Stafford County Approves Two-Building Data Center Campus With Reduced Residential Setbacks

Stafford County supervisors in Virginia approved a two-building data center campus and an associated electrical substation on Thursday, voting 4-3 on separate measures to allow reduced setbacks from residential property lines. The decision clears the way for Falmouth Tech LLC to advance its Accokeek Center project, though additional site plan and utility approvals remain necessary before the campus can become operational.

The project site encompasses approximately 121 acres situated between Interstate 95 and Richmond Highway in the Falmouth District. Falmouth Tech plans to develop up to 590,000 square feet of data center buildings across the property. As part of the approval, supervisors rezoned eight parcels from agricultural, rural residential and office designations to heavy industrial use, and separately granted a conditional use permit for the substation.

The approved setback modifications reduce the county's standard 750-foot residential buffer to 550 feet along several boundaries and to 399 feet adjacent to a parcel that the developer said would be protected from future development through a restrictive covenant. Charlie Payne, the attorney representing Falmouth Tech, told supervisors that buffers, tree preservation measures and noise controls would mitigate impacts on neighboring properties.

The decision followed expressions of concern from residents, who questioned the reduced setbacks, the unresolved transmission route and potential effects on Accokeek Creek and nearby homes. Labor representatives, meanwhile, emphasized the construction jobs the project would create and the opportunity for residents to work closer to home.

Payne projected approximately $13.5 million in annual county tax revenue from the development. When asked whether that estimate accounted for incentive payments, he acknowledged that the figure represented gross revenue. Supervisor Crystal Vanuch, who represents the Rock Hill District, sought to postpone action until October 20 to obtain revenue estimates that accounted for incentives, but her motion failed.

The county's meeting packet lists $6.4 million in cash proffers — commitments tied to the rezoning — that would support courthouse improvements, technology infrastructure, the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail, fire and rescue facilities, career and technical education facilities, and transportation improvements. Those contributions are due before the first data center building receives its certificate of occupancy.

The proffers also require at least 40% open space, a minimum of 45 acres of tree preservation and Tier IV generators. They prohibit the use of groundwater for data center operations and bar public or private potable water for industrial cooling. Before site plan approval, the developer must provide written verification from the electrical utility identifying the expected timeline for power service. Reclaimed-water cooling would require a water services agreement with the county.

Before the vote, Payne agreed to add a commitment to use qualified local contractors where possible and to revise protections for private wells affected by the project. The approval reflects the continuing tension across U.S. jurisdictions as local governments weigh the economic benefits of data center investment against resident concerns over land use, environmental impact and infrastructure demands.