Certain data center proposals in Stafford County could face additional scrutiny if an action proposed by the board of supervisors on Tuesday moves forward.
The supervisors voted 4-3 to refer a zoning ordinance amendment to the Planning Commission that would require data center developers to obtain a conditional-use permit for projects in parts of the county zoned for heavy industrial use. Currently, data centers can be built on such parcels without receiving permit approval from the supervisors.
Tuesday’s vote seeks the commission’s recommendation on the proposed change and calls for a joint supervisors/commission public hearing on the matter on March 18.
If the zoning change is ultimately approved by the board, it would mean the supervisors would have additional control over some data center projects, which can be controversial. Data center opponents often voice concerns about how much water and electricity the facilities use, as well as how much noise they make.
Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English, who voted for the zoning-change move, said he’s worried about how data centers could affect the people he represents.
“I don’t want to be anti-data center and all this stuff,” said English, “but we’ve got to look out for constituents, and having a CUP gives us some leverage right there on what’s going on, so I’m, you know, for sending on up to the Planning Commission and doing our thing we need to do.”
Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke, who also voted for the zoning-change move, told her colleagues that she also is concerned about her constituents.
One data center already could affect some of them, she said.
Bohmke also said she remembers the permit idea coming up in Stafford a few years ago. At the time, she argued with Rock Hill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch about the need for a zoning amendment.
Now she said she sees the wisdom of it.
After the meeting, she said the supervisors should have made the change when it came up originally, and she pointed out that the Spotsylvania County supervisors are looking at similar regulations. Officials in Fredericksburg have spent the past two months considering a Technology Overlay District, a zoning classification that would allow for the development of data centers by right, or without a special use permit.
“Because our constituents have more say,” Bohmke said. “Right? Do you want a data center right next to your house? No.”
She noted that many local governments like data centers because they generate a lot of tax revenue. But that doesn’t mean they all should be approved.
“You know what?” she said. “I remember when I took the oath of office. I don’t remember anything in there about data centers.”
On the other hand, Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yeung said after the meeting that the money data centers bring in could help the county pay for its constituents’ needs. She voted against the zoning-change measure along with board Vice Chairwoman Tinesha Allen of the Griffis-Widewater District and Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary.
Yeung said distribution-center businesses actually use more water than data centers.
“The county’s proposal, although maybe well-intended, can have adverse impacts on current and future investments in our county,” she said.
On campgrounds
Also on Tuesday, the supervisors voted unanimously to refer another proposed zoning ordinance amendment to the Planning Commission. This one would call for proposed campgrounds to obtain a CUP.
If that measure is approved by the board, it likely would not affect a planned campground on a 75-acre parcel off Belle Plains Road.
That project, called Crow’s Nest Outdoor Adventure, has faced heavy opposition from neighboring residents in the Belle Plains community, including members of the Patawomeck Tribe who own property near the proposed development.
It doesn’t require supervisors’ approval and likely would be grandfathered if the board approves the zoning amendment.
Vanuch said that an amendment change should include a grandfathering statement.
“That way,” she said, “it’s very clear that we’re not trying to stop anything that’s been submitted to the county.”
In addition, the supervisors on Tuesday discussed creating a new procedure for removing members from appointed boards and conditions. That matter has come up in the wake of a controversy over a county resident being removed from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library Board.
Gary was censured by her peers in December as a result of the library board removal.
