With a 5-3 split vote, our Board of Supervisors approved the Independent Hill Small Area Plan, which includes removing forty acres from the Rural Crescent. This vote has set the stage for incompatible industrial blight next to our National Parks. We know from recent articles that this is just the first step. Even if you don’t care about our National Parks, you should care about your own access to clean water.
As Supervisor Candland says: “…Chasing data center dollars while paving over our environmental and historical treasures is bad public policy. And while it may be easy to pursue the big money today, I believe that the Board would be selling out future generations in Prince William County.” Read more
Supervisor Lawson says: “…Never before have I seen such a diverse coalition of bipartisan elected officials at every level of government and nonpartisan organizations unite to protect our greatest natural resource. Advocates to stop this destructive development plan include:…” Read more
(You can take action now – see survey and meeting details below.)
The Board says, ‘we need to increase our commercial tax base,’ but what they are doing is selling off, trading away, the environmental integrity of our National Parks and our natural resources, with no acknowledgement of the costs to all of us. It is like selling your limbs for money – at some point, you run out of limbs.
There were overwhelming public comments provided about the impact to capacity of wells and the watershed from hundreds of thousands of feet of development’s impervious surfaces. Chair Anne Wheeler said the following in reaction, before she voted: “…I get frustrated when people make this about water. Development doesn’t affect our surface water. People sinking wells might need to be concerned. …Better to have them on the public water line.” Here’s the real truth about water
The Coalition proved in court that multi-billion-dollar tech companies rely on us citizens to pay for their power and water infrastructure, while at the same time they expect us to sacrifice the value of our homes, our environment, our natural resources and our unique historical assets which stand in the way of their “success.’
The Data Center Opportunity Zone/Overlay District was created in response to the lack of planning for these bulk load customers. The Director of Planning, Dominion Energy, Board of County Supervisors, Prince William Chamber of Commerce, and the Coalition to Protect PWC were included at the table in creating this to ensure that all stakeholders had a voice.
This voting block of new Board members is ignoring all that hard work.
Under new legislation passed by the General Assembly and adopted into law last year, localities are expected to incorporate a groundwater study before making any comprehensive plan update.
We will not stop ‘making this about water.’ We will not stop talking about our rural economic opportunities. We will not stop talking about our Occoquan Reservoir integrity which is fed by the Rural Crescent watershed.
We will not stop advocating for every resident in this county – residents who understand that climate threat is real, that water is life, and that developing in our watershed, which everyone has a stake in protecting, is just folly.
For any who don’t see the threats to water integrity as being real, ask yourself: How much will it cost all of us to provide water infrastructure to 80,000 acres and 27,000 people? Far more than we all can afford.
Stay engaged. We won’t give up and neither should you.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
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Prince William County government says they want to hear from you.
As part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan Update, Pathway to 2040, they have started the process of planning your future as a resident for the next 20 years in the areas of land use, housing, and mobility.
First, you’re invited to take a short survey on these issues by clicking here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWC_KickOffPoll. Be sure to enter your detailed personal thoughts and input in every “Other” text section for the three questions. Survey will close soon – get your entries in today.
Second, there are three virtual meetings next week focusing on the Central, Western, and Eastern parts of the county. There are only 260 slots for each virtual meeting – sign up now!
MEETING DETAILS AND REGISTRATION
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) –Meeting Focus: Eastern portion of the County. To register for this meeting, click this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpce-srT4tHt058N1v76gBm9oabVCVmR6z
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) –Meeting Focus: Central portion of the County. To register for this meeting, click this link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvd-uhrz0vHdPBAZac7QQG6BwHNN1JPs1e
Thursday, March 25, 2021 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) –Meeting Focus: Western portion of the County. To register for this meeting, click this link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErce-opzwiGdBZeTGbD4tJMS4l940dsbXb