Public hearing on Winchester Gateway data center delayed indefinitely
A public hearing and vote on a conditional-use permit for the Winchester Gateway data center campus in Frederick County, Virginia, has been postponed indefinitely by the applicant. This decision follows a unanimous recommendation for denial by the Frederick County Planning Commission due to concerns about building height and potential power line needs. Local residents and the Historic Resources Advisory Board have also voiced opposition, citing impacts on viewshed, noise, and potential health problems.
The Frederick County Board of Supervisors will not vote on a conditional-use permit (CUP) application for the proposed Winchester Gateway data center campus after the applicant, Winchester Gateway LLC, pulled the item from the meeting's agenda. The public hearing, which was scheduled to precede the board's vote, has also been indefinitely postponed.
The 72-acre data center campus, slated for a Light Industrial (M1) zoned site in Kernstown, near Winchester, would include three 60-foot-tall buildings, an electrical substation, and diesel generators. The application was filed on May 11, granting the applicant until May 11, 2027, to bring the matter before the board for a public hearing, or face dismissal.
This delay follows a unanimous recommendation for denial by the Frederick County Planning Commission in September, which cited concerns about the proposed 60-foot building height (exceeding the 45-foot staff recommendation) and the applicant's inability to confirm the need for additional overhead transmission lines. The county's Historic Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) also recommended denial in April, expressing concerns about viewshed impacts on a nearby Civil War battlefield. Local residents have actively opposed the project, raising issues about low-frequency noise, viewshed compromise, and potential health problems, particularly given three age-restricted communities within a mile of the site.
This marks the second data center proposal in Frederick County in recent months to be indefinitely delayed after a unanimous denial recommendation from the Planning Commission. Another project, Virginia Technology Park in Clear Brook by Equus Capital Partners Ltd., also sought postponement for its public hearing after its rezoning application was recommended for denial in June.