By Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
Two different Stafford residents say they’ve received the same response from Supervisor Maya Guy’s chief of staff after they wrote to Guy about their concerns and opposition to a new data center development on Accokeek Creek, to be voted on by the board this evening:
“If this type of development is not what you would like to see, please share what types of commercial or economic development you would support, that could generate meaningful revenue for Stafford while also contributing positively to the community and quality of life residents value?”
One Stafford observer, who asked not to be named, said they were appalled by Guy’s response.
“It significantly inverts responsibility by shifting the burden of justifying the project from the applicant and the elected official to the constituent,” the observer said in an email to The Advance. “Completely sidesteps any fidelity to the county’s planning documents and focuses entirely on whether the resident can propose a sufficiently lucrative alternative. Is there anything other than the county’s fiscal interests being accounted for in this (these) decision(s)?”
The observer continued, “Are we seriously proposing a ‘put up or shut up’ premise—that if residents don’t take on the county’s economic development responsibility, their objections have no legitimacy? Absent an alternative revenue opportunity, is a constituent’s objection invalid? Does the failure to produce an alternative make an incompatible proposal valid?”
The Accokeek Data Center public hearing and Board vote are scheduled for tonight, October 7, 6:30, at the George L. Gordon Jr. Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford.
Here’s the full text of the email constituents received from Guy’s office:
On behalf of Supervisor Guy, please know that your perspective matters to this conversation. Good public policy depends on understanding not just the opportunities before the Board of Supervisors today, but also how the decisions made impact the community tomorrow. Stafford is home, and decisions affecting living, raising a family, operating a business, or retiring in Stafford have real consequences for the people who have invested in this community.
As Stafford continues exploring opportunities to strengthen and diversify its revenue base, Supervisor Guy also welcomes your perspective on the other side of this conversation. If this type of development is not what you would like to see, please share what types of commercial or economic development you would support, that could generate meaningful revenue for Stafford while also contributing positively to the community and quality of life residents value?
Your perspective is important as Stafford considers not only what residents may not want, but also the kind of development they would like to see become a part of Stafford’s future.
Thank you again for reaching out, and more importantly, for caring enough about Stafford to make your concerns known. Supervisor Guy looks forward to hearing your thoughts.
Sounds like Guy and her staff should be replaced by constituents who can do their jobs better.
Dear Supervisor Guy,
Thank you for reaching out and welcoming resident feedback. However, I must respectfully point out that your response significantly inverts political responsibility. As an elected official, the burden of proof rests on you and the DATA CENTER applicants to justify why these massive industrial projects belong next to residential neighborhoods—it is not the job of the constituents to act as uncompensated economic development consultants just to protect their quality of life.
When residents oppose DATA CENTERS, we do so based on concrete, localized threats to Stafford County that outweigh the promised financial windfalls. Specifically, we urge the Board to look past the marketing hype and consider the following severe liabilities:
Do you even know Ms. Guy, what the reality of 'Fake' Revenue vs. infrastructure costs is? Could you even bother to concern yourself by reading the peer-reviewed studies and industry-specific studies that the DATA CENTER infrastructure bubble is about ready to burst? That's why these DATA CENTER vultures are rushing their DATA CENTER Land Use and Rezoning applications into our Stafford Co Planning Dept. So they can continue to gorge themselves on our LAND, our AIR, our WATER, and our PEACE of MIND to their benefit. Not for us. for feeding the Corporate greed, use and demand for DATA CENTERS in the World.
Did you even follow up on looking into the Flexnode industry specialist's assertion (2025) that the technology is so close that a DATA CENTER is going to be the size of a cellphone, as he held up his cellphone at the Cosner Park community meeting sponsored by Facebook's Inform Fredericksburg, Sierra Club, and Piedmont Environmental Council? Could you even 'connect the dots', as savvy Prince William Bd of Supervisors Chair Deshundra Jefferson did in asking for their PW BOS to vote to direct Planning Staff to write policy and procedure to DECOMMISSION DATA CENTERS? (Potomac Local News, 7-1-26). Chair Jefferson saw the 'writing on the wall' that this Goliath industry is going to go belly up once the technology creates that cell phone DATA CENTER. She's not going to allow their PW BOS to stick their residents/ratepayers with the massive cost of cleaning up these toxic buildings. An operation similar to a Demilitarization and Disposal effort.
