There is a critical chance to weigh in on the proposed “Aspen to Golden” electric transmission line through Loudoun County at the upcoming State Corporation Commission (SCC) public hearing on Sept. 5 in Leesburg.
Strong Communities
PEC believes that the work of protecting natural resources and the work of building better communities are integral to each other.
Community Events Help Us Think about Issues in New Ways
One of my favorite things about being a community planner is going to events and having conversations with people in informal settings, close to where they live. These gatherings tend to be a lot of fun. For example, the one I just went to had a vegan-hotdog-tasting station!
Community events are also great places to hear from residents about their everyday experiences. People are in good spirits and they have many great ideas, perspectives and inspiration. They force me to reevaluate my assumptions, which leaders and planners ought to do — and do so regularly.
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of tabling at the third annual Healthy Streets Healthy People gathering in Booker T. Washington Park in Charlottesville, organized by our partners at the Move2Health Equity Coalition. I especially love this event because the theme aligns perfectly with my own professional focus, many attendees share my passion and it’s in a beautiful park.
Although I’m working on many projects and issues, I like to keep things simple when I’m meeting with the public. People are busy, and if they are kind enough to gift me with their time, I owe it to them to be concise. So I only had one key question that I asked everyone, which seemed like a fair exchange for me stamping their bingo card. Of course this often led to follow-up and extended dialogue, which was intentional. And I had other materials for people who were curious or wanted to go deeper.
I gave everyone the following prompt: “Here we are at the healthy streets fair; what makes a healthy street?” If clarification was needed, my follow up was, “What characteristics would make the street a place that boosts you up, rather than bringing you down?” Almost everyone had immediate ideas to share and had actually given the idea some thought. Most ideas were familiar (and on point) and some made me think about my work in new ways.
Some common topics included safety, stress reduction and inclusivity. Each of these contains a world of nuance. For example, sidewalk safety might mean not getting hit by a car while walking along it or trying to cross a street. It might mean knowing that assistance is always available without being harassed by other people or by law enforcement. It could mean being able to negotiate the space without falling or being injured. Or not getting shot. And on and on; each idea merits a voluminous discussion of its own.
One conversation really stood out to me as an interesting framing, with implications far beyond the street. A woman told me that her spouse is a bus driver, who often complains that pedestrians who are focused on their phones often do foolish things for lack of attention to their surroundings. Note that she was not blaming potential victims of traffic violence: we all agree that those behind the wheel have a greater responsibility and that distracted driving is a public health challenge on par with drunk driving.
But she was asking why we can’t have an urban realm with enough appeal to be so interesting in itself that people wouldn’t feel the need to pull out their devices. That is a worthy question with implications about how we attend to one another, our spaces and ourselves.
It also gave other suggestions I heard (e.g. street art, trivia questions on little signs, foodshop windows, other people, conviviality, etc) new texture. Our conversation passed beyond the street through other spaces including classes and living rooms, which is to be expected at a health fair. But our public spaces have an important role to play.
It would be interesting for me to write a follow-up in which I compare these responses to what I learned at the same gathering two years ago when I asked attendees, “What makes a successful park?”
I entered the field of urban planning in hopes of creating a mutually-reinforcing triad of creativity, community engagement and practices that promote public health and well-being. Here was validation and a reminder that the work is urgent and anything but boring. Plantings, tiny libraries, street art and the like are not trivialities: they could save some lives.
Residents possess a wisdom that inspires good work and prevents costly or harmful mistakes. But we need to actually listen, which is not always easy. Conversations like this one, and the many others I had on that afternoon, are also fuel. They provide energy to go forward and they provide the ingredients necessary to solve the complex problems we face.
—
Peter Krebs is the Community Advocacy Manager for the Piedmont Environmental Council. His work focuses on promoting walkable, bikeable, livable communities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. He can be reached at pkrebs@pecva.org
Update on Data Centers in Culpeper and Invite to Upcoming Rooftop Solar Lecture
I’m writing today to share some good news, some hopeful developments in our continued fight against the relentless industrialization of Culpeper by the data center industry, and an invitation to our ongoing lecture series at the Culpeper County Library.
Bike Month 2024 Recap
Bike Month 2024 was a success with dozens of group rides, educational opportunities and bike visibility events throughout May.
