Controversial high-tech development proposal narrowly advances in Goochland
VENN
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A highly controversial ordinance meant to incentivize high-tech developments like data centers to move into Goochland County narrowly advanced Thursday night.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, the Goochland Board of Supervisors' Planning Commission returned to Goochland High School to resume discussion of a proposed Technology Overlay District (TOD).
The proposal has proven very divisive, with hundreds of concerned residents coming out to speak during an initial meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18. As many have previously, these residents expressed concerns about data center noise, the environmental impacts of development and the potential erosion of Goochland's rural character, among many other worries.
After public comment stretched on for hours, the commission chose to pause the Sept. 18 meeting and resume on Sept. 25, so all of those interested could speak before a decision was made.
The ordinance would provide incentives to developers who decide to build high-tech facilities within the TOD, which would be located along most of the Route 288 corridor in eastern Goochland. These developments would also be further from homes.
This proposal is something Goochland county administrator previously told 8News would "strike the balance between economic development and meeting the needs of our homeowners."
During Thursday night's meeting, the Planning Commission made the following recommendations to the Goochland Board of Supervisors:
- Allow energy-generating facilities to be developed through a conditional use permit, both for primary and accessory uses.
- In areas of the TOD that are currently zoned as A2, impose a 500-foot setback, or buffer, from residential properties for a by-right data center development. A conditional use permit would be required for any data centers closer than 500 feet.
- Limit maximum building height for by-right developments near residentially-zoned properties to 80 feet.
- Reduce decibel limits -- or maximum allowable sound -- to 65 decibels a day and 60 decibels at night, which is lower than the currently-proposed levels.
"By right" developments can move forward without a public comment period, while "conditional use" developments cannot progress unless a public hearing is held.
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So, under these recommendations, if a developer wanted to build an energy-generating facility or a data center within 500 feet of homes, a public hearing would be required.
In the end, the Planning Commission voted 3 to 2 to recommend that the TOD proposal be formally approved by the Goochland Board of Supervisors. When this final vote was announced, many among the crowd gathered in Goochland High's auditorium loudly expressed their disappointment.
The Goochland Board of Supervisors is scheduled to make a final decision on this ordinance on Thursday, Nov. 6.
