A packed public hearing in Virginia ended with a planning commission once again telling county leaders to reject a large proposed data center campus, siding with the residents who argued that new tax revenue should not take priority over community health and quality of life.
The Fauquier County Planning Commission reached that conclusion on a 4-1 vote, making it the second time in just over a year that the body has recommended denying the Gigaland data center project in Remington.
What happened?
As reported by Rappahannock News, the commission voted Thursday to advise the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors to reject the project's proposed comprehensive plan amendment, which included a rezoning request and special exceptions.
Gigaland is seeking permission to build six data centers as well as two electrical substations and a water treatment plant on 200 acres.
The proposal would rezone more than 159 of these acres for business park use and 43 acres for rural agricultural use, and it also requires a zoning waiver to allow access from Lucky Hill Road, according to Rappahannock News.
Lee District Commissioner John Meadows, who chairs the board, was the only member to vote against recommending denial, saying he considered a data center an appropriate use for the site.
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The motion to oppose the project was made by Marshall District Commissioner Jody Warfield.
At the hearing, Warfield said, "The worst thing about all of this is the No. 1 reason we're given to pass it is that we will make millions in tax revenue. So we are to forget about protecting the health and safety and quality of life of our neighbors in Remington just so our government doesn't have to do the hard work of attracting the appropriate kinds of business."
Although a few people spoke in favor of the development because of the revenue it could generate, opponents made up a large majority of the crowd at the hearing. Many of them were residents of the nearby Meadows of Remington community.
The matter now shifts to the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors, which is expected to consider a decision at its Sept. 10 meeting.
Why does it matter?
At the center of the dispute is whether communities get a meaningful say in what is built around them and whether development respects the people and landscapes already there.
The fight reflects growing tension in communities across the country as local governments weigh the financial appeal of data centers against their effects on nearby residents.
For those living close to proposed sites, those effects can include pressure on infrastructure and concerns about noise, water use, pollution, energy bills, and the loss of rural character.
In this case, opponents argued that those burdens would fall hardest on the people who call Remington home.
After the earlier rejection, Gigaland had reduced the size of its application, cutting the project's overall square footage by more than half and lowering the number of electrical substations, according to Rappahannock News.
But even with those revisions, many residents and commissioners still believed the proposal was too large for the area.
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