The proposed Technology Boulevard Special Focus Area is highlighted in red.
Henrico looks to be pumping the brakes on the recent rise of large-scale data center development in certain parts of the county.
A special joint meeting of the Henrico Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors is scheduled for this afternoon, where both bodies are expected to consider the adoption of what’s dubbed the White Oak Technology Park Area Overlay District and Technology Boulevard Special Focus Area.
In addition to setting more specific requirements for data center design and construction, the proposed changes would most notably set new limits on where the typically massive developments can be built by right.
Specifically, the new rules would mark a 3,000-acre area encompassing mostly White Oak Technology Park as the only place in Henrico where data centers could be developed without requiring a provisional-use permit or public hearing.
As proposed, the changes would call for any data center proposals outside that overlay district to obtain a PUP, a process that requires input from the board and the public. Currently, data centers are allowed as a by-right use in industrial, office and business districts across the county, though eastern Henrico has become a hotbed for such projects.
Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, whose Varina District includes White Oak amd is already home to the largest concentration of existing data centers in Henrico, said the changes would allow more scrutiny of projects outside of the tech park that could impact nearby residential areas.
“Data centers are a growing industry, and we’re seeing a lot of applications and interest all over the county in these by-right areas,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t give the Board of Supervisors opportunity to have voice in the process, nor our residents. This gives us opportunity.”
White Oak Technology Park is home to the bulk of the existing data centers in Henrico.
Noting several projects that have been proposed in the eastern part of the county, Nelson added, “Ultimately, for me, I don’t want data centers all over Varina. There’s a lot of M-1 zoning in my district, and I don’t want Varina to turn into a data center capital. This is a way for us to have some say so on each project as it comes forward.”
The changes were put into motion in late March, when supervisors directed the planning department to research and prepare new zoning ordinance amendments focused on data centers.
Jean Moore, Henrico’s assistant planning director, said the changes are being sought in light of residents’ concerns amid a proliferation of data centers in other parts of the state. Northern Virginia in particular has become a hub for data centers and certain localities there, such as Loudoun County, have sought to rein in that growth.
“They can be intrusive if they’re not properly regulated. I think Henrico County has done a good job with that, and they’re appropriate in certain areas,” Moore said. “I think Rev. Nelson and the board hear the residents’ concerns and want to make sure that we allow for data centers, because they can be a good use, but in an appropriate location.”
Included in the changes are specific objectives and guidelines for data center development in the special focus area that would be added as an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan. Those guidelines would allow further evaluation of potential impacts, Moore said.
The proposed zoning changes come as tax revenue from data center development has taken on added importance for Henrico. Last year, the county launched a $60 million housing trust fund that is to be fueled by economic development revenue generated from data centers specifically.
Asked if there is any concern that the new rules could discourage data center development in Henrico, Moore reiterated that the projects would still be allowable in areas across the county; they just would need to go through the PUP process.
“I think the legislation proposed allows reasonable opportunities for data centers where they’re appropriate,” she said.
Tyrone Nelson
Nelson said he’s aware of some developers who are opposed to the changes, but he said the heightened interest necessitates the additional regulation.
“I know there’s some developers out there who are crying foul or saying that we are being unfair, but there are several projects that keep on being inquired about,” he said. “When you start having five, six, seven different data center applications coming forth or people showing interest, it does make you look at what’s happening.”
One of those developers crying foul is David Wagner, managing partner of locally based Centra Logistics, which has proposed building a 1 million-square-foot data center campus on an eastern Henrico site that sits just outside the overlay district.
Wagner said his firm met with Henrico officials earlier this year to discuss buying the project site: around 200 acres behind the Fareva pharmaceutical facility off Darbytown Road.
Wagner said the Henrico Economic Development Authority was helping Fareva market the property as excess land suitable for industrial development, including data centers by right under the current zoning.
He said county officials gave Centra verbal support for a plan to build eight data center buildings, each 200,000 square feet.
“We sat down with the economic development team in January, presented our high-level plans for the site and they said they loved it,” Wagner said.
The parcel marked in red is where Centra has proposed to build its data center project.
Centra put the property under contract in March, submitted its plan of development on April 28 and was set to be heard by the board in June. He said he only recently found out about the county’s proposed data center zoning changes and felt blindsided.
“After being recruited to the county to build a data center and getting multiple confirmations, to get the rug pulled out from under us felt really unfair,” Wagner said.
