At a May 25 Warrenton Planning Commission meeting, Commissioner James Lawrence wanted to know why the town council had asked them to consider the possibility of including data centers within town limits when there were no such applications on the table. At the June 15 meeting, it became clear that although there were no applications submitted, one soon could be: Amazon wants to build a data center in Warrenton.
Currently, data centers are not permitted within the town of Warrenton. A zoning ordinance text amendment presented by town staff Tuesday night proposes to allow the use in an industrial district with a special use permit.
After listening to a summary of a staff report on the viability of data centers in the town, planning commissioners voted unanimously to table for 30 days the decision on whether to add data centers to the list of allowable uses in industrial districts.
John Foote, a Northern Virginia land use and zoning attorney, told the planners that his client – Amazon Web Services -- has a contract to purchase property owned by Weissberg Investment Corp. -- 41.7 acres located behind Country Chevrolet near the intersection of U.S. 29 Business and Blackwell Road. The land is one of only two parcels that could be suitable for a data center, according to town staff. The other is 28.8-acre former Sivaco wire factory at 615 Falmouth St.
“I have the authorization to put in an application” as soon as the town makes a decision on whether to allow data centers, Foote said.
Foote said that an Amazon data center would take about 300 people to build the center and 38 people to run it once it’s completed.
Foote emphasized that data centers, out of necessity, are rapidly becoming more energy efficient -- and prettier. In an effort to encourage planners to approve the staff-suggested text amendment, Foote said that 80% of the world’s internet traffic goes through Loudoun and Prince William and that placing data centers along the same corridor makes sense for his client.
He pointed out that a Warrenton data center would necessarily be smaller than those being built in Northern Virginia because of the limited acreage that is available, but nevertheless, “my client is very interested in Warrenton.”
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Warrenton’s Community Development Director Rob Walton briefed planners on a staff report about data centers – set in motion by a request from the planning commission on May 25. The report said, “The legislative intent for the industrial district is to implement the town’s comprehensive plan by providing for a variety of light manufacturing, fabricating, processing, wholesale distributing and warehousing uses appropriately located for access by highways and providing a controlled environment within which signing is limited, uses are to be conducted generally within completely enclosed buildings, and a moderate amount of landscaping is required…
“Data centers are typically a clean use with few employees in an office building type setting. The downside to a data center is that they can require large amounts of electricity for the operation and large amounts of water to cool the servers that process the data.
“Advancements have been made in the water-cooling process, which allows a closed water system that recycles water and the only water needed is to replenish the water lost to evaporation. A dedicated substation will likely be necessary to run the data center. A substation is currently permissible in the industrial district with the approval of a special use permit.”
The text amendment suggested by town staff would allow data centers with town council approval of a special use permit. The text amendment also sets additional standards:
- Minimum lot size (25 acres)
- Use of recycled water for cooling
- All electric service lines placed underground
- Heights may be increased with additional setbacks
- Parking standards
- Building design elements
- Screening of equipment
- Emission and noise mitigation from generators
- Emergency service access
The staff report adds, “The biggest concerns with a data center are water usage and noise produced by the generators. The generators will only be used during a power outage; however, they are tested monthly to make sure they are operational if necessary.”
The report concludes that a data center use is in keeping with the lighter industrial uses currently allowed in the industrial district.
Commissioner Lawrence had the most to say in response to the staff report. He started by explaining, “I don’t have anything against data centers. I used to work at one.”
He wondered though, how data centers fit into the town’s newly adopted comprehensive plan. He stressed that through the comp plan process, he heard loud and clear that in order for the town to thrive in the next 20 years, jobs and housing are the two overarching priorities. “A data center doesn’t provide that. This is where I struggle.” (The parcel in question is in an industrial district and couldn’t be used for residential anyway, but could be used to generate more jobs than a relatively low-employee data center.)
Lawrence also wanted confirmation of the tax revenue a data center could bring in. “Will it really be a tax benefit? We don’t know that.” He said he’d like to see comparisons with other uses that could potentially bring in a comparable amount of revenue.
All commissioners agreed that they’d like more time to consider the issue and to gather more information; the decision was tabled for 30 days.
Foote admitted he would have liked an answer quickly, but he nodded and said amiably, “It gives me another reason to come back to Warrenton.”
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Amazon 'very interested' in building a data center in Warrenton - Fauquier Times
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