Henry County VA data center district ordinance (2026)
Henry County, VA — Data Center District Ordinance: Special Use Permit Required, 1,000-Foot Setback, No Land Currently Zoned for the Use (August 25, 2026)
Henry County, VA · Henry Cnty., Va. — Data Center District Zoning Ordinance Amendment (Aug. 25, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- August 25, 2026
- Applies to
- Any party seeking to develop a data center in Henry County, VA, who must obtain both a rezoning to D-C and a special use permit; Henry County planning staff and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
- Enforced by
- Henry County Planning, Zoning and Inspections / Board of Zoning Appeals
Henry County's Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a revised data center ordinance on August 25, 2026, and its structure does more work than a moratorium would. The ordinance creates a new Data Center District (D-C). Data centers are permitted only inside that district, and only then with a special use permit approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals. The catch — and it is deliberate — is that no property in Henry County is currently zoned D-C. Any company wanting to build must first acquire or control land, then apply to have it rezoned into the district, and then separately win a special use permit. Two discretionary approvals stand between a developer and a building permit, with no site anywhere in the county pre-cleared. The ordinance also sets a 1,000-foot setback from any property not zoned industrial, and imposes requirements on noise, water use, electrical infrastructure, cooling systems, screening, lighting, emergency response and decommissioning. It is a permanent regulatory framework, not a pause. The board reached it the hard way: more than 100 residents packed the July 28, 2026 public hearing to raise concerns about water, noise, health and animal habitats, and the board sent the draft back to the drawing board before returning with this stricter version. Henry County is in southern Virginia on the North Carolina line, around Martinsville.
Who is protected: Henry County, Virginia residents and landowners — particularly those on non-industrial-zoned property, protected by the 1,000-foot separation — through a framework in which no land is pre-zoned for data centers and two discretionary approvals are required.
Legal detail
Henry County, Va. zoning ordinance amendment adopted unanimously by the Board of Supervisors August 25, 2026, establishing a Data Center District (D-C). Regulatory structure: data centers are permitted only within the D-C District and only upon approval of a special use permit by the Board of Zoning Appeals. CRITICAL STRUCTURAL FACT: no property in Henry County is currently zoned D-C, so a prospective developer must first acquire or control a site, obtain a rezoning into the district, and then obtain an SUP — two separate discretionary approvals, with zero pre-zoned inventory. Substantive standards: minimum 1,000-foot separation from any property not zoned industrial, plus requirements governing setbacks, noise, water use, electrical infrastructure, cooling systems, screening, lighting, emergency response and decommissioning. Permanent framework with no sunset, distinguishing it from the moratorium-led approach dominant elsewhere in 2026. Procedural history: draft presented at a July 28, 2026 public hearing attended by more than 100 residents raising water, noise, health and wildlife-habitat objections; the board declined to adopt and directed revisions; the stricter version returned and passed August 25. Ordinance number not obtained. NAME DISAMBIGUATION: distinct from Henry County GA (Henry County, GEORGIA, effective 2026-02-18), a different jurisdiction already in this dataset.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Henry County, VA |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Stronger |
| Enacted | August 25, 2026 |
| Citation | Henry Cnty., Va. — Data Center District Zoning Ordinance Amendment (Aug. 25, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data centers are not permitted outside the D-C District, and not permitted within it absent an approved special use permit |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · government use of AI |
| Agency page | Board Adopts Stringent Data Center Regulations — Henry County, VA |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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