Planning commission rejects technology overlay district for Celebrate Virginia South after heated public hearing

The Fredericksburg Planning Commission voted 4-3 on Feb. 12 to recommend that City Council not adopt a proposed technology overlay district (TOD) that would have allowed by-right data center development in the Celebrate Virginia South area.

The commission’s decision followed a multi-hour public hearing in which city staff, consultants, landowners, developers and more than two dozen members of the public debated whether the site should remain planned for mixed-use development or be rezoned to permit large data center campuses by right. Staff presented fiscal, environmental and infrastructure analyses commissioned by the city—summaries of a Magnum Economics fiscal analysis, a JLARC (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission) review, and an environmental memo by WSSI—and outlined draft Unified Development Ordinance text intended to regulate visual impacts, noise, setbacks, water cooling and other standards for a TOD.

Economic development staff emphasized the potential tax revenue from data centers but acknowledged trade-offs. “A single 250,000-square-foot data center building represents, on average, about $5,000,000 in annual tax revenue,” Economic Development & Tourism Director Josh Summits told the commission as staff summarized the Magnum Economics findings. Summits also said staff modeled an alternate mixed‑use scenario that would produce roughly $3,100,000 in annual fiscal benefit and about 1,900 new residential units under the current small‑area plan.

Staff and consultants presented environmental and utility findings from the JLARC and WSSI material. The JLARC summary cited by…