[* This meeting has been joined in progress *] [7. NEW BUSINESS] [00:00:05] AND THIS HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON OUR WEBSITE IF ANY OF THE PUBLIC WANTS TO VIEW IT, CORRECT? IT WILL BE. I HAD NOT PUT IT ON THERE, BUT I CAN'T PUT IT ON THERE. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. IT WOULDN'T BE TO THE PUBLIC IF THEY HADN'T SUBMITTED IT. I THINK IT WOULD BE. IT'S NOT AN APPLICATION. THEY'RE NOT APPLYING FOR ANYTHING YET. THIS IS NOT AN APPLICATION. ALL RIGHT. IF YOU LOOK AT A, B, AND C, WE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THAT, BUT FROM THE COUNTY'S STANDPOINT, MY STANDPOINT, AND I THINK MR. REAGAN TOO, D, WE SAID THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR MAY PERMIT OTHER STUFF. SO BASICALLY, THAT NEGATES EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE PROPERTIES. SO WE SAID, NO, THAT'S NOT GOING TO GO. WELL, THEY SAID, OKAY, THAT'S IN YOUR ORDINANCE. SO WE SAID, WE DON'T CARE IF IT'S IN THE ORDINANCE. YOU WANT TO DO A BUSINESS, IT GOES. RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. AND SO THERE WAS A PUSH TO GO AHEAD AND COME UP AND HAVE THIS REZONING IN SEPTEMBER. AND FROM THE COUNTY'S STANDPOINT, WE SAID, NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO RUSH INTO THIS. WE WANT TO DO OUR ORDINANCE FIRST, AND THEN YOU CAN MAKE YOUR APPLICATION. SO AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, WE'VE GOT ALL THE TIME WE WANT TO DO THE ORDINANCE, AND I THINK THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING WITH THEM. AND LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT 100% AGAINST THIS PROJECT. IT COULD BE GOOD FOR THE COUNTY. RIGHT. OKAY. SO WE MADE SURE THAT WE WERE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT, AND WE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO DO THE ORDINANCE. YEAH. WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE FELT LIKE THEY WERE PUSHING IT ON US, JUST LIKE WE'VE SAID IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS THAT WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF EVERYTHING. THAT'S THE MESSAGE WE WERE SENDING TO THEM. YEAH, WELL, THEY WERE PUSHING. I KNOW THEY WERE, BUT I'M JUST SAYING. BUT WE HAD FLAG THAT WENT OFF. OKAY. RIGHT. WE SPENT SO MUCH MONEY AND SO MUCH TIME, YOU GUYS ARE NOT DOING US RIGHT. WELL, THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY. THEY'RE GOING TO COME BACK, AND I HOPE THEY DO COME BACK. YES. BUT WE WANTED TO REITERATE THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE DOING ANYTHING BEFORE THE ORDINANCE HAS BEEN APPROVED. MR. VICE CHAIR, I THINK WE NEED TO JUST TABLE THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT IN FRONT OF US NOW. I THINK WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON GETTING OUR ORDINANCE DONE. I THINK WE'RE GETTING SIDETRACKED. WELL, OUR CHAIRMAN HAS JUST NOTIFIED US WE HAVE A CONFLICT, SO I DISAGREE THAT WE'RE GETTING SIDETRACKED. I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE ISSUE IS PRESERVED FOR THE RECORD AND THE PUBLIC IS TRANSPARENT BECAUSE THE PUBLIC IS NOT AWARE OF THIS MEETING. SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE DISCLOSE THAT, AND THAT'S MY POINT. MY POINT IS TO NOT MAKE DECISIONS ON THIS. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR GOVERNMENTAL TRANSPARENCY THAT WE GIVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE, AND I REALLY HAVE NONE. THAT'S WHY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS TONIGHT. I AGREE. I AGREE. BUT I CERTAINLY DO NOT LIKE JUMPING INTO THINGS THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I REALLY THINK THAT BAD DECISIONS ARE MADE WHEN WE ARE SURPRISED WITH INFORMATION. SO I HOPE THAT WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT SURPRISED MOVING FORWARD ABOUT INFORMATION, THAT IT'S ON THE AGENDA. I GUESS THAT'S MY OVERALL POINT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. I RESPECT MICHAEL'S OPINION ABOUT AVOIDING THIS, BUT I WAS AT THE MEETING AND I DON'T FEEL THAT HE SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS. I HAVE NO REASON THAT HE SHOULD. I SEE NO REASON. SO THAT'S UP TO HIM, BUT I WAS GOING TO SAY IN HIS DEFENSE, HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THAT MAYBE SOME OF US WOULDN'T DO AND PUT ON THE SPOT IN THE MEETING. SO I WOULD ASK HIM MAYBE TO RECONSIDER THIS. SO THE DEVELOPERS THAT WERE THERE, WERE THEY ALL WITH THAT PROJECT OR WERE THEY OF THE RIGHT? YEAH, THERE WAS THEIR ATTORNEY AND FOUR OR FIVE OTHERS. THE REALTOR AND THE LANDOWNERS. SO THEY WERE ALL PERTAINING TO THIS ONE PROPERTY. THIS PROPERTY. YEAH, THIS PROJECT. AND I GATHER THE COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE THERE WOULD BE MR. DRAKE AND YOURSELF SINCE YOU WERE COMMISSIONER. OR WAS IT A SEPARATE COMMISSION? DRAKE AND MYSELF AND THE BOARD WAS MYSELF AND ROBERT WHITE. AND I'M JUST BRINGING THAT OUT SO THAT IT'S FULL DISCLOSURE. BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE I TALK TO ON THE DATA CENTER, IT'S JUST THE TOP [00:05:02] OF THE LIST. THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERNS, PERIOD. I WON'T GO INTO ALL THE CONCERNS I HEAR AND I DEBATE THEM ON SOME OF THEM, BUT I'M GETTING SO THAT WHEN I READ STUFF ABOUT DATA CENTERS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE. SO I JUST WANT MY 11 OR 12 MONTHS TO KIND OF UPDATE AND GET THE FACTS AND GO FROM THERE. BUT WHEN I SAW THIS DRAFT OF PROPER LIMITATIONS ON THE DATE OF JULY 6TH, I DIDN'T READ THROUGH IT. BECAUSE THE FIRST TITLE HIT ME WRONG. SO I'M JUST. I DON'T LIKE MEETINGS LIKE THAT EITHER. BUT AS LONG AS WE HAVE THAT KIND OF MEETING AND IT'S LEGAL AND IT NEEDS TO GET OUT. RIGHT. IT NEEDS TO BE GOOD. