The data center fight in Stafford County, Virginia
As of September 27, 2026, Stafford County, Virginia has a data center moratorium in force (action taken Oct 21, 2025).
Status is derived, not stored — a pause with a documented end date flips to Expired on its own — and the source is right next to the claim.
Status today
Standing ordinance, not a pause. Phase 2 data center rules (Ordinance O25-29 and Comprehensive Plan amendment R25-208, adopted Oct 21, 2025; O25-29(R) on Dec 2, 2025 grandfathered five approved projects — Stafford Technology Campus, Potomac Church Tech Center, Centreport Gateway/Pemberton, Vantage VA-4 and Cranes Corner, 31 buildings and 8.7M sq ft) on top of the Oct 2023 Phase 1 rules: by-right only in M-2 and the ICTP overlay, 100/200-ft setbacks from non-commercial zoning (a 500-ft residential setback was recommended), sound mitigation with post-occupancy noise checks at 90 days and annually, 30% open space outside the urban service area. The county reports 11 applications still under review and none filed since Sep 2025. On Sep 1, 2026 the board directed staff to draft letters asking Gov. Spanberger for a special session on data center rules and, failing quick legislation, a temporary pause on new large-scale approvals; Chair Diggs calls the ordinance 'the strictest in Virginia'
SourceOfficial
read 2026-09-05
An expiry date is the earliest a pause could have ended — extensions are common, so confirm with the clerk before citing it.
The projects on the table
Accokeek Center data campus — In review
Rezoning with proffers plus a conditional use permit for a substation. The Planning Commission recommended approval on separate 4-3 votes in late Aug 2026; the Board of Supervisors had not voted as of Sep 1, 2026, the night it instead directed letters seeking a state special session and a temporary pause on large-scale approvals.
Next: An application is in the record. Ask the planning office for the next hearing date and request formal notice.
Latest in the record
- 2026-09-01 — The Board of Supervisors took no vote on Accokeek; it directed staff to draft letters to Gov. Spanberger asking for a special session on data center rules and, failing that, a temporary pause on new large-scale approvals. Supervisor Vanuch: 'I don't want us to be in a situation where we approve now and regulate later.' · source
- 2026-08-26 — Stafford Planning Commission recommended, on separate 4-3 votes, that the Board of Supervisors approve the Accokeek Center rezoning with proffers and the conditional use permit for its substation (late August 2026; the recommendation was reported Aug 28 and Sep 1). · source
Full dated timeline on the project tracker.
Source. Read 2026-09-05.
Potomac Creek data center (historic cemetery site) — In review
Acres: 99
99-acre proposal deferred by the Board of Supervisors in Jul 2026 over a roughly 200-year-old cemetery of enslaved people on the property.
Next: An application is in the record. Ask the planning office for the next hearing date and request formal notice.
Latest in the record
- 2026-07-07 — Stafford supervisors deferred the 99-acre Potomac Creek data center after residents and historians raised the presence of a 200-year-old cemetery of enslaved people on the site (meeting the week of Jul 7, 2026; reported Jul 9). · source
Full dated timeline on the project tracker.
Source. Read 2026-09-05.
Recent news
8 stories tracked since 2026-07-23 across 2 outlets. 7× A community is pushing back on a nearby data center. 1× Local officials are moving to pause or block the project. Most recent: “Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex” (WJLA, 2026-09-24).
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Stafford County Planning Commission backs new 590K-square-foot data center complex
- Data Center Ban Proposed In Stafford
Automated news aggregation, not human-verified — follow each link to the original outlet. Part of the story tracker, 8 headlines archived.
Where the decision gets made
Board of Supervisors — Rezonings, conditional use permits and the data center ordinance (Phase 2 rules adopted Oct 21, 2025). Five campuses grandfathered, 11 applications under review; Accokeek Center awaits a board vote after a 4-3 Planning Commission recommendation.
Meets: 1st, 3rd and 4th Tuesday of each month, 5:00 p.m. (4th Tuesday is a work session as needed; recess July–August).
Where: Board Chambers, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford, VA 22554
Public comment: Sign up through the county's Public Hearings and Participation page or submit Online Public Meeting Comments; meetings stream at regionalwebtv.com/staffordbos.
540-658-8600 · website
Read from the official page on 2026-09-05. Meeting details change — confirm before you go.
Who votes on it
| Name | Role | Phone | Recorded stance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuntay Diggs | Chairman | ddiggs@staffordcountyva.gov | (826) 204-0767 | Called the county's data center ordinance 'the strictest in Virginia' at the Sep 1, 2026 meeting that directed letters seeking state and federal limits (Potomac Local, Sep 4, 2026) |
| Maya Guy | Vice Chairwoman | mguy@staffordcountyva.gov | (826) 204-0127 | not recorded |
| Kecia Evans | Supervisor | ksevans@staffordcountyva.gov | (540) 940-4692 | not recorded |
| Tinesha Allen | Supervisor | tallen@staffordcountyva.gov | (540) 940-5099 | Insisted the board also write to the federal government opposing forced siting on localities (Sep 1, 2026; Potomac Local) |
| Pamela Yeung | Supervisor | pyeung@staffordcountyva.gov | (540) 273-2506 | Supported letters to the governor and federal government seeking data center limits (Sep 1, 2026; Potomac Local) |
| E. Darrell English | Supervisor | denglish@staffordcountyva.gov | (540) 295-5974 | not recorded |
| Crystal Vanuch | Supervisor | cvanuch@staffordcountyva.gov | (571) 540-0303 | 'I don't want us to be in a situation where we approve now and regulate later' (Sep 1, 2026; Potomac Local) |
From the locality's own roster page; "not recorded" means no public statement is on file, not neutrality.
What to do next
- Questions to ask at the hearing — force specific answers onto the record.
- Estimate the impact — electricity, water, and rate pressure for any facility size in Virginia.
- Model CBA clauses — copy-paste language communities have actually won.
- Virginia briefing — rates, grid carbon, PUC contacts, and every fight in the state.
Nearby in Virginia
- Spotsylvania County (20 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Fairfax County (30 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Culpeper County (32 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Loudoun County (47 mi) — Proposedterm not documented
- Front Royal (54 mi) — Enactedexpires soon — 2026-10-04
- Virginia (2026 General Assembly package) (61 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Virginia (statewide pause request) (61 mi) — Rejectedterm not documented
- Virginia (Dominion GS-5 large-load rate class) (61 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
All 14 tracked actions in Virginia are on the state page.
As of August 2026 · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Part of the U.S. data center moratorium tracker — open data, CC BY 4.0.