Data Centers Are Knocking at Warren County’s Door

The town and county are abuzz with a number of issues that impact our community. Regarding the issue of data centers, I have seen a lot of people speculating on whether this is relevant or if they are even coming at all. In the interest of the future use of our land and the public’s understanding of pieces already in movement, I would like to shed some light on this as a Planning Commissioner for the town.

In November of last year, the town and county elected leadership, planning commissions, and planning departments were invited to an educational event titled “Virginia Data Centers Today”. An engineering consulting firm from Northern Virginia presented the attendees with points about the “trends, benefits, and challenges facing data center development.” Overall, this event displayed data centers positively.

In March of this year, my Virginia Planning Commission training included a session on data centers presented by a different engineering consulting firm. We were taught the future of data center development in our state, including a slide showing a new data center campus being worked toward in the small rural town of Chatham, VA. We were told there is plenty of electricity and water, and our state is so rich in resources that we need only pick the spots for new data centers to go.

Anyone who says data centers are not coming is either sorely misinformed or dishonest. The town is currently working on the zoning code to designate areas for these first data centers to arrive. I would not be surprised if Warren County is doing the same.

Only one or two data centers being allowed is not a reality, should these things come to pass. Once they are named and permitted, they will not be stopped. The land we have here is precious to all of us, and the mechanics of this development have been in play far longer than this issue has been publicly regarded. Irrespective of which side of the political aisle we sit on, we can recognize the real and widespread impact this type of development will have on our community. Data centers are imminent, and Warren County will decide her future on this soon.

Megan Marrazzo
Fork District
Front Royal, VA

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