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The Warren County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting October 25th and began with approval of a budget amendment that would carry over a $3.3 million general fund surplus, and a balance of $16.7 million in the special projects funds into Fiscal Year-2022-23. Because these carryovers are greater than 1% of the county budget, they require a public hearing. However, there was no public reaction to the presentation by County Finance Director Matt Robertson, and the Supervisors, on a motion by Vice-Chair Delores Oates and seconded by Supervisor Walt Mabe, unanimously approved the amendment.
The Supervisors then turned their attention to the long-contentious changes to the County Zoning Ordinance. Planning Director Matt Wendling summarized the history of the initiative to create a pathway for development of Industrial and Light Industrial parcels for use as Data Center sites in the county. Supervisor Jay Butler questioned Director Wendling about the difference between a “by right” use as outlined in the proposed amendment, and a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process that has been extensively discussed by both town and county planning commissions. As written, the “by right” language would apply to any industrial or light industrially zoned parcel. The advantage of the CUP process, according to Director Wendling, gives the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors a “Thumbs up or thumbs down” opportunity for the proposed use for a specific parcel. It is an extra layer of regulation, and greater opportunity for public input. Supervisor Walt Mabe expressed succinctly where he believes the County should stand on new development in the county, pointing out that the by-right option may mean the county gains a benefit but loses rights. “(The county) should be in the middle of it so we know what’s going in our county,” he said in support of the CUP process being applied to data centers and light industrial uses in general.
John Lundburg addresses the Warren County Board of Supervisors in opposition to the county zoning ordinance being changed to allow by-right use of industrial property for data centers.
There were 10 speakers for the Public Hearing. Local citizen John Lundburg asked the Board to delay approval of the Zoning ordinance change until a public meeting could be held where questions about data centers could be answered. He cited statistics from the Northern Virginia area, the largest concentration of data centers in the world, where county officials, particular in Loudoun County, where some 30% of county tax revenues come from data center taxes. Northern Virginia has more data centers than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th ranked markets combined, he noted, but adding, “What happens when technology changes and these buildings are no longer needed?”
Vincent Mariska spoke about the risk of draining water and power resources without a benefit in employment or net revenue. – “Warren County is already in a good economic position,” he asserted, adding of data centers that, “Employment after construction is completed is minimal.”
Jane Elliot told the board that she had not known anything about data centers, and began researching them when the topic began to be publicly discussed, and found that the average data center uses 1-1.5 million gallons of water per day. She cited power brownouts from data center power usage and noise concerns. She urged the supervisors to vote against allowing data centers in the county.
Mary Ryan identified a creative list of seven things that data centers should agree to as a condition of locating in the county: providing half of their electricity using solar panels; building below ground to reduce the cooling load; create a water recycling system; install low-level lights to reduce light pollution; landscaping to remain visually appealing; steps to protect streams and water supplies; and they should pay “hefty taxes”.
Front Royal Planning Commission Chairman Daryl Merchant spoke and urged the Supervisors to retain the CUP language found in earlier versions of the ordinance change. “Many of the people speaking here tonight have specific things they are concerned about. There are many questions, and few answers here tonight. The Conditional Use Permit as a planning tool not only allows us to get answers to those questions, but to get them in writing.” He addressed the need for “due diligence” to be sure this use is appropriate for the community. Mr. Merchant went on to conclude in his remarks that the promise of tax revenue increases has not been borne out in his research. “Don’t be fooled by promises of gold,” he said, noting he had not found any cases where the tax burden on residents was reduced after data centers were operating in a community.
Marlene Lundburg addressed the issue of obsolescence of data centers in 10-15 years. What will the effect be on utility rates, she asked the board, “Please, consider the long-term consequences of these structures”. She recommended that the supervisors make a visit to Loudoun County and discuss with their Board of Supervisors the growth of data centers in that community. If they were given the choice, would they choose the same path again, she wondered.
Bruce Rappaport, who is also a candidate for Front Royal Town Council, recommended, “We must vet the intentions of prospective applicants” by requiring a Conditional or Special Use Permit. The goal is to get the applicant to be forthright about their intentions from the outset. Data centers typically don’t want to be transparent about their intentions because of the loss of their competitive advantage against other developers. He also was concerned about the noise level – In Prince William County, for example, neighboring residents are complaining that noise levels from Data Center air conditioners are generating 70 decibels of noise 24 hours per day. The Prince William County board specifically excluded air-conditioning noise from regulation in a 1989 ordinance under which its data centers have been built.
John McFadden spoke about the use of Shenandoah River water as a source to support these kinds of developments. “It’s not a given that the Shenandoah can supply that kind of water forever.”
Mark Eggar told the Board that there appeared to be a lot of secrecy about the Data Center Ordinance, and he did not know where this issue came from. The Royal Examiner and other papers have been writing stories about the specific town and county governments and their efforts to come to grips with the impacts and consequences of data centers in the community for over five months. He commented, “Jeff Bezos is not your friend.”, an apparent reference to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose company owns or operates 6 data centers across the USA, two more in Canada, and 17 more worldwide. There are, by last count, over 2700 data centers in the USA in total.
John Cermak commented that pumping water out of the Shenandoah and running it through cooling systems and back into the river will heat up the river, ending any fishing and recreation activities.
At the close of the public hearing, Supervisor Delores Oates asked the panel to postpone a decision until it could be addressed by a work session and asked, “Is a data center really right for Warren County?” On a motion by Supervisor Oates, Seconded by Supervisor Mabe, the Board unanimously agreed to postpone action on the Ordinance Amendment.
