CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – With community concerns about data centers rising, the Orange Town Council this week released a letter affirming it was not “engaging in any discussions with any data center developers or companies” and it scheduled an upcoming informational forum on the topic. 

“There’s just been a good deal of misinformation that has gotten out into the public,” Orange Mayor Harrison Cluff told Cville Right Now. “And we’re just trying to clarify exactly what has gone on and get the truth out.”

According to the letter, signed by four of the town’s five council members, including Cluff, Orange is not involved in talks with any data center developers or companies, is not currently reviewing any data center applications, and is not actively recruiting data centers to the town. The letter also said the council isn’t considering annexing any property from Orange County and that it’s not “aware of any conversations between data center developers or companies and any private property owners within the town boundary or in the town environs.”

For his part, Cluff said he wants more information, and for the town to hear more about the topic, before making any decisions on whether attracting a data center to Orange would be beneficial or harmful.

“My position is the same as it would be for any other business that would want to perhaps look at locating in our town: to give it a full look, full due diligence,” Cluff said. “Go through public hearing processes, special use permits if necessary, get their input, and once we’ve fully got their input, make a determination based on that. I just want to have an honest conversation about it.”

During council’s most recent meeting, Cluff said he read a statement regarding the data center situation that said, “there has been no activity in the town of Orange regarding data centers since December of last year, other than discussion between town staff related to policy, and in the search for qualified speakers.”

Cluff said earlier this year the town changed its zoning ordinances to make it more difficult to build a data center in Orange and that the council clearly defined a “more modern definition of a data center.” The Council had planned to begin crafting policies and regulations regarding data centers but opted to table that discussion “to seek out expert guidance on both sides of the issue.”

To that end, Orange has scheduled an Oct. 5 work session to serve as a public information session on the topic. Bill Donohue, who spent 45 years working in manufacturing, defense and consulting before retiring earlier this year and who is the Vice Chair of the Orange County Virginia Republican Committee, is scheduled to give an informational presentation that Cluff said will present the “pros and cons” of data centers.  

But Councilman Jason Cashell – the lone council member not to sign Wednesday’s letter to the public – told Cville Right Now he had “concerns” with the letter when he first saw it Wednesday and wanted some things clarified before signing. 

“And next thing you know, it was put out there,” said Cashell, an outspoken opponent of data centers who is not on the ballot for re-election when his term runs out at the end of this year. “I’m like, ‘Guys, we need to take our time on this thing.’ It’s important to get this right because if you don’t get it right, then what you risk is the opposite effect, where you’re trying to calm the people, you’re trying to convey transparency. If you get this wrong in rushing it, then something comes out that’s obviously contrary to what you’re saying, this is gonna look even worse.”

Chief among Cashell’s concerns about the letter was the fact that it did not lay out any specific time period, while Cluff’s public statement included a reference to December of last year. 

“It was so broad that it really left the town open for speculation and for future mistrust,” Cashell said. “I wanted to pump the brakes, to take our time. At our last town council meeting, the mayor told everybody that had gathered, ‘Hey, listen. Since December, we have not had any conversations with data centers.’ But the letter doesn’t say, ‘Since December.’ It just says, ‘In general.’ In fact, it says categorically, that we have not engaged in any discussions with data center developers or companies. I’ve got a real concern there because it’s inconsistent with what I’ve seen.”

Cashell said he’s felt “left out” of data center discussions because, “I made my position clear very early on that I was opposed to data centers within the small 2000 acre town of Orange. Your average data center needs 50 acres. We only have two plots that are even big enough to even have one. One’s under conservation easement, and one is a residential area.”

Cashell said he’s skeptical of what smaller data centers, sometimes labeled boutique data centers, would do to Orange.

“Historically, that tactic has been used by data center companies to at least crack the door into the possibility of data centers,” he said. “If you allow a small one in, does that set precedent for a bigger one? Not only that, but even a small one is going to require power transmission. It’s going to require generators. It’s going to put off noise. It’s going to put off pollution. It going to put off lighting. And then, even after all of that, are you really getting that much of tax revenue from a small kind of boutique data center? You just start calculating, I don’t know if that’s really worth it.”

Of course, that’s part of the reason Cluff is hoping the public turns out for the Oct. 5 presentation, to get information to answer some of those questions.

Wednesday’s letter also said, “speculation and rumor mongering are harmful to public discourse and the fabric of our community. Threatening comments directed at public officials are harmful to public discourse. Comments asserting that public officials are receiving bribes are harmful to public discourse.”

That, along with the council’s intention to enforce a clear-bag policy at meetings, is an indication of just how tense debate over the issue has become.