Virginia: Stafford may end data-center tax breaks and NDAs

Stafford County has more than 10 data centers proposed, and the Board of Supervisors is asking whether those projects should still qualify for local economic-development incentives. Uriah Kiser reads the Fredericksburg Free Press report. At a joint meeting with the Economic Development Authority, supervisors agreed to take the question up again on October 27. The same meeting is set to discuss ending by-right data centers on heavy-industry land, so a project would need a specific board vote. They also asked staff whether the county can get out of nondisclosure agreements with data-center developers.

Governor Abigail Spanberger has proposed ending NDAs with state agencies. The Free Press notes that move would not cover local governments. NDAs matter because they can hide the numbers critics ask for, including planned water use. Rock Hill Supervisor Crystal Vanuch raised the incentive question. She said data centers do not need a local tax break to build in Stafford when the state already cut a break involving a major end user, Amazon, and asked why the county would offer double incentives. She also said the rush has "kind of blown up," the county is incentivizing projects already coming, and the loophole should close. Economic Development Director Liz Barber said incentives still let the county choose, and that most data-center developers do not want the public disclosure an application requires.

Falmouth Supervisor Kecia Evans pushed back. The board can still say no. Garrisonville Supervisor Pamela Yeung said a review of data-center incentives should look at incentives for other businesses too.

Kiser's read puts Stafford in the statewide fight. Virginia leads the world in data-center inventory. State sales-tax exemptions for the industry run through the 2030s. A county can still decide whether to add a local break, a by-right zoning path, and a secrecy agreement on top.

Comment if Stafford should drop the incentives, the NDAs, or both. Like and subscribe for the next data-center vote. Notifications on.

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Source:

Fredericksburg Free Press: https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/10/01/stafford-supervisors-to-discuss-doing-away-with-incentives-for-data-centers/

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