The potential for massive data centers along Pageland Lane is intensifying the battle over Prince William County’s rural area.

Dozens of landowners along the road in western Prince William, including Gainesville District Supervisor Pete Candland, have filed requests to change the land designation of their properties in the county’s Comprehensive Plan from agricultural zoning to technology zoning.

The requests for the so-called PW Digital Gateway would support more than 27.6 million square feet of data centers, which would be nearly as much data center space as is currently in use or under construction in neighboring Loudoun County, the world’s largest concentration of such facilities.

“The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment seeks to use the infrastructure already in place to create a fiscal win for Prince William County, and importantly help advance many long-term strategic goals that are critical to sustaining and enhancing the economy and quality of life for residents,” the application says.

A Comprehensive Plan amendment does not rezone properties. It only changes what the county says it hopes for future use of the land. It does not bind the county, the board or the landowners to any guaranteed future uses. The properties would still require zoning approval to allow data centers.

In July, Candland cast one of three votes on the Board of County Supervisors against moving the request forward, but it passed on a 5-3 vote.

In documents filed with the county in late November, the applicants included a presentation that called data centers the “tip of the Digital Revolution.” The presentation says Pageland Lane, north of Interstate 66 and just east of the Haymarket area, is no longer rural and that high-transmission power lines in the area will support data center development.

“We have experienced first-hand the negative impacts that have resulted from the transformation of a wholly rural environment to the present-day situation of transmission lines that feed data centers in neighboring localities and the detrimental effect on our properties,” the application says.

Data centers are essentially large warehouses that hold the hardware needed to support computer systems. Other than real estate taxes, Prince William County’s primary levy on data centers is the business tangible property tax, projected to produce $63.4 million in revenue this fiscal year.

The November PW Digital Gateway presentation estimates the proposal could support 800 acres of data centers generating $500 million in annual tax revenue. That would account for over one-third of the county’s current annual budget of $1.35 billion. The presentation estimates that the county would receive $2.5 billion over five years, which would ease the tax burden on homeowners.

The industry has become another front in the land-use battles over the county’s rural area. The overarching battle centers on a 23-year-old policy to restrict development in about 117,000 acres, or about 52% of the county’s land, to no more than one home for every 10 acres with strict restrictions on the expansion of public sewer lines.

Those policies have been weakened this year through several party-line votes, with Democrats voting together to examine land-use topics countywide rather than only in the designated development area.

The Pageland landowners have pledged to set aside a $40 million opportunity fund to support the community. According to the application, the fund would “serve the needs of our most deserving citizens,” including first responders, teachers and injured veterans, and also invest in affordable housing.

Opponents say allowing such a large development would decimate the character of the county’s rural area. They have also raised concerns about the availability of power, impacts on water quality and the potential that the buildings could quickly become obsolete as technology continues to improve.

Opponents have also said data centers would have an adverse impact on the neighboring Manassas National Battlefield Park.

County staff are still reviewing the request and examining the proposal and its impact on the surrounding area. The board voted to expand the scope of the examination from just the requested properties to the entirety of Pageland Lane between U.S. 29 and Sudley Road.

The proposal is being reviewed while the county is examining a potential expansion of its Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District. The overlay district is currently 10,000 acres designated in 2016 to support data center development by reducing regulatory hurdles.

A consultant is studying potential areas to expand the district but will also consider necessary changes to construction standards, the Comprehensive Plan, zoning ordinance and any other effects from data centers.

Several people spoke against the Pageland proposal during public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday evening.

Bill Wright, who lives in Gainesville, said it was “completely nonsensical” to approve the proposal outside of the existing overlay district.

“The only explanation I can fathom is supervisors are being duped by a sales pitch,” he said. “If you really want to get to the truth, ask [the landowners] how much they stand to gain and how quickly they leave the ruins they left behind with their selfish payday.”

County staff have not scheduled a public hearing on the proposal.

Nolan Stout covers Prince William County. Reach him at nstout@insidenova.com or @TheNolanStout on Facebook and Twitter.