From: elena s
Sent: Friday, March 5, 2021 11:52 AM
To: Winn, Christina M. <CMWinn@pwcgov.org>
Cc: Agrawal, Parag <pagrawal@pwcgov.org>; kd >> Kim Hosen <kdhosen@gmail.com>; Wheeler, Ann <awheeler@pwcgov.org>; Angry, Victor S. <VSAngry@pwcgov.org>; Franklin, Margaret <mfranklin@pwcgov.org>; Boddye, Kenny <kboddye@pwcgov.org>; Vega, Yesli <yvega@pwcgov.org>; Candland, Peter <PCandland@pwcgov.org>; Lawson, Jeanine M. <JLawson@pwcgov.org>; Bailey, Andrea <abailey@pwcgov.org>; Martino, Christopher E. <CEMartino@pwcgov.org>; Daniel Berti <dberti@fauquier.com>; antonio.olivo@washpost.com
Subject: Economic Development
Dear Ms Winn,
I would appreciate some clarification regarding your statements in the recent Prince William Times Article. I am hoping you will also be willing to address some broader questions I have. I have included an additional email below I sent with my concerns regarding the Independent Hill SAP.
The county’s Economic Development Director Christina Winn said in an interview on Monday that the county is assessing how much land remains, but that the data will not be available for several weeks. Winn said assessing what land can be used for data centers is impacted by what land is for sale, the parcels’ size and topography and whether they are near the necessary infrastructure.“It’s really about what’s available versus what’s viable,” Winn said. “..
“When you look at the data center overlay, there’s a lot of small parcels that would need to be assembled to actually make a viable site.”
Can you please clarify exactly what size parcel is too small? And if they need to be “assembled”, is that within the scope of economic development outreach?
Winn said that data center users approach the county’s economic development department with proposals on “almost a weekly basis.” But she said the county cannot act on many of those proposals because what is available “does not meet the requirements of that data center project.”
Are we basing data center development in our protected Rural Crescent on the interest of one industry?
Before the Amazon Data Center debacle, there was no overlay district for the unique infrastructure requirements, power AND water, for Data Centers. There is a reason the Rural Crescent was primarily excluded, because of the impact to homeowners, small businesses, and on our historical and environmental assets in areas that are not intended for industrial uses. How have those impacts by Data Center infrastructure changed in your opinion to allow them in the rural area?
Can you please address how you see the industrial impacts of data centers as an industrial use and their associated power infrastructure as compatible with the newly adopted AAOD. And do you believe data centers take precedence over these rural small business opportunities? From the article included:
“I believe this is going to be a boon for our local economy while helping to preserve our rural area and everything that makes it unique and beautiful,” said Yesli Vega, R-Coles.
At-large Chair Ann Wheeler and Supervisor Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan, also proposed adding new county staffing positions during this year’s budget cycle that would specialize in rural and agricultural development to aid the county’s agritourism efforts.
Survey after survey the citizens of Prince William County have been asked to share their vision for the Rural Crescent, there was even multiple “visioning” sessions in 2019 with yet another consulting firm (The Clearing) , and at no point did the community suggest industrial use was a part of that long term vision for our environmental, historical and smart growth assets. One might get the impression that citizen comments are ignored…….
I understand your job is economic development, but Prince William County residents don’t want to live in Fairfax or Arlington, or Alexandria, it’s not why people move to PWC. Climate change IS the conversation we are all having now, highlighting what our county is doing, in real terms, like carbon capture with our green spaces is EXACLTY the message we should be sending to attract sustainable jobs. We stand apart from other jurisdictions and instead of capitalizing on our differences, we seem intent on marginalizing them.
The discussion regarding NOVEC at the recent Board meeting is irrelevant. Transmission lines power Data Center Campus’s, that is Dominion Energy’s purview, not NOVEC. The line Maryann Ghadban and Paige Shneider are referencing only carries 1225 MV, that line can only serve so many masters, and capacity is significantly in question given other recent data center proposals in Gainesville, but even IF there were capacity, is that our vision for our National Parks, building industrial uses adjacent to Prince William Forest Park and the Manassas Battlefield, as a new way to attract tourism?? We are sending the wrong message, especially given the existential threat of global warming. To invite these industrial uses into our rural areas creates the impression we are regressive, not progressive.
I am also surprised, given the recent fight to protect the west end from a massive overhead transmission line, that we are on the precipice of being right back where we started. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day, only no one learns any lessons.
Additionally, what is the long-term damage to our watershed? Why is no one addressing these critical questions from our government decision makers? What about the 27,000 people who depend on well water in the rural crescent or the hundreds of thousands of the residents who depend on clean drinking water from the Potomac River and the Occoquan Reservoir? Please address how it is an economic benefit to create thousands of acres of impervious surfaces in our Occoquan watershed that protects our drinking water supply.
How are we modeling fighting climate change in our land use policies which is reflected in our economic development goals?
