Speakers Ask for "Last Vestiges" of Rural Stafford to be Protected
Supervisors are considering amendments, drafted and forwarded last month by the Planning Commission, that would strengthen data center regulations.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The Stafford Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to defer scheduling a public hearing on proposed amendments that would strengthen the regulations and requirements for data center development, and instead voted to hold a work session on the topic next month.
The vote came after at least 50 members of the public spoke in favor of the new regulations, and after many of them asked the Board to schedule a public hearing so that the regulations can be adopted as soon as possible.
“Do not destroy the very, very last vestiges of agricultural land in Stafford,” one speaker urged.
“I implore you to act now,” another said. “Don’t table this until after the election. Vote today to move this forward to a joint public hearing.”
The Board in May directed the Planning Commission to form a subcommittee to review the data center regulations found in both the Comprehensive Plan and the county’s zoning ordinance, and to recommend changes to either or both.
The subcommittee met five times over the summer to complete the work. Staff from the county’s planning and zoning department attended every meeting, and staff from the departments of transportation and utilities and the Commissioner of the Revenue attended at least one.
Public comment was also taken at each of the meetings.
Last month, the full Planning Commission forwarded the series of proposed amendments to both the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning ordinance to supervisors. According to the report prepared for Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors had three options—schedule a joint work session with the Planning Commission; provide feedback to staff regarding desired adjustments; or initiate a joint public hearing.
Mike Zuraf, director of planning and zoning, presented the proposed amendments after public comment, during which citizens overwhelmingly expressed their desire to see Stafford’s rural areas preserved and residents protected from encroaching development.
Setback requirements were the topic of many comments, with speakers saying they’d like to see a minimum 1,000-foot setback required from residences, schools, and rivers.
The ordinance amendments—which Zuraf explained would become legal requirements—would increase these required setbacks from 100 feet to 500 feet. They also would:
establish 300-foot setbacks for accessory structures, including substations, where they abut schools or residences
increase required buffers between development and residences from 50 feet to 200 feet require preservation of existing trees within buffer areas
establish screening and viewshed analysis requirements
require documentation from the power provider of “load, availability, and timing of power delivery”
establish specific noise level limitations (maximum 55 decibels)
require specification of cooling method
Zuraf explained that the county’s comprehensive plan is a guide and that the amendments related to data centers are “more general in nature.”
“As projects that require rezoning are considered, they can be measured against the comprehensive plan guidelines,” he said. “[The guidelines] can help in deciding if a given project is appropriate.”
In general, the proposed comprehensive plan amendments recommend siting data center projects either in or within half a mile of the designated Urban Services Area, and encourage reduced building height, enhanced setbacks, low-frequency noise mitigation, and the use of recycled water for cooling.
Darrell English, Hartwood district representative, said he’d like to see the amendments also require 500-foot setbacks from streams and from daycare centers.
Meg Bohmke, Falmouth representative, made a motion to schedule a joint public hearing for September 16. Crystal Vanuch, Rock Hill representative, said the county just received the 17th application for a rezoning for a data center.
“I don’t think we can move quickly enough to make sure there are certain protections for residential homes,” she said.
But the majority of supervisors wanted to schedule a work session first.
“I think most of this is common sense that we would all agree on,” said Monica Gary, Aquia representative. “I think this is ultimately, for me, going to come down to looking at those setbacks.”
She said the regulations need to protect residents, but “also still put us in a position where we will attract some of the data center development that we want.”
Vice Chair and Griffis-Widewater representative Tinesha Allen said she wants to balance the “logical arguments about protecting our residents” with the economic benefit of projected increased tax revenue from data centers.
“There is your health, but also your wealth,” she said. “How do you balance it? I feel comfortable making sure at the work session that the Board gets it right.”
Chair Deuntay Diggs said he understands that “people are scared and frustrated.”
“There is so much information and misinformation going around,” he said. “The question becomes, ‘Are we doing this based off of our feelings or off of science and facts?’”
This story was updated at 8:15 a.m. on August 21 to correct the name of the district represented by Crystal Vanuch. She is the Rock Hill district representative.
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