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Board approves Rappahannock Electric Cooperative campus in Caroline County after proffers and special exceptions
Summary
Supervisors approved a proffer amendment and four special exceptions to create a 60-acre regional campus for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, including private internal roads, an adjusted HCOD setback, limited front parking (screened by evergreens), and a 250-foot communications tower; the project is expected to house about 405 employees and include maintenance, fueling and storage facilities.
The Caroline County Board of Supervisors voted March 24 to approve a rezoning and companion special exceptions that clear the way for a 60.48-acre corporate campus for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC). The approvals include vacating internal subdivision rights-of-way, designating internal roads as private until public dedication is required, removing a maximum highway-corridor (HCOD) setback, limited front-yard parking with required screening, and a privately-owned communications tower.
Planning staff outlined the proffer amendment: reuse and expand the existing Atlantic Union Bank office for REC s a two-story corporate office and to construct maintenance and fleet facilities, covered vehicle storage, a fuel island and outdoor laydown yards. The applicant's GDP shows phased development, preservation of roughly 25.38 acres of open space (including wetlands and stormwater management areas), and transportation proffers including a right-turn lane and shared-use paths to complement a county smart-scale application near the Route 1/207 intersection.
Charlie Payne, representing the applicant, said the campus would support approximately 405 employees, about 10% of whom would be net-new positions, and estimated the project would yield a conservative $300,000 annually in real-estate and personal-property taxes. "We're growing very, very fast," Payne said, describing the campus as a consolidated regional office, training site and maintenance hub that would improve operational efficiency for the cooperative.
Traffic and access were central to the discussion. The applicant proffered construction of turn-lane improvements and a dedication of right-of-way if Lraine Drive is extended to Welcome Drive in the future. REC explained it intends to separate employee/customer access (from Lraine Drive) from truck and fleet movements (via Integrity Way) to improve safety. The county's traffic-impact analysis estimated the site will generate about 2,488 daily trips and recommended no additional intersection improvements at the existing entrances beyond the proffered work.
The board approved SPEX12 (front-yard parking in the HCOD) with an amended condition requiring screening "from view from US Route 1 with evergreen vegetation"; staff will check compliance at site-plan review. The board also approved SPEX13 permitting a roughly 250-foot private communications tower; staff provided simulated viewshed images and noted no residential properties within the immediate site to the east.
The rezoning and SPEX approvals were unanimous. The applicant indicated approximately late 2027 occupancy for the renovated main office with full build-out possible by 2029. Future site plans will be subject to county stormwater review (DEQ compliance), site-plan review and the proffers and special-exception conditions now on record.
Next steps: the applicant will proceed to site-plan submission and permitting. County staff must verify compliance with the evergreen screening requirement and the transportation proffers during development review.
