‘A dark cloud has been lifted’: Charles City residents celebrate data center withdrawal
VENN
CHARLES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — As data center proposals continue popping up across Central Virginia, the Charles City County community is celebrating after months of pushback led to the cancellation of a controversial project.
Neighbors said they first learned about the proposed data center early this year -- and many quickly voiced their opposition. By late August, developers with Diode Ventures announced they were withdrawing the proposal, just days before the Board of Supervisors was set to vote on it.
“Oh my gosh I couldn’t believe it," one neighbor said.
"A dark cloud has been lifted," added another.
The proposed 515-acre development would have sat within 200 feet of hundreds of homes.
Over the past eight months, residents banded together to fight it.
“This county is rural, and it doesn’t represent a rural lifestyle,” said Jared Kline, a resident of two years.
The Board of Supervisors deferred its vote on the project twice before Diode Ventures pulled the application.
“I’m not sure if it came to a vote with the Board of Supervisors that we wouldn’t have lost,” said Jim Carlin, who has lived in Charles City for 21 years. "We had our lives back."
The developer said its decision was based on “conversations with local collaborators and the analysis of the site’s availability to be shovel-ready with power and municipal support.”
“I think they heard us -- they heard our voices,” said Matthew Montgomery, who has lived in the county for 25 years.
As other localities like Chesterfield and Goochland now face similar proposals, Charles City residents say their story shows the power of persistence, and that they're proof the battle is worth fighting.
“One of the best experiences of this is getting to know our neighbors and the community and the amazing people that live within this county," Kline said.
For Charles City residents, the outcome is a victory -- but many say they’ll remain vigilant when it comes to future development.
“I don’t think we should give up fighting," lifetime resident Linwood Burton, Sr. said.
