On June 23, Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors officially approved the Data Center Ordinance.
This is good news because the county has baseline guardrails protecting the county’s natural resources and communities and—most importantly—the legal authority to deny future proposals through the Special Use Permit process. But there’s still some work to be done to continue to refine the ordinance language.
It was clear that everyone in the room shared the same ultimate vision of protecting our county, and there was a lively debate on the best way to get there. In the end, the Board chose to lock in the protections in the proposed ordinance now.
Because the ordinance can be amended at any future meeting, our next step is clear–we can immediately begin working with county leadership on refinements.
Moving forward, we will be advocating for several improvements to the new ordinance, including:
> Sharper Definitions: Explicitly excluding independent, long-term power generation facilities from the “data center” umbrella.
> Stronger Water Protections: Mandating water-efficient technology and enforcing strict drought contingency plans to protect our local aquifers and wells.
> Community Protections: Requiring mandatory pre-application community meetings and certified e-waste recycling.
Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke out, and sent in written comments. We also want to extend our gratitude to the members of the Shenandoah County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for their leadership and dedication in making these difficult decisions to protect our county’s clean water and rural character.
We look forward to getting right to work on making this ordinance even stronger for Shenandoah County.
Banner photo from Boston Public Library.