Hampton City Council Work Session: Data Centers, Strategic Plan, and Crime Report – July 8, 2026
Hampton City Council Work Session – July 8, 2026
The Hampton City Council held a work session on July 8, 2026, starting at 6:15 PM. The meeting covered three major presentations: a proactive analysis of data center and digital infrastructure policy, an update on the city's strategic plan incorporating youth and young adult input, and the annual mid-year crime statistics report from the police chief. No public comments were heard. Council discussed each item and provided direction for next steps.
Discussion Items
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Data Center & Digital Infrastructure Policy Analysis: City Manager Bunting introduced the topic, emphasizing the council's proactive approach to developing a clear zoning framework before any specific proposal arises. The city contracted with SIR, a Richmond-based consulting firm, to analyze policy and development considerations. Consultant Reed Watkins presented a detailed overview of digital infrastructure, explaining that data centers range from small edge facilities to hyperscale centers. He noted that hyperscale facilities have outsized impacts on power (100+ megawatts), but water use is modest (less than an 18-hole golf course), and noise is typically quieter than a busy street except during monthly generator tests. Watkins emphasized that data centers return $13 to $26 per dollar of public services used, but create few direct jobs. He stated that hyperscale facilities are unlikely for the Hampton peninsula due to power constraints, but smaller facilities could be a general fund contributor. The presentation highlighted the need for a tiered zoning ordinance and regional coordination with Newport News. Councilman Bowman requested town hall meetings for public input, and the city manager confirmed plans for multiple town halls or roundtables.
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Strategic Plan Update with Youth Engagement: Deputy City Manager Brian DePopio presented updates to the city's five- to seven-year strategic plan. After a previous community meeting, the council requested additional input from youth and young adults. The city engaged Hampton City Schools senior classes, college students (Hampton University, Virginia Peninsula Community College, Bryant & Stratton), military families, and job fair attendees. Feedback largely validated the existing plan, but led to several changes: a new goal for expanding SWaM business support, emphasis on business retention, additional entertainment districts, inclusion of apprenticeships and libraries under educated citizenry, more inclusive language, a strategy for addressing homelessness, and a shift from reducing youth violence to preventing it. The living with water priority area remained unchanged. The plan is scheduled for final council approval on August 12, 2026, followed by development of an implementation plan using community-based stakeholder groups. Councilwoman Mugler asked about the plan's duration (five to seven years). Mayor Gray suggested strengthening the data-driven approach across all strategies, and the city manager agreed to refine the language.
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Police Mid-Year Crime Statistics Report: Chief Widman presented a thorough crime report, using data from the city's Intel, Data, and Analysis team. Key statistics for 2026 compared to the same period in 2025: violent crime down 12.6%, property crime down 8.9%, total crime down 9.1%. Homicides down 50% (from 10 to 5), robberies down 32%, burglaries down 3.2%, motor vehicle thefts down 33.3%. Rape/sexual assault reports increased 11%, which the chief attributed to more historical cases being reported due to increased awareness. Aggravated assaults down 4.5%. Larceny increased slightly, driven by shoplifting at target locations (Peninsula Town Center, Food Lion, Walmart, Walgreens, and Virginia ABC stores). The chief highlighted the Firearm Violence Suppression Detail, which has made 74 felony arrests, recovered 23 firearms, and conducted 128 targeted traffic stops. New technology includes a drone-as-first-responder program (four launch stations) and the Flock Raven gunshot detection system, which integrates with existing cameras. The park ranger program has been expanded: rangers now attend the police academy and have full law enforcement authority. Recruiting and retention improved, with the lowest separation rate in five years. Council members commended the report. Vice Mayor Brown asked about mobile camera units and received an explanation of intelligence-led policing. Councilwoman Mugler expressed concern about sexual assault numbers, and the chief clarified that most offenders are known to victims. Councilman Bowman asked about shoplifting enforcement and corporate policies.
Key Outcomes
- Data Centers: Council and staff will proceed with developing a zoning ordinance for data centers, differentiated by size. Multiple town halls will be scheduled to gather public input before a proposal is brought to council.
