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Residents urge commission to reject nearby data center; case deferred to July
Summary
Multiple residents opposed the proposed Iron Horse (Route 33) data-center rezoning and raised concerns about water use, noise, diesel generators, and cumulative impacts with nearby Hickory Hill; the separate data-center trade-port case on tonight’s agenda was deferred to July 9 at the applicant’s request.
Dozens of residents urged the Hanover County Planning Commission to reject a proposed data center, citing water scarcity, noise, generator emissions and the cumulative effect of multiple facilities in the same corridor. "A massive data center in the middle of a residential area feels less like a healthy growth and more like a body developing something out of proportion," said Beth Harrison, a Hanover County resident, arguing that the county should prioritize long-term community character over single-project promises.
Speakers described modern hyperscale facilities as far larger than earlier-generation data centers and said local infrastructure cannot absorb the demand. "The average hyperscale facility runs on over 20 to over 100 megawatts of power," Ashley Covington said, warning that Virginia is still regulating the industry as if it were 2008. Other residents provided local examples of strained wells and rising electric bills and emphasized cumulative impacts with the approved Hickory Hill project. Several speakers called specifically for commissioners to vote against rezoning when the item returns. Separately, the commission accepted the applicant’s request to defer a related data-center trade-port case (REZ205001O) to the July 9 meeting.
