This upcoming Wednesday, Dec. 13, the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the proposed revisions it made to the Planning Commission’s draft Zoning Ordinance.
Planning and Zoning
PEC believes in smart growth planning and decision-making that enhances communities, reduces vehicle miles traveled, and protects natural, cultural and historic resources.
Resources from the Hillsboro Town Hall on Transmission Lines and Data Centers – Nov. 30, 2023
On Thursday, Nov. 30, PEC hosted more than 150 people in Hillsboro to discuss transmission line and data center proposals in Loudoun.
Existing and Proposed Data Centers – A Web Map
How many data centers currently exist in Virginia? How many proposals are in the works? These are very good questions. It’s also extremely difficult to provide an answer, given there is no publicly available dataset or state-level tracking of these facilities. In response, The Piedmont Environmental Council has pulled together an online web map showing existing data center facilities (that we are aware of), along with pending data center proposals we have found on various town and county websites, as well as through various news outlets.
Cville Area Land Use Update: Week Ahead for November 27, 2023
City Council to review potential zoning map changes at final work session on Development code
2023 Highlights: A Holistic Approach to Conservation
PEC works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. The following highlights reflect our work in 2023.
Breaking update on PEC’s VFOIA lawsuit against Orange County
Orange County officials signed NDAs with Amazon; court hearing deferred
Piedmont Environmental Council sues Orange County for VFOIA violations
In the interest of good governance and transparency, The Piedmont Environmental Council filed a lawsuit yesterday against Orange County for improperly denying public access to documents pertaining to a local rezoning application, in violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit comes after Orange County officials were unresponsive to PEC’s petition for a Writ of Mandamus, served on Oct. 26, which gave county officials a number of days to correct their VFOIA deficiencies. The lawsuit reflects PEC’s growing concern about the dramatic loss of public access to information about land use decisions in Orange County and across the Commonwealth.
Putting the Pieces Together on Digital Gateway
Since 2021, PEC has been supporting our partners’ heroic efforts to stop the largest data center campus in the world from being built on rural land next to Manassas National Battlefield Park, along Pageland Lane in Prince William County, Virginia.
The proposal, dubbed “Digital Gateway,” is massive and is projected to require around 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy. For context, that’s equivalent to the power used by 750,000 homes – roughly 5 times the number of households currently in Prince William County!
Creating Walkable Piedmont Communities: A Resource Guide
This guidebook is intended for local government staff, community stakeholders, and residents interested in revitalizing downtown main streets, making neighborhood streets safer, and connecting parks, civic and natural amenities with trails.
Data Centers, Surging Power Demand Take Center Stage
The size, scale, and speed at which applications for data center projects are coming in and being approved is astounding.
Just this month, massive proposals moved forward in Culpeper, Louisa, and King George counties, with more being reviewed in Caroline and Stafford counties. Prince William, Loudoun, Fairfax, and Fauquier counties all have multiple active proposals for hyperscale data centers, which can demand hundreds of megawatts of power per campus. As an example, the data center campus just approved in King George County could total more than 1,200 MW alone.