Tell Leaders: Stop The Data Center Takeover of Hanover County

This Petition was created on behalf of Friends of Hanover

Several massive data center proposals are threatening the homes and livelihoods of Hanover and Henrico residents. Four massive data center projects are currently proposed across Hanover County, threatening the homes, health, and livelihoods of residents in multiple neighborhoods and rural communities.

These include the HH Hunt/Hunting Hawk data center, the Mountain Road Technology Park, and additional large-scale data center developments planned near Route 54 in Ashland (Iron Horse Industrial Park) and Old Ridge Road. Together, these projects would industrialize hundreds of acres of land, most of it currently zoned for agricultural use.

If approved, these facilities would operate around the clock, bringing constant noise, massive water consumption, increased air pollution from diesel generators, and extreme strain on our already-stressed power grid.

Families are already struggling with rising housing, food, and energy expenses, and there is no way to bring these data centers to Hanover without driving up utility costs for everyday residents. At the same time, communities would face declining property values, health risks, and the loss of peace and safety in their own neighborhoods. Schools, farms, and long-established communities would all be impacted.

This is not just about one project; it’s about the future of Hanover. Approving even one of these data centers sets a dangerous precedent that nowhere in our county is safe from industrial development. It signals that our county is willing to sacrifice residents, affordability, farmland, and rural character for the profits of Big Tech.

The Hanover County Board of Supervisors must reject all data center proposals and commit to protecting residents, schools, farmland, water resources, and existing neighborhoods from inappropriate industrial expansion.

Tell the Board of Supervisors to reject these data center projects. Hanover isn’t for sale to Big Tech.

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Please Reject The Data Center Takeover of Hanover County

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I’m writing as your constituent to urge you to reject the rezoning of valuable agricultural land for the purpose of a massive data center build out in Hanover. As the data center capital of the world, Virginia has seen firsthand the many problems these facilities bring when built near residential areas—constant noise, heavy water usage, air pollution, expensive energy bills, and a dangerous precedent that puts corporate interests above the wellbeing of taxpaying residents. Data centers generate relentless noise, often between 55–85 decibels, from cooling systems and generators—day and night. In Northern Virginia, nearby residents have reported serious quality-of-life impacts, prompting local governments to enact new zoning restrictions. These facilities also emit low-frequency noise, which is harder to measure but can have serious health implications. Hanover currently lacks the safeguards and accountability mechanisms needed to protect nearby communities from these effects. Water consumption is another major concern. We don't have all the answers about how much water will be consumed by all of these facilities, and there has not been enough transparency about how these data center campuses will impact our water quality and access. Even small data centers consume hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day, and AI facilities can use as much as 5,000,000. That’s a huge strain on local resources and raises questions about future water access, quality, and rising utility costs for residents. Another concern is the precedent of approving these massive data center campuses next to neighborhoods and schools. Approving projects of this size and scale so close to people’s homes risks lowering property values, disturbing the peace, and sending a message that invites more of the same. If you approve these projects, it signals to the industry that Hanover is willing to harm its communities in order to accommodate big tech. I want to be clear: Rezoning agricultural land to industrial use for the sole purpose of projects that so clearly harms nearby, tax-paying residents is simply unfair. Please don’t change the rules because the industry doesn’t like the game. Protect the people who live here. Reject the rezoning requests. Thank you for your consideration, and for your service to our county.

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