Public hearing on Winchester Gateway data center set for Wednesday

The Frederick County Planning Commission is set to hold two significant public hearings on Wednesday evening concerning data center development. The first hearing involves a conditional-use permit application for the proposed 71.85-acre Winchester Gateway data center campus in the Kernstown area, submitted by Winchester Gateway LLC. The second hearing addresses a proposed ordinance amendment aimed at removing data centers as an allowable use from the county's zoning ordinance.

The Winchester Gateway project includes plans for three 60-foot-tall data center buildings, an electrical substation, and 42 backup generators. While Winchester Gateway LLC has made revisions to address concerns about low-frequency noise, water usage, and the need for new power lines—including agreeing to a maximum water usage of 35,000 gallons per day—county planning staff still have reservations. Staff recommended a maximum building height of 45 feet due to viewshed concerns over a Civil War battlefield area, but the applicant maintains 60-foot buildings could be quieter. Questions also remain about the sufficiency of existing overhead transmission lines for the facility's power needs.

Separately, the proposed ordinance amendment, authorized by the Board of Supervisors, seeks to eliminate data centers as both permitted and conditional uses in Frederick County zoning districts. While the county attorney, Andrew Fox, previously stated the supervisors lacked the legal power to enact a general moratorium, removing data centers as a permitted use was presented as a viable legal option. If approved, Frederick County would be the first in Virginia to implement such a restriction, though it would not affect the two data center applications currently under consideration, including Winchester Gateway and Virginia Technology Park.