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Wythe County continues town‑hall style land‑use outreach as residents raise questions about data centers, solar farms
Summary
Planning commissioners reviewed the land‑use classification outreach program and public forums, reporting roughly 200–250 participants so far and noting recurring concerns from residents about parcel depictions and whether large industrial uses (data centers, solar farms) should be handled via special use permits.
The Wythe County Planning Commission on May 4 reviewed progress on public forums for a proposed land‑use classification ordinance and heard that outreach has attracted hundreds of participants to date.
The deputy county administrator (speaker 5) said the county has held a series of public meetings and estimated roughly 200–250 attendees across sessions. He summarized common public concerns: “A lot of them are asking questions about how is it going to affect my property? … where I am on the map or how you've got me depicted,” and said many participants want clearer controls over how large developments appear on the map.
Commissioners and staff discussed options for addressing resident concerns, including whether to list objectionable large uses (data centers, solar farms) as regulated uses or handle them through special use permits or special exceptions. The deputy county administrator said that treating such projects as special uses would allow public review when specific proposals arrive.
Staff asked residents to submit suggested changes through the county website so comments can be cataloged and addressed; the commission reiterated a May 11 public forum at George Wythe High School at 6 p.m. as the next scheduled outreach event.
The commission did not adopt ordinance text at the May 4 meeting; discussion focused on public engagement, mapping corrections, and options for how the ordinance should treat large industrial or utility‑scale land uses.
