Planning Commission Recommends Denial of Hunting Hawk Proposal

On 1/15, the Hanover Planning Commission voted 6-1 to “Recommend to Deny” the rezoning requests for Hunting Hawk Technology Park. The Board of Supervisors will make the final decision at their February 25 meeting.

What does this recommendation mean?

The Planning Commission has the authority to recommend to approve; to approve with amendments; to deny; or to defer. Typically, they use the defer option if they need more information. Their vote means that the Planning Department determined that the information received from the applicant, public hearing, independent studies, financial analysis, and department research did not make the case that zoning should be changed.

Their recommendation will be directed to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision. Ultimately, the BoS could disagree with the recommendation, but that doesn’t happen frequently and this wasn’t a close/split vote. The proposal will likely be denied by the BoS. It’s also possible that the applicant will pull their application in advance so they don’t have to go through another public hearing.

On the flip side, it does not mean the planning commission is against data centers or that they won’t make different decisions about future proposals in different locations, or an alternate proposal for this location.

Finally, it does not mean this fight is over. The Board of Supervisors still has to make their final decision. Think of it as a major battle won while the war continues on the final front.

It’s almost impossible to fight a data center proposal. How did this happen?

Tim Cywinski, Communications Director for Sierra Club of Virginia, shared that in cases where industrial zoning is already in place, it’s very difficult to stop a data center. In places where zoning changes are required, the odds of a successful fight go up to 50/50.

It takes community organizing, education, and collaboration, along with many engaged people showing up repeatedly, talking to the media, and educating their neighbors.

In this case, a big shout out to Friends of Hanover, a grassroots group out of Hanover County led by Jennifer Corpus who got the word out, built and leveraged relationships with other groups and organizations, and hosted a rally in advance of the 1/15 meeting. Other groups that supported them in their fight included Goochland Residents Alliance, Neighbors For Change, The Wyndham Smart Development Task Force, and the Sierra Club of VA – in addition to an army of volunteers and social media warriors!

The rally drew significant media attention with reporters attending from national outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and NPR along with local TV and print media.

Since the November community meeting, we’ve seen the opposition to this proposal spread like wildfire. No one wants this except the people who stand to make a lot of money from it. When’s the last time you saw Tea Party folks collaborating with the progressive left to fight the same issue? Truck-driving farmers and suburban soccer moms hated this project in equal measure. Like potholes, data centers are a non-partisan issue and residents of Hanover, Henrico, and Goochland are solidly against putting them where they will negatively impact residential or other sensitive areas.

What were the key takeaways from the meeting?

Hanover extended their normal timelines and allowed 30 speakers in support and 30 in opposition (in both cases 25 from Hanover/5 from outside the county). Thirteen people signed up to speak in support of the proposal.

One gentleman, an electrician by trade, made a very compelling case for the positive impact of all the construction jobs for Hanover residents.

The rest of those who spoke “in support” were people who wanted to speak in opposition but couldn’t get a spot. Several of them used humor and satire to make their point: “When I talk to my neighbors, they just can’t stop raving about how great it would be to look just like Loudoun County”

All of the speakers were well-informed and delivered a mix of emotional appeals and fact-based assessments that made a strong case for why this type of development is not compatible with the Hanover comprehensive plan or adjacent residential and rural land use.

Ultimately, the vote seemed to come down to lack of infrastructure and lack of alignment with the comprehensive plan. Ashland Road could not handle the construction traffic and without public water/sewer there were too many questions about the impact of major industrial development and the harmonious transition to adjacent residential and rural areas.

What’s next, and what can I do?

For this project specifically, the BoS will hold another public hearing and vote on Wednesday, February 25th. Show up one last time to voice your opposition. Thank the planning department for their hard work and the commission for their recommendation to deny.

For the fight in Central VA, we all need to pay close attention to what’s happening in the General Assembly and push our legislators to lead the U.S. in solutions that protect residents and the environment while balancing infrastructure needs and growth.

Demand that they eliminate the tax incentives that make Virginia so attractive to data center developers. Big tech can afford to pay full price and residents deserve to reap the full benefit of that tax revenue if they must bear the costs.

Insist on regional oversight because pollution and human/environmental impact doesn’t stop at county lines. Push our state government to fill the gaps left by federal weakening of the EPA and the Clean Water Act.

Many communities are fighting data centers across the region, so please continue to support our neighbors in their efforts to end data center proliferation and ensure that these facilities are built where they have the least impact on sensitive areas and have the best legal protections built in.

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