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Council requires special-use permits for data centers in M‑1 industrial district

2112819 · January 14, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Harrisonburg City Council unanimously approved an amendment that defines "data centers" and requires special-use permits in the M‑1 industrial district, allowing case-by-case review of impacts such as energy, water use, noise and security.

Harrisonburg City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 14 to amend the city zoning ordinance so that data centers are defined as a distinct land use and would be allowed in the M‑1 General Industrial district only by special‑use permit.

Adam Fletcher, director of community development, said staff proposed the change to allow the public and council to review data‑center proposals case by case and to impose conditions where appropriate. “The zoning ordinance amendment … does not prohibit data centers in the city of Harrisonburg. It just puts [a] different lens of regulatory control on it,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher told council the city already has one colocation data…

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