Friends –
It was another late night vote. For those of you who were unable to wait up until after 1am for the outcome, I’ll give you the bad news first: the Board voted 5-3 to approve a study for potential changes to our zoning ordinance that apply to the data center industry, and more specifically, areas where they are most suitably located, known as the Data Center Overlay District (DCOD). Because these buildings are massive and consume enormous amounts of energy, the DCOD was created by stakeholders working together to establish the boundaries of this district for the benefit of all county residents. However, last night’s vote opens the door to an expansion of the overlay into the rural area. As you can imagine, I voted AGAINST this.
As a Board, our job is NOT to provide the data center industry with unlimited land throughout the county. As a Board member, my job is to protect the residents, their water, their homes, their quality of life, their small businesses, and ensure that land uses are compatible with their neighbors. Data centers in the rural area are not compatible with rural communities, agritourism, National Parks (see letters below), and our watershed.
Supervisors Candland, Vega and I firmly believed staff would have been better equipped to conduct this study as staff has a deeper understanding of the county, even if that meant it would take longer to complete the work. However, Supervisors Angry, Bailey, Boddye, Franklin, and Wheeler voted to put this critical study in the hands of a consultant, essentially laying the groundwork for putting the blame elsewhere.
However, the good news is that I was able to expand the scope of the consultant’s responsibilities. As a result of my additions, the consultant’s tasks now include:
- Increased attention on environmental impacts of adding data centers to the rural area.
- An assessment on the impacts data centers would have on important parkland and other natural areas, which includes viewshed, agricultural, and forestal impacts, National Park tourism and agritourism economies, and other natural, cultural and historic resources.
- A detailed analysis of how much land in the current overlay district is available? Of those properties, how much land is vacant, and what other areas we may want to redevelop before we start developing the rural area?
- Analysis of the conservation of green and open space.
- Analysis of incorporating green technology.
County Staff will still lead and manage the project, and community input meetings will be held to ensure citizen’s concerns are heard and addressed. While what happened early this morning may seem bleak, it was expected, and this is not the end of the Rural Crescent. We still have a long road ahead, and your input and participation will be vital in determining the outcome. I believe all the analysis we included last night will produce compelling results that prove what we have known all along – the Rural Crescent is absolutely worth preserving for a multitude of reasons!
Be on the lookout for future emails from me regarding important dates, meetings and votes. Together we can work to save the Rural Crescent!
Regards,
Jeanine
