The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors didn’t host the two data center community meetings that were held in the county last week.
But residents showed up to Tuesday night’s board meeting suggesting the supervisors get more involved in forcing developers to provide transparent and concise information in their presentations to the public.
Meetings were held simultaneously last Thursday focused on the Crossroads Tech Campus and the Pairmont Data Center Campus.
Residents who attended the Crossroads Tech gathering said they departed the conversation with more questions than answers regarding RCK Digital Crossroads’ proposed 633-acre site near the intersection of U.S. Route 17 and Benchmark Road.
County resident Lisa Amer said calling the meeting “poorly run” is an understatement.
“In fact, it was just an embarrassing mess on their part,” Amer said.
Community members said they were met with parking issues, a long line to enter the Lee Hill Community Center, and a noisy, overcrowded venue with no air circulation.
Amer said there was no organized flow to understand the displays, which were poster boards with pictures that another county resident said were “out of scale” and not of much use.
Amer said it was difficult to identify the developers and their attorneys, so residents could ask questions.
“So, tonight, I come to you and ask respectfully to request the developer hold a real meeting in a venue that can be comfortably accessed by all, where we can discuss issues after listening to a proper presentation and we can have a question-and-answer period,” Amer said at the board meeting. “The citizens deserve better than what they gave us.”
Board of Supervisors Chair Lori Hayes and three other supervisors attended the data center meeting. Hayes addressed community concerns at the end of Tuesday’s board meeting, saying the Crossroads Tech gathering was “not good.”
She said the venue, which she often uses for lightly-attended town halls, was insufficient. She said if the fire marshal attended, the assembly might have been halted.
“The AC was working but with the amount of people in that room, it couldn’t keep up,” she said.
Hayes stressed that the meeting was hosted by the developer and wasn’t affiliated with the county or the board of supervisors. She added, however, that the county staff can have more influence on developers’ decisions about where to host in the future. She’s hopeful future meetings will be better coordinated because “what happened on Thursday wasn’t the way it should’ve been.”
“It did not foster a learning experience at all,” Hayes said. “I didn’t get to see the boards that they had out because it was so packed. While it wasn’t my meeting, I do want to apologize to my constituents who thought it would be a more presentation-style meeting.”
Supervisor David Goosman of the Berkeley District attended the Pairmont gathering at Dominion Raceway and Entertainment in Thornburg. Goosman said he understands some residents’ frustration that the meetings were held at the same time. He said the county will be more proactive in the future about the logistics of community meetings to ensure maximum engagement.
“I know we asked staff to make sure in the future that they help deconflict those, so we don’t have multiple ones going on at the same time,” Goosman said.
Special use permits tabled
In other business Tuesday, the supervisors voted to table special use permits for Lafayette Commons and Spotsylvania Meats at the end of two separate public hearings.
The applicant for Lafayette Commons, the Rappahannock Development Group, is requesting a rezoning of 24 acres from Residential 1 to Planned Developing Housing District for the development of 70 single-family townhomes and 61 single-family detached homes. The property is located on the east side of Lafayette Boulevard, south of Village Drive. Hayes said she’s concerned about the impact on schools and traffic.
Three residents spoke against the project during the public hearing.
“It’s not feasible and the entire idea of it, I do apologize, but it borders on the line of imbecilic,” said a nearby resident who identified herself as Kira. “It’s not a project that can be done on Lafayette Boulevard.”
Attorney Charlie Payne, who represents the developers, called the project a minor “infill” development that will offer 1.6 acres of open space, and provide $1.1 million in proffers to county schools and transportation before construction.
“This project punches above its weight in many ways,” Payne said … “It’s time for new investment in this area and this project can do that and do it in a smart way that mitigates its impacts.”
The board voted 6-0, with Salem District Supervisor Deborah Frazier absent, to table the discussion until the July 14 meeting. That’s also when the board will decide on Spotsylvania Meats, a proposed slaughterhouse to process cattle, sheep, goats and poultry at 12515 Orange Plank Road, one mile from the Orange County line.
The hangup with that project is the construction of a proposed lagoon to manage liquid waste.
Neil Zahradka, the manager of the Office of Land Application Programs at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, was on hand but said the agency doesn’t inspect projects that do not require a permit. Goosman asked if the owner could arrange yearly inspections for the first three years to ensure no waste from the lagoon infects nearby wells. The board directed staff to draft a proposal that would require those inspections as a condition of the special use permit.
