By-Right in the Coastal Virginia Commerce Park PUD adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp is the lack of power, water, sewer, and other infrastructure.  

The final regulations on setbacks, noise, water and power usage, landscaping, lighting, and decommissioning will ultimately decide where and how data centers can be built in the City.  We will be working on a detailed position paper on these issues and we encourage you to stay involved and look out for additional action alerts. 

The moratorium implemented by the City Council expires in February, but we expect the Planning Department will probably work to bring a revised ordinance back to the City Council before then, likely after the November election.  In the near-term, the Planning Department is holding three open houses in September to collect public input, each from 5 pm to 7 pm:

• Tuesday, September 1, Great Bridge Primary School, 408 Cedar Road
• Monday, September 14, Indian River Community Center, 2250 Old Greenbrier Road
• Wednesday, September 30, Camelot Community Center, 948 King Arthur Drive

Update August 10: We have seen the draft Ordinance that the Planning Department is bringing forward to the City Council on Tuesday, 8/18.  While it closes the By-Right allowance for data centers, it is also opens the Fentress Airfield Overlay to data center development by Conditional Use, locks in reduced setbacks, and permits louder noise levels than the Planning Commission recommended on July 8.

The draft Ordinance being presented puts the setback distance as 100' from the property line and 1000' from existing residential structures; the Planning Commission has recommended setbacks of 1320' and 2640' respectively.  The draft retains the original noise level limits 68 dBC nighttime/73 dBC daytime; the Planning Commission had recommended 55 dBC nighttime/60 dBC daytime.  The Ordinance would permit data centers in Industrial Zones and in the Fentress Airfield Overlay by Conditional Use.    

We understood the intent of a Resolution passed by the City Council on 7/21 was to close the By-Right "loophole"  on 8/18, while providing additional time to review the Planning Commission’s proposed revisions, research industry best practices, gather public input, and craft the policy in a manner that best serves our citizens of our City.  However, the draft ordinance being presented short-circuits the value of holding public input meetings.  

Update July 31: Reflecting on the recommendations coming out of last week's Planning Commission hearing, the City Council effectively put a temporary data center moratorium in place at its 7/21 meeting.  This is to allow work to continue on the final city policy.   

The resolution voted on at the 7/21 meeting only talks about defering the Comp Plan related policy.  It does not directly address the Ordinance Change to close the existing By-Right allowance for data centers.  This will be addressed in an Ordinance change expected at the 8/18 City Council meeting.  However, we have not seen the wording for this interim Ordinance and it is not clear what changes will be implemented and which will be deferred for future action.  

The 8/18 City Council meeting is the next opportunity to come out and let the City Council know how you want the City to deal with data centers.  

Update July 18:  After discussion at the City Council Work Session on Tuesday 7/14,the council members expressed a desire to go ahead with closing the By-Right allowance for data centers in current city zoning but defer action on opening new areas to data centers, i.e. Fentress, or defining the setback, noise, and other policy regulations, to allow for more public meetings.   In the meantime there would be an up to 8-month moratorium on the review of any discretionary land use applications, i.e. rezonings or conditional use permits, for data centers.

Update July 10: The Planning Commission held its public hearing on Wednesday, July 8.  In the pre-meeting, Planning reported they had received over 140 comments and emails raising concerns about data centers.  In the hearing, 26 people spoke about their concerns with the proposed ordinance.   

The Planning Commission listened thoughtfully and afterwards asked excellent questions of City Staff.  Ultimately, they understood the urgency of proceeding with the proposed change to make Data Centers a Conditional Use. But they also made multiple important amendments to address the concerns shared by so many.  The amendments advanced included increasing the allowable setback from 100' from a property and 500' from an existing residence to 1320' (1/4 mile) from the property line and 2640' (1/2 mile) from existing residences.  They also reduced the allowable low-frequency noise levels to 55 dBC at night and 60 dbC during the day, and made this noise limit applicable to all types of neighboring properties, not just residential properties.  They also made additional language changes to emphasize the importance of protecting existing communities and minimizing infrastructure impacts.   With these changes, the Planning Commission approved the proposed ordinance and policy document by a 9-0 vote.