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT WE'VE GOT SOMEBODY THAT WANTS A PROJECT AND THEY'RE ALREADY PUTTING PROPER LIMITATIONS OUT THERE. WE'RE GETTING CAUGHT BEFORE THE HORSE. I THINK THAT WAS A LOT OF MR. DRAKE, CHAIRMAN DRAKE'S OBJECTION AND MINE ALSO. AND I THINK SOME OF THAT PROPER LIMITATION, YOU KNOW, WAS DEVELOPED TO HELP US SEE WHAT KIND OF THINGS WE SHOULD ADDRESS IN OUR ORDINANCE. SO THAT'S SORT OF ASSISTED, YOU KNOW, WITH CREATING THE ORDINANCE BECAUSE I USED OTHER LOCALITIES, ORDINANCES, DATA CENTER ORDINANCES TO HELP CREATE WHAT WE HAVE THIS MORNING. I MEAN, SORRY TO SAY EVENING. SO THAT'S REALLY JUST MORE GENERAL INFORMATION. LET'S TAKE MR. TURNER'S ADVICE AND LET'S MOVE TOWARDS THE ORDER. OK, SO WHAT I'VE DONE IS, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I USED THE AND CREATED THE ORDINANCE THIS MORNING, MINNESOTA THIS EVENING. I HAVE, LIKE I'VE STATED IN OTHER PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS, THAT I'M USING THE SAME FORMAT AS OUR UTILITY SCALE ORDINANCE, AS OUR BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM ORDINANCE AS WELL TO CREATE THIS DATA CENTER ORDINANCE. YOU KNOW, THE FRAMEWORK IS VERY SOLID AND IT HELPS TO ADDRESS ALL THE VARIOUS ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF ANY LARGE SCALE PROJECT IN THE COUNTY. IT FALLS RIGHT IN. I'M SORRY. HAS MICHAEL LEFT THE PROPERTY, MR. DRAKE? I HAVE NO IDEA. BECAUSE IF WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS, WE KIND OF NEED HIM FOR THIS. I WOULD EXPECT HE HAS LEFT THE PROPERTY, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. GIVE HIM A CALL. CAN YOU CHECK AND SEE IF HE'S PRESENT? YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK THIS MEMO THAT HE WROTE SPEAKS TO ABOUT THE MEETING TYPE THING. BUT NOW WE'RE ON THE ORDINANCE. SO THAT IS UP. THE GUCHELIN? OK. REGAN, MY UNDERSTANDING, THE WAY WE PUT THE BATTERY ORDINANCE TOGETHER BY GATHERING INFORMATION FROM MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES, SHUFFLING IT ALL TOGETHER, THAT'S THE SAME PLAN WE HAVE NOW? CORRECT. YES, SIR. I USED GUCHELIN COUNTY, LOUDOUN COUNTY, AND CITY OF SUFFOLK. CITY OF SUFFOLK, THEY'RE WORKING ON A DRAFT ORDINANCE. I LIKE GUCHELIN. IS GUCHELIN A DRAFT OR IS IT IN EFFECT? GUCHELIN, THAT IS, I THINK THAT WAS A, THAT MIGHT BE A DRAFT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. IT LOOKS LIKE A DRAFT. IT LOOKS LIKE A DRAFT, BUT I WASN'T SURE. I THINK THAT IS A DRAFT. A DRAFT. THEY JUST DON'T USE THE DRAFT WATERMARK IN THE MIDDLE. YOU SAID LOUDOUN COUNTY? I USED SOMETHING FROM LOUDOUN COUNTY. I USED SOME OF THE... YOU KNOW, A LITTLE OF HISTORY, LOUDOUN COUNTY, IT PROVIDES 40% OF THEIR TAX BASE, THE DATA CENTERS IN LOUDOUN COUNTY. IT'S LOWERED THEIR TAX RATE BY 30%, BUT IT'S ELEVATED THEIR ELECTRIC RATES BY 35%. THAT WAS ON FOX THIS MORNING, [00:10:01] I WATCHED, SO THAT'S AS RECENT AS THAT. YEAH, SO THOSE ARE THE LOCALITIES I USED. SO AS YOU SEE IN YOUR PACKET, I HAVE THE ORDINANCE HERE. EVERYTHING IN RED, OBVIOUSLY, AND I HAVE IT NUMBERED ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, BUT EVERYTHING IN RED IS NEW LANGUAGE. DID EVERYONE CATCH THE GOOCHLAND OVERLAY DISTRICT? NOW, THAT'S THE OTHER THING. THEY'RE BASICALLY KIND OF, THEY'RE SKINNING THAT CAT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. THAT IS AN OVERLAY DISTRICT. THERE ARE TWO THINGS I DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT. AGAIN, THIS IS THE ORDINANCE. BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO... IT HAS SOME BASIC DESIGN ELEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REZONING THAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE REZONING OF THE PROPERTY OR ANY KIND OF AREA WHERE THE DATA CENTERS ARE GOING TO RESIDE. THEN THERE'S GOING TO BE THE TECHNICAL TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF THE LOCALITIES IN THIS AREA ARE USING. GOOCHLAND, ME AND ONE OF THEM, LOUISA, AS WELL AS ANOTHER ONE HERE. BUT THEY'RE USING WHAT'S CALLED A TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT. AND WHAT THAT DOES, THAT'S ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DESIGN RESTRICTIONS OR REQUIREMENTS FOR A DATA CENTER SITE. SO IT'S TWO DIFFERENT... I SUGGEST EVERYBODY LOOK THIS OVER AND BRING IT BACK. YEAH, YEAH, THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY PART. THIS IS MY QUESTION BECAUSE I FIND IT VERY INTERESTING THAT... I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU, REG, AND MR. PRINCE, AND FOR DR. EDWARDS. BECAUSE WE'RE NOT POLITICIANS. I ALWAYS SAY THAT. WHERE DO I WANT TO BE? I'M NOT EITHER, DOUG. YEAH, I THINK YOU ARE A LITTLE BIT. IS THE WAY THAT I READ GOOCHLAND... SO LET'S USE AS AN ANALOGY OUR SOLAR ORDINANCE. AND I THINK OUR SOLAR ORDINANCE IS VERY RESTRICTIVE, I THINK ONE OF THE MOST