- Strategic Plan: The updated draft will be presented for final adoption at the August 12, 2026 council meeting. The city manager will incorporate a stronger data-usage statement to apply across all priority areas. Implementation teams will be convened after adoption.
- Police Report: Council received the report and expressed support for the crime reduction trends, new technology investments, and community engagement efforts. No formal vote was taken. The chief will continue to deploy intelligence-led strategies and collaborate with state police and regional partners.
- Closed Session: The council voted unanimously to convene a closed session at 3:15 PM to consult with legal counsel regarding special assessments, service districts, grant funding, and zoning ordinance amendments. The meeting reconvened afterward to certify the closed session and adjourn.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the Hampton City Council work session. Madam Clerk, you call a roll, please. Councilman Bowman. President. Vice Mayor Brown. Here. Councilwoman Campbell. President. Councilwoman Fairby. Present. Councilwoman Harper. Present. Councilwoman Mugler, present. Mayor Gray. President. So I'm going to ask City Manager to introduce the first. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As the council knows, and probably a lot of the community, several months ago, the council took a field trip of, so to speak, up to Richmond to examine different size and scoped data centers. And the reason why we did this is that increasingly localities are being presented with uh requests for data centers to locate in their areas. And we wanted to be proactive in this uh effort to make sure we understood and developed a clear informed policy position in advance of any specific proposal as opposed to reacting when and if something came. Many of the localities across the country actually weren't proactive in developing zoning categories and and use permit requirements and things of that nature, and so data centers made arguments that they were like office buildings or like off or like warehouses, and that's how they kind of took hold in some cities, and we didn't want to do that. We wanted to be very intentional and very clear about what the zoning framework would be, which isn't to say that we will accept them or we won't accept them, but rather that we know we need to have clear delineation about what would and wouldn't be acceptable in our community. And so with that as a backdrop, we contracted with SIR, a firm out of Richmond, uh, to help us do an analysis of the various policy and development considerations that the council and the staff should undertake to help us develop that clear informed policy position, and the field trip that we took a couple months ago was the first step in understanding that, but only the first step. So today we wanted to give the public a briefing about what we're doing, why we're doing it, what we've learned to date, and what we still have to learn. Uh, we're not at the end of a process, and I want to be abundantly clear, we're not doing this at this point in time because there's any specific proposal that we're looking at or reacting to. Again, rather, we're really trying to set the stage to make sure we're thoughtful about it, and that unlike other localities that sort of got taken by surprise and storm, that we are upfront and engaging with the community about what makes sense for Hampton. So, with that, I believe Leonard Sledge was Leonard, were you going to kick this off or we're going to go straight to Reed? Oh, I didn't know if you wanted to do any other introductions. Leonard is Leonard Sledge is our chief um officer for community and economic development, and I had you listed as the kicking off the presentation. So my apologies if I got that wrong. My apologies for not being here, ma'am. Uh, good afternoon, Mayor Gray, Vice Mayor Brown, distinguished members of Hampton City Council, City Manager Bunting, City Attorney, Sid Noor, Ms. Glass, um, City Manager Bunting stated it all. Uh, there's nothing else uh to be shared in in terms of context. Uh data centers continue to be a topic of conversation as everyone knows nationally and also within the Hampton Roads region, and to the city manager's point, we just wanted to ensure that we had an informed policy environment, and therefore we're fortunate to have the opportunity to work with SIR, which is a Richmond-based consulting firm, uh, which is actually helping to lead an initiative between the Hampton Roads region and the Greater Richmond region called RBA 757 Connects. And it's my pleasure to ask Mr. Reed Watkins to come up with SIR just to provide this briefing and general overview on data centers and digital infrastructure. Reed. Thank you, Leonard. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor Brown, members of council, good to see you all. Um what else uh set up for this for me? Let's jump in. We got a lot of lot to cover here. So let's talk about this project first and foremost. So as Mayor Bunt or City Manager Bunting and Leonard Sledge outlined, this project, this is an analysis. This is not going to be making a decision, setting a site or approving any project. This is the city doing its homework. So city trying to get this head around what is a complicated, nuanced, and admittedly hot topic nationally and certainly at the state level here.
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