Spotsylvania County, VA Data Centers & Crypto Mining: Data Center Zoning & Siting (2026)

§ 23-2.1.4 defines a Data Center as "a facility used primarily for the storage, management, processing, and transmission of digital data," including its computer and network equipment, air handlers, power generators, water cooling and storage facilities, and utility substations. The zoning ordinance repeatedly places Data Center on the special-use list rather than the by-right list: § 23-6.15.3 lists it as a special use in the Offices 1 (O-1) district, and the same special-use treatment recurs in Offices 2, the county's general business and commercial districts, and several industrial classifications, meaning a data center needs board of supervisors approval under the § 23-4.5 special-use procedure in nearly every zoning category it appears in. That process requires a generalized development plan, planning commission review and a public hearing, and board findings under the § 23-4.5.7(a) general standards, covering traffic, environmental impact, and compatibility with the neighborhood.

Beyond zoning, § 22-47 of the water and sewer chapter separately restricts data center water use: "Any data center or similar user of Spotsylvania County water shall not use public potable source water for permanent cooling water purposes." Only temporary, supplemental, or emergency cooling use of the public water system may be approved by the director of utilities, who may limit that use by time, volume, or flow to protect the water system, and who may terminate approval at any time it is no longer consistent with sound system management. An applicant aggrieved by the director's decision may appeal to the board of supervisors within thirty days.

Because Spotsylvania County is a separate jurisdiction from the independent City of Fredericksburg next door, a proposed data center must be sited on county-zoned parcels and reviewed under the county's own code; a Fredericksburg approval has no bearing on a county application.