HANOVER COUNTY, Va. β The Hanover County Planning Commission voted to deny a motion to rezone about 400 acres for a data center complex.
The plan would reclassify the land, which is near Henrico's Wyndham community, from agricultural to light industrial for the 10-building project developed by HHHunt. With the Planning Commission voting not to recommend the plan, the final decision now turns over to the Board of Supervisors. They will discuss it at their Feb. 25 meeting.
The Planning Commission also voted not to recommend two other motions related to the development: a conditional use permit and a comprehensive plan amendment.
The Planning Commission's Thursday night meeting was packed, with community members standing in the back of the room and more than 60 standing outside the room who were unable to fit. A November meeting on the project drew hundreds.
Before the meeting, dozens gathered outside before the meeting to protest the development.
During the meeting, the Planning Commission heard from Hanover County staff, a representative of HHHunt, and residents both for and against rezoning the area for a data center.
Developer comments
Those with the development team shared that the project would take about 10 years to build, with no more than five buildings being built at a time.
Developers said the data centers would bring at least 420 jobs and an estimated $8.3 million in tax revenue once they are completed.
They went to address some of the negative impacts a data center could have on the county, and some ways they would aim to mitigate those problems. That includes creating buffers, paying for potential damage caused to roads, installing systems to use less water from wells, and limiting times when generators can be used to limit noise.
Public comment
Residents in favor of the project attributed their support to the added jobs and tax revenue the project could bring to the county.
The next two-and-a-half hours of public comment was spent hearing from those against the development. Speakers shared their discontent in disrupting the rural area, pointing to impacts like noise pollution, air pollution, and the large amounts of water the data centers would use.
Local News
Why these Wyndham residents oppose proposed 400-acre data center campus
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