Chesapeake delays data center applications

City leaders said the delay gives them time to develop a clearer framework before making decisions on future projects. The resolution also removes the proposed comprehensive plan amendment from the Aug. 18 agenda to allow more time to review revisions, research industry best practices, gather public input and refine the policy.

The pause applies only to applications requiring discretionary land-use approvals. It does not affect projects currently allowed by right under the city’s zoning ordinance.

That distinction prompted officials to begin work on what City Attorney Catherine Lindley described as the first phase of the city’s effort to close the existing by-right loophole.

Data centers are allowed by right in several office, business and industrial zoning districts, meaning some projects can move forward without City Council approval.

The city plans to return this month with an ordinance requiring future data centers in those districts to obtain conditional use permits, bringing proposals before both the Planning Commission and City Council for public hearings.

Lindley said the eight-month timeline was chosen because Virginia law generally gives localities up to 12 months to act on discretionary land-use applications, allowing Chesapeake to remain within those statutory deadlines while completing the new policy.

She also said the city cannot simply prohibit a land use otherwise allowed under Virginia law but can regulate where and how data centers are developed.

The proposed policy includes recommendations for locating data centers in industrial areas, encouraging closed-loop cooling systems to reduce water use, requiring neighborhood meetings before public hearings and establishing standards for setbacks, landscaping, lighting, noise, construction management and environmental protections.

Councilwoman Amanda Newins said the delay would allow the city to “pump the brakes, take a breath, get more public input.”

“It will protect the city from any by-right data centers coming without any kind of city input or public input,” she said.

The policy effort began after the council rejected a proposed 350,000-square-foot data center near the Etheridge neighborhood in June 2025. Since then, city staff and the Planning Commission have spent months drafting standards governing where data centers should locate and how they should operate.

The Planning Commission recommended a broader package in July that would limit future data centers to industrial zoning districts and establish standards for setbacks, noise, water use, landscaping and public engagement. Council opted to delay action on those recommendations while staff continues refining the proposal.

Chesapeake joins a growing number of Virginia localities reconsidering data center development as communities weigh the industry’s potential tax revenue against concerns over land use, infrastructure, water demand and impacts on nearby neighborhoods.