What does "by-right" mean for a Virginia data center?
"By-right" is a zoning term. When a use is allowed by-right in a zoning district, a property owner can build it without asking the board of supervisors or city council for a vote on the use itself. Local staff still review the plans, such as the site plan, stormwater, setbacks and building permits, against the ordinance, but the question of whether the use is allowed was settled when the ordinance was written.
That is why by-right matters in the data center debate. A data center proposed on land where the ordinance already allows it can move ahead with no public hearing or vote on the project. A data center that needs a rezoning, a special exception or a special use permit goes through a public hearing and a vote by the governing body, and the board can approve, deny or defer it.
A locality can change what is by-right. It does that by amending its zoning ordinance, which itself requires a public hearing and a vote. When a county votes to require special exceptions for data centers, to pause applications, or to limit where they can go, it is changing the by-right rules for future projects. Those votes are the ones The Virginia Pulse labels on the Vote Watch calendar.
Zoning authority for Virginia localities comes from state law, in Title 15.2, Chapter 22 of the Code of Virginia. Each locality's own ordinance controls what is by-right there, so check the county or city code for the specific district.
See the Data Center Download and Vote Watch for live items. How we source.