James City County approved new standards for reviewing data center applications on Wednesday.
Under the new policy, any data center built in the county should be at least 1000 feet from residences and 250 feet from historic, recreational and environmentally sensitive areas. The policy recommends the buildings meet the county’s design standards, that they don’t exceed 80,000 square feet in size and that they employ visual and vegetative buffers near property lines.
The latest restrictions follow measures James City County passed in September to require a special use permit for data centers. The permits limit center development to industrial districts.
There have not been any formal proposals for a data center in the county, but James City and other communities are adopting measures before the requests crop up. Data centers have become a local government flashpoint as neighbors of centers in places like Northern Virginia complain of impacts such as incessant noise and environmental issues.
The county’s policy includes several provisions on data center water and energy consumption. They would be discouraged from connecting to public water systems or using well water for cooling a center’s systems. Developers should use closed-loop cooling systems to minimize loss and lessen a center’s usage, the policy says.
The new policy also encourages developers to seek energy from renewable systems, follow energy-efficient design standards and be within two miles of existing transmission lines. Applicants are asked to identify if connections to proposed centers need to be upgraded to handle their power needs.
The policy also tells developers to prepare a sound study before and after construction with the help of a licensed engineer. Centers would not be permitted to create noise louder than 55 decibels, comparable to the sound of a running refrigerator, or exceed the ambient noise identified in their sound studies if that is louder.
The policy, though, is not binding. The county can OK centers that do not meet its guidelines on a case-by-case basis. Zoning Administrator Christy Parish said that applicants can make their case to the Board of Supervisors to justify “why that is necessary and how they’re going to mitigate” impacts.
Much of the industrial land that would allow data center development is located in the southern end of the county, including a former acrylic fiber plant property in the Grove community owned by the BASF Corporation. It’s a site that was floated as a possible site for a data center in September.
Some Grove residents, though, bristle at that prospect. Sheree Beauford on Wednesday said she’d prefer the site be used for housing.
“Grove residents have been carrying a lot of the big share of industrial facilities,” she said. “And we've seen no returns in the form of responsible neighborhood projects, our developments and services.”
Board Member Michael Hipple from the Powhatan District proposed looking into earmarking a percentage of revenue collected from data center development to invest in communities nearby. Board Vice Chair John McGlennon, who represents the Roberts District, said it’s an idea to take into account if a proposal reaches the board.
