Protect Culpeper
This site is for the residents of Culpeper. We must work together. When it comes to protecting this beautiful county in which we live, victory is not simply the denying of negatively impacting development but constant vigilance and involvement. We must work together. And if each of us does our little part, we can continue to keep Culpeper truly one of the best places to live in Virginia.
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Let's work together - does your part of Culpeper need help? Contact us today!
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2024 Update: The fight to save Brandy Station from a Data Center complex and towering powerlines resumes - and this time with an even bigger piece of property with even greater consequences to the Brandy Station/ Stevensburg community.
Click for details on upcoming county review 6/12
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Check (and sign if you haven't yet) the online petition for on-going updates in our fight to Save Brandy Station
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The county is faced with a consequential, history making decision.
Support the local families and farms, many that have lived here for generations,
along with the rich history of the community........
The beautiful countryside of Brandy Station where 75-100 foot tall powerlines would likely cross for a Brandy Station Data Center project.
Or....
Allow Light Industrial rezoning of farmland on a speculative basis and millions of dollars of outside money to forever change Brandy Station.
How?
By way of a massive rezoning (even bigger than 2 years ago) of beautiful, productive farm land in Brandy Station into Industrial Zoned Land when this is NOT in Culpeper Comprehensive Plan nor consistent with Culpeper's guidelines for Data Centers.
The Culpeper community is NOT opposed to Data Centers. However, Data Centers in the wrong places harm our community instead of help. Culpeper has many alternatives that have minimal impact on farms and peoples' homes.
This part of Brandy Station is not a place for Light Industrial or even Commercial Services. Recognizing this, the Board of Supervisors with the recommendation of the Planning Commission voted to remove this property from holding its original Technology Zone. The statements made below are based in facts and are verifiable.
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1 - The effect on people’s lives and livelihoods would be significantly negative. Proof is in the way Zoning Plans are typically adopted. Light Industrial is typically kept far away from residential communities and prime agricultural areas for this reason.
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2 - The destruction of good farm land and the harming of a community for the hope of future revenue is short sighted. Evidence would be hard to find showing that taxes have stayed low when this approach is adopted. It is smoke and mirrors to claim that taxes will be kept lower because of Light Industrial project such as Data Centers. Usually, the companies involved negotiate significant tax breaks that leave the county with having to pay for infrastructure upgrades to accommodate them...meaning higher property taxes for its residents. The Counties of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, which were at one time rural communities like Culpeper, have the highest tax rates in all of Virginia. Insanity has been described as doing the same thing again and again expecting different results.
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3 – Environmental Damage – Unfortunately the environmental damage is not fully realized until the impact has been felt, but there is enough information available from other Light Industrial sites that should cause us to be careful. This is another reason Industrial land has typically been kept away from communities where people live and grow food. So we are going to risk our water, our air, our health, our views, our land, our landfills, our way of life and our community for …. What?..... Potential tax revenue and to make a few people richer. If you were asked to allow a wealthy landowner to come in and ruin your community under the promise of lower taxes in 10 years, what would you say?
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4 – Property Values will be affected. It is a known fact the negative affect power lines and Industrial areas have on property values. It is one thing to have chosen to buy a house near power lines and industrial areas but a whole other thing to be forced to live with them, outside of your will, because some people want to profit.
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5 – Traffic and Construction will be a nightmare for the current residents and those who visit our county for its beauty. The construction of the first phase would be nearly six years based on the applicant's explanation. If all three phases go in, the community is looking at upwards of 10+ years of significant disruption
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6 – Make people think twice – If the local residents had known this was to occur when they bought their land, most would not be living here. Many would move out and be replaced by those who do not share the values reflected in our Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Regulations and many who live in Culpeper. Can the residents of Culpeper expect and believe that county officials are keeping their oath of office to uphold the governing documents of our county and the will of the people who elected them? A disregard of policy and laws does not benefit the governed. Has one ever witnessed elected and appointed officials believe they know better than the people they have been elected to serve and disregard them? This form of arrogance has no place in our form of Government.
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Most of the people living in Culpeper do not want to try and make Culpeper more like Loudoun or Fairfax. They are here because of what Culpeper offers. It has a quality of life that is becoming very hard to find and which the residents support. We do not need to compromise on what is right for our residents over a fear of not having enough revenue in the future.
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The same arguments being used today in Culpeper were used 25-30 years ago in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William? Culpeper is one of the few primarily agricultural counties remaining in the Northern Virginia area.
All that glitters is not gold.
Do we really want to become Fairfax, Loudoun, or Prince William?
