Public Opinion Shifts Toward Data Center Regulation
As data center development continues to expand across Virginia, communities, lawmakers, developers, and neighboring property owners are grappling with the land-use and regulatory implications of projects that are unprecedented in both size and pace of growth. Woods Rogers commercial real estate attorney Steve Blaine recently spoke with Virginia Business about the changing landscape and the potential for increased litigation surrounding data center development.
“The most extraordinary thing about it is that it’s such a rapid growth, and then of course the scale,” Blaine said. He compared the public reaction to concerns he saw during the rise of large-scale retail development, noting that the “big box era” now “seems kind of quaint” compared with the size and scale of today’s data centers.
Steve also anticipates increased litigation from neighboring property owners alleging harms associated with data center construction and operation, including noise and light. Even when a project has received zoning approval, he noted, operators remain subject to other local regulatory requirements, such as noise ordinances.
“Many localities have noise ordinances, and the data center operator can get zoning approval, but they’ll still be subject to other regulatory restrictions,” he told Virginia Business.
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