New data center proposals in Brandy Station and near the Town of Culpeper
We are urging Culpeper residents to weigh in at upcoming public hearings on June 4 and 12 or via email and ask that each proposal be denied.
Upcoming Meetings: Data Centers, Transmission Lines
Don’t miss these important public hearings and our June 11 event on new transmission proposals.
Solar for Rural Businesses Workshop Resources – May 7, 2024
On May 7, 2024, PEC hosted a workshop called “Solar for Rural Businesses: Accessing Funding for Small-Scale Solar” in Albemarle County.
Wilderness Battlefield Area, Threats and the Data Center Industry
Wilderness Battlefield’s inclusion on this list underscores the inextricable link between natural, historic and cultural resources.
The Germanna Ford Boat Launch is Open!
A new public boat launch on the Rapidan River is now open to visitors at Historic Germanna in Orange County.
Additional Information: Belmont Innovation Campus Rezoning
Often, data center rezoning applications that come before the Board of Supervisors are, in fact, not submitted by data center developers like Meta, Amazon Web Services, etc. Rather, many rezonings are at the request of landowners, real estate investors and speculators who hope for a myriad of profitable business ventures. This may include reselling a property, leasing a property or leasing data center space for other businesses (e.g. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) that build and operate data centers for other businesses).
And while the Board of Supervisors is not responsible for guaranteeing shareholder profit, it is responsible for the welfare of its residents. Therefore, supervisors should consider the following when reviewing rezonings and special exception permits for data center development:
- Existing data center development in Loudoun has already altered the look and feel of the place we call home and threatens more change, from industrializing residential areas to adding new transmission line corridors and substations.
- Statewide climate goals are hindered by the explosive energy demand of the data center industry in Northern Virginia, which now exceeds any other industry in the state. This energy demand has contributed to the need for a fracked gas power plant in Chesterfield Virginia and delayed retirement of coal facilities in West Virginia.
- Also contributing to emissions from Loudoun County is the proliferation of backup diesel generators associated with these data centers. The over 4,000 diesel generators permitted in Loudoun will grow with each new land use approval, contributing to emissions and threatening local air quality and the health of nearby residents if they are used to avoid grid instability.
- Competition for data center development has driven land prices so high that other businesses, including services and retailers, are struggling to locate in the county.
- Over-reliance on this single, globalized industry for its local tax base has created financial risk for Loudoun County and its residents.
In December 2023, the Board of Supervisors adopted new data center standards in its zoning ordinance, recognizing that data center development can negatively affect residents and the look and feel of Loudoun neighborhoods. The Board should do whatever possible to ensure that the new data center standards, or their equivalent, are applied in every applicable case.
In this case, where the applicant has agreed to limit the rezoning request to only the square footage that is permitted by-right, it is appropriate for the Board to ask staff for a deeper analysis to evaluate the following question: Which scenario – this rezoning or a new by-right development – best protects residents, Goose Creek and the grid from future impacts? Conventional wisdom says rezonings with proffers are better, but that may not be true in this case.
If the Board rejects this application, and a new proposal is submitted for the site under the updated zoning standards, the following would apply:
- No data center buildings would be allowed on the A-3parcels, and the GI zoning requirements don’t allow as much intensity of development as the IP zoning category
- Stronger height restrictions would be imposed on buildings adjacent to homes with more design requirements including greater stepbacks.
- Building and parking setback requirements would be larger. For example, under the new standards, the setback of data centers from lot lines would be 200 ft, compared to 100 ft under the rezoning.
- Noise studies and noise protections, lighting requirements and generator testing limitations would be imposed.
- There would be additional protections for trees and native planting requirements.
- A trail along Goose Creek would be required as determined by Loudoun County Parks and Recreation.
The smaller building envelopes allowed under by-right zoning, along with the new standards, could reduce the buildable square footage of data centers on the site from what would be possible under a rezoning.
For all the reasons above, PEC doesn’t support new rezonings and special exceptions for data centers until the CPAM and ZOAM have been adopted. In this particular case, the rezoning gives the developer maximum flexibility without adhering to the new data center standards and maximizes the potential to achieve the full 1.3 million square feet of development. They could also submit a request to amend the proffers in the future to allow even more space, if deemed in substantial conformance. This would not require a whole new data center legislative application and the new standards would still not apply.