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Planning staff: multiple data‑center sites in Caroline County are moving toward construction
Summary
Planning Director Leon Hughes told commissioners that several approved or near-approved data‑center sites — including an AWS site and Clean Ark projects — have active site work or imminent construction; staff said infrastructure work is under way and that site‑plan approvals remain the near-term steps for some projects.
At the Nov. 20 meeting, Caroline County Planning Director Leon Hughes briefed the Planning Commission on the status of several data‑center projects and said construction activity is imminent at multiple sites.
"The AWS site is under construction. They broke ground, a couple months ago," Hughes said, describing off‑site infrastructure work and sewer and water extensions being installed. He said a Bullard Church Road site where a groundbreaking occurred that afternoon is expected to begin construction "within the next couple of weeks," and that another site behind the Flying J (the ACS site) has pulled permits and is "any day now" for site activity.
Hughes identified several sites that have completed or are nearing site‑plan approvals, including a Matan site that is in review and multiple Clean Ark sites (one described as a second Clean Ark location). He and commissioners reviewed maps of the Bullard Church Road area and discussed power‑line routing into the sites; Hughes said some new corridor will be required and portions will tie into existing corridors further east.
Commissioners asked about setbacks and how Caroline County's standards compare with neighboring counties. Hughes noted that Stafford County recently added a 1,000‑foot setback and Spotsylvania County added a 750‑foot setback; he also referenced Caroline County's standard as 100 feet with a 40‑foot undisturbed perimeter in the PERT ordinance and said many data‑center cases are now processed through a special exception (SUP) that allows the county to impose case‑specific conditions, including increased setbacks where residential adjacency warrants it.
Hughes offered to compile ordinance language from surrounding counties for commissioners to compare. Commissioners asked about timing and where power lines and staging areas would run; staff said they have discussed construction sequencing with project managers and that erosion and sediment controls would be installed as part of initial site work.
The discussion did not include a formal vote; commissioners requested follow‑up information, and Hughes said staff would provide comparative setback examples and updated site‑plan statuses for the next meeting.
