Town Council Favors Delay on Data Centers

Amid a full agenda, the Town Council took time on the evening of Monday, October 6, at their work session, to hear from staff about data centers. “Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay?” Rose queries in the film Titanic. “His ideas about the male preoccupation with size may be of particular interest to you.” One of the cardinal characteristics of data centers is their size. Once upon a time, the iPhone, which now fits in the pocket, conveniently, like the gem that Rose discovers in the coat she is wearing after the disaster, would have required a complex full of equipment. This raises the question: why can’t Warren County simply wait for the next leap in technological advancement, when what once required a building will now fit conveniently in the pocket?

The Town Council sits for a work session on the evening of Monday, October 6. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

In the absence of such elegance, staff highlighted the real concern that a data center could come to this community via litigation. The argument is this: Virginia is a Dillon Rule state and, therefore, a locality only has the power granted to it by the General Assembly. The assembly has a track record of friendliness to data centers. Thus, in a courtroom scenario, it is likely that a property owner who wishes to build a data center could successfully litigate for the reasonable use of that property. The problem is: with no performance standards in place, the arrival of that data center would take place in the absence of regulatory control Front Royal could have if the well articulated standards presented on Monday evening were in place.

Planning Director Lauren Kopishke and Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware present proposed performance standards for data centers.

The council commended staff, represented by Planning Director Lauren Kopishke and Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware, for their labor in creating a strong document. However, several council members felt that there is room for improvement. Although it is arguably the most restrictive set of performance standards in the state of Virginia, considering all the lessons learned from other localities who have gone through trial and error, Councilman Bruce Rappaport in particular thought the issue would benefit from further analysis. Why not bring in an attorney with a land use emphasis, he suggested, who could vet the document and make it stronger? Amid discussion of setbacks, the avoidance of arbitrary judgments, as well as the importance of not allowing mistakes in the code to be a foundation for further mistakes, there was a consensus on the council to delay.

If the ordinance did go through, it would restrict the development of data centers to the I-2 District by special-use permit, along with all the relevant standards. That limits development to two potential locations, the former Avtex site and Happy Creek Industrial Park, the latter being, in the staff’s assessment, the more likely option. The Town Planning Commission forwarded this item to the council with a recommendation for approval, in which there was only one dissenting vote.

In the discussion on Monday evening, a rezoning of 2020 was mentioned, in which there were proffered conditions for the by right development of a data center. That has obviously not yet come to fruition and the hypothetical situation in which it does remains hypothetical in Kopishke’s mind as she has doubts about the legality of such a thing going forward. Town Attorney George Sonnett expressed to the council his willingness to give his legal opinion in confidence. But perhaps more telling than that was Vice Mayor Amber Veitenthal’s humorous statement that she wishes the council could kick this item down the road until her time is up.