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Board defers Stafford Technology Campus rezoning, presses for binding water and infrastructure guarantees
Summary
After extended debate over potable water, reuse systems, and transmission capacity, the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to extend and re‑advertise the Stafford Technology Campus comp‑plan and rezoning application and deferred action to Sept. 17 so staff, utilities and the applicant can finalize water service and proffer language.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 20 deferred consideration of a large rezoning and comprehensive‑plan amendment proposed as the Stafford Technology Campus, citing unresolved questions about water infrastructure, proffer timing and long‑term utility commitments.
The project’s applicant and contract purchaser described the proposal as a clustered data‑center campus on roughly 262 acres that could include up to 5.8 million square feet of data center area, several electric substations and an east–west connector road. Staff and the applicant said proffers address buffers, sound testing, and a requirement that data centers use a reuse‑water cooling system when it becomes available. Until that reuse system exists, the applicant proffered a capped “bridging” potable water allowance and said it would build certain CIP (capital improvement program) water components to increase capacity if necessary.
Board members said they needed more time to vet the water‑service agreement, the phasing tied to reuse‑water milestones, and the legal mechanics that would ensure the county’s potable supply is not left exposed during construction or if the reuse system is delayed. Opponents urged the board to require a fully executed, binding water service agreement before approving the rezoning; an attendee read language from the applicant’s proffer expressing that identification and design of infrastructure “shall be submitted by applicant to the county following the rezoning approval and is subject to approval by the county, and such approval will not be reasonably denied, withheld, or delayed,” and asked who actually controls approvals.
Applicant counsel Jonelle Cameron told the board the applicant had been meeting with utilities for months and committed to deliver a water service agreement for board approval, but also said a signed water service agreement cannot be completed until the county has an approved project: “We can’t have a signed water service agreement until we have an approved project,” she said. Several supervisors said they wanted that agreement and other documentation in hand before voting.
The board also heard a presentation from Dominion Energy on transmission upgrades in the Fredericksburg–Possum Point corridor. Dominion said the line upgrades are under review by the State Corporation Commission and that upgrades would modernize aging structures and add capacity, with construction potentially starting in spring 2025. Dominion summarized technical context: “Power flows in all different directions, on the grid,” a Dominion representative told the board.
Union and contractor representatives testified to potential workforce and economic benefits; other residents urged caution on water, noise and traffic. After debate, the applicant asked the board to decide that evening but agreed instead to seek extra time. The board voted unanimously to accept the applicant’s request to extend the application deadline and re‑advertise public hearings, and then deferred both the comprehensive‑plan amendment and rezoning public hearings to Sept. 17, 2024.
What’s next: the board will receive redlined proffers and the water service agreement for review and return to public hearing on Sept. 17. The applicant and utilities staff said they will continue negotiating phasing, reuse‑water commitments and associated financial/leasing mechanics that will be incorporated into the water service agreement for board approval.