The amendments approved by the Planning Commission significantly improve the proposed documents and address several of the concerns we raised, especially on setbacks and noise levels.  The proposal now goes forward to the City Council, with a hearing either on August 18 or 25.  It will be critical to continue to voice concerns about data centers to the City Council members in advance of their final consideration to make sure the amendments approved by the Planning Commission are not weakened during the final hearing.  

There are still several areas where the proposal can be further improved, including:

• Noise
• The draft ordinance should more clearly establish the steps for noise enforcement when data centers exceed permitted levels.   Current City ordinances exempt noise from HVAC systems, Backup Generators, and lawful activities in the M-1 Light Industrial, M-2 General Industrial zones, from enforcement.  
• Criteria for modeling noise levels during plan approval are not spelled out in the policy.  If the simulation incorrectly models the equipment, the analysis will result in inaccurate noise predictions.  

• Decommissioning Plan
• The policy indicates a Decommission Plan should be considered during the Conditional Use process, but does not include details.  We would like to see it specify a timeframe for the safe removal of equipment and infrastructure and the return of the site to a stable and appropriate post-use condition.  If state law allows, we should consider requiring the operator to provide a bond in the event that they go bankrupt and are not financially able to decommission the site.
  
  
• Efficiency Standards
• The policy states an intent that data center developments should be designed to meet high standards of energy efficiency and sustainability. But no standards are defined.  We recommend that Data Centers adopt a Power Usage Effectiveness of 1.2 or better and a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) ratio below 1.0 liters per kilowatt-hour (L/kWh) for a closed-loop cooling system. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/best-practice-guide-data-centerdesign_0.pdf
  
  
• Coastal Virginia Commerce Park (a.k.a. FT Williams site)

• We were surprised to learn during the Planning Commission meeting that the proposed ordinance does not apply to the Coastal Virginia Commerce Park Planned Unit Development (PUD).  The PUD document approved in 2022 sets its own zoning requirements for the 1200-acre property off Route 17 at the North Carolina border, and it states that data centers are a Permitted Use.  Data Centers in this PUD would not require a Conditional Use approval.  We support applying the same level of data center regulation in the Coastal Virginia Commerce Park as in the rest of the city.

Background: Under current zoning regulations, data centers can be built "By Right", without any City Council oversight, in any business, commercial, or industrial zoning district.   The proposed ordinance will continue to allow Data Centers to be built in Chesapeake with a Conditional Use Permit in Industrial zoning districts (M-1 and M-2) and also within the Fentress Overlay.  It establishes conditions and guidelines for granting such a Conditional Use Permit.   The proposed ordinance and policy can be found at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/3783/Data-Center-Ordinance-and-Policy

The draft ordinance permits data centers by Conditional Use in the Fentress Overlay.  The associated policy document sets the preferred siting to be within 0.5 miles of existing electric transmission corridors or other suitable power sources.  While the 2045 Comp Plan states that "Industrial and commercial uses that are compatible with rural infrastructure and aesthetic and noise levels commonly produced during Fentress operations are appropriate" in the Overlay, the cumulative impacts of encouraging a “data center alley” must be considered.  The heat island effects, air and noise pollution, visual impacts, and the permanent loss of farm lands would profoundly alter the rural character of the area.   The increased setback requirements of 1320' (1/4 mile) from the property line and 2640' (1/2 mile) from existing residences approved by the Planning Commission help address these concerns.  

The original draft had considered the same low-frequency noise levels recently adopted by Prince William County with a maximum daytime noise level at 73dB(C) and a maximum nighttime level at 68 dB(C). But Prince William County Board of Supervisors adopted levels louder than recommended by their own consultants, in order not to negatively impact existing data centers; data centers which people complained about as too loud.  https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/news/supervisors-ok-compromise-noise-ordinance-aimed-at-data-centers/article_1288e464-5559-4c12-ab8f-2a28ca28d819.html .  The Planning Commission amended the allowable noise levels to 55 dBC at night and 60 dbC during the day.

Some strong areas in the draft include:

• Plans and components required in a Conditional Use Permit Application
• Back-up Power Generator restrictions
• Lighting Standards
• Landscaping and Buffering Standards

For background information and reference, see our 2025 Data Center Fact Sheet