Suffolk is working on data center regulations.
Kevin Wyne, director of planning and community development, told the City Council on Wednesday that demand for new facilities is continuing to increase. As localities throughout Hampton Roads seek to attract more centers to the region, Suffolk wants to put rules in place for the industry now.
“We’ve seen that demand kind of trickle down the 95 corridor and it’s getting on the east side of Richmond now,” Wyne said. “It’s getting closer and closer to the Hampton Roads region.”
Suffolk’s regulations don’t currently mention data centers, though portions set aside for warehouses could be construed to allow them, Wyne said. The city’s looking at examples in areas where data centers are more prevalent to craft its own.
“We’re looking to those regions to see some lessons learned,” Wyne said. “We want to make sure that these are placed in appropriate locations where their potential for negative impacts to those that are already there is minimized before it’s placed.”
Wyne said rules will likely have noise generation, setback and buffer standards. Suffolk will also look at requiring proposed centers to do utility needs analyses, something cities will be able to do once new legislation goes into effect in July.
Wyne said staff is homing in on subsections of zoning districts that are best suited for the industry. The goal would be to keep them from being too close to homes, schools and parks, he said.
“Location matters,” Wyne said. “When we identify the correct zoning districts, we need to look even further at where the zoning districts are located.”
Hampton Roads has a few smaller data centers, but hyperscale data centers are often the ones of most concern for residents. Suffolk’s rules could treat centers differently depending on their resource needs.
Proposed developments could face resident resistance, however. A project failed last year in Chesapeake after people spoke up about the centers’ intensive water and power consumption, and incessant humming from their cooling systems. Some Suffolk groups have opposed and filed lawsuits against large warehouses.
There are no data centers proposed in Suffolk at this time. Suffolk council members were pleased that the city was getting started before one came forward.
“We may not get it 100% right the first time around,” said Councilmember John Rector. “I anticipate this evolving."
