An Open Letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Your Legacy Defining Data Center Vote

Dear Chairman Jeff McKay, Vice Chair Kathy Smith, and Members of the Board of Supervisors,

Your constituents call on you to put residents and the environment first when you cast your legacy defining vote on the countywide data center zoning ordinance amendment (ZOA).

Your vote will set the course of data center development across the county for decades. The vote will determine whether Fairfax County will be the gold standard in establishing forward thinking safeguards or experience the same negative community altering harms other jurisdictions are dealing with from irresponsible data center development. 

As signatories of this letter, we commit to continuing to work to protect Fairfax County residents by communicating with our neighbors, networks, and the public on the outcome of this landmark vote and how each Supervisor votes. With a significant number of data centers coming online in the next few years, our communities will have many opportunities to see first hand the result of your vote and the impact that these developments will have on where we live. 

A data center ordinance amendment that protects both residents and the environment, while also providing the county with tax revenue must: 

• Require all unapproved by-right data centers accepted by the county after January 31, 2024 follow these new standards (including Plaza 500 accepted on Feb. 29, 2024 and Word of Grace accepted on Feb. 2, 2024 both less than 300 ft. from residents). This date is fair to developers who were put on notice at the January 23, 2024 Board meeting with the approval of the Chantilly Premiere data center. At this meeting, Supervisors indicated that they expect all future data centers to meet heightened standards. It is also fair to the very residents the zoning ordinance amendments are designed to safeguard, who will be excluded from protections simply because of an arbitrary date.
• Include ALL of the Planning Commission’s unanimously passed recommendations;
• Require a public hearing and Board approval for every data center;
• Expand the residential setback to at least 500 feet and to include setbacks from schools, parks, and other public places, and
• Include a commitment to expeditiously address environmental and residential impacts not included in the zoning ordinance.

We hope to share in your success on September 10 when you vote for a data center zoning ordinance amendment that adequately protects residents and the environment. Give us the opportunity to celebrate your leadership.

Respectfully, 

Your Constituents