“The Prince William County Planning Commission voted earlier this week to recommend that the county stop allowing data centers to build ‘by right,’ or without county approval – a move that could keep Jiffy Lube Live and other key areas from being swallowed up by computer server farms,” Prince William Times reported. The commission voted 5-2 to recommend shrinking the data center opportunity zone overlay district from about 9,700 acres to 3,500 acres, requiring special use permits for new projects and removing sites like Jiffy Lube Live and planned school land from by-right development.

This proposal, advanced by local leaders including Board Chair Deshundra Jefferson and Supervisor Tom Gordy, addresses long-standing concerns over skyrocketing land values and data center proliferation in Northern Virginia, with 148 facilities already built, under construction, or planned in the county. Supervisors are expected to consider the zoning text amendment in September.

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