Data Center Ordinance and Policy

ACTION ALERT:

Data Centers will be on the City Council Agenda on Tuesday, 8/18.  We are asking folks to come to the meeting to voice support for strong protections from data centers in Chesapeake.   

1. Attend the public hearing and address the City Council in person on Tuesday, August 18, at 6:30 pm at City Hall to share your concerns.   Persons wishing to speak will need to fill out a speaker card, located at the entrance of the Council Chambers, and submit it to the Recording Secretary of the Commission prior to the 6:30 p.m. opening of the meeting.  Let us know you are planning to speak.
2.  If you can't make the meeting, please write the City Council with your concerns at council@cityofchesapeake.net

Suggested asks:

1) Strike (remove) the changes in Section 12-405. - Permitted and conditional uses for properties located within the Fentress Airfield overlay district that permit the Conditional Use for data centers in this district.    (Do not allow data centers in the Fentress overlay).

2) In Section 13-3405. - Design and development standards for data centers, adopt the following setbacks

- Residential and Agricultural: 1320' from residential or agricultural zoning (measured from the property line), 2640' from existing residential structure  (as in Planning Commission recommendations dated July 9)

- C-1, C-2, Registered Historic Structures or Districts: 1000'

- Public or private school, licensed childcare or daycare center, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility: 1320' (measured from property line), 2640' from existing structures.

3) In Section 13-3406. - Operational requirements for data centers, Section D Noise

a. The maximum permissible daytime level is 60 dB(C). 

b. The maximum permissible nighttime level is 55 dB(C)

 (as in Planning Commission recommendations dated July 9)

4) In Section 13-3406.B(2)(d) - include that "Generators may not be used behind-the-meter or to provide bridge power." (as recommended by the CEIC; don't run data centers off generators except in emergencies).    

Update August 10: ACTION ALERT: 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.     The full August 3rd version has been posted at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/DocumentCenter/View/33114/Draft-Data-Center-Ordinance-832026-PDF

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.  

The time to take action is now.  The decisions made in the next week will have far-reaching impacts on the City.  Please support efforts to make the proposed ordinance and policy as strong as possible to protect the quality of life of everyone in the City.

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