Henrico supervisors require provisional use permits, tighten rules for data centers

Henrico County supervisors on June 10 approved an amended alternative package that changes how new data centers will be permitted in the county: rather than allowing stand‑alone data centers to be built “by right” in many industrial and business zones, new stand‑alone facilities will generally require a provisional use permit (PUP) so the project goes through the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors for public hearings and conditions.

The action came after the board voted to deny an earlier proposal from May (identified in the record as Resolution 123‑25 and Ordinance 124‑25) and then adopt the alternate comprehensive‑plan and ordinance package (Resolution 142‑25 and Ordinance 143‑25) as amended on the floor. The board approved the alternate approach with two amendments the board adopted during the meeting: (1) a recommended setback of 500 feet from residential lot lines (moved from 200 feet in the draft guidance), and (2) new, clarified limits on generator operations and testing plus a path for alternative cooling systems to be approved through the PUP process.

Why it matters: the change shifts many future, stand‑alone data‑center proposals from administrative review to a public, discretionary process. That allows the county and residents to consider site‑specific conditions—setbacks, screening, noise and generator testing schedules, water‑cooling systems and other mitigation—before a data center is confirmed at a location.

What the board adopted and why - The board denied the May proposal (Res. 123‑25 and Ord. 124‑25), which would have…