Stafford

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors received a detailed data center revenue forecast at its regular meeting on April 21, 2026, showing potential net gains of tens of millions of dollars annually by the mid-2030s, while highlighting near-term uncertainties and board concerns about Amazon Web Services (AWS) incentives.

Chief Financial Officer Andrea Light presented the PFM model, which covers only the five approved campuses: Stafford Technology Campus on Eskimo Hill/Route 1, Old Potomac Church near the hospital, Centerport Gateway, Vantage, and Crane’s Corner. Developers have proposed 31 buildings totaling 8.7 million square feet across the sites. The baseline scenario assumes 20 buildings constructed over the 10-year horizon.


News

The Potomac River ranks as the most endangered river in the U.S. according to American Rivers’ 2026 list, released this month. The designation is largely driven by rapid, uncontrolled data center expansion in the watershed and by the impacts of a major sewage spill into the river in January 2026.

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) issued a statement on April 16 in response to the report. PEC President Chris Miller stated that the listing underscores the cumulative impacts of data centers on natural resources, including access to clean and abundant water that serves the Washington metropolitan area.


Prince William

Residents packed the Board of County Supervisors meeting on April 7, 2026, pressing the board to withdraw immediately from the Digital Gateway lawsuit and redirect more than $2 million in taxpayer funds to housing, employee wages and a water study.

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Prince William

The Prince William County Board of County Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night, March 31, 2026, to send a joint opposition letter to Delegate Luke Torian and Senator Louise Lucas over a Senate budget proposal that would include the value of data center computer equipment and peripherals in the state’s Local Composite Index (LCI) formula.

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Prince William

The Virginia Court of Appeals has declared three large-scale data-center rezoning ordinances in rural Prince William County void from the outset, delivering a significant setback to the Digital Gateway project and a victory for nearby homeowners who challenged the approvals.

In a unanimous opinion released today by Judge Stuart A. Raphael, the court affirmed that the Board of County Supervisors’ advertising for the December 12–13, 2023, public hearing violated both state law and the county’s own zoning ordinance. The ruling invalidates the Compass, Digital Gateway North (DG North), and Digital Gateway South (DG South) rezonings approved by a 4-3 vote after a 27-hour marathon hearing.


Prince William

In a marathon March 11, 2026, session that stretched past midnight, the Prince William County Planning Commission sided with western county residents on two high-stakes land-use matters, denying a major power substation tied to data-center growth and stripping three long-planned road projects from the Comprehensive Plan’s Mobility Chapter.

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Stafford

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized advertising public hearings on March 3, 2026, for proposed adjustments to water, sewer, and reclaimed water rates, including new fees designed to recover costs from data center-related infrastructure while introducing equity measures for commercial users.

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Stafford

While advertising a six-cent increase in the real estate tax rate to $0.985 per $100 of assessed value for calendar year 2026—potentially adding about $430 annually to the average household bill—the Stafford County Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal to raise the personal property tax rate on data center computer equipment and peripherals from $1.25 to $2.50 per $100 of assessed value during its March 3, 2026 meeting.

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Prince William

In a split decision reflecting deep divisions over the county’s data center boom, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 on March 3 to initiate a zoning text amendment that would eliminate by-right approval for data centers inside the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District and require special use permits (SUPs) for all future projects countywide.

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Prince William

A Prince William County resident delivered an emotional plea during Tuesday’s Board of County Supervisors meeting, likening the threat of nearby data center development to the trauma of a home invasion he experienced years earlier.

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