Letter to the Editor: Says county need clear conversations discussing data centers in New Kent

At the Feb. 17 New Kent Planning Commission meeting, staff unveiled a draft Technology Overlay District (TOD) proposal; an initiative described as a proactive approach to planning for future data centers. Like many residents, I was surprised to learn the county is already laying the groundwork for data center development despite the fact that no formal applications have been submitted.

TODs are a zoning mechanism that allow land to be predesignated for data center use. Once property is in one of these districts, a developer would only need an administrative conditional use permit. That means no project-specific public hearings and no community feedback. In practical terms, data centers could be built almost “by right” in New Kent.

The county website states that public hearings will occur before TODs are adopted. Yet no such hearings have been scheduled. Meanwhile, the county has moved ahead. Last April, the Board of Supervisors approved $16,000 to hire Dewberry, a leading data center engineering firm, to conduct a GIS analysis identifying potential data center sites across New Kent. The resulting maps, publicly accessible online, reveal just how extensively the county has already evaluated where these facilities could go, particularly in the eastern end.

Neighboring counties have endured bitter, community-diving fights over data centers, often fueled by inadequate transparency and unclear processes. New Kent still has time to avoid that path. Residents deserve a clear, honest conversation about whether data centers belong here, where they would go, and how they would impact the county we proudly call home.

W.R. Davis III
Lanexa