Relief, Resolve and Readiness: Albemarle Pauses Data Center Ordinance
This week brought a welcome development for Albemarle County: staff have announced they plan to recommend a pause on the proposed data center ordinance, delaying any move to allow massive new data centers “by right” in overlay districts. For now, the existing protections stay in place: any data center larger than 40,000 square feet must still obtain a Special Use Permit (SUP) from the Board of Supervisors.
This is good news – and it’s a direct reflection of community voices. People across the County stood together to say clearly: we deeply oppose giving up our right to review, weigh in, and shape these resource-intensive projects that could fundamentally change our county’s landscapes, health, and future.
Why C3 and Our Partners Opposed By-Right Data Center Districts
The pause matters because the alternative -- removing the SUP requirement -- would have sidelined residents and handed developers free rein. We and our coalition partners opposed by-right overlay districts because the impacts of large-scale data centers are profound and long-lasting:
Damaging climate goals
Certain types of data centers consume enormous amounts of energy. The County has already found that is is not meeting its own emissions reduction targets; adding overlay districts for enormous data centers makes it that much more challenging to meet our targets.
Years of disruption
Construction on a single site can stretch on for as long as seven years, bringing constant truck traffic, heavy equipment, and noise through our communities.
Few permanent jobs
Despite enormous land and energy footprints, data centers create minimal long-term employment.
Massive scale
Buildings many times the size of a big-box store can overwhelm the landscape and redefine neighborhoods.
Noise and air quality threats
The 24-hour hum of cooling systems and the on-site backup generators undermine the quality of life near a data center, and contribute to local air pollution.
Grid strain
The current and projected energy use of data centers is causing an explosive increase in the amount of power consumed in Virginia.
It’s important to underscore that these are not speculative worries. Communities across Virginia, which already contains the highest concentration of data centers in the world, are already grappling with the consequences of allowing by-right data center proliferation. Albemarle has had an opportunity to learn from their experience.
Why the Special Use Permit Must Stay
The SUP requirement is the community’s safety net for resource-intensive facilities like data centers. It ensures:
Transparency and participation: Neighbors learn about proposals before approval and can share concerns at public hearings.
Expert review: The Planning Commission can evaluate projects and recommend conditions.
Accountability: The Board of Supervisors retains the ability to tailor decisions, impose conditions, and monitor impacts.
A Pause Is Not the Finish Line
We should feel relief today -- the pause is a victory for everyone who spoke up. But it is not the end of the story. Staff will present on their recommendation to pause the data center ordinance process to the Board of Supervisors on October 1, but the push for by-right development could resurface after two new Board members are elected in the new year, replacing Supervisors McKeel and Andrews, who have chosen not to run for reelection.
You can trust that C3 and our partners at SELC, PEC and the Sierra Club - Virginia Chapter will remain vigilant, and alert our networks if the by-right overlay district question resurfaces.
Albemarle now has a chance to demonstrate real leadership. By upholding the SUP requirement, the County can show that growth here will not come at the expense of community voice or climate goals.
Between now and the October 1 presentation, we encourage our community to continue writing in to the Board of Supervisors – this time in support of County staff’s recommended pause.
For now, let’s take a breath and acknowledge this as good news. Together, we pressed pause. Together, we can make sure that if this issue returns, Albemarle chooses a path that safeguards our landscapes, our neighborhoods, and our future.
