Planners in Prince William will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss expanding the county’s data center overlay. The district is where officials will allow large, power-hungry data hubs that power the internet to be constructed.
In recent months, the County Board of Supervisors has attracted the interest of those who want to build new data centers to the region, aiming to compete with neighboring Loudoun County, which has the highest concentration of data centers globally.
Developers seek to build in western Prince William, near the Manassas National Battlefield Park, where the Civil War began. Some homeowners who stand to benefit from selling their properties to developers say it’s time to develop the county’s last rural areas, build more data centers, and increase its commercial tax base.
Conservation groups like the National Parks Conservation Association, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, and the Prince William Conservation Alliance oppose expanding the data center district. Many have argued that visitors to the battlefield don’t want to see large buildings on the horizon and the overhead powerlines required to provide electricity.
The Prince William County Planning Department will hold the first of two public meetings to get feedback about proposals to expand the data center overlay district and build a new data center alley near the Battlefield on Thursday, January 20, and Thursday, January 27, respectively.
The meeting on January 20 will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the George Mason University Science and Technology Campus Beacon Hall Conference Center, at 10900 University Boulevard near Manassas. Those who want to attend the meeting need to pre-register and submit an online self-health screening to the university.
Planners will also host an online option and stream a video of the meeting in real-time. “We’re going to post all materials online organized by station,” said county planning director Rebecca Horner. “This will be the meeting we have to answer questions before policy development [on the possible expansion of the data center district].”
During a County Board of Supervisors meeting, Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson asked to postpone the meeting by at least a month, citing the recent surge of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Lawson said the meeting topic is contentious, will draw many poeple to the meeting, making things uncomfortable for seniors and others susceptible to the virus, said Lawson.
“A lot of people will show up Thursday night for public input meeting… for a meeting that is not time-sensitive to the continuity of government,” said Lawson.
Lawson’s colleagues on the Board — Chair At-large Ann Wheeler, Margaret Franklin, Andrea Bailey, and Victor Angry voted to stop the push for postponement.
Additionally, Acting County Executive Elijah Johnson warned supervisors he would work with his staff and explore other capacity restrictions on county government meetings should the Board vote to postpone the meeting due to the virus.
Initially, the county limited the number of residents who could attend public meetings in person. However, for most of 2021, the county rolled back capacity restrictions at its public meetings. Today, the county holds its hybrid meetings with in-person and virtual options.
Virginia reported 57,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on January 16, noting 23,000 fewer than the week before. It’s the first decline since cases surged in October 2021.
