The problem
Datacenters can use huge amounts of power, land, and water. They can add noise, generators, substations, transmission lines, and strain on infrastructure. The benefits often go to outside companies while the costs stay with nearby residents.
The standard
Before any datacenter is even considered, Chesapeake should require clear public answers on noise, water use, wastewater discharge, backup generators, grid upgrades, road impacts, emergency risk, and who pays for the new infrastructure.
Protect neighborhoods first
No home or farm should be treated like an acceptable sacrifice zone. Farmers are impacted by these plans too. Animals can die or suffer from heat, noise, bad water, or other environmental stress. If a project brings constant noise, extra risk, hotter discharge, or utility costs that residents and farmers carry, the answer should be no.
My speech to Council
Mayor and members of Council:
I have two points.
First: do not call this a moratorium. It is not one.
This resolution merely states Council’s intention to delay certain applications. It does not prohibit every data center, and it allows this issue to be pushed beyond the election.
That is not protection. That is delay.
The resolution says Council still lacks the framework necessary to make an informed decision. That is not an excuse. It is an indictment of this Council.
You have had four years. If Council still cannot write enforceable protections, what were those four years for?
The people do not want this. We just held a protest because Council does not appear to be listening to its constituents.
No moratorium. No more time.
Set strict limits on noise, water, buffers, power infrastructure and public costs. Make them strong enough to deter data centers from locating here.
Figure it out now. Do not table it until after the election.
Second: if Council forces data centers on Chesapeake under the guise of benefiting the public, every dollar of local data-center tax revenue must be allocated by ordinance before another project is approved.
Create a Data Center Lockbox. The money must not disappear into the General Fund.
Fifty percent must go to education. Chesapeake’s starting teachers earn about $3,800 less than Virginia Beach and $7,300 less than Norfolk. CPS’s five-year capital plan has a $379 million gap and is 61 percent unfunded.
Twenty percent must go to public safety. Chesapeake needs approximately 41 additional police officers to reach the proposed staffing target, requiring about $3.7 million annually. This money must also support competitive fire, EMS and dispatcher compensation.
Fifteen percent must go to stormwater and flooding. Residents in Pughsville and South Norfolk continue to face flooding while drainage projects remain delayed or unfunded.
Ten percent must go to small-business development and incubator sites. Data centers consume enormous amounts of land while creating relatively few permanent jobs.
Five percent must go to agriculture. Chesapeake’s farmers face development pressure, drainage problems, rising land costs and inadequate processing infrastructure.
These allocations must supplement existing funding, not replace it.
None of this money may subsidize the data centers themselves. Developers must pay their own infrastructure and public-service costs.
The ask is simple: reject the moratorium and adopt strict restrictions now.
The demand is equally simple: if you force data centers on Chesapeake against the will of its people, lock every dollar into direct benefits for those people.
Do what voters elected you to do—not what the data-center industry is asking you to do.
The goal
Economic development should make Chesapeake better for the people already here. If a project does not lower costs, improve services, or protect neighborhoods, it should not get special treatment.