Charles City Planning Commission pushes data center forward to county leaders

Despite hearing opposition from several local citizens and concerns, a proposal for the construction of a data center by Diode will move forward for approval by Charles City County leaders.

Charles City’s planning commission approved three amendments to rezone more than 500 acres of land for the development of the complex during a May 8 meeting.

For the last eight months, citizens have questioned the intentions of the county and the benefits of having data centers. While the data centers would provide an additional revenue source for Charles City, citizens worried about the need for the rezoning of land and not placing it in industrial area of the county.

The approved recommended rezoning for Diode’s project spans the west side of Route 106 (Roxbury Road) in the county between Old Union Road and Charles City Road.

Even though the process of the rezoning was ongoing, citizens have gone straight to county leaders to voice their opposition. Citizens cited the rural landscape of the community, the need to keep businesses in their respective areas, and the importance to consider their citizens. And while county leaders did not comment on the issues at hand, several residents feel their comments were made on deaf ears.

Those feelings seemed to replicate at the May 8 planning commission meeting. More than 35 citizens spoke against the recommendation, including Brandi Marano, who has been very adamant against the project.

“Diode already owns 200 acres off Chambers Road,” she commented during the public speaking period. “There’s very limited residential impact in that area. Why doesn’t Diode utilize that parcel to build their data center?”

For now, the planning commission’s recommendation to move the project forward now heads to the county’s board of supervisors. A public hearing on all three approved recommendations is scheduled to commence in the near future.