The Pittsylvania County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a rezoning of the Berry Hill megasite for special heavy industrial use during a joint public hearing Thursday evening.
Both entities first voted unanimously to approve the creation of a new industrial zoning district in the county. The new zone is separate from the existing light-industrial and heavy-industrial zones and specific to the megasite.
The new district would allow heavy industrial developments in the megasite by right, meaning they would not have to go through a public hearing process or obtain a stamp of approval from the board of supervisors. It would also allow additional types of development at the site, including data centers and power generation, according to the staff report in the meeting’s agenda packet.
This will make it easier for industrial developers to locate at the megasite, and it will make the county more attractive for large economic development opportunities, Matt Rowe, the county’s economic development director, said at the meeting.
Both bodies also unanimously approved rezoning 3,500 acres at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill to this new zoning district.
The process for this rezoning was expedited, with both boards convening at one meeting.
Usually, the planning commission meets weeks before the board of supervisors. The commission votes whether to recommend an item for approval, and the board takes a final vote at the later meeting.
The accelerated pace was worrisome to many of the residents who spoke in opposition of the rezoning. Almost all of the dozen or so speakers who were opposed to the rezoning mentioned concerns about fast-tracking these items.
Residents ask: Why the rush?
The megasite is the largest industrial park in the Southeast U.S. Over $217 million in private and public funds have been invested in the megasite to prepare it for industrial use since it was created in 2008. The megasite is now shovel-ready, meaning it has completed grading and infrastructure resources necessary for development.
The first tenant at the site, a lithium-ion battery separator manufacturer called Microporous, was announced in November 2024. Microporous will occupy about 200 acres of the 3,528-acre park. Pittsylvania County and Danville, which jointly own the megasite, are still working to attract other developers to the rest of the park.
Rowe said that this rezoning will entice companies to locate there.
At the meeting, Rowe referenced last year’s proposal by Northern Virginia-based Balico to build a data center and power plant on agricultural land in the county. Residents largely opposed this development, which the board of supervisors denied, saying that industrial developments do not belong in residential or agricultural areas.
“After that situation, the board has directed staff to focus development efforts on existing, identified industrial parks and properties,” Rowe said.
This rezoning is conducive to that effort, he said.
But residents who spoke at the meeting said they were concerned about large industrial projects being allowed by right, meaning they wouldn’t have to go through a public hearing process or get specific approval from the planning commission and board of supervisors.
“If we pass along a blank check, we relinquish our control,” said resident Amy Walker. “What is the danger if you give them by-right status? … It could be the equivalent of opening Pandora’s Box.”
Resident Lexi Shelhorse asked the board to include language that would require developers to obtain a special-use permit for certain projects. She referenced several Northern Virginia counties that initially had by-right zoning for data centers, and then eliminated it after years of development spreading faster than expected.
“By-right use can cultivate serious problems for the future,” Shelhorse said. “We don’t have to speculate. We can look at other counties that adopted similar approaches and later had to reverse course when impacts escalated beyond expectations.”
Residents shared concerns about the environmental impacts of large developments, specifically data centers and power generation.
They also took issue with the accelerated process for this rezoning. The agenda for the public hearing was posted on Wednesday afternoon, said resident Jeff Love.
“We’re seeing the creation of a new zoning district, and immediately changing 3,500 acres to the new zoning district,” Love said. “Through tonight’s quickly developed joint meeting, the planning commission and the board of supervisors are intentionally bypassing the proper procedures.”
Resident Katie Whitehead asked the board to take more time to gather public input and do research.
In an interview during a break in the meeting, supervisor Darrell Dalton said that the joint public hearing is “a new thing for me, too.” But a special zone at the megasite should’ve been created years ago, he said.
“I reckon we just need to speed up so we can get up to date,” he said.
Resident Michael Kendrick said that the “quickness of how this all came together” doesn’t “smell right to me.” He asked if a project had already been approved at the megasite that residents didn’t know about.
Rowe said that other than Microporous, no contracts for development at the megasite are publicly available right now, although he shared that several companies were interested.
“The planning commission and the board should consider this to be a speculative rezoning,” he said at the meeting.
Several residents spoke in favor of the rezoning, including Donald Merricks, who said the board had listened to its constituents during the Balico proposal about concentrating industrial developments in industrial areas.
“Data centers and power plants belong in industrial areas, not in the middle of farmland,” Merricks said. “Tonight, you are demonstrating exactly that kind of strategic thinking. This is what planning looks like. You’re not reacting to a developer proposal on agricultural land. You’re proactively setting standards for an industrial site that’s already designated for exactly this purpose.”
He said that the massive investments at the megasite will only pay off if the county can attract developers to the site.
“Some would say this is rushed; I respectfully disagree. The megasite has been planned for years,” Merricks said. “This is exactly what I asked for during the Balico discussion, and it’s exactly what our community needs.”
Robert Tucker, chairman of the board of supervisors, and supervisors Vic Ingram and Darrell Dalton agreed. They each made statements before the final vote was taken, saying that this rezoning will allow for growth and job creation in appropriate areas of the county.
“This rezoning gives us options that we didn’t have before,” Ingram said. “This is exactly what we needed.”
Tucker said that the county needs to see a return on its investment at the megasite.
“We cannot tax our way into prosperity. That’s a non-starter,” Tucker said. “We need something transformative to be able to create some additional revenue.”