While DATA CENTER developers 'promise' massive additions to Stafford's commercial tax base, much of this is offset by long-term tax breaks, county-level incentives, and the depreciating value of DATA CENTER equipment. Did ya even read the lit study that they project more than 3x the amount of revenue than what eventually comes in at the local level? When factoring in the hidden costs of heavy infrastructure, emergency services, and environmental remediation, the net financial benefit is far less than advertised. This "fake revenue" should not override community safety and property values.
Both Loudoun and Prince William now have regrets about DATA CENTERS. What about just looking at NBC 4 Drew Wilder's investigative report on how they're feeling now?
Have you no concern for the Stafford Co. children who have to put up with the ongoing noise pollution emitted from these behemoths? Why haven't you talked to the residents of the Great Oak neighborhood in PW who have DATA CENTERS within 250 ft of their backyards? Their children can't sleep at night due to the chronic noise; there's a shrill sound, sure, but it's the LOW frequency that is giving them headaches. Go to FB's Inform Fred first post: Anne Little (Tree Fred) took sound recordings in their backyard in Feb 2025 that they don't even use anymore. Can you even bother to look up Harvard Law Review (11-5-25): 'Mitigating the Public Health Impact of DATA CENTERS?' Look it up: you'll see that by voting on these DATA CENTERS, even with their Tier 4 generators, you will be harming us, our children. No, don't listen to FXBG Councilor Jannan Holmes, don't try to placate the people, pull one over on us. Tier 4s still emit the fine particulate matter that causes lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, and premature death.
DATA CENTERS operate 24/7, CONSTANTLY requiring industrial-scale chillers and massive backup generators. As documented by regional studies, including local analysis from Protect Stafford, this creates a persistent, LOW-frequency hum that results in severe noise pollution. This constant vibration penetrates nearby homes, decimates peace of mind, and actively erodes the exact "quality of life" your office mentions.
You Supervisor MAYA GUY are complicit, like the FXBG 2-25-25 COUNCILORS who voted for 8-12 DATA CENTERS to go out near the Fred Nats ballpark, near the apts for children who are 'historically marginalized' and their families, surrounded on THREE sides by DATA CENTERS, of Exploitation of Everyday Virginia Ratepayers.
DATA CENTERS are straining the Virginia power grid to its absolute limits. Everyday Virginia ratepayers are currently bearing the burden of funding the massive grid expansions, new substations, and high-voltage transmission lines required to feed these energy monopolies. Our household power bills are rising to subsidize multi-billion-dollar tech giants. Residents should not have to pay out of their own pockets to fund industries that actively harm their communities.
Why can't you bother even to look up balanced Aternatives for Stafford's Future?
If Stafford County truly wants to diversify its commercial revenue base without destroying resident trust, it should focus on low-impact, community-centric commercial development. I support investing in:
• Professional Office Parks & Medical Services: Businesses that bring high-paying white-collar and healthcare jobs to the area without straining the power grid.
• Low-Impact Agritourism & Ecotourism: Leveraging Stafford’s historic and natural waterfront spaces along our rivers to bring commercial revenue that preserves our environment. Respect what 'Hunter's Ironworks' will bring to your historic preservation and ecotourism status.
• Commercial Retail & Experiential Main Streets: Highly walkable mixed-use commercial districts that capture local spending and bolster community connection without generating 24/7 noise.
The community is asking the Board to plan proactively, not reactively. I hope you will protect your constituents by voting against further IRRESPONSIBLE DATA CENTER expansion.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Stafford County Resident