RESTRICTIVE OF ANY COUNTY IN VIRGINIA. I THINK WE CAN AGREE WITH THAT. EVERYBODY THAT'S WENT THROUGH THIS. AND CORRECT ME, MR. PRINCE, IF I'M WRONG ON ANYTHING, IS THAT THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT NOT ONLY GIVES YOU SOME STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, BUT IT STILL GIVES YOU DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS LIKE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. NOW, IF WE USE THAT ANALOGY, HAVING A RESTRICTIVE ORDINANCE, REMEMBER THE LAST APPLICANT WAS IN COMPLIANCE, SO THEREFORE WE REALLY HAVE NO CONTROL AS A PLANNING COMMISSION IF THEY'RE IN FULL COMPLIANCE. IF WE WOULD HAVE... AND I THINK THIS IS A POLITICAL QUESTION, WHICH I DO NOT WANT TO GET INTO, BUT I THINK I WOULD LIKE FOR THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO DISCUSS THIS, BECAUSE AS WE'RE DOING OUR ORDINANCE, WE MAY SAY, HEY, WE LIKE BITS AND PIECES OF OUR ORDINANCE, BUT WE REALLY WANT TO AMEND OUR CODE AND HAVE SOME QUASI OVERLAY DISTRICT TO GIVE THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MORE DISCRETION. HAS ANYBODY ELSE THOUGHT OF THAT LIKE I DO? AND I KNOW SOMETIMES I THINK OF THESE THINGS OUTSIDE THE BOX. WELL, SURE, WE NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION UNDERSTANDS WHAT... SURE, BUT IT'S A COMPLICATED DOCUMENT. YES, IT IS. YES. IT'S SOMETHING NEW THAT CAME UP ACTUALLY THIS MEETING TWO FRIDAYS AGO WE JUST DISCUSSED. OKAY? SO THAT'S WHY I ASKED MR. PRINCE TO GET THAT TOGETHER AND BRING IT TO US TONIGHT SO WE COULD START GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH IT, WE CAN ALL READ THIS AND COME BACK, AND IT'S SOMETHING NEW THAT I'VE GOT TO ADMIT, I DID NOT THINK ABOUT IT. BUT I THINK PHILOSOPHICALLY WE HAVE TO DECIDE, DO WE WANT AN ORDINANCE, DO WE WANT A QUASI ORDINANCE, DO WE WANT TO AMEND THE CODE WITH AN OVERLAY DISTRICT? AND THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN MY MIND, AND I GUESS I'M GETTING OLD. I LOOK OVER HERE TO THE RIGHT AND I'M TRYING TO SEE RICHARD RAYLEIGH OVER THERE, AND I MISS RICHARD. [00:15:04] BUT WE'VE GOT TO DECIDE WHAT DIRECTION WE'RE GOING TO GO IN IF THIS IS SOMETHING WE EVEN WANT TO CONSIDER. IT'S VERY COMPLICATED, AND I'M A LAWYER, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONSIDER IS SAY OPTION A, B, OR C, OR A HYBRID OF A, B, OR AND I KNOW THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS KIND OF GAVE US THE DIRECTION OF THE ORDINANCE, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THAT, I'M JUST SAYING THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING IN VIRGINIA AND DO WHAT'S BEST FOR SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. I THINK WE NEED TO DO BOTH, WE NEED TO DO AN ORDINANCE AND FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT TOO. BUT IF WE JUST DO THE ORDINANCE, THE OVERLAY DISTRICT SEEMS TO ME, OF THE RESEARCH I'VE DONE, BECAUSE I SAW THIS AND I JUST STARTED DOING RESEARCH ON IT, THIS SEEMS TO BE MORE OF THE TREND THAN THE ACTUAL, THE STATUTE OR THE ORDINANCE KIND OF SEEMS KIND OF ARCHAIC AND KIND OF OUTDATED, AND LOUDON IS, BECAUSE THEY'RE SO SATURATED WITH IT, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH, IT'S KIND OF OVERWHELMING. KIND OF LIKE WE WERE WITH SOLAR PANELS AT FIRST, WITH REMEDIATION, AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE EVEN WORSE. THAT'S THE WAY THAT I'M FEELING IT, AND I'M JUST TRYING TO VOICE IT TO SEE HOW ALL OF Y'ALL FEEL ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A MONUMENTAL TASK. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY. WELL, I THINK WE NEED TO GO WITH ONE, WHICHEVER GIVES US THE BEST CONTROL. I'D LOOK AT THAT AND DECIDE ON THAT. I THINK THE ORDINANCE GIVES US THE BASIC CONTROL THAT WE NEED. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BASE OUR REZONING ZONE ON. I THINK WE STILL NEED TO STICK WITH IT. TRIED AND TRUE ORDINANCE. WE CAN MAKE IT RESTRICTIVE OR LESS RESTRICTIVE AS WE NEED. THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY CONCEPT ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE SAY IN HOW THE BUILDING LOOKS, HOW A BUILDING LOOKS, HOW IT'S THEMED. IF YOU WANT IT THEMED, HAVE AN AGRICULTURAL THEME VERSUS SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT YOU HAVE SEEN ON THE INTERNET OF SOME OF THESE DATA CENTERS. THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF ARCHITECTURAL FLAIR TO THEM, BUT YOU CAN CONTROL HOW THE BUILDING LOOKS IN ADDITION TO THE SETBACKS AND OTHER ITEMS RELATED TO THE BUILDING ITSELF. DOESN'T IT AMEND THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WHERE THE BASICALLY LOCALITY IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN NAMES THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAYS DISTRICT AND THEN THIS IS REALLY THE ONLY OPTIONS FOR THE DATA CENTERS? THAT'S WHAT IT SEEMS TO ME. IT WILL PROBABLY MIRROR. IT BASICALLY IS A COMPREHENSIVE. I THINK IT'S ALL INCLUSIVE IN SETTING THAT IT'S DEFINITIVE THAT THE ONLY PLACE THAT THESE DATA CENTERS ARE GOING TO GO ARE IN EVEN IF POSSIBLE AND APPROVED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND BOARD, THEY CAN ONLY GO HERE. I JUST THINK THAT THAT'S LIKE A CONDITIONAL USE COMPLYING WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. I