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New Kent supervisors halt Technology Overlay District; direct staff to draft data‑center ordinance with weekly updates
Summary
After extensive public comment urging water and historic protections, the board declared the draft Technology Overlay District (TOD) is no longer the board's policy direction and passed a motion directing staff to stop using the TOD as the data‑center regulatory framework while continuing work on a standalone data‑center ordinance, with a draft expected for September and weekly updates to the board.
The New Kent County Board of Supervisors on July 13 voted to abandon the draft Technology Overlay District as the county's policy framework for regulating data centers and directed county planning staff to prepare a standalone data‑center ordinance for board review in September, with weekly progress updates.
Supervisor Miss Pearson moved the measure, saying the county should continue drafting an ordinance "with the parameters that we outlined plus all of the input we've been getting from citizens." The motion also included a policy preference — approved earlier in the meeting — that "no new data center conditional‑use permit applications be filed or voluntarily advanced while the county develops appropriate zoning standards for data centers and related facilities." The board approved the motion by roll call without recorded opposition.
The action came after more than a dozen residents urged the board to protect groundwater, wetlands and cultural resources and to ensure a public role in ordinance drafting. Judith Harris of Quinton told the supervisors, "We need to protect our groundwater, above all, for the health of our citizens and our future generations," and urged strict municipal code limits on data‑center water use and discharge.
Other speakers cited a recent county survey showing strong opposition to data centers and called for citizen participation in drafting rules. Paul Johnson of Good Hope Road asked the board to "give citizens a seat at the table" rather than leaving them to comment only after staff and consultants complete drafts.
County staff said the goal is to have a draft ordinance ready for the September work session and for an adopted ordinance by the end of the year. The motion instructs staff to provide weekly updates to the board while the ordinance is drafted.
What happens next: planning staff will draft the ordinance in consultation with the planning commission and share periodic reports with the board. The motion preserved the county’s ability to write enforceable standards while pausing informal or voluntary acceptance of new data‑center CUP applications during the drafting period.
