Your Hour With APA Virginia: Planning for the Infrastructure of the Digital Age

This APA Virginia webinar, presented by Julie Bolthouse of the Piedmont Environmental Council, provides a comprehensive overview of data center development impacts for local planners and community advocates in Virginia. It covers energy infrastructure and grid strain, water consumption from cooling systems, noise pollution from generators and HVAC, air quality concerns from diesel backup generators, fire safety, and land use impacts of hyperscale facilities. The presentation offers practical recommendations for local zoning and planning standards, including requiring noise studies, limiting diesel generator proximity to sensitive uses, understanding cooling system types, and meeting with utilities before approving data center proposals.