VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — There will be no data centers in Virginia Beach, at least for now.
City Council unanimously decided on a one-year moratorium on issuing any permits for data centers.
"Let's just put the brakes on a little bit because we've made a commitment," Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said.
This comes after the city's planning commission noticed the need for a more buttoned-up criteria for anyone proposing a data center in the city.
"The way things stand right now, certain companies could come in, by-right, and put the thing up, but we've got to prevent that type of situation," Dyer said.
By putting a pause on data centers, it will allow the city time to review zoning regulations and enforce stricter guidelines on those larger hyper-scale data centers.
Currently, the city has multiple subsea cables and two colocation facilities, which it says are OK, but some residents think city leaders should think twice before closing the door on large data centers.
"Nov. 7, 2017, council had a meeting and adopted an ordinance with the intention to attract data centers to Virginia Beach, but at that time, hyper-scalers really hadn't emerged," one resident said during public comment, "Staff may want to consult with a commissioner of the revenue about the taxation of data center property and be sure it's being handled in an aligned fashion."
Dyer said things have changed since 2017 — he feels Tuesday's decision was needed and can be altered in the future if need be as city staff continues to work through what language belongs in an ordinance for data centers.
"If the technology catches up and there are micro-centers, as long as the quality of life is maintained, and they aren't loud, they don't cost a lot of electricity," Dyer said, "Virginia Beach is known for its quality of life and we're going to keep the quality of life."
This topic could come before council again if exact language for a data center ordinance gets drafted in the next year.
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