Take Action 757! - Responsible Growth VB

Contact City Leaders About Current Planning and Land Use Issues

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Proposed Chesapeake Data Center Ordinance & Policy

New to these issues? Learn more about the proposed changes before sending your message.

What concerns you most about the proposed data center in Chesapeake?

Taxpayer costs & infrastructure capacity

Water use & environmental impacts

Neighborhood character & future growth

Transparency & public accountability

Oppose large-scale data center development

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Subject

Message

Dear City Leaders,
As a Chesapeake resident and taxpayer, I believe our public resources should first serve the people and businesses that already call this community home. For that reason, I respectfully urge the City to oppose bringing large-scale data centers to our city.
If the City chooses to move forward with a regulatory framework against the community's wishes, I respectfully ask that you significantly strengthen the proposed policy and ordinance by immediately adopting the following three enforceable standards:
1. Protect Agricultural Land: Prohibit data center development within the rural Fentress Overlay, and establish a maximum power allocation of 200 MW for data centers from any single electric substation to protect local infrastructure.
2. Adopt Enforceable Noise Limits: Lower the permitted low-frequency noise levels to a maximum of 67 dB(C) daytime and 62 dB(C) nighttime, and amend the City Noise Ordinance to remove exemptions for HVAC systems and backup generators so violations can actually be enforced.
3. Establish Safe Setbacks: Require a minimum 500-foot setback from the property line of properties zoned or used for residential purposes—rather than just 100 feet—so these massive facilities are not looming directly over a resident's backyard.
Data centers require substantial electricity, water, transportation infrastructure, and emergency services. While the current draft requires infrastructure analyses, it lacks these explicit protections needed to ensure projects will not place unnecessary demands on resources that families, schools, and public services rely upon every day. I am deeply concerned that future infrastructure improvements or incentives associated with attracting data centers could place additional financial burdens on taxpayers. Chesapeake should prioritize investments that strengthen our community—not create uncertainty about future utility capacity or public expenditures.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Message

Dear City Leaders,
Chesapeake’s natural resources are among the City’s greatest assets, and I believe we have a responsibility to protect them for future generations. That is the primary reason I respectfully urge the City to oppose bringing large-scale data centers to our community.
If the City chooses to continue considering data center development despite these environmental concerns, I respectfully ask that you amend the June 17th draft to include these three protective standards:
1. Prevent "Data Center Alley" Impacts: Protect approximately 500 acres of agricultural land west of Centerville Turnpike by banning data centers in the Fentress Overlay, and limit cumulative regional grid strain with a 200 MW maximum power allocation per substation.
2. Resolve Noise Pollution: Adopt the consultant-recommended noise limits of 67 dB(C) daytime and 62 dB(C) nighttime, and eliminate the M-1 and M-2 zoning noise exemptions for data center HVAC systems and backup generators to protect local wildlife and rural peace.
3. Secure Environmental Buffers: Implement a strict 500-foot setback from residential property lines to minimize clear-cutting, protect tree canopy, and mitigate heat island effects near homes.
Virginia is currently experiencing drought conditions, and communities across the Commonwealth are being encouraged to conserve water. Beyond water use, future data center development could also affect wetlands, stormwater management, tree canopy, wildlife habitat, and the resilience of our natural systems. These resources are difficult to replace once they are lost. At a time when water availability and long-term resource planning are increasingly important, the current draft falls short of what is required to protect our environment from cumulative degradation.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Message

Dear City Leaders,
When I think about Chesapeake’s future, I think about the kind of community we hope to leave for the next generation. That is why I respectfully urge the City to oppose bringing large-scale data centers to our city.
If the City chooses to continue considering data center development, you must protect our neighborhoods from industrial encroachment by strengthening the policy with these three core protections:
1. Establish Genuine Buffers: Change the current setback language from 100 feet from a residential property line to a minimum of 500 feet from the property line. Homeowners should not have massive industrial complexes looming directly over their backyards.
2. Ensure Enforceable Noise Limits: Protect neighborhoods from a continuous low-frequency hum by setting noise maximums at 67 dB(C) daytime and 62 dB(C) nighttime, and strip away the current noise ordinance exemptions for HVAC and backup generators in industrial zones.
3. Preserve Rural Character: Keep data centers entirely out of the agricultural Fentress Overlay to prevent the permanent industrialization of our rural landscapes, and cap any single substation draw at 200 MW.
The decisions we make today will shape our community for decades. Once land is dedicated to a particular use, those choices become difficult—if not impossible—to reverse. I believe Chesapeake should preserve opportunities for development that strengthen our local economy, support small businesses, create lasting employment, and complement the character that makes our city unique. While the June 17th draft introduces a Conditional Use Permit process, it fails to provide these basic, necessary zoning protections to shield residents from the physical impacts of this industry.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Message

Dear City Leaders,
Regardless of where someone stands on data centers, I believe every Chesapeake resident deserves a transparent and accountable public process before decisions are made that could affect our community for generations. For that reason, I respectfully urge the City to oppose bringing large-scale data centers to our community.
If the City chooses to continue considering data center development, residents must have confidence that the rules are enforceable and transparent, which requires codifying these three specific, unambiguous mandates directly into the ordinance:
1. Close Code Enforcement Loopholes: The City cannot claim to regulate noise while current ordinances exempt HVAC and backup generators from enforcement in M-1 and M-2 zones. You must remove these exemptions for data centers and adopt enforceable 67 dB(C) daytime and 62 dB(C) nighttime limits.
2. Codify Binding Zoning Limits: Protect residents by requiring a mandatory 500-foot setback measured directly from residential property lines, removing the ambiguity that allows industrial walls close to residential yards.
3. Prevent Unchecked Expansion: Maintain transparent boundaries by completely prohibiting data center development in the rural Fentress Overlay and instituting a hard 200 MW power cap per substation.
Too often, large development projects move forward before residents fully understand their long-term impacts. Chesapeake has an opportunity to set a higher standard, but the Planning Department's June 17th draft lacks the precise teeth required to hold multi-billion-dollar developers accountable after a Conditional Use Permit is granted. Good government depends on transparency, accountability, and public trust. I respectfully ask that Chesapeake place these principles first and oppose bringing large-scale data centers to our community.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Message

Dear City Leaders,
Every community has to decide what kind of future it wants to build. After reviewing the proposed Data Center Ordinance and Policy, I am writing to voice my complete opposition to large-scale data center development and respectfully urge the City to reject creating any pathway for this industry in Chesapeake.
Because this resource-intensive industry is fundamentally the wrong fit for our community, I ask the Planning Commission and City Council to take the following direct, protective actions to prevent large-scale data centers from entering our city:
1. Reject the June 17 Draft as Written: Vote down the current June 17th proposal and formally direct staff to return with a revised ordinance and policy framework that completely removes the current "by-right" designation for large-scale data centers.
2. Amend the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinances: Formally update the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinances to designate large-scale data centers (facilities exceeding a 25,000 sq. ft. building footprint) as an incompatible land use across all zoning districts, effectively prohibiting them.
3. Model After Past Protections: Follow the precedent set by the City’s 2019 Solar Energy Policy to strictly manage and restrict outside utility-scale industries before they can encroach on local land.
Chesapeake has a unique opportunity to attract diversified businesses that create long-term employment, support local commerce, and reflect our actual community vision. Once prime industrial and agricultural land is committed to large-scale data centers, those opportunities are permanently lost. Before encouraging this type of development, residents deserve a city leadership that chooses to protect our limited resources. I encourage you to pursue growth that reflects our community’s long-term interests and respectfully ask that you vote no on the current framework.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

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