Powhatan planning commission recommends denial of proposed Sowers data‑center rezoning, CUP

Lehi Webb, Powhatan County planning director, told the commission that the applicants seek to rezone 61.8 acres (tax map 43‑62) to Light Industrial I to join a previously approved, larger unified campus and to allow data‑center uses now and other light industrial uses after 18 months. Webb said the concept envisions a multi‑building campus totaling roughly 2,000,000 square feet, sited on an assemblage of parcels that together could reach about 181 acres and located adjacent to Dominion Energy transmission corridors.

Why it matters: Commissioners and residents said the scale of the project could require substantial off‑site utility and road upgrades that have not yet been resolved by developer proffers. Webb told the panel Dominion has issued a planning‑level will‑serve letter but has not issued a letter of authorization (LOA) that would reserve capacity; staff emphasized that final infrastructure commitments and any capacity reservation only happen at detailed design and LOA stages.

Key staff findings and applicant statements: Webb summarized traffic, utility and noise analyses. He said analysts estimate the campus could represent roughly 3–400 megawatts of new load (a figure that has appeared in developer materials), and that Dominion’s currently documented data‑center load in the region is about 3.8 gigawatts. Webb said wastewater and pump‑station upgrades are likely: staff cited an Oak Bridge (transcribed as "Oak Bridal") pump‑station cost estimate of about…