Gateway day arrives: Prince William leaders to vote on largest data center proposal in the world
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors’ highly anticipated public hearing of the proposed PW Digital Gateway data center project got underway Tuesday morning in what’s expected to be a lengthy meeting.
Despite widespread public opposition and recommendations for denial from both the Prince William County Planning Commission and the county’s professional planning staff, the board and its Democratic majority is expected to approve the project that would become the largest data center corridor in the world.
The board meeting on Tuesday began at an unusually early start time of 10 a.m., a shift leaders hope will avoid having the meeting run late into the night or even early into the next day. But if history is any indication, the hearing could run 20 hours or more.
Representatives with QTS Realty Trust Inc. and Compass Datacenters, the companies proposing to build 23 million square feet of data centers on roughly 2,100 acres along Pageland Lane in western Prince William near Gainesville, will make their case to the supervisors as to why their rezoning applications should be approved in the face of overwhelming rejection from two authoritative government institutions.
Staff members, meanwhile, are expected to defend their recommendations for denial on the bases that the data center developers haven’t done enough to remedy what officials continue to believe are substantial deficiencies in the applications.
While county planners acknowledged the developers have taken strides to improve some portions of the applications, staff continues to question the volume of critical information being withheld, such as details about what specifically will be built and where. Staff also maintained the Digital Gateway would be environmentally unfriendly, threaten the county’s historic resources and be out of compliance with the Comprehensive Plan.
Supervisors are expected to grill both staff and the developers on the project applications for hours. That is expected to be followed by hours of public comments. More than 200 people are registered to speak virtually, according to a county spokesperson, and dozens more are expected to speak in-person.
The Digital Gateway proposal has been the subject of exacting public discourse in the county for more than two years, having also helped to decide the outcome of local elections, with Democratic Chair Ann Wheeler being ousted in her party’s primary earlier this year.
Deciding the Digital Gateway will be among Wheeler’s final moves in office before she’s replaced by Democratic Chair-elect Deshundra Jefferson, a data center critic who’s vowed to put a pause on approvals of most new tech developments once sworn in early next year.
The Democratic majority is widely expected to approve the Digital Gateway, which they argue will be a boon for commercial tax revenue. Under Democrats, the board in 2022 approved a substantial amendment to the county’s Comprehensive Plan intended to pave the way for the Digital Gateway.
The project is a nonstarter for the board’s Republican minority; they maintain it’s a threat to rural living on the county’s western end and an environmental wrecking ball for the nearby state and national parks, claims that have been backed by many environmental advocacy groups and the U.S. National Parks Service.
Republicans for months have attempted to kill the project by making appeals to Democrats and attempting to pressure them with voters’ anti-data center sentiment in hopes that the hearings could be pushed to next year, when new leadership takes office.
In their most recent attempt to kill the proposal, Republican officials and anti-data center activists on Monday pushed for the delay of Tuesday’s public hearing, threatening to sue by arguing the county did not follow state law regarding advertising the meeting in a newspaper.
Shortly after Tuesday’s meeting began, the board entered closed session to consult with legal counsel about “probable litigation.” When they returned, Republicans once again mounted a movement to postpone the hearing given the legal threats, but they couldn’t get Democrats to join them.
Jefferson, state Sen.-elect Danica Roem and Del.-elect Josh Thomas, all Democrats, issued a statement Tuesday morning reiterating their opposition to the Digital Gateway and urging the board to oppose it.
“Thirty-three environmental groups raised significant issues regarding the environmental impact of this proposal, and the Planning Office and Planning Commission have both recommended that this project not go forward due to concerns regarding energy usage, impact on the ecosystem, and effect on our historical landmarks,” the officials said.
They continued, “We also learned yesterday about a challenge to whether county officials properly posted public notice for these hearings in accordance with state law and county ordinance … We urge the Board of County Supervisors to follow the Planning staff and commission’s recommendations of denial.”
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the United Tribes of the Shenandoah and other faith leaders held a prayer vigil outside the board chambers to “plead for the environmental and cultural preservation in response to the imminent threat posed” by the Digital Gateway.