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Residents press Wythe County supervisors on data center impacts and call for zoning changes
Summary
Several residents used public comment at the May 26 Wythe County Board of Supervisors meeting to press officials for more study and public hearings on a proposed data center, raise environmental and infrastructure concerns, and urge rescinding a January resolution welcoming data centers.
Residents crowded the board dais during Citizens Time on May 26 to press Wythe County supervisors for more information and greater public hearings on a proposed data center and associated development.
"I don't want you to tell me congratulations. I would like for you to help keep our county rural and beautiful for the sake of my grandchildren and yours," said Stacy Beamer during the public-comment period, calling on supervisors to examine environmental, water and school-system impacts rather than rely solely on assurances from project proponents. Beamer also said she had reviewed a prior meeting video and disputed comments other speakers attributed to her.
Multiple speakers urged stronger land-use tools. Andy Kaggley asked the board to refer edits to the land-use classification ordinance to the planning commission and explicitly asked the board to "rescend your January 25th resolution welcoming data centers to Wythe County," arguing zoning is the way to guarantee public hearings on objectionable projects.
Other commenters raised complementary concerns and counterpoints. Sarah Bates urged a consolidated comprehensive plan that includes native and Black cultural resources and requested an environmental assessment covering issues raised by the proposal, including impacts to bats and wastewater management. Denise Davis noted the county's budget shortfall and said she had heard company promises of more than $10 million to the county, but asked what residents would receive beyond the money.
Not all public speakers opposed the project. Cindy Marray said data centers power everyday services and argued the proposed facility is inside an industrial park that was marketed for such uses, and she urged the board to focus on state-level threats to local control.
Speakers repeatedly pressed the board to provide clearer, centralized information. "Comprehensive to me is bring it all together in one place," Bates said, urging an integrated planning document rather than fragmented web links.
The public remarks fed directly into the board's later discussion of a land-use classification ordinance: supervisors voted to refer the ordinance back to the planning commission for revisions and asked that a joint work session be scheduled before further action. No formal vote on any data-center permit or contract occurred at the meeting; speakers and supervisors said additional public engagement and planning work were the next steps.
