James City County, VA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

Section 24-436's use list for the General Industrial District, M-2, is organized by use category with two columns, Permitted Uses and Specially Permitted Uses. "Data centers" is entered with the Permitted Uses column left blank and only the Specially Permitted Uses column marked "SUP," so the use exists in the code exclusively as a discretionary approval in M-2; no other district's use list in chapter 24 lists data centers at all. Section 24-2 defines "data center" broadly as an establishment for the storage, management, processing and transmission of digital data, including its supporting battery, generator, cooling and utility-substation infrastructure, but the definition specifically carves out server rooms or IT infrastructure that is merely accessory to a site's principal use, and it excludes any facility used to mine cryptocurrency.

That means a corporate server closet or a crypto-mining operation is not judged against § 24-436's SUP requirement the way a purpose-built data center is. Because the use sits in M-2 only, a data center proposal has to clear the county's rezoning or special use permit process, which under chapter 24's general submittal requirements can require a community impact statement, traffic impact analysis and public facilities review before the board of supervisors acts. Community Development's planning division administers the SUP application and public hearing.