Sincerely,
Elena Schlossberg
Coalition to Protect PWC
From: elena s
Date: March 1, 2021 at 8:52:06 AM EST
To: “Wheeler, Ann” <awheeler@pwcgov.org>, peter candland <pcandland@pwcgov.org>, abailey@pwcgov.org, kboddye@pwcgov.org, “Angry, Victor S.” <VSAngry@pwcgov.org>, mfranklin@pwcgov.org, “Lawson, Jeanine M.” <JLawson@pwcgov.org>, yvega@pwcgov.org
Cc: pagrawal@pwcgov.org
Subject: Small Area Plan Independent Hill
Dear Supervisors,
The success of mixed use development we should be following is the example of the Mosiac Center in Fairfax. Does this SAP area have any similarities to the ultimate success of Mosiac?? I’ll venture a no. No mass transit (and no, bike paths don’t count as mass transit, nor does access to a road) Putting MORE cars on the road contributes to global warming, we need true smart growth planning. This isn’t it. And really? The landfill is an “activity center” now? Seriously, I even chuckled at that. I dare you guys to go on a date night there! Trust me, my husband tries to make a trip to Home Depot a date night, that has never, and will never work.
“But now, the Mosaic District is a bustling town center, complete with restaurants and retailers, luxury apartment buildings, townhouses and a hip new place to catch a flick, the Angelika Film Center. It is bounded by Lee Highway to the north, Merrifield Cinema Drive to the south, Gallows Road to the east and Eskridge Road to the west. This modern mixed-use neighborhood has sprung up in the middle of Asian grocers and aging strip malls but offers something unexpected: a sense of community.”
I used to live in that area, by Gallows Road, I grew up 2 miles away, it was begging for redevelopment twenty-five years ago! Fairfax has this redevelopment initiative on the right path, maybe it’s because they don’t have a choice with so little space left. We should take a page out of that playbook and do it right. We keep renaming our mixed-use development designations (CEC, COC, MUZBY(?). It’s hard to keep track! Like a name change is the underlying problem. Sure, just give it some new title, that will fix why we keep rezoning the commercial to housing at the end of the day……….
We are at a precipice in Prince William County, we can learn from the successes and failures of our surrounding sister counties, we can choose the 21th century path, acknowledging the importance of our green spaces before it’s too late and leverage our areas that are in real need of redevelopment and financial infusion. The Independent Hill Small Area Plan is the best example of which fork in the road we should take. Prince William County is in the enviable sweet spot between the more urban Fairfax and the more rural Fauquier County. We can have it all. Prince William County has the unique narrative of stretching all the way form the Potomac Shore to the Bull Run Mountains.
We have been struggling to find our own narrative in PWC, who are we? We are the best of both worlds, if we choose to embrace our natural assets and our economic possibilities, but we can’t do that if we don’t break out of old patterns. Making bad trades that benefit the Developers and leave citizens with the crumbs, it’s the PWC way. The SRR and RC is not appropriate for intense development, but especially not compatible with the unique assets that are included within the proposed development application . If you approve the intensity of this SAP, we will all ultimately pay the price by planning to put data centers at the headwaters of Quantico Creek and missing the opportunity to fully honor the unique history of Prince William County. You may have missed the program on the Barnes House, but I would highly recommend you take some time to watch it, I know I learned so much.
I included the before and after picture of the Amazon Data Center Campus parcel in Haymarket. Anyone who thinks data centers are not an intense industrial use, with significant environmental impacts have not been paying attention like those of us with an unfortunate front row seat. I find it mind boggling that when there is available space within the recently adopted data center overlay district, on a LANDFILL, practically across the street, this Board would instead choose environmentally sensitive land, within the legislative boundary of one of our most important state park partners, Prince William Forest National Park. In addition to the razing of the land, the impervious surfaces created will require so much storm water management, with the increasing intensity of weather events, the significant RPA’s on that parcel will suffer, and thus, so does integrity of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. I can’t envision a more incompatible use adjacent to a scenic tourism economic asset.
We don’t need to trade off rural crescent land that holds our clean drinking water supply for industrial development. Is that the “vison” for our county, data centers anywhere, natural assets be dammed? I am pretty sure we recently had that fight; it’s why PWC finally created a data center overlay district. Have you seen the blight along the Loudon County Parkway? Is that the future of this county? Data Centers, Transmission Lines, and substations……….. anywhere? I am curious, how did the newly adopted overlay district suddenly become so archaic in a mere few years?
We don’t need to trade off our commitment to be a good partner to Prince William Forest Park because the solution is right in front of us! With the help of regional partners, we can protect the headwaters of Quantico Creek, the highest quality creek in Northern Virginia, just like with Merrimac Farm, protecting land is possible with the right vision and determination. We could get significant press statewide for doing something spectacular, no long drawn-out board meetings, but common ground between the community and their elected leaders!
Data Centers are a needed industry, and the overlay district was intended, four years ago, to combine need with the quality of life issues their infrastructure impacts create. The Planning office, community, and industry stakeholders, like Dominion Energy and PW Chamber of Commerce agreed. We found the balance, and while we know there isn’t an application right now for the data centers, if you rezone the parcels to yet another layered designation, let’s be honest, we know, and you know, that that is what is planned. The impacts to Prince William National Forest Park will be significant, the impacts to Quantico Creek will be significant. The people who know true conservation and the environment are telling you these facts. I hope you heed them.
You know what word comes to mind, hemostasis. We need that as individuals, as communities, and as a planet. Look around us, do you feel a little loss of equilibrium?! I know I do. We need to find our balance, and this SAP, as currently planned, is the antithesis of that goal.
The community isn’t your enemy, we are not your adversaries, when we show up to share our concerns, it’s because we too want what is best for our community. When we identify weaknesses in applications, it isn’t a gotcha moment, it’s an honest observation from a different perspective. Please don’t dismiss us.
So please, vote to deny this SAP.
Warmly,
Elena Schlossberg
Coalition to Protect PWC