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

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 center at 139 Tyco Street (in place since 2010) but that the growth of large and energy‑intensive facilities, particularly in other parts of Virginia, prompted staff to recommend closer local review. The proposed definition distinguishes full commercial data centers and supporting equipment from on‑site IT server rooms used only by an on‑site business.

The amendment lists factors the city may evaluate under a special‑use permit, including building scale and massing, lighting and security measures, continuous operations (24/7), electrical and substation needs, water use for cooling, wastewater impacts, and noise from backup generators. Fletcher said the special‑use process gives the council and staff authority to require reasonable conditions addressing those impacts.

A caller during the public hearing, Panayoshi Yamaguros, urged the council to consider regional energy transmission and local water‑supply implications, saying Harrisonburg’s challenges differ from Northern Virginia’s concentration of facilities. “We do not have a water scarcity problem with respect to data centers here,” the caller said while urging attention to water quality and long‑term agreements governing supply.

Council members cited environmental concerns as a key reason for the special‑use requirement. Council member Robinson said the city is reviewing recommendations from environmental groups and noted a Sierra Club letter urging a requirement that a significant portion of data‑center electricity be renewable or on‑site: “We have a letter from the Sierra Club recommending at least 50% of the electricity should be on‑site generated and renewable,” Robinson said. Several council members said the special‑use permit gives them leverage to impose conditions addressing energy sourcing and local utility impacts.

The council adopted the amendment by unanimous roll call. Under the new code, data centers will not be prohibited citywide but will require public hearings and demonstrable mitigation measures before approval in M‑1.