GAINESIVILLE Va. – The Oak Valley Homeowners Association is sharply criticizing a Virginia Court of Appeals decision that upholds the Prince William Board of County Supervisors’ approval of a controversial land use amendment—despite what residents say was a deliberate disregard for public input.
The July 22, 2025, ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Oak Valley HOA and neighboring property owners challenging the Board’s 2022 vote to adopt the Prince William Digital Gateway Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA). The amendment clears the way for thousands of acres in the county’s Rural Crescent to be developed into one of the largest data center corridors in the world, adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
The court ruled that while residents had legal standing to bring the challenge, Virginia law does not require local elected officials to consider or respond to citizen input during a public hearing. The ruling cites state code—specifically Virginia Code §§ 15.2‑2204 and 15.2‑2229—which requires that a public hearing be held, but does not dictate what governing bodies must do with the input received.
“This ruling sends a clear and chilling message: under current law, elected officials in Virginia are not required to listen to the people they serve,” said Mac Haddow, President of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association. “It confirms that a public hearing can be a performative exercise — a box to check — rather than a meaningful forum for citizen participation.”
Haddow pointed to a November 1–2, 2022, public hearing that lasted nearly 14 hours and drew more than 240 speakers. The Board of County Supervisors began the meeting at 7:30 p.m. and voted just before 9 a.m. the following morning to approve the CPA. The vote came with no discussion and was taken using a resolution that had been drafted before the hearing began.
“They didn’t spend a minute. They just immediately went to a vote,” Haddow said. “The chair at the time refused to allow any comments to be made or questions asked.”
The Board’s decision followed months of heated public debate, which included a recommendation against the CPA from the Prince William County Planning Commission. Nonetheless, the Board moved forward with the plan, which was championed by then-Board Chair Ann Wheeler and multiple data center developers with business interests in the corridor.
The Oak Valley neighborhood is located near the intersection of Catharpin Road and Heritage Farms Drive in Gainesville. The community includes 254 homes and is managed by Sequoia Management. It sits just outside the area targeted for development, bordering conservation lands and the historic battlefield. With homes averaging close to $1 million, residents there have voiced concern about environmental impacts, rising noise levels, and threats to the area’s rural character.
While the appellate court decision applies specifically to the CPA, a separate case—Oak Valley HOA et al. v. Prince William Board of County Supervisors et al.—is still pending in Prince William County Circuit Court. That lawsuit challenges the validity of a subsequent rezoning vote that took place on December 12, 2023.
In that case, Haddow and others allege that the county failed to properly publish a required public notice in The Washington Post ahead of the meeting, as required by state law. Haddow said he obtained a November 30, 2023, email from County Attorney Michelle Robel acknowledging the publication error and recommending the county re-advertise and hold a new hearing. According to Haddow, the email also stated that the data center developers were “willing to accept the risk” of litigation if the vote proceeded.
Despite that claim, records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that the county has paid nearly $1 million to outside legal counsel since the litigation began, said Haddow.
“The county is using taxpayer money to fight its own citizens,” Haddow said. “All we’re asking for is to rehear it—just re-advertise, hold the hearing, and vote again.”
Oak Valley HOA now plans to take the issue to the Virginia General Assembly. The group is advocating for new legislation that would require governing bodies to consider and document public input before making land use decisions that fundamentally alter communities.
“The citizens of Prince William County were given just days to review a finalized proposal, while developers had open access to county staff and Board members for months,” Haddow said. “This is not a level playing field. It’s manifestly unfair.”
Oak Valley and its partners say they will continue to press for policy changes that make public hearings more than just a procedural formality.