JUST THINK THAT THAT IS, I DON'T WANT TO USE THE WORD OVERLY RESTRICTIVE. THAT AREA IN QUESTION IS ALREADY ZONED AT M1 FOR INDUSTRIAL. IT'S COLORED IN M1. IT'S IN RED. I THINK OUR COMP PLAN IS EVERYTHING OPENED DOWN THAT ROUTE. THE COMP PLAN HAS IT ZONED FOR THAT. THAT'S WHY I SAID I THINK THAT WE'VE APPROVED THAT AND I THINK WITH RESERVATIONS AND OUR CONTROL AND DOING THINGS ON OUR OWN TIME IT WOULD BE A GOOD PROJECT. BUT I THINK IN LOOKING AT SOME MATTERS THAT THEY FELT, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THE LOCALITIES FELT AS IF THEY HAD LOST CONTROL OF THEIR ORDINANCE SO THEREFORE THEY DID THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT. THAT'S WHAT IT SEEMS TO SAY IN THE LITERATURE THAT I'M READING. IT WAS TO COVER THE GAPS. YOU CAN'T THINK OF EVERYTHING. SURE. I THINK THE ORDINANCE AND OVERLAY I THINK WOULD BE THE WAY TO GO WITH IT. I THINK THE OVERLAY SOUNDS LIKE A VERY GOOD CONTROL MECHANISM. YOU SAID YOU DID SOME RESEARCH. WHAT OTHER LOCATIONS DID YOU [00:20:05] SEE WERE USING THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY? I THINK THERE WAS FOUR LOCALITIES. IN VIRGINIA? IN VIRGINIA. OKAY. AND THAT'S WHY I ASKED ABOUT GUCHELIN BECAUSE IT DIDN'T SEEM AS IF, I THINK THIS WAS A DRAFT AND I THINK MR. PRINCE ALLUDED TO IT BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE MARKED DRAFT ON OUR COPY. RIGHT. WELL I ASSUME TOO THAT GUCHELIN IS ONE OF THE LOCATIONS THAT HAS BEEN ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THEY ARE A GROWTH SPOT. THEY'VE BEEN HIT HARD ON THE APPLICATION. EXACTLY. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I WANT TO LOOK. NOT THE PLACES WHERE THERE AREN'T ANY BUT THE PLACES THAT HAVE BECAUSE JUST LIKE SOLAR PANELS WE'VE EVOLVED. WE'VE LEARNED FROM OUR SUCCESS AND FAILURES I GUESS. RIGHT. GUCHELIN IS ONE OF THE FIVE COUNTIES IN THE RICHMOND AREA THAT HAS SAID NO MORE. THEY'VE SAID WHAT? GUCHELIN IS ONE OF THE FIVE COUNTIES IN THE RICHMOND AREA AROUND RICHMOND THAT SAID NO. RIGHT. ONE WAY I HAVE TRIED TO PUT IT HERE AND I THINK I DID PUT IT IN HERE BUT THEY WERE, AS FAR AS CONTROL IS CONCERNED, AND BORROWING THIS FROM THE UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECT, I MEAN ORDINANCE, THAT THEY'RE LIMITED TO ONE PERCENT OF LAND MASS FOR THE COUNTY. WE AREN'T GOING TO HAVE SO MANY ONE PERCENT LEFT. ONE PERCENT OF SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. 3800 ACRES. 3800 ACRES. WHAT'S LEFT IN SOLAR? HOW MUCH WAS ONE PERCENT REGARDLESS? ONE PERCENT. AND DO OTHER LOCATIONS DO A HALF A PERCENT? I HAVEN'T SEEN OTHER LOCALITIES THAT HAVE ANY PERCENTAGE. LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'VE LOST CONTROL BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE SOME KIND OF LIMIT. BECAUSE THAT PERCENTAGE IS A WAY TO PUT CONTROL. RIGHT. BUT ON, IT LIMITS THE NUMBER OF FACILITIES THAT COULD BE BUILT IN A COUNTY. CORRECT. AND THE BOARD SUPERVISORS OR PLANNING COMMISSION CAN REDUCE THAT. YOU KNOW, IF YOU SO DESIRE. TO A DATA CENTER, IT MAY BE A YEAR TO THREE YEARS BEFORE THEY EVEN DIG UP THE FIRST SPADE FULL OF DIRT. I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH WITH THE WATER STUDIES. IF YOU'RE AWARE NOW, WE'RE IN A WATER BIND RIGHT NOW. WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING WATER BACK INTO THE POTOMAC AQUIFER. WE HAVE THREE PLACES IN VIRGINIA THAT ARE PUTTING A MILLION GALLONS A DAY OF TREATED WATER BACK INTO THE AQUIFER. BECAUSE WE'VE TAKEN OUT SO MUCH. WHEN YOU DO THAT, THE PRESSURE GOES DOWN AND SEAWATER COMES IN. SO THAT'S WHERE WE STAND. AND THE OTHER THING IS, AND YOU TAKE A LONG TIME WITH THE UTILITIES TO COME IN AND GET THAT DONE. AND I MIGHT SAY TEXAS IS AHEAD OF. TEXAS HAS, THE STATE OF TEXAS RECENTLY SAID, ALL RIGHT, YOU WANT TO DO A DATA CENTER. YOU CANNOT TAKE ANY WATER THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT'S GOING TO COME IN HERE. NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO. YOU CAN'T PASS THIS COST ON TO THE CONSUMER. YOU CAN'T RAISE ELECTRIC RATES. SO THAT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T SAY THAT, BUT WE CAN REALLY. WE AGREE WE CAN. I'M NOT SURE WE HAVE AUTHORITY TO SAY WE CAN'T RAISE THE RATES. BUT I MEAN, WE COULD TRY. EXACTLY. SOME OF THAT IS ADDRESSED IN OUR, IN THIS. SO I THINK WE OUGHT TO MAYBE DO SOME HOMEWORK AND COME BACK NEXT TIME TO JUMP ON THE ORDINANCE. BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO DECIDE, YOU KNOW, THE OVERLAY DISTRICT, THE ORDINANCE IS B OR C, A COMBINATION OF BOTH. I THINK A LOT OF LOCALITIES ARE DOING BOTH. THEY ALREADY HAD AN UNDERLYING ORDINANCE IN PLACE. AND THEN THEY HAD THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT. YOU KNOW, THEIR RESPECTIVE LEGISLATIVE BODIES, YOU KNOW, ADOPTED THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT AS WELL. BECAUSE IF YOU READ IN THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT, IT SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT, WELL, IF THE UNDERLYING DISTRICT UNDERLYING ORDINANCE MENTIONS SOMETHING THAT THE [00:25:04] TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT DIDN'T, THEN THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT RULES APPLY. SO THEY TRY TO CONNECT THE TWO, THEY TRY TO CLOSE UP THOSE LOOPHOLES THAT A LOT OF THE DATA CENTER PEOPLE ARE FINDING. YOU KNOW, HEY, IF WE DON'T CATCH YOU HERE, WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS SOMETHING HERE. WE ADDRESS IT HERE. SO I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE BOTH. AND DR. EDWARDS, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, SINCE WE'RE NOT POLICY SETTERS, THAT THEY WOULD LIKE US TO ENTERTAIN THE, BECAUSE TECHNICALLY THE ORDINANCE AND THE OVERLAY ARE SEPARATE. THEY CAN BE COMBINED, BUT I DON'T WANT TO OVERSTEP OUR MANDATE. I THINK THE PLANNING COMMISSION OUGHT TO DECIDE WHICH WAY IS BEST TO GO. