Caroline County planning commissioners unanimously recommend REC corporate campus and 250-foot tower

MILFORD, Va. — The Caroline County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Feb. 26 to forward a rezoning proffer amendment and four special-exception permits for a proposed Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) corporate campus to the Board of Supervisors with recommendations of approval.

The applications cover 60.48 acres at the northeast quadrant of U.S. Route 1 and Rogers Clark Boulevard in the Carmel Church Growth Area. Planner Craig Pennington told the commission the Generalized Development Plan (GDP) would reuse and expand the former Atlantic Union Bankshares office, demolish the former Culpeper Farmer’s Co-Op for a fleet service building, and add shop, covered vehicle storage, warehouse space, a fuel island and an outdoor laydown yard. The GDP shows building heights up to 40 feet and roughly 25 acres of preserved open space and buffers.

Why it matters: The proposal would consolidate multiple parcels, convert internal public rights-of-way to private circulation for REC operations, and require a set of planning exceptions for setbacks, parking placement and a communications tower. Pennington said the project is consistent with the county’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which designates the parcels Commercial/Office in the Carmel Church Growth Area.

Traffic, access and utilities

The applicant provided a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) that estimates about 2,488 additional daily trips from the site. Based on the TIA and VDOT review, no broad roadway improvements were required, but the submitted turn-lane warrant analysis recommends installing a westbound right-turn lane and a 100-foot taper at the Route 207/Amin Drive intersection; that improvement is included in the applicant’s commitments. Pennington cited 2024 AADT figures of about 11,000 vehicles per day on the subject segment of U.S. Route 1 and 7,700 vehicles per day on the nearby segment of Route 207.

Pennington said site access would remain from Integrity Way to U.S. Route 1, with additional employee access proposed from an extended Lorraine Drive and an entrance at Amin Drive off Route 207. The applicant has proffered to dedicate 0.6 acres along U.S. Route 1 and 0.10 acres along Route 207 to accommodate right-of-way and pedestrian improvements, and to construct sidewalks or shared-use paths as shown on the GDP. Public water, sewer and electric service are available on site, staff said.

Proffers and special exceptions

The proffered conditions would supersede prior commitments from RZ-04-2005 and include: restrictions on certain retail and personal-service uses; exterior material and screening standards; phasing and parcel consolidation deadlines; and transportation commitments including a timeline for abandonment and consolidation of approximately 3.35 acres of internal right-of-way (Integrity Way and Partnership Boulevard) to be rezoned to B-1 and incorporated into the REC site.

The four special-exception requests are: - SPEX-10-2025: designate internal roads (Lorraine Drive, Amin Drive and portions of Partnership Blvd. and Integrity Way) as private roads, with a condition requiring construction to state standards if later taken into the secondary road system; - SPEX-11-2025: allow front-yard setbacks exceeding the HCOD 50-foot maximum (applicant proposes roughly an 83-foot setback on some buildings); - SPEX-12-2025: permit parking in the front setback along U.S. Route 1 (the applicant’s GDP places limited front-yard parking but includes a suggested condition that those areas be screened from Route 1); - SPEX-13-2025: permit construction of a 250-foot private communications tower for REC internal dispatch and data/microwave links, with landscape/fence screening and a fall-zone design requirement.

Applicant and commission exchange

Attorney Charlie Payne (Hirschler) and REC representative Jason Satterwhite explained that some proffer language intentionally allows "substantial conformance" rather than absolute adherence to the conceptual GDP so final engineering can adjust building locations and internal circulation without triggering a formal proffer violation: "it doesn’t mean they are making them any bigger or adding any different uses. It just means when they get to the final design, they want to be able to make some adjustments," Payne said.

Commissioners questioned the change in GDP flexibility, HCOD variance rationale, number of front-yard parking spaces (Pennington estimated about 20 total: roughly 12–15 in front of the maintenance shop and 8–12 in front of the fleet services building), whether VDOT would accept internal roads into the secondary system, truck lengths for site ingress/egress, and tower siting and visibility. REC said the project would host about 405 employees, roughly 10% of whom would be new hires; REC plans a phased construction schedule with renovation of the bank building beginning in third quarter 2026 and substantial build-out through 2029.

Commission recommendation and next steps

Each motion to forward the rezoning and the four SPEX requests to the Board of Supervisors passed unanimously (yea votes: Horton, Rollins, Schwartz, Tingler, Williams). The staff recommended conditions — including recorded To-Wit letters for the SPEX approvals and screening/recording requirements for the tower — will accompany the items to the Board. The Planning Commission also asked staff to refine GDP language to limit non-engineering flexibility before the Board’s review.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the rezoning proffer amendment and SPEX permits at a future meeting; no final county approvals were made at the Feb. 26 Planning Commission meeting.