He said the changes, if approved today, would prevent Centra from moving forward with the project by right, as the company hasn’t yet had its plan of development approved and it therefore would not be grandfathered in.
David Wagner
Wagner acknowledged that Centra would still have the right to file a provisional use permit to keep the project going, but that he’s been told the process would take 9-12 months and is unlikely to pass. He said his small company doesn’t have the time or money to fight it or wait it out.
He said the three-year-old firm has committed $700,000 toward the project for a downpayment on the land and plan-of-development and engineering work.
“The biggest thing for us is there are no vested rights or grandfathering clause for those that are invested midstream,” Wagner said. “We’re the only outstanding POD outside of the overlay.”
He says he’s not opposed to the county reining in data center development, but that he feels it’s being rushed without consideration for unintended consequences, namely his project.
“I actually think the intent is good… there should be requirements for distance from residential or noise. What isn’t fair is the process.”
He’s particularly puzzled by the speed at which the county is pushing through the changes, noting that the proposed ordinance was posted publicly on May 1, two weeks before a deciding vote.
“When you go through rushed processes like this you have unintended consequences,” Wagner said.
Wagner said it also feels like the county is playing favorites in the way that it drew up the boundaries of the district. He said 90% of the undeveloped land with the overlay is owned by data center giant QTS and Facebook parent company Meta.
“It’s limiting data center development to those two companies,” he said.
Wagner said he plans to speak during the public comment period at today’s meeting, where he’s hopeful county officials will at least delay the vote long enough to consider his firm’s circumstance and potentially create an exception.
“We’re local, we tried to do things the right way and follow the right process and were given assurances from the county that we would be able to do this, and it doesn’t feel fair to take it away midstream,” he said.
Today’s board and commission meeting will be at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of Highland Springs High School.
BizSense reporter Jonathan Spiers contributed to this story.
The proposed Technology Boulevard Special Focus Area is highlighted in red.
Henrico looks to be pumping the brakes on the recent rise of large-scale data center development in certain parts of the county.
A special joint meeting of the Henrico Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors is scheduled for this afternoon, where both bodies are expected to consider the adoption of what’s dubbed the White Oak Technology Park Area Overlay District and Technology Boulevard Special Focus Area.
In addition to setting more specific requirements for data center design and construction, the proposed changes would most notably set new limits on where the typically massive developments can be built by right.
Specifically, the new rules would mark a 3,000-acre area encompassing mostly White Oak Technology Park as the only place in Henrico where data centers could be developed without requiring a provisional-use permit or public hearing.
As proposed, the changes would call for any data center proposals outside that overlay district to obtain a PUP, a process that requires input from the board and the public. Currently, data centers are allowed as a by-right use in industrial, office and business districts across the county, though eastern Henrico has become a hotbed for such projects.
Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, whose Varina District includes White Oak amd is already home to the largest concentration of existing data centers in Henrico, said the changes would allow more scrutiny of projects outside of the tech park that could impact nearby residential areas.
“Data centers are a growing industry, and we’re seeing a lot of applications and interest all over the county in these by-right areas,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t give the Board of Supervisors opportunity to have voice in the process, nor our residents. This gives us opportunity.”
White Oak Technology Park is home to the bulk of the existing data centers in Henrico.
Noting several projects that have been proposed in the eastern part of the county, Nelson added, “Ultimately, for me, I don’t want data centers all over Varina. There’s a lot of M-1 zoning in my district, and I don’t want Varina to turn into a data center capital. This is a way for us to have some say so on each project as it comes forward.”
The changes were put into motion in late March, when supervisors directed the planning department to research and prepare new zoning ordinance amendments focused on data centers.
Jean Moore, Henrico’s assistant planning director, said the changes are being sought in light of residents’ concerns amid a proliferation of data centers in other parts of the state. Northern Virginia in particular has become a hub for data centers and certain localities there, such as Loudoun County, have sought to rein in that growth.
“They can be intrusive if they’re not properly regulated. I think Henrico County has done a good job with that, and they’re appropriate in certain areas,” Moore said. “I think Rev. Nelson and the board hear the residents’ concerns and want to make sure that we allow for data centers, because they can be a good use, but in an appropriate location.”
Included in the changes are specific objectives and guidelines for data center development in the special focus area that would be added as an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan. Those guidelines would allow further evaluation of potential impacts, Moore said.