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD'S RELYING ON. CAN YOU BRING THAT UP TO THE BOARD? SURE. GET THEIR BLESSING OR? THEY DIDN'T ASK US TO LOOK AT TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT. THEY ASKED US TO DO THE ORDINANCE. WELL, THAT'S WHERE, YEAH, THAT'S WHERE I'M GOING. I DON'T WANT TO OVER, I MEAN, IF THEY JUST WANT ORDINANCE, WE'LL DO AN ORDINANCE. BUT I THINK, I MEAN, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. I MEAN, IT WAS MY IGNORANCE, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY THIS. THAT'S WHY WE GOT THE 12 MONTH. EXACTLY. BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK IF WE'RE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE. AND IF YOU COULD GIVE US SOME LINKS JUST FOR US TO READ AT HOME FOR OTHER LOCATIONS THAT HAVE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAYS. AND EVEN IF THEY'RE OUT OF STATE, THERE MIGHT BE SOME INFORMATION THAT'S NOT JUST VIRGINIA THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. I THINK WE SHOULD ASK OUR IVOR REPRESENTATIVE HERE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SOME OF HIS AI FRIENDS. PULL IT FROM THE CLOSEST DATA CENTER? WELL, YOU BROUGHT IT OUT OF STATE. IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN FROM WHAT I HEAR THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, NC STATE IS SUPPOSED TO COME TO NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, I THINK. AND WHETHER THEY'RE DOING SEVERAL COUNTIES, BUT THIS IS WHERE THIS KNOWLEDGE CAME FROM SOMEBODY OUT OF NORTHAMPTON. THAT THEY WERE GOING TO COME DOWN AND DO A PRESENTATION ON DATA CENTERS AND INFORMATION TO HELP. THEY CALL THEM, THEY'RE NOT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO GET THE TERMINOLOGY THAT THEY USE, BUT TO HELP THEM COME UP WITH SOME TYPE OF ORDINANCE. AND I THINK IN NORTHAMPTON THEY'VE GOT 18 MONTHS, I BELIEVE IT IS. SO THEY'RE INTERESTED IN GETTING AS MUCH INFORMATION AS THEY CAN. AND IF I FIND THAT DATA, I'LL TRY TO FORWARD IT TO Y'ALL SO IT'S NOT THAT FAR DRY. AND SOME OF IT THEY BRING UP CANNOT APPLY, MIGHT NOT APPLY TO VIRGINIA, BUT KNOWLEDGE IS PART OF IT. AND THAT'S NORTHAMPTON, NORTH CAROLINA, NOT VIRGINIA. THAT'S NORTHAMPTON, NORTH CAROLINA, SO IT'S NOT A LONG DRIVE. AND WE LEARNED A LOT FROM NORTH CAROLINA'S MISTAKES ON SOLAR. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH DATA CENTERS THEY HAVE. IT DOES, IT'S JUST A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WE NEED TO GATHER. NOW THIS OVERLAY DISTRICT, IS THIS THE EXACT VERBIAGE FROM GOOCHLAND OR IS ANYTHING, I SEE SAN ANTONIO INCLUDED. YES, I REVISED, WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET, I REVISED THAT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU SOME SENSE OF IF WE PUT SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY NAMES IN THERE. I HAD PUT BLANKS IN DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE THERE WOULD BE SECTIONS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO GET CONFUSED ABOUT ANYTHING. BUT I PUT SECTION AND I LEAVE BLANKS SO ALL THAT WILL BE FILLED IN AT SOME TIME. BUT I AT LEAST STARTED WITH THE REVISION OF IT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY NAME AND GOOCHLAND'S, GOOCHLAND'S TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT LANGUAGE. MR. PRINCE, IF WE COULD, WE'LL PUT THIS ON LATE ARRIVING MATTERS IN THE BOARD MEETING COMING UP TUESDAY. AND IF YOU COULD BE PREPARED TO COME AND GIVE US A SHORT DISSERTATION ON WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN THESE TWO THINGS, THEN THE BOARD CAN MAKE A BETTER DECISION ABOUT DIRECTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION. AND MR. PRINCE, YOU CAN BLAME ME. NO, NO, YOU'RE FINE. BLAME ME. NO, YOU'RE FINE. JUST BLAME, BLAME ME. NO, THAT'S OKAY. IT'S LEARNING. IT'S ALL LEARNING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT STYLES AND APPROACHES THAT OTHER LOCALITIES ARE USING IN TRYING TO. WELL, LET'S EXPLAIN IT TO THE BOARD. SURE. SO WE CAN MAKE A DECISION ON WHAT WE WANT TO MANDATE THE PLANNING COMMISSION. [00:30:01] IN LOOKING AT THE GOOCHLAND POPULATION, I THINK OF THE ARTICLES THAT I READ AND THE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT I READ, THAT THEIR CITIZENS HAVE A VERY SIMILAR MAKEUP AND ATTITUDE TO SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY. I MEAN, THAT'S THE FEELING THAT I GOT. AND LOOKING AT LOUDON'S ORDINANCE, I DIDN'T FEEL AS CONFIDENT. IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT AREA. I THINK THEIR GOALS ARE A LOT DIFFERENT. AND THAT'S WHY I KIND OF GRAVITATED TO THIS. AND I'M JUST TELLING YOU ALL HOW I'M THINKING. BECAUSE THIS IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THE SOLAR ORDINANCE. CHESAPEAKE AND SUFFOLK HAVE ALREADY TURNED DOWN APPLICATIONS FOR A DATA CENTER WITHIN THE LAST SIX MONTHS. YEAH, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT TOO. I READ IN A NEWS ARTICLE THAT THE CITY OF CHESAPEAKE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A NEW ZONING ORDINANCE FOR IT. AND IT SAYS THAT THEY ELIMINATED THE BY-RIGHT APPROVAL. SO THEY CAN NO LONGER JUST BE BUILT IN PERMITTED ZONES WITHOUT EXPLICIT CONSENT FROM THE COUNCIL. