Cities Tighten Data Center ApprovalsCities Tighten Data Center ApprovalsCoverage from City of Chesapeake, dnronline.com, and others
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Cities and counties are tightening how data centers can be approved as existing zoning codes fail to address their power demand, water use, land impacts, noise, and other community effects.
Amherst County and Chesapeake are pursuing additional review, while Hampton and Southport are drafting policies before projects are formally submitted; other Virginia localities are adapting their rules within state-law limits. The shift gives residents and elected officials more opportunities to assess proposals, but it can also lengthen approval timelines and leave pending applications subject to legal constraints.
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08/04/2026
The story has sharpened from a general tightening of Virginia data-center siting rules into a more specific, multi-jurisdiction shift toward formal special-use, conditional-use, and policy review processes. It also adds a distinct new thread: Virginia’s legal limits on moratoriums and pending applications, alongside a separate Ohio variance request that is now framed as a comparable but different local dispute.
08/03/2026
The story has broadened from a Virginia zoning-policy shift into a wider regulatory and legal fight that now explicitly includes Amherst, Ohio. It also adds a sharper legal constraint angle in Virginia, where state law appears to limit moratoria and restrict refusals of complete applications.
Chesapeake, Virginia City Council advanced 2026 zoning and comprehensive plan amendments governing data center conditional use ahead of a July 8, 2026 Planning Commission hearing.
Virginia counties and towns adjust zoning for data centers in 2025, but Dillon's Rule and court rulings limit moratoriums and refusal of complete site-plan applications.
Cervenka Development Partners LLC filed a use variance for a proposed data center on Nordson Drive in Amherst, Ohio, with a zoning board of appeals hearing set for July 29, 2026.
Hampton City Council in Virginia hired Southeastern Institute of Research in a $52,000 effort to draft data-center zoning policy and hold community roundtables for a fall proposal.
Southport Planning Board will vote July 16 on a proposed ordinance that would allow data centers only through conditional rezoning in the Highway Commercial district with emissions, noise, cooling, and water requirements.
Lynchburg City Council approved special use permit rules for future data centers, requiring public input on water and energy impacts before construction approvals.
Roanoke City Council approved a data center ordinance on Monday to set zoning and construction standards and require grid, water, and transportation impact studies.
Chesapeake planning commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to recommend conditional-use rules for data centers, moving the decision to city council.
Amherst County Planning Commission held a first reading of an ordinance in Virginia that would require special use permits for data centers instead of by-right approval after resident concerns near Kings Road.
Amherst County supervisors in Virginia agreed to advance a zoning amendment requiring special use permits and public hearings for data centers in the M-1 district.
CBF cites water and pollution risks and supports Pennsylvania GRID standards, monthly water reporting, and municipal review pauses for new data centers.
Loudoun County leaders held a July 6 Leesburg town hall to discuss data center impacts and 2025 zoning changes requiring board votes on new applications.
Amherst residents opposed Cervenka Development Partners' proposed data center at a zoning board hearing in Amherst, Ohio, citing neighborhood and infrastructure concerns.
Roanoke City Council approved July 6 zoning amendments enabling data centers by special exception in IPUD and data processing facilities in INPUD and IPUD.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is urging Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other Chesapeake-region policymakers to strengthen data center reporting and environmental protections as facility growth reaches 600 sites in 2025.
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