Prince William supervisors take public comment today on shrinking the county’s data-center overlay and on Dominion’s Vint Hill substation upgrade, Spotsylvania planners recommended a 555-acre Amazon campus, and Prince William schools posted 2027 graduation dates.

Supervisors hear data-center overlay rewrite today

According to InsideNoVa, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors holds a public hearing today, Sept. 22, on a zoning text amendment that would shrink the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District and end by-right data center approvals countywide. Future projects would need a special use permit from the board. The overlay dates to May 2016.

The Planning Commission on Sept. 9 recommended a 120-day grace period for the downsized overlay on a 5-3 vote. Voting yes were Chair Qwendolyn Brown (Neabsco), Vice Chair Karla Justice (Coles), Michael Sherman (Potomac), Brian Landrum (Woodbridge) and Raheel Sheikh (Occoquan). Chris Carroll (Brentsville), Blake Ross (Gainesville) and Mark Scheufler (at-large) voted no. The by-right cutoff would take effect without that grace window.

Vint Hill substation returns to the board today

According to the Prince William Times, supervisors also vote today on Dominion Energy’s special use permit to expand the Vint Hill Substation at 13405 Vint Hill Road near Nokesville (SUP2025-00009). Dominion wants to turn the existing 230-kilovolt station on about 23.4 acres into a 500-kilovolt gas-insulated switching facility, with two new buildings about 30 feet tall.

Potomac Local News reported in June that the board deferred the same application 5-2 to Sept. 22 after neighbors in Braemar and Brentsville asked for more answers on noise, height and data-center load. Dominion has said the upgrade is needed to meet reliability standards as early as 2027. Fauquier’s planning commission previously rejected a related expansion on the county line.

Spotsylvania planners recommend 555-acre Amazon campus

According to WJLA and the Fredericksburg Free Press, the Spotsylvania County Planning Commission voted 4-2 last week to recommend a special-use permit for Amazon Web Services’ Crossroads Technology Campus on 555 acres in the Lee Hill District. Commissioners also voted 4-2 that the project matches the comprehensive plan.

Residents at the hearing cited tree loss, wildlife, three substations, generator noise and building height. WJLA reported the campus is described as an $8 billion investment that the county has projected would produce more than $30 million a year in taxes at full build-out, with power access in the early 2030s. The Board of Supervisors still has to hold a public hearing and take the final vote.

PWCS posts 2027 graduation dates

According to InsideNoVa and Prince William County Public Schools, the division on Sept. 15 posted Class of 2027 ceremony dates. Most high schools graduate at EagleBank Arena between May 26 and June 1, 2027.

Osbourn Park is May 26 at 9:30 a.m.; Colgan May 26 at 2 p.m.; Battlefield May 26 at 7 p.m.; Forest Park May 27 at 9:30 a.m.; Patriot May 27 at 2 p.m.; Woodbridge May 27 at 7 p.m.; Hylton May 28 at 9:30 a.m.; Unity Reed May 28 at 2 p.m.; Gar-Field May 28 at 7 p.m.; Potomac May 29 at 9:30 a.m.; Brentsville May 29 at 2 p.m.; Gainesville May 29 at 7 p.m.; Freedom June 1 at 9:30 a.m. Governor’s School @ Innovation Park is May 15 at 9:59 a.m. at Manassas Park Middle School. Independence Nontraditional is June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. PACE West is May 21 at 12:30 p.m. on its campus.

House District 20 special election is on the Nov. 3 ballot

According to Manassas Patch, voters in Manassas, Manassas Park and part of Prince William County will fill the vacant 20th House of Delegates seat on Nov. 3. The special election follows the May resignation of Del. Michelle Maldonado. The winner finishes the term that runs through January 2028.

The candidates are Manassas City Council member Sonia Ruth Vasquez Luna, a Democrat, and Republican Nathaniel “Nate” Fritzen. Early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 general election is already underway. The same ballot includes a U.S. Senate race, the 10th Congressional District contest, Manassas City Council and School Board seats, and three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution.

Judge denies museum motion in Hylton Foundation suit

According to InsideNoVa, Prince William Circuit Court Judge Dennis L. Hupp on Friday denied the Americans in Wartime Experience Museum’s motion to compel against the Dale City-based Cecil and Irene Hylton Foundation. He also denied attorneys’ fees. The museum, based in Nokesville, is suing over a 2012 pledge the foundation would “unconditionally” fund a new museum on 67 acres in Dale City.

Museum attorney Benjamin G. Chew told the court he wanted a “new and real search” for documents. Hupp said the foundation had not withheld materials as things stand. No next hearing date is set on the court information system. The property dispute is still headed toward trial.

BAE Systems wins $16 million for Manassas space chips

According to a BAE Systems release sent to local newsrooms Sept. 16, the company received $16 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding to demonstrate and qualify its radiation-hardened 45-nanometer RH45 technology. The work is assigned to BAE’s Space Systems group in Manassas, a Department of War Category 1A Microelectronics Trusted Source.

The award reestablishes the RH45 ASIC Storefront, with manufacturing on GlobalFoundries’ 45-nanometer silicon-on-insulator line in Malta, New York. BAE said the chips are built for satellites and spacecraft that cannot fail in radiation, including national-security, communications and weather missions. Space Systems product line director Joe Dziezynski said the library lets customers target specific functions while meeting radiation-hardened requirements.

Fredericksburg schools delay travel-report review after CFO leaves

According to the Fredericksburg Free Press, a planned School Board review of fiscal 2025 board-member travel was pushed from September to October after Chief Financial Officer Amber Obeng resigned effective Sept. 9. Obeng had been appointed in March 2026. The draft report needs the CFO’s involvement before it is presented.

The Free Press reported the delay in mid-September coverage of the city school system. No dollar totals from the travel review were released in that account.

Route 1 work continues in Stafford; Fredericksburg job starts Wednesday

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Fredericksburg District’s Sept. 20–27 travel alert keeps weekday lane work on Route 1 in Stafford. Alternating northbound and southbound closures are listed Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Corporate Drive and Russell Road.

In the city of Fredericksburg, VDOT said the Route 1 and Augustine Avenue intersection project between Stafford Avenue and the College Avenue / Eagle Village Drive intersections starts construction Wednesday, Sept. 23, and runs through October 2027. The same alert notes ongoing work on the $13.9 million Route 1 bridge replacement at Chopawamsic Creek near the Prince William line and Quantico.

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