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS WOULD DO. YEAH. RIGHT. BECAUSE WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET, WHAT I'VE SEEN IS THAT DATA CENTERS WERE BUILT, LIKE I SAID, USING OLD OR NO ZONING REQUIREMENTS IN SOME LOCALITIES. THEY WERE ALLOWED TO BE BUILT BEFORE BEING APPROVED BY THE ELECTRIC POWER PROVIDERS. AND NOW THEY RUN THOSE DATA CENTERS OFF OF BACKUP GENERATORS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. AND THAT'S THE LOUDNESS. THAT'S WHERE YOU GET THE COMPLAINTS FROM ON A LOT OF STUFF YOU READ ON THE INTERNET. SO AGAIN, ONE OF THE ITEMS I HAVE IN THE ORDINANCE IS THAT NOTHING WILL BE APPROVED UNTIL THEY GET AN ACTUAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTION. SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THERE THAT WILL HELP CONTROL THEM THROUGH ORDINANCE AS WELL. BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH COMING TO THE BOARD AND EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORDINANCE VERSUS THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICTS. SO I DON'T THINK I NEED A MOTION, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK WE BRING THIS ISSUE UP ON OUR NEXT MEETING, SEPTEMBER 10TH, AND WE'LL HAVE OUR CHAIRMAN BACK TO PARTICIPATE. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT? NO. AND ALL OF US JUST NEED TO BE ON OUR PS AND QS. WE ALWAYS NEED TO BE ON OUR PS AND QS. I KNOW THAT, BUT NOT TO BRING UP ANY VERBIAGE THAT DRIVES MR. DRAKE OUT OF THE RING. YES. I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP ONE LITTLE POINT THAT WE ALL SHOULD BE AWARE OF. ALL OF THESE THAT I SAW, EVERYBODY'S DOING THE SAME THING THAT WE'RE DOING. THEY'RE TAKING SOME OTHER ORDINANCE AND THEY'RE BRINGING IT AHEAD. AND WHAT THESE ARE DOING SO FAR, FENESTRATION. IT'S WONDERFUL AND GREAT ON HOUSES AND OFFICE BUILDINGS. BUT THESE ARE BIG, GIANT WAREHOUSES. AND TO HAVE, WHAT, 60% WINDOWS DOESN'T REALLY MAKE GOOD SENSE. AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T CARRY CRAZINESS BY ACCIDENT. CUT AND PASTE. YEAH, EXACTLY. WE WANT THEM TO LOOK GOOD. AND I'M ASSUMING WHEREVER THEY ARE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE THEM SOMEWHAT. BUT WE DON'T NEED COLONIAL MINIONS. RIGHT. THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN CRAFT A LANGUAGE. YEAH, YOU CAN CRAFT A LANGUAGE IN THAT AREA TO SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS AREA. THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT THAT'S THE FLEXIBILITY YOU HAVE WITH THE TOD. WELL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT. WE ALL FEEL GOOD ABOUT OUR SOLAR ORDINANCE. ANYBODY AWARE IN SUSSEX COUNTY THERE'S A 20,000-ACRE PROJECT GOING IN? OKAY. AND I TALKED TO ONE OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OVER THERE AND THERE'S 14 NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SOLAR THERE. AND I ASKED, I SAID, WHAT IS YOUR RESTRICTION? WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR COUNTY CAN YOU GIVE UP TO THAT? THEY HAVE NONE. THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS. THEY DON'T HAVE A 1%. THEY HAVE 100%. OH, MY GOSH. AND I THINK WITH OUR SOLAR ORDINANCE, WE DIDN'T CUT AND PASTE. [00:35:03] WE REALLY DUG IN AND GOT A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE FROM DIFFERENT PLACES AND THEN ADDED OUR OWN STUFF. AND I THINK THAT 1% CAME FROM WITHIN SILENT COUNTY. WE DIDN'T CUT AND PASTE THAT FROM SOMEBODY. ACTUALLY, I THINK IT WAS MR. RIEGEL'S IDEA, WASN'T IT? RIGHT. I THINK IT WAS MR. RIEGEL'S IDEA. I THINK IT WAS THE WHOLE BOARD'S IDEA. YOU KNOW, IT CAME UP AND I THINK EVERYBODY JUMPED ON IT. SO IT WAS, AND IT CERTAINLY SET THE TEMPLATE. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE CAN USE THE SAME EQUATION WITH THIS BECAUSE WE HAD IT SUPPORTED WITH WHAT THE STATE WANTED AS FAR AS RENEWABLE ENERGY. NOW, WITH THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, ISN'T THERE A PUSH TO STOP DATA CENTERS IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT? OR IS THAT JUST FACEBOOK READING? I DON'T KNOW. AND I HAVEN'T READ WHAT WAS GIVEN TO US TONIGHT, BUT THERE WAS TAX INCENTIVES THAT WERE APPROVED YEARS AGO AND ARE SUPPOSED TO GO TO 2030. AND I THINK THERE'S A PUSH. IF THEY GET APPROVED, THEN THEY CAN WAIT THREE OR FOUR YEARS. IT'S KIND OF NICE TO KNOW THE BACKDOOR POLITICS. WE'RE NOT POLITICIANS, BUT ONE OF US. IS THAT RIGHT? RIGHT. WELL, I WANT TO THANK MR. URQUHART FOR GIVING US. OH, YES. CLIFF NOTES. VERY HELPFUL. YEAH. FOCUSED THOUGHTS. OKAY. WELL, I MUST SAY IN THE INFORMATION THAT I GAVE YOU ALL TONIGHT, I DID NOT DO ANY ABSTRACT ON THIS GOOFMAN ORDINANCE. I JUST WENT BY WHAT I WAS PRESENTED WITH AS OUR ROUGH DRAFT. SO I DID A COMPLETE ANALYSIS ON THAT. THANK YOU. SO I WOULD HAVE TO RUN BACK THROUGH THE GOOFMAN ORDINANCE AND SEE WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS IN IT THAT WE MAY NOT SEE RIGHT NOW. