Data centers stir debate in Frederick

In June, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors voted by consensus against moving forward with applications to build two large data centers. Most supervisors felt that too many unanswered questions surrounded the project’s potential effects. They also saw firsthand the passion that these projects can arouse, as more than 100 people attended the meeting, most to voice their fears over the possibility of data centers ruining the county’s rural landscape.

That meeting may have ended the proposed 644-acre Meadow Brook Technology Park and 105-acre Winchester Gateway 2 data centers, but not the broader debate. In an August session, the supervisors voted 5-2 to green-light a planning commission proposal to produce a fact sheet about data centers.

Working with the county’s economic development authority (EDA), planners will explore issues like site selection, size, water and power needs, noise, job creation, open-space impacts and tax revenues. Frederick Water and the Shenandoah Valley and Rappahannock electrical cooperatives will also be consulted.

Putting together such a fact sheet “won’t require reinventing the wheel,” says Planning Commission Chairman Tim Stowe. Although Frederick currently has just one data center, located near Middletown, it can look to its neighbors for guidance. Loudoun County is home to 199 data centers, with 117 more in the pipeline, while Prince William County reports 44 data centers operating and 15 under development.

Blaine P. Dunn was the lone supervisor in June to vote in favor of further study of the two data center applications. The revenue that data centers can generate could build schools and lower the tax rate, he says, “but that discussion was not discussed.”

As for preserving the county’s rural character, Dunn points to thousands of housing lots entitled to be built, and to Frederick’s burgeoning population being now a shade under 100,000, but almost double what it was in 2000, with 30,000 to 40,000 more residents expected to be added in the next 20 years.

Like Dunn, county EDA Executive Director Patrick Barker recognizes the potential value of having data centers in Frederick. They are one of the most physically productive uses of land, he says, generating long-term and substantial revenue, while requiring minimal public services. However, he says, “the public discussion has been incomplete,” with conflicting information.

“Fact-finding,” Barker says, “will ensure that future conversations are informed.”