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New Kent staff unveils draft Technology Overlay District to guide data‑center development
Summary
County staff presented a draft Technology Overlay District focused on data centers in the Route 33 corridor, proposing boundaries, design standards, noise and water rules, and an administrative permit process; commissioners raised questions about public input, water use, generator testing and buffer specificity.
New Kent County staff on Feb. 17 presented a draft Technology Overlay District (TOD) aimed at establishing standards and a boundary to guide potential data‑center development along the Route 33 corridor.
Josh Hiraghi, Director of Community Development, said the overlay is a proactive zoning tool designed so the county can “define the area that we want them” and set standards to mitigate noise, water usage, visual impacts and other concerns before formal applications arrive. The proposed district concentrates primarily along Route 33 and includes an estimated 1,800 gross acres (about 1.3% of county land) and roughly 1,260 net acres after unusable wetlands and RPAs are removed; usable acreage declines further once setbacks and buffers are applied.
Under the draft, data centers located inside the TOD would be subject to an administrative conditional‑use permit (CUP) and site‑plan review rather than separate…
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