Town Planning Commission to Vote on Copper Ridge Data Center Campus on Aug. 15

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aerial of a neatly manicured cemetery located alone a road, surrounded by green plots of land buffered by trees — The Copper Ridge Data Center Campus would be located directly adjacent to Culpeper National Cemetery, a sacred and solemn resting place for over 7,500 veterans. *Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC*

Dear Supporter,

As a reminder, the Planning Commission will be voting on the Copper Ridge Data Center Campus rezoning application on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Culpeper Economic Development Center. There’s still time to submit your comments or make your plan to speak at the hearing.

Town Planning Commission Public Hearing

Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.
Culpeper Economic Development Center
803 S Main St, Culpeper, VA 22701

Since the last public hearing on this proposal in July, the developer has reduced the total height of the two data centers closest to Mountain Brook Estates from 80 feet to 55 feet and the height of the four other data centers from 80 feet to 75 feet, including rooftop equipment. This is not enough to protect the character of the area for both the residents of Mountain Brook Estates and visitors to the Culpeper National Cemetery.

Write the Town

Culpeper has worked hard over the years to develop a sense of place and community that makes the Town a great place to live and plays an important role in the local small-business economy. Data centers, although an important utility, are industrial in nature and should not be sited so close to people’s homes, tourist areas, and important and irreplaceable cultural resources like the National Cemetery.

The Town and the County have already approved 2.1 million square feet of data centers this year. This level of growth is unprecedented and may have serious, unintended consequences for both. For instance, the continued development of data centers in Loudoun County has created an energy transmission crisis that now requires two new 500kV transmission lines through communities, which will impact sensitive resources such as floodplains and cemeteries. What will skyrocketing energy demand in Culpeper mean to the surrounding grid?

Map showing the proximity of the proposed Copper Ridge Data Center Campus to downtown Culpeper, the National Cemetery, and approved/existing data centers and energy infrastructure. *Credit Watsun Randolph/PEC*

I hope you’ll reach out to Town Planning Commission ahead of Tuesday’s vote and ask for a recommendation of denial on the rezoning.

Sincerely,

Sarah Parmelee
Culpeper Land Use Representative
sparmelee@pecva.org
540-347-2334, ext. 7045