FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on updated standards for data centers at a public hearing on Tuesday.
The zoning ordinance would, among other things, require data centers to be set back at least 200 feet from residential areas, set building size standards and require noise studies to be conducted.
The vote will come following weeks of public input that led to the creation of the new standards, and then weeks of input on those new standards. The board was initially supposed to vote on the matter two weeks ago, but members voted to table the vote in order to mull over the several hours of public comment and get any additional questions answered from county staff.
Ethan Heintzelman of Alexandria hopes the board takes residents' concerns to heart. A data center is proposed to be built past his backyard, in the plaza next door.
"Some of these safeguards may make sense to the board or other residents of Fairfax County, but it gives you a different perspective when you're looking at a 70-foot tall data center 200 feet from the backyard of your house," he told 7News. "And so I would argue they're not safe enough."
County officials have said this zoning ordinance amendment is to help keep ahead of the rapidly growing industry.
"What we need to do is make sure our ordinance is as modern as possible, that it can address those new emerging technologies before they reach a point of dramatically affecting the quality of our life," Chairman Jeffrey McKay told 7News in March.