Large Green Energy Ventures data center campus draws heavy public comment; planning commission defers actions

Green Energy Ventures presented a multi-phase plan to rezone roughly 356 acres near Route 3 and Bloomsbury Road for an industrial data center campus, and to obtain a special exception to permit data center uses. The planning commission heard technical presentations from the applicant, reviewed multiple proffers and traffic and environmental studies, and then received extensive public comment before voting to defer action on both the rezoning and the special-exception requests.

County staff summarized the three related requests: a conditional rezoning of three parcels to industrial, a special exception to allow data center use in the industrial zone, and an exception to allow more than one access onto a Highway Corridor Overlay District roadway (Route 3). Angela Farrugi, representing community development counsel, and Hobie Mitchell, managing partner for Green Energy Ventures (GEV), presented a site plan showing building locations and proposed roadway improvements. The applicant proposed a phased development capped at 7.2 million square feet of data center space, with phase 1 limited to no more than 2.5 million square feet. The package includes right-of-way dedications for Bloomsbury Road and Route 3, proffered transportation improvements (turn lanes, signal warrant analysis and RCUT alternatives), a proposed 18-acre dedication to the county or the service authority (potentially for a water or public-safety facility), and proffers to mitigate public-safety impacts.

The applicant’s proffers include a one-time contribution of $2.1 million to mitigate initial public-safety needs, a $100,000 commitment for training, and an ongoing $2 per 100 square feet annual contribution tied to data center square footage. The applicant also proposed minimum building setbacks, buffers and a 50-foot perimeter landscape area with heavy plantings and a berm along Route 3 and Bloomsbury Road. Proposed building heights were described as two- and three-story data center structures; the applicant said they had proffered a maximum building height of 65 feet for two-story and 90 feet for three-story buildings and noted a board-initiated text amendment under consideration for height exceptions.

Public comment

More than two dozen residents and stakeholders spoke during the hearing. Concerns included groundwater and surface-water impacts and stormwater runoff into local creeks and rivers; whether the county’s existing water and sewer capacity will handle the development; the effects of backup generators and diesel emissions; noise from air-cooled equipment and possible future water-cooling systems; visual impacts to rural viewsheds and whether the proposed landscaping will mature quickly enough to screen buildings; traffic safety on Route 3 and Bloomsbury Road; and the capacity of Fire & Rescue to respond to a large data center fire. Several union representatives and tradespeople urged approval, citing local construction and long-term jobs the campus could bring.

County and applicant responses

GEV’s presenters described multiple mitigation approaches: a 12-foot berm with increased landscaping caliber on Route 3; 200-foot building setbacks from public rights-of-way in portions of the plan; stormwater collection and rainwater reuse for non-cooling demands; and proposed substation locations to connect to the existing 230 kV/500 kV transmission network. The applicant said groundwater wells would be used only for domestic needs (employee restrooms, etc.) and that they would not use groundwater for water-cooling of data center equipment unless and until public water from the service authority were available and the owner/prospective operator chose to connect and convert. The project team said they had engaged Dominion Energy about substations and had engineering work under way; Dominion-interconnection upgrades would be paid by the applicant.

Fire Chief Moody told the commission he had reviewed the plan and recommended the county order an aerial ladder truck able to reach the proposed heights; the applicant has proffered payments the chief said would help offset procurement and training costs, though he noted lead times could be multiple years for certain apparatus.

Outcome: multiple deferrals

After more than two hours of presentation and public comment, the planning commission voted to defer the rezoning request to allow additional work on outstanding technical issues and to align the project with a board-initiated text amendment the commission will consider. The commission also deferred the special-exception application and the Highway Corridor Overlay access request so staff, the applicant and commissioners could address public concerns on stormwater, groundwater, infrastructure capacity, generator emissions, noise limits, emergency response planning and proffer language. Commissioners said they wanted additional written detail on stormwater management, the groundwater withdrawal/permit approach, a Dominion interconnection cost/route summary, and explicit, enforceable proffers for landscaping, noise levels and emergency-equipment commitments.

What to watch next

The applicant and county staff will return with revised proffers, more detailed utility and stormwater plans, and responses to the environmental and public-safety questions raised. The planning commission’s deferrals pause action; the applicant may re-submit, or the commission may schedule the item for decision after receiving the requested material.