Five Stafford data center projects that were approved — or could be built without county supervisors’ approval — before the locality enacted stricter regulations were grandfathered Tuesday night.
The Stafford Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow the Stafford Technology Campus, Potomac Church Tech Center, Centreport Gateway/Pemberton development, the Vantage VA-4 (aka Melrod) development, and the Cranes Corner Data Center to continue under the rules existing before Oct. 21. That’s when supervisors made strict changes, the most significant of which requires data center buildings to be 750 feet from adjacent homes, schools, or the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. That was an increase from the previous setback of 100 feet.
The supervisors’ Tuesday vote was necessary because their October decision didn’t address grandfathering, which is common when regulations change after projects have already been approved.
The main point of contention at the meeting was a desire to strike the word “related” from the supervisors’ proposed resolution as a characterization of what changes developers could make to their projects in the future. Some feared that wording could be interpreted to allow, a data center to expand a project because the new work related back to the original approved plans.
The answer the supervisors eventually reached was to have the resolution instead say developers could make later changes that were “directly attributable” to the already approved project.
Board Chairman Deuntay Diggs said Tuesday’s action exemplified his stance that the county sometimes needs to slow down and not make decisions that may have to be fixed later.
He said he’s been criticized for this notion, with detractors claiming he’s trying to benefit data center developers.
“And I think this is an example yet again of why we need to sometimes slow it down and work through the process and ultimately protect the constituents in the county as well,” Diggs said.
The supervisors’ vote came after a joint public hearing with the county Planning Commission and 6-1 vote by commissioners to recommend the board approve the grandfathering measure. Garrisonville District Commissioner Laura Sellers voted against the measure but didn’t specify why.
Planning Commission Chairman Steven Apicella suggested the change from “related” to “directly attributable.”
“It’s not perfect, but I think it’s at least a little bit clearer and cleaner than simply using the term ‘related,’ which I agree with folks in the audience is a very ambiguous term,” he said, noting comments made during the public hearing.
Also Tuesday, the supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a resolution asking Dominion Energy to bury a power line proposed to go through the Fredericksburg area.
Dominion plans to build a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line called the Kraken Loop. It would go through Louisa, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Stafford and Fauquier counties and aims to connect the existing North Anna Substation to the proposed Kraken Substation in Caroline and ultimately tie into the proposed Yeat Substation in Fauquier.
Supervisors and a handful of speakers at Tuesday’s meeting voiced worry over the project if it’s built above ground.
The board’s action includes a direction for County Administrator Bill Ashton to send letters of concern to Dominion and the State Corporation Commission, which has the final say on the line’s construction.
Supervisors Crystal Vanuch, Darrell English and Pamela Yeung also plan to send a letter to the SCC because the districts they represent would be directly affected.
The board also voted 5-2 to approve a proclamation about Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary’s work on the governing body.
Vanuch and Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke voted against the measure. Bohmke, who like Gary didn’t seek re-election this year, alluded to the fact that the supervisors previously censured Gary and removed her from board committees after a controversy surrounding an appointee to the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
The board also unanimously approved a proclamation of Bohmke’s service.
Charlie Payne, an attorney for the Stafford-based Patawomeck Indian Tribe, addressed the supervisors Tuesday, as well.
Payne responded to a recent comment from Ashton that the tribe didn’t send the county information on its state recognition. The board sought the documents as it considered whether to renew a lease with the tribe for the use of county-owned property near Aquia Landing. Supervisors agreed not to renew, though they said they could reconsider the matter.
That issue morphed into one about the legitimacy of the Patawomeck, a matter that’s featured in the Free Press’ investigative podcast, “The Tribe.” Two Stafford historians claim the group is actually just a collection of Caucasians incorrectly claiming indigenous heritage.
Payne said he sent the county’s requested paperwork in July, and another speaker spoke in favor of Stafford continuing a relationship with the tribe.
Rick and Jerrilynn MacGregor, the historians who believe the modern-day Patawomeck aren’t descendants of native peoples, spoke against the tribe Tuesday as they have for several months now.
“They are white people,” Jerrilynn MacGregor said.
