Celebrate Virginia South Landowner Expresses Support for City's Proposed Technology Overlay District
Attorney Charlie Payne, representing the Silver Companies and associated entities, sent a letter in advance of Wednesday's joint Planning Commission and City Council meeting.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The attorney representing the owner of parcels of land in Celebrate Virginia South has sent a letter to the mayor and the Planning Commission expressing support for the city’s proposed Technology Overlay District.
“We believe time is of the essence to proceed forward with the review and approval of the TOD,” wrote Charlie Payne, attorney with Hirschler Fleisher, in a January 17 letter sent on behalf of his clients, the Silver Companies and “affiliated entities,” which together own 180 acres in the area of the draft overlay district.
“My client has engaged in a joint venture with a highly regarded data center developer that is primarily interested in a large uniform campus development, and we are confident that with this prospect, the city has a unique opportunity to attract a viable data center investment in the TOD.”
The letter notes that the parcel owners have worked “with the City’s Office of Economic Development to attract a hyperscale data center space in the region.”
It provides comments on “certain aspects” of the draft overlay district ordinance, indicating that the clients “wholeheartedly support” the minimum 150-acre requirement in the draft ordinance.
“Without a larger campus, the City will significantly reduce its opportunity for new data center investment, and increase the probability of greater impacts from the electric infrastructure that is required for data center users,” the letter states.
The clients support the draft ordinance’s requirement that none of the uses allowed in the technology overlay district “shall be permitted to permanently utilize potable water for industrial cooling.”
“There are many advantages of reuse water, including many environmental benefits … and as an industrial cooling source versus the use of potable water or water drawn directly from the immediate watershed,” the letter states.
It goes on to note that “typically” reuse water systems are financed and constructed by the developer and then turned over to the locality, when it also becomes “a new utility the locality can charge a user for use.”
The letter states the clients’ support for the ordinance’s required 150-foot setbacks from residential buildings and 100-foot setbacks from commercial buildings but says the clients “do not believe it is necessary to have 100-foot setback from industrial use.”
The clients “generally support” the noise standards outlined in the draft overlay ordinance, which limit noise produced to a maximum of 60 decibels—the equivalent of a conversation—between 7 a.m. and midnight, and a maximum of 55 decibels—equivalent to the hum of a refrigerator—at night.
“I would note the 55 dba (night) and 60 dba (day) should apply only if the data center use adjoins residential uses,” Payne writes. “As for adjoining commercial uses, we advise the standard should be higher—60 dba (night) and 65 dba (day).”
Regarding power, the letter states that the data center industry is “extensively engaged in partnering with the power industry and federal and state governments to ensure adequate capacity today and in the future.”
It states that power usage has “increased across all industries” and that “residential power use is the greatest,” followed by commercial use and then industrial use, which includes data centers, attributing these facts to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It also stresses that “data centers are one of the main forces in the renewable energy markets.”
The letter notes that “new electronic infrastructure such as transmission facilities and substations must also be constructed and located within” the overlay district, where it will have less impact on surrounding properties.
Finally, the letter states that the potential economic benefit of data center development as presented by city staff is “spot on and should not be glossed over.”
“Roughly one million square feet of data center space can generate $18-20 million in gross annual tax revenues, and 120 new high paying jobs,” as well as positively impacting local construction and trade industries.
The Planning Commission and City Council will hear public input into the proposed technology overlay district at the Planning Commission’s meeting on Wednesday. The public input portion of the meeting will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in City Council Chambers.
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