Alexandria residents want supervisors to amend Fairfax County’s rights law to require public input on all data center proposals.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — As residents of the Alexandria community oppose a proposed data center development, Fairfax County leaders are considering changes to zoning ordinances and standards for developers.
Several neighbors in the Bremmer area attended a county meeting on land use Tuesday. They held up a sign that said “END BY-RIGHT DATA CENTER.”
Residents said they were concerned about the proposed 70-foot-tall data center along Edsall Road, which would be located about 80 feet behind some homes. Neighbors had previously helped block the developer from building the site, but the company changed its plans to reduce the footprint that would allow certain zoning rights. Use by rights speeds up the approval process without requiring input from the public or supervisors.
“They (supervisors) need to say whether they approve or oppose the data center and be accountable to the residents,” resident Tyler Ray told WUSA9. “Right removes any liability. Our biggest concerns are the noise and the height of the building, which will be higher than it is now. There’s also the environmental impact that will cause.”
During the meeting, county supervisors discussed provisions in the zoning ordinance that limit where data centers can be permitted and require public hearings and strict approval from supervisors and the Planning Commission. Currently they are only administratively approved.
Another section of the meeting considered changes to standards that developers should follow in the future, including conducting noise studies, setting minimum distances from homes, and analyzing the exterior and enclosing all generators.
“The proximity to residential areas and overall size should trigger additional process and scrutiny,” Supervisor James Walkinshaw said.
Chairman Jeff McKay agrees, but does not believe that eliminating all copyright uses is effective.
“The reason we want to look at legitimate uses is because it’s important to direct these to neighborhoods that we declare make sense,” McKay said. “For companies that fall in between, we want to have a say.”
McKay said Fairfax County is in a unique geographical position compared to neighboring Loudoun and Prince William counties, where the data center industry has exploded. Unlike other counties where land is cheaper to purchase, Fairfax County has fewer parcels of land to offer.
Fairfax County currently has 15 data centers.
“The reason I’m concerned about them is because it’s hard to push them into an already large, urbanized environment without impacting anyone,” McKay said. “If we have a strong interest in a data center in the county, we want to make sure we’re not writing the book while we’re writing it.”
The county plans to hold public hearings over the next two months before the Planning Commission in June. The goal is to have the Board of Supervisors vote on the matter by July.
While county leaders believe the time is right to move through this process quickly and accurately, Ray said it is too late to stop data center construction in the region. Amy’s amendments must become effective within 60 days of submission of the proposal.
“We believe there is time to act if there is enough political will,” Ray said.
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