Any data center developer without an application on file with the Spotsylvania County Planning and Zoning Department, may face water concerns in the future.
Spotsylvania Director of Planning and Zoning Kimberly Pomatto said during a planning commission meeting Wednesday night that the county is at capacity for reusable water based on data center projects that are approved or awaiting approval from the county.
Scott Phelps, who represents the Lee Hill District, said the county needs to inform developers that the capacity for reusable water reached its limit.
“Whether it’s the planning commission or the board of supervisors, [we just need to] broadcast that out for future applicants, like, ‘This is the current situation we’re in,’” Phelps said. “I just wanted to find out where we were with that.”
The water capacity conversation took place during a work session discussing Hunters Ridge South, a 2.2 million-square-foot proposed data center on 73 acres at the southern end of Cosner Drive off U.S. Route 17.
The planning commission will hold a public hearing on the project and vote on a recommendation to the board of supervisors on Aug. 6. The applicant, American Real Estate Partners, LLC, is seeking to have the land rezoned from Rural and Mixed-Use Low to Industrial 2 with proffers.
Pomatto said Hunters Ridge South is “earmarked” to be served by the water system — a 14-mile pipeline that redirects used water to industrial sites in the county rather than the Rappahannock River.
“Now, if they get denied, that would open up opportunity for another user,” Pomatto said. “But right now, the system is at capacity, and I have confirmed that this is a project that right now is earmarked if approved.”
A total of 19 million square feet of data centers are currently approved or proposed in the county, including Hunters Ridge South. Pomatto said additional reusable water capacity is likely not possible until the late 2030s or early 2040s, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will need to approve the permit application.
In other business Wednesday, the planning commission voted 4-2 to approve Cosner East, a development of 50 multifamily apartment units and 15,000 square feet of non-residential commercial space. The project entails one existing parcel of 3.44 acres, adjacent to the Station Square apartments and Sheetz and to the east side of Hospital Boulevard near Spotsylvania Regional Hospital.
The approval of rezoning the land from Commercial-3 to Mixed-Use 4 was requested by applicant Main Street Spotsylvania. Phelps and Debbie Fregoso of the Livingston District voted against the project, which will now go before the board of supervisors.
Although schools in the district are over capacity, the project is only expected to generate nine students, according to a presentation from the planning and zoning staff. The applicant is offering $100,000 in cash proffers with $50,000 to county schools, $33,750 to the sheriff’s office and $16,250 to the parks and recreation department.
There will be 30 one-bedroom units in the complex, which will not be conducive for families with children, said Charlie Payne, an attorney representing the applicant. Payne added that the project is unique in Spotsylvania because, if approved by the supervisors, housing units will be on top of commercial space, such as a coffee shop or restaurants.
Payne said young professionals in the area, including hospital employees and residents of the other nearby apartments, are the target demographic for the commercial space.
“We think this will be very attractive during the day and the evening to local residents,” Payne said.
Charlie Payne, a person central to this article, is an attorney for Hirschler Fleischer, a major donor to the Free Press.
