By Nolan Stout January 25, 2022
Prince William County officials are trying to handle the hundreds of residents who want to speak at Thursday’s listening session on the proposed PW Digital Gateway.
Several people were told on Monday that they were waitlisted for a position to speak in person at Thursday’s meeting.
The county is holding Thursday’s listening session for input on the PW Digital Gateway – a proposal to potentially pave the way for more than 27.6 million square feet of data centers along Pageland Lane, or 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.
Data centers are essentially large warehouses that hold the mechanisms needed to support computer systems, including digital storage that powers large portions of the internet.
The gateway proposal is a request for the county to change the land designation of properties along Pageland Lane in the Comprehensive Plan from agricultural zoning to technology zoning.
A Comprehensive Plan amendment 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.
County officials are juggling the needs of people who want to speak in person, virtual speakers and compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols at George Mason University’s Beacon Hall Conference Center.
Dozens of people routinely speak about the proposal during public comment before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. Thursday’s meeting is drawing a large registration and could potentially require an additional listening session to accommodate speakers.
After receiving complaints Monday, the county said there was no waitlist for in-person public comment as of 4:45 p.m.
Deputy Planning Director Meika Daus said the county increased the number of available tickets to allow for additional attendees. She said in-person capacity had been set at 300 but, because of a push to increase the number, capacity has been added. She said there is currently no increased capacity limit, but the county will “be coordinating with GMU facility staff to accommodate those that have an interest in attending in person.”
So far, 325 people have registered to attend the listening session in person.
She said that although there is no cap on the number of speakers in person. However, the county’s contract with GMU requires the session to end by 10:30 p.m. The session starts with an open house at 6 p.m. followed by public comment starting at 7 p.m.
Daus said if the county does not have time to hear from everyone who signed up, “staff will finish virtual speakers in a virtual format at a later date, probably the following week.”
As of now, Daus said the county believes it can accommodate in-person speakers before the 10:30 p.m. deadline, but “should that change by the time the sign up closes on Wednesday at 5 p.m., we will develop a plan and share that plan with the registered speakers.”
“We will consider additional listening sessions as necessary,” she said. “The Planning Office’s goal is to provide opportunities for people to speak and engage in the process, and we will ensure there are adequate opportunities for that to occur.”
The problems with Thursday’s session come after criticism of a listening session last week on the county’s ongoing review of the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District and its possible expansion.
Last week’s session was supposed to be a hybrid event with in-person and remote participation. However, officials shifted to fully virtual because of potential winter weather, even though the weather remained mostly clear for the night.
For more information on the PW Digital Gateway meeting, or to register, visit pwcva.gov/department/planning-office/pw-digital-gateway
The deadline to register to speak at the session is 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Nolan Stout covers Prince William County. Reach him at nstout@insidenova.com or @TheNolanStout on Facebook and Twitter.