CHESTERFIELD COUNTy, Va. — Chesterfield County residents packed a meeting Wednesday to voice frustration over the rapid expansion of data centers across the county, with many saying they feel left out of decisions that are already reshaping their communities.
Speakers pointed to more than 15 data centers in operation or under development across the county. Families questioned whether the economic benefits promised by developers will outweigh potential impacts on neighborhoods, natural resources, and infrastructure.
Concerns centered on electricity demand, water usage, and future growth tied to several Google data center projects underway in the county.
"Chesterfield residents are now paying much higher utility bills, because we must import energy now for this data center industry. We want Google to explain how they plan to pay their own way," one resident said.
Phillip Lohr of the Data Coalition for Chesterfield said the group came to send a clear message to the board.
"We're all here to let the board members know that we're dissatisfied with all the data centers coming to Chesterfield County, the board members were dissatisfied with the NDAs that restricted most of the information," Lohr said.
Watch: Virginia senators bring data center tax debate to Chesterfield
Wednesday's meeting came just days after a June 16th community forum at Manchester Middle School, where Chesterfield families and state lawmakers debated the future of Virginia's growing data center industry. No one who spoke at Wednesday's meeting expressed support for data centers in the county, and developers were not present.
At last week's data center meeting, workers who help build the facilities expressed concern about what happens if companies decide to invest elsewhere, as the data center sales and use tax exemption remains in place.
"Every job we work is a temporary job, so we want to make sure we're continuing to have jobs," one worker said.
No action was taken on new data center projects during Wednesday's meeting. Residents made clear they plan to stay engaged as additional proposals move forward and are already organizing for future meetings later this summer.
Hanover County
In Hanover County Tuesday night, the Board of Supervisors decided to conduct a rate study before moving forward with increasing the tax rate on data center equipment.
The rate would have increased more than six-fold from the current $0.45 per $100 of assessed value to $3 per $100.
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