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Home My WebLink AboutData Center Zoning RegulationsData Center Zoning Regulations City Council Briefing Kathy Warren, Director, Planning and Community Development Peter Wallace, Director, Information Technology June 2, 2026 1 Overview DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 2 •Infrastructure Types and Types of Data Centers •Data Center Site Needs •Environmental Impacts •Current Ordinance Structure for Data Center Use •Discussion Understanding the Four Infrastructure Types Subsea Cable Landing Sites Physical facilities where undersea fiber optic cables connect to terrestrial networks. Located on coastlines globally, these sites are critical choke points for international internet traffic. Colocation (Colo) Facilities Carrier-neutral data centers where multiple tenants house their own servers and networking equipment. Operators provide power, cooling, physical security, and cross- connects. Data Centers Purpose-built facilities housing computing infrastructure. Can be enterprise-owned or commercial. Offer managed services beyond raw space: compute, storage, and managed hosting. Hyperscalers Massive cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Meta, Apple) operating proprietary global networks. Own millions of servers and build their own subsea cables for cost and control. Each layer serves distinct functions in the global internet ecosystem — from raw connectivity to cloud application delivery. DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 3 Ecosystem Position & Connectivity Hierarchy SUBSEA CABLE LANDING • Oceanic fiber termination • Wet/dry plant interface • Government security clearance • Cable Repeater Equipment • Meet-me rooms (MMR) COLOCATION FACILITY • Carrier-neutral exchange • Physical cross-connects • Interconnection fabric • Peering & transit • Power/cooling SLAs DATA CENTER • Managed compute & storage • Private & hybrid cloud • Disaster recovery • Enterprise IT hosting • Managed security (SOC) HYPERSCALER • Proprietary global WAN • Own subsea cables (private) • Multi-region cloud regions • AI/ML infrastructure • Direct Connect / ExpressRoute Traffic Flow: International Ocean → Landing Site → Colo Exchange → DC/Cloud → End Users Note: Hyperscalers increasingly bypass this chain by owning landing sites and building private cables, vertically integrating from ocean to application layer.DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 4 →→→ Power Consumption & Scale Comparison 5 50 100 500 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Cable Landing Site Colocation Facility Data Center Hyperscaler Campus Typical Power Draw (MW)1–10 MW Cable Landing Site Low footprint, high strategic value 10–100 MW Colocation Scales with tenant demand 10–500 MW Data Center Enterprise to hyperscale range 100 MW–GW+ Hyperscaler AI workloads driving exponential growth DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 5 Strategic Decision Matrix: When to Choose What IF: You need to own international fiber capacity → Cable Landing Site Control latency, ensure bandwidth sovereignty, reduce reliance on third-party capacity leasing. Ideal for large telcos, governments, or hyperscalers with transcontinental traffic at scale. IF: You need neutral, carrier-rich interconnection → Colocation Best for financial exchanges, CDN PoPs, ISPs, and enterprises needing diverse peering. Carrier-neutral facilities maximize routing options without lock-in to a single provider. IF: You need dedicated compute/storage in a controlled environment → Data Center Ideal for regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government) requiring data residency, compliance, and custom hardware configurations that public cloud can't satisfy. IF: You need scalable global cloud with managed services → Hyperscaler Best for startups, SaaS companies, and enterprises needing rapid scaling, AI/ML platforms, and global reach without CapEx burden. Trade control for speed and breadth of services. Many organizations use a hybrid strategy — colocation near cable landing sites, data centers for compliance workloads, and hyperscalers for elastic compute.DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 6 Data Centers Digital infrastructure hubs enable modern digital services and economy •Internet, cloud services, media streaming, apps, financial transactions Size and energy usage depend on scale and type of data center DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 7 Hyperscale Data Centers DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 8 •Public cloud services, big data and AI training clusters •Campuses made up of multiple buildings can be more than 3 million square feet and utilize 10 – 50+ acres of land Colocation Data Centers DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 9 •Providing space, energy, and connectivity to third parties as retail or wholesale •Optimized for high- speed interconnection rather than massive computing •Sites range from a 2,400 sq ft building to 100+ acre campuses Edge Data Centers DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 10 •Small and distributed installations near users or network nodes for very low latencies and local traffic On-Premise Data Centers DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 11 •Owned, hosted, and managed directly by an organization within its own physical building or facilities Data Center Sites DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 12 •Access to transmission lines and large, flat areas of land •Proximity to data center customers and population centers •Newer facilities with artificial intelligence (AI) workloads may require larger land area •Access to utility infrastructure and energy source •Noise from data centers has negatively affected nearby residents Data Center Environmental Impacts •Diesel generators used for backup power •Emit air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter •Regulated by DEQ using state and national standards •All backup generators permitted and monitored by DEQ •Limits use and allowable emissions to protect air quality •Backup generators rarely run for prolonged periods •Most data centers (83 percent) used the same amount of water as, or less than, an average large office building (2023). Hyperscale data centers may have larger water usages. •Water use varies depending on cooling system and often recycled within the system. DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 13 Data Center Environmental Impacts cont’d DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 14 •Noise has been an issue for a minority of data centers but can negatively affect nearby residents •Only some data centers are audible past property line •Noise is typically a low-frequency “drone” or “hum” and is not loud enough to damage hearing Transoceanic Fiber Connection Cables DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 15 •Virginia Beach is the landing point for four new transoceanic fiber connection cables •Mega-data center outside of Richmond, where the cables terminate Colocation Facilities in Virginia Beach DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 16 •Globalinx •Corporate Landing Business Park •Colocation/landing site •9,712 sq ft building •7-acre parcel Colocation Facilities in Virginia Beach cont’d cont’d DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 17 •Telxius •Corporate Landing Business Park •Colocation/landing site •21,197 sq ft building •3.4-acre parcel Virginia Beach Zoning for Data Centers DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 18 •Not a specifically listed use in the Zoning Ordinance •Considered “Wholesaling, warehousing, storage or distribution establishments” •Permitted by-right only in Industrial Districts •Compatible in the noise zones and APZ 1 & 2 •Not compatible in the Clear Zone •Standard setbacks for industrial uses •From residential or apartment districts: 25’ •From hotel, office or business districts: 15’ Planning Commission Feedback DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 19 •Presentation given on April 8, 2026 •Concerns included: •Infrastructure needs •Fire and building code requirements •High utility usages •Land use impacts •Sound impacts •Planning Commission sent a letter to City Council asking for consideration of an ordinance amendment Zoning Ordinance Amendment Options DATA CENTER ZONING REGULATIONS | 20 •Limit districts where data centers can be located •Increased setbacks from residential property •Limitations on size •Sound study •Time limits on generator testing •Screening •Safety plan •Conditional Use Permit Discussion