The proposed zoning changes come as tax revenue from data center development has taken on added importance for Henrico. Last year, the county launched a $60 million housing trust fund that is to be fueled by economic development revenue generated from data centers specifically.
Asked if there is any concern that the new rules could discourage data center development in Henrico, Moore reiterated that the projects would still be allowable in areas across the county; they just would need to go through the PUP process.
“I think the legislation proposed allows reasonable opportunities for data centers where they’re appropriate,” she said.
Tyrone Nelson
Nelson said he’s aware of some developers who are opposed to the changes, but he said the heightened interest necessitates the additional regulation.
“I know there’s some developers out there who are crying foul or saying that we are being unfair, but there are several projects that keep on being inquired about,” he said. “When you start having five, six, seven different data center applications coming forth or people showing interest, it does make you look at what’s happening.”
One of those developers crying foul is David Wagner, managing partner of locally based Centra Logistics, which has proposed building a 1 million-square-foot data center campus on an eastern Henrico site that sits just outside the overlay district.
Wagner said his firm met with Henrico officials earlier this year to discuss buying the project site: around 200 acres behind the Fareva pharmaceutical facility off Darbytown Road.
Wagner said the Henrico Economic Development Authority was helping Fareva market the property as excess land suitable for industrial development, including data centers by right under the current zoning.
He said county officials gave Centra verbal support for a plan to build eight data center buildings, each 200,000 square feet.
“We sat down with the economic development team in January, presented our high-level plans for the site and they said they loved it,” Wagner said.
The parcel marked in red is where Centra has proposed to build its data center project.
Centra put the property under contract in March, submitted its plan of development on April 28 and was set to be heard by the board in June. He said he only recently found out about the county’s proposed data center zoning changes and felt blindsided.
“After being recruited to the county to build a data center and getting multiple confirmations, to get the rug pulled out from under us felt really unfair,” Wagner said.
He said the changes, if approved today, would prevent Centra from moving forward with the project by right, as the company hasn’t yet had its plan of development approved and it therefore would not be grandfathered in.
David Wagner
Wagner acknowledged that Centra would still have the right to file a provisional use permit to keep the project going, but that he’s been told the process would take 9-12 months and is unlikely to pass. He said his small company doesn’t have the time or money to fight it or wait it out.
He said the three-year-old firm has committed $700,000 toward the project for a downpayment on the land and plan-of-development and engineering work.
“The biggest thing for us is there are no vested rights or grandfathering clause for those that are invested midstream,” Wagner said. “We’re the only outstanding POD outside of the overlay.”
He says he’s not opposed to the county reining in data center development, but that he feels it’s being rushed without consideration for unintended consequences, namely his project.
“I actually think the intent is good… there should be requirements for distance from residential or noise. What isn’t fair is the process.”
He’s particularly puzzled by the speed at which the county is pushing through the changes, noting that the proposed ordinance was posted publicly on May 1, two weeks before a deciding vote.
“When you go through rushed processes like this you have unintended consequences,” Wagner said.
Wagner said it also feels like the county is playing favorites in the way that it drew up the boundaries of the district. He said 90% of the undeveloped land with the overlay is owned by data center giant QTS and Facebook parent company Meta.
“It’s limiting data center development to those two companies,” he said.
Wagner said he plans to speak during the public comment period at today’s meeting, where he’s hopeful county officials will at least delay the vote long enough to consider his firm’s circumstance and potentially create an exception.
“We’re local, we tried to do things the right way and follow the right process and were given assurances from the county that we would be able to do this, and it doesn’t feel fair to take it away midstream,” he said.
Today’s board and commission meeting will be at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of Highland Springs High School.
BizSense reporter Jonathan Spiers contributed to this story.
Great quote coming from Nelson who complains about having too much industrial land in his district after supporting a 600 acre rezoning project last year!
Nothing in this said why data centers are a problem. They might indeed be, but they seem like quiet good industry, and a good source of property taxes.
I’ve read some nonsense about water which seems to think water vanishes when used in cooling systems. I think the electrical power question is reasonable.
But the lack of information on the downsides really makes it seem like there is some sort of strange fearmongering by special interests. If they are so bad why can no one articulate a real reason they are bad, instead of a bugaboo like water?
Apologies if this is a dumb question, but if one of the major concerns is that data centers are driving up the cost of power for everyone else… why can’t data centers just be charged more for power than residential customers?
Not surprising that Blackstone (QTS) stock is up 11% since this zoning ordinance was posted May 1. Tripled their land values overnight