Suffolk will not allow data center projects to move forward until it has rules and restrictions in place.
City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a moratorium, defining data centers as places with the primary function of storing, processing or transmitting data. The definition is similar to those in other Virginia localities and doesn’t apply to businesses that contain computer network hubs such as hospitals.
Suffolk leaders started discussing a temporary ban during the summer because the city didn’t have a definition for data centers in its ordinances. Planners warned that its warehouse regulations could allow them.
Councilmember John Rector said this ban gives them time to make sure any data centers that eventually come to the city “come in under terms that are agreeable to Suffolk and not to the data center operators.”
“I think it’s important given the impact that data centers are having on communities all across the state, and perhaps even all across the country.”
The Planning Commission recommended the moratorium in September. Several commissioners indicated the ban won’t hold forever and that Suffolk needed to move without waiting to see what Virginia Beach or Chesapeake does.
“We are living in the 21st century, and there are going to be data centers,” Commissioner Johnnie Edward said. “How we do it, that’s up to us.”
A draft of possible data center regulations has been circulating on social media. It would require data centers to get a council-approved permit and limit them to manufacturing areas. The details include soundproofing, hour restrictions on generator testing and prohibiting them from using well water for operations. Centers could be connected to public water if they use water-based cooling. The centers would also have to be approved by electricity providers and place transmission lines underground.
Kevin Wyne, director of planning and community development, told WHRO the draft hasn't been finalized and that staff isn’t ready to present it to council or the planning commission. Wyne wrote in an email that they are researching the issue and created the draft to give guidance to and get feedback from elected officials if called upon.
Data centers are big business in Virginia; the Commonwealth is considered the data center capital of the U.S., with many of them centered between Northern Virginia and Richmond. Wyne told council in May that developers are looking south for new places to build.
SimIS, Inc., a local company that has contracted with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security which received pushback for plans to lease office space to ICE earlier this year, is planning a center in Suffolk. The firm’s website states it is building a “right-sized facility” near Wilroy Industrial Park and will meet the city’s new rules once they are finalized.
Hampton Roads has some data centers already, mostly smaller-scale facilities. The hyperscalers commonly used for large language model services and other so-called artificial intelligence uses have faced growing scrutiny and opposition nationwide.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger in September released a set of proposals to tighten environmental rules, increase developer transparency and push energy infrastructure costs related to data centers onto the industry.