After the vote to postpone, County Administrator Dr. Edwin Daley reminded the Supervisors that in this case, “The County is the applicant here, so you can just deny this, period, and put the County out of its misery.” Chairman Cullers responded by saying that the Board needed to do its due diligence and then decide.
Other business
Gillian Greenfield and Richard Butcher applied for a CUP for a Short-term Tourist Rental for their property at 1164 Riverview Shores Drive in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz summarized the application, and there were no public comments. The County Planning Commission previously recommended approval. On a motion by Supervisor Mabe, seconded by Vice Chair Oates, the Board voted unanimously to approve the permit.
In the wake of the approval, Supervisor Butler asked if it would be possible to create a map of the county that would show the location of the Short-Term Rental properties. “A lot of these short-term rentals have come through recently, and I don’t want to wake up one day and realize, Hey, 75% of the county is tourist rentals!”
Planning Director Wendling indicated that they already maintained a spreadsheet and integrating that with a map would be possible. The planning department will plan to have that available to the Supervisors next month.
Applicant Elizabeth Saman addresses the County Supervisors to justify her short-term tourist rental permit request. In the face of opposition from neighboring property owners and the failure of the property to meet the supplemental requirements for short-term rentals, the Board denied the request.
Elizabeth Saman applied for a CUP for her property at 431 Cindys Way in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. The Property is zoned Residential (R-1) The applicant is also requesting an exception to the setback requirements in the Short-term Rental Ordinance, since her dwelling is 88 feet from the nearest dwelling and not the required 100 feet. The County Planning Commission had voted to recommend denial of the permit based on the non-compliance with the setback requirement. During the public hearing, three neighbors spoke to the board in opposition to the proposed permit and complained that the setback exception would make the ordinance meaningless. They also indicated that there had been little communication with them by the applicant. Planning Director Wendling told the Board that planning staff always recommends to CUP applicants that they should take the time to communicate with nearby property owners before applying for a permit, and in that way may create a more favorable reception. As it was, the Board, on a motion by Supervisor Mabe, seconded by Supervisor Butler, unanimously voted to deny the permit.
Stacy L. Lockhart is requesting a CUP for private use camping (noncommercial) for a vacant lot off Harris Drive in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. The lot is zoned Residential (R-1) and is in the Special Flood Hazard Area. There were no public comments during the public hearing and on a motion by Supervisor Mabe, seconded by Vice Chair Oates, the Board unanimously approved the permit.
Jaden and Tori Walker applied for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for their property at 80 River Oak Drive in the south River Magisterial District. The property is zoned Agricultural (A). There are currently three other short-term tourist rental properties in the River Oak subdivision. There were no speakers at the public hearing. The County Planning Commission had recommended approval. But on a motion to approve by Vice-Chair Oates, Seconded by Supervisor Butler, the Board deadlocked at 2-2. Yes: Supervisor Mabe and Vice-Chair Oates; No: Chair Cheryl Cullers and Supervisor Butler. With Supervisor Cook not voting remotely on advice of legal staff, the permit application failed on the tie vote.
Vesta Property Management, on behalf of owner Dorothea Rutherford, applied for a CUP for short-term tourist rental for their property at 194 Venus Branch Road in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. The property is zoned Residential (R-1). Vice Chairman Oates asked about the Property Management company being the applicant for the permit, and the answer was that the ordinance does not require the owner to be the permit applicant, but it does require their signature on the application. In this case the Property Manager is a local company, and the applicant lives in Northern Virginia. The County Planning Commission had recommended approval. There were no speakers at the public hearing, and on a motion by Supervisor Mabe, Seconded by Vice Chair Oates, the Board voted unanimously to approve the permit.
In a second case, Vesta Property Management, on behalf of owners Chad and Donna Anthony, applied for a CUP for short-term tourist rental for their property at 86 McCoys Ford Road in the Fork Magisterial District. The property is zoned agricultural (A). There were no public comments. The Planning commission had forwarded the application to the board with a recommendation to approve. On a motion by Supervisor Mabe, seconded by Supervisor Butler, the Board voted unanimously to approve the permit.
Jeffrey Taylor explains his request for a private use camping permit for his vacant lots off Howellsville Road. Nearby property owners opposed the permit, and the Board of Supervisors tabled the request in order to research alternative ways to allow him to use the recreational lots.
Jeffrey Taylor applied for a CUP for private use camping (noncommercial) for his vacant lots off Howellsville Road in the Shenandoah Magisterial District. The application had attracted some opposition when it was reviewed by the Planning Commission, which recommended denial, based on the subdivision being more than 50% built out and there are no other campers in the adjacent area. The lots are in the special flood hazard area. The lots were previously in an unkempt state and the neighbors complained of unsightly conditions. Three Speakers at the Public Hearing expressed their opposition to the permit being issued. John Cermak was concerned about the possibility of a recreational vehicle holding tank being discharged on the property. Chris Castro lives across the road from the applicant’s lots and is concerned that this use could affect his investment. These comments led to a discussion between the supervisors and the planning director about the use of vacant lots – particularly in the flood plain – and the category of private use camping. The applicant has already paid for a power connection but needs a permit. Vice-Chair Oates recommended tabling the permit, since the applicant is not intending to camp on the site. He needs power to the site for his daytime use and maintenance. He would eventually like to build a house there, but that would be a separate permitting process. The permit will have an additional public hearing at the next Board of supervisors meeting on Wednesday, November 16 at 7 p.m.
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