Residents urge board to pause '0.1' data center, calling it a disguised gas-fired power plant

Several residents urged the Charles City Board of Supervisors to pause action on a proposed ‘‘0.1’’ data center campus, saying the development appears to be an industrial energy complex rather than a conventional data center.

Pat Davis told the board that the site plan depicts two "turbine yards" and—citing his review of materials—said the full project would include dozens of gas-powered turbines, diesel backup generators and a new well drawing from the local aquifer. "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig," Davis said, arguing the project’s scale and equipment make it a heavy industrial use that should not be treated as a by-right data center.

Tracy Floyd, who said she reviewed federal and state permits for the project, told the board that the documents repeatedly refer to the facility as a power plant and urged supervisors to consider special-use permitting and other legal options. "This body needs to pause the approval process until they can evaluate the impacts of a project of this scale," Floyd said.

County Administrator Rogers said the project presenter was not present and clarified the county’s posture: "The site plan is available for inspection. There is no update regarding the county's position on this project. There is not an approved site plan." Rogers also advised residents that a site plan is not yet approved and that staff has not issued a formal recommendation.

Several speakers raised local infrastructure concerns—road access, noise, groundwater impacts and precedent-setting zoning outcomes—asking the board to treat the proposal as more than a conventional technology campus. The board did not take formal action on the project during the meeting; Rogers said staff would provide additional materials and hold a community meeting on the reassessment and project updates at a future date.