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. BUT YOU'RE GOING TO PULL IT UP AS A TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY BECAUSE THAT TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT IS SEPARATE THAN AN ORDINANCE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS NOT IT'S NOT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE OF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A DISTRICT AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ORDINANCE. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO STAND ON ITS OWN AND DON'T COME IN. I GUESS THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. IS THAT RIGHT? WELL, IT LOOKS TO ME AND THAT IT'S MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THEN IT'S ALMOST LIKE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT PROCESS THAT THEY'RE DOING. SO IT GIVES US MORE CONTROL. BUT IT HAS AN ORDINANCE THAT YOU FOLLOW IN ORDER TO GET THERE. AND THEN IT HAS ADDITIONAL, ONCE YOUR APPLICATION, IT HAS RESTRICTIONS AS IT RELATES TO IF YOU DO IT, THEN YOU HAVE TO DO THE FOLLOWING, WHICH HELPS THE BUILDING OFFICIALS. SO IT HELPS THE POLITICIANS, HELPS THE PLANNERS, AND THEN THE BUILDING OFFICIALS. IT'S KIND OF A COOKIE CUTTER. THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO HAVE IT. BRINGS UP THE CONCEPT. ONCE WE DECIDE WHAT WE WANT HERE, GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND MAKING SURE WE'VE GOT BOTH RED AREAS AT THE RIGHT PLACES. I JUST LIKE THE DISCRETIONARY PART BECAUSE IF THE COMMUNITY COMES IN HERE, LIKE THE YOUNG LADY THAT SPOKE EARLIER, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE JUST A STRAIGHT ORDINANCE, YOU COULD HAVE 5,000 PEOPLE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYING WE DON'T WANT IT HERE NEAR OUR HOUSE, NEAR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. AND THEN OUR HANDS ARE TIED. THEY'VE MET THE ORDINANCE. WE HAVE TO DO IT. AND I'M USING THAT AS AN EXAMPLE FOR OUR LAST SOLAR PROJECT. SAY WE DIDN'T LIKE IT. WELL, THEY THEY'RE COMPLIANT WITH THE ORDINANCE. AND THEN OUR SUMMARY THAT MR. PRINCE DOES SAYS THEY'RE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE. SO IT GIVES YOU NO DISCRETION. I THINK AS A PUBLIC SERVANT IN ORDER, IT BASICALLY SAYS, WELL, THEY'VE DONE IT. SO ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE BASICALLY MOVED. SO I THINK THAT'S WHY I LIKE IT. BUT I'M JUST ONE OF MANY. THAT'S WHY I SAID THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. WE NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE'S SOME THINGS HERE THAT EVEN IF THEY COMPLY WITH THE ORDINANCE AND IT'S NOT ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THEY GO GET IT. IT'S ANOTHER HURDLE. RIGHT. RIGHT. WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN SEPTEMBER. OK. SO OUR NEXT MEETING. I GOT A COUPLE MORE. COUPLE MORE. OK. ALL RIGHT. YOU KNEW ME. I'VE GOT YOU ON THE CLOCK. IN TEXAS, THEY HAVE SAID NOT THE MORATORIUM WORD, [00:40:02] BUT NO DATA CENTERS ARE COMING IN UNLESS THEY TAKE CARE OF THEIR COOLING WATER. YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO JUST PUT A STRAW DOWN AND REMOVE ALL THEY WANT. THEY'RE ALSO TELLING THEM THEY'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN POWER. AND SO WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT IS A FEW SMALL NUCLEAR PLANTS HAVE COME IN WITH DATA CENTERS TO PROVIDE ALL THE POWER THAT THEY NEED. SO NUCLEAR POWER AND I TALKED TO A NUCLEAR ENGINEER THIS MORNING ABOUT IT. NUCLEAR POWER IS REALLY GOOD AT TURNING IT ON AND GENERATING THIS MUCH POWER CONTINUOUSLY. IT'S NOT GOOD AT EVERYBODY TURN THE AIR CONDITIONER ON AND EVERYBODY TURN IT OFF. AND IT'S NOT GOOD AT THAT. SO FOR DATA CENTERS, NUCLEAR POWER IS A GOOD IT'S A GOOD ALTERNATIVE. BUT THE GAS TURBINE GENERATORS ARE WAY MORE EFFICIENT AND WAY CHEAPER. AND SO IF WE'RE TELLING THESE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR OWN POWER, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SETTLE US WITH HIGHER ELECTRIC BILLS. IT'S BEEN DONE IN TEXAS AND SO CAN YOU AI THAT SO WE COULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION? AND THEN ANOTHER THING I WAS LOOKING AT IS WHY ARE ALL THESE DATA CENTERS COMING ON? AND SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE FLOCK CAMERAS AND ALL THAT STUFF. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT. THE ANSWER IS MONEY. ULTIMATELY. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THERE'S SO MUCH DATA. AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE MILITARY JUST IN AFGHANISTAN. JUST THE AIR FORCE EVERY YEAR. THE AIR FORCE 24 HOURS A DAY FOR 25 YEARS WORTH OF VIDEO DATA. AND THAT'S JUST THE AIR FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN. THEY ALSO IS WHEN THEY STARTED DOING ALL OF THE IRIS SCANS, FINGERTIPS SCANS, AND THEY PRETTY MUCH SCANNED EVERYBODY IN AFGHANISTAN AND ALL OF THAT DATA IS STORED. AND THAT'S JUST ONE LITTLE BLIP OUT OF THE WORLD. AND WE'RE ALL CREATING DATA EVERY DAY. NOBODY'S DELETING ANYTHING. IT'S JUST THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE A BIG GIANT MARSHMALLOW AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE BURIED UNDER IT. