Supervisors pass zoning ordinance on data centers

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a zoning ordinance on Sept. 10 regulating the development of data centers.

However, the board did not address the key concerns raised by residents about the proposed Starwood Capital project at Plaza 500 in Bren Mar Park. Because a site plan hasn’t been approved for that project, they said, it should have to comply with the new zoning ordinance.

They also argued that all data center proposals – including those in industrial districts – undergo a zoning special exception process, which requires a public hearing.

Under the ordinance adopted by the board, data centers proposed for industrial zones I-5 and I-6 – like the Plaza 500 property – will continue to be allowed by right.

Related story: Community speaks out against Plaza 500 data center

A motion put forth by Supervisor Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) and supported by Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez that would have required all data centers to go through a zoning special exception process failed to pass.

“Although this is a countywide ordinance, my focus is on the unique challenges Mason District residents are facing,” Jimenez said. “These added measures would be critical in addressing concerns specific to our community and ensuring that future developments align with the standards to maintain the quality of life that our residents deserve.”

According to McKay, Starwood meets all of the standards under the zoning ordinance except for the distance from Metro. That project would be just a little over half a mile from a Metro station, while the zoning ordinance prohibits data centers closer than a mile from Metro.

The zoning ordinance permits data centers to be just 200 feet from residences. Generators and other equipment would have to be 300 feet from residences.

A proposed electrical substation at Plaza 500 would be even closer, however, but that was not addressed in the zoning ordinance.

McKay argued that changing the rules for projects already in the pipeline would set a negative precedent for future zoning issues. “We have to treat everybody fairly. To change the rules in the middle of the process would not do that,” he said.

The supervisors approved a follow-on motion by Supervisor Kathy Smith (Sully) to require generators and other equipment to be fully enclosed. The motion also calls for studies on energy use by data centers and the need for additional guidelines on water quality, air quality, and noise.

Related story: Planning Commission recommends zoning changes for data centers

Smith’s motion passed 10-0. The main motion passed on an 8-2 vote with Jimenez and Alcorn voting against it.

Board Chair Jeff McKay called the new zoning ordinance “a quantum leap forward.” This new ordinance “tells the data center industry we want data centers but we want them in the right place. We want them under the right conditions. And we want them as best we can establish to protect the neighboring communities around them.”

Following the Board of Supervisors vote, Tyler Ray of the Save Bren Mar Coalition issued the following statement:

“Tonight, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, led by Chairman McKay, made a legacy-defining decision that voters will remember.  

“The Board of Supervisors chose to put deep-pocketed data center developers over residents while giving the green light to the maligned Plaza 500 data center proposal. The Board endorsed denying residents the basic right to a public hearing on massive data centers that will be placed next door to them. 

Related story: Climate activists speak out against the unchecked growth of data centers

“Only Superintendent Jimenez and Superintendent Alcorn listened to their constituents and voted in the best interest of residents in an attempt to protect us. 

“Let’s be clear. What the Board passed tonight is the lowest possible standard. It leaves Fairfax County residents vulnerable to out-of-control data center development and drives them to industrial areas directly next to residents with very little guardrails. 

“The so-called protections passed tonight put Fairfax County’s standards behind other Northern Virginia jurisdictions in nearly every way: A minuscule 200-foot setback from residents, preserving by-right data center development that denies residents even a public hearing, and weakening what their own Planning Commission unanimously recommended for the distance of harmful noise generating equipment, including generators.” 

The new zoning ordinance takes effect Sept. 11.