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SET THIS UP FOR NOW IS TO TAKE CARE OF THAT. NOW, WITH THE MONEY THAT COMES WITH IT. IT WOULD BE NICE FOR THE COUNTY TO HAVE. A LITTLE BIT OF THAT. I'M SAYING THAT THIS PROJECT HAS MERITS. BUT WE JUST WANT TO DO IT OUR OWN TIME. YEAH. AND WITH YOUR TALKING ABOUT THE NUCLEAR, THE SMALL NUCLEAR OUTFITS, THEY'RE ALREADY IN SURREY COUNTY. WERE YOU AWARE OF THAT? YEP. SOMEBODY MENTIONED THAT. YES. COOLING WATER GOING FROM EMPORIA TO IT. YEAH. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. IT TAKES A LOT OF WATER. YEP. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF WATER. THAT'S RIGHT. TRUE. BUT THEY'RE SITTING AT THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN SURREY. IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY. AND THEY'RE NO BIGGER THAN A CONTAINER? ARE THEY SMALLER THAN THAT? I SAID BASICALLY THE WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS IT'S ABOUT AN ACRE. OKAY. BUT IT NEEDS ABOUT 20 ACRES. OKAY. I GUESS MY THOUGHT WAS, YOU KNOW, THEY BRING THAT IN TO DO THE POWER AND THEN THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW WE GOT LITTLE NUCLEAR PLANTS SITTING RIGHT OUT BACK DOOR. EXACTLY. AND LET THAT WORD GET OUT AND THEN EVERYBODY'S GOING TO SAY NO. HE SAID THEY ARE INHERENTLY SAFE. THEY AUTOMATICALLY SHUT DOWN WITHOUT ANYBODY EVEN BLINKING AT THEM. RIGHT. BUT THEY'RE WILDLY EXPENSIVE. BUT WE WERE TOLD THE COVID SHOT WAS SAFE TOO. THERE YOU GO. SO ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING EVERYTHING I READ. I HAVE A COMPLETE AGREEMENT. AND THEN THE OTHER THING I NOTICED IN HERE IS WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT HEIGHT. DO WE CARE THAT IT'S 100 FEET HIGH? WE'VE GOT TO PUT IT IN HERE. YEAH. SO IF EVERYBODY WOULD JUST KIND OF THINK ABOUT THAT AND SEE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT IT. ONE STORY PROBLEM. YEAH. DO WE JUST WANT IT TO BE 10 FEET TALL OR? I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE MORE 10 FEET TALL. SOME OF THAT WOULD BE REGULATED BY AVIATION TOO. YEAH. YEAH. YEAH. ANYTHING ELSE? [00:45:01] I CAN GO ON FOREVER BUT I'M GOOD. OUR NEXT MEETING, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH AT 7 O'CLOCK. EVERYBODY'S GOT THE DATE. SEPTEMBER 10TH. SEPTEMBER 10TH AT 7 O'CLOCK. ALL RIGHT. DO I HAVE THEM? HEY, WAIT A MINUTE. ARE YOU GOING TO FORWARD ALL THIS STUFF FROM THE SOLAR COMPANY THAT THEY FORWARDED TO YOU? YEAH. THOSE WERE THE REQUESTS THAT YOU HAD. YEAH. FORWARD ALL STUFF FROM US. SYNERGY. SOLAR. THAT'S RIGHT. WHITE PROPERTY. AND CAN WE HAVE THESE DRAFT ORDINANCES AGAIN IN OUR PACKET FOR NEXT TIME? YES. JUST SO WE HAVE THEM. I SURE WILL. AND AS WE START TO AMEND THEM, JUST TO HAVE THEM AT EACH MEETING. DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WERE GOING TO SAY? OH, NO, NO, NO. YOU'RE FINE. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CLOSE THE MEETING. WE CLOSED LAST MONTH'S MEETING SO WE CAN CLOSE THE MEETING. WE CAN CLOSE IT? YEAH. OKAY. WE CAN CLOSE IT. OKAY. BUT IS THAT GOING TO REQUIRE, I KNOW WE CAN CLOSE IT BUT SINCE WE CLOSED THE LAST MEETING, SINCE WE CLOSED THAT PUBLIC HEARING TOO, THEN HE'S NOT GOING TO HAVE TO ADVERTISE FOR THE COMPANY WITH THE WHITE PROJECT, IS THAT CORRECT? SHOULDN'T CHANGE. NO. I DIDN'T THINK SO. OKAY. QUESTION FOR OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY. THAT'S RIGHT. BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. LET'S BE SURE WE'RE DOING THAT RIGHT. AND ONCE AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE LADY FOR SPEAKING TONIGHT BECAUSE EVERY TIME SOMEBODY COMES TO THAT PODIUM, I LEARN SOMETHING. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT WITH THIS DATA CENTER INFORMATION. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE DOING THEIR OWN RESEARCH. I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, IN TODAY'S WORLD, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE GET WRAPPED UP IN WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND THERE'S FOLKS OUT THERE THAT DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, AS FIDUCIARIES OF SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY, AS PUBLIC OFFICIALS, NOT POLITICIANS, POINT THAT OUT, THAT WE'RE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE AND WE LET THE PUBLIC KNOW WHAT WE KNOW. AND WE MAKE A DECISION WITH THE INFORMATION THAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS. I THINK THAT'S VITAL IN TODAY'S GOVERNMENTAL WORLD IS, YOU KNOW, TO ALWAYS BE ETHICAL, MORAL, AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT. AND PEOPLE MAY DISAGREE WITH OUR DECISIONS, BUT WE'VE DISCLOSED ALL OF OUR INFORMATION AND IT'S BEEN DONE THE RIGHT WAY. SO WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS AFTERWARDS. YOU KNOW, THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN REALLY SPEAK IS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. YOU CAN'T GO TO RICHMOND AND DO IT. YOU CAN'T GO TO WASHINGTON AND DO IT. SO PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE MORE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. FIRST. SECOND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.