To the Editor:
“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. They paved over paradise, put up a parking lot.” Joni Mitchell’s song lyrics echo in my head every time I drive by the recent development in Gainesville across from Conway-Robinson State Forest on Route. Urban sprawl is alive and well in Prince William County. The trend continues in the latest controversy concerning plans that would have data centers intruding into what is supposed to be part of the “Rural Crescent” along Pageland Lane.
It is sad and disappointing that some residents on Pageland Lane no longer wish to live in the relatively quiet neighborhood bordering Manassas National Battlefield Park. There is no reason this part of the Rural Crescent can’t stay rural if that is the will of the people who want to continue making it their home.
The proponents of the Prince William Digital Gateway plan call it the “next step in helping move the county forward towards a brighter future.” In the process they perpetuate several myths.
They say data centers will boost the local economy and reduce the tax burden on residents. The “hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue” these data centers will realize for the county will help meet infrastructure needs that lag behind, it is proclaimed.
Look at all the new commercial and industrial growth that has occurred here to boost the economy over the last 20 to 30 years. Gainesville has certainly blossomed. Has anyone seen their taxes go down?
The trouble is these massive development projects spawn additional infrastructure needs: water, sewer, road improvements, etc. They never pay for themselves. Such developments will ultimately be subsidized by all taxpayers.
We are told data centers will create jobs close to home so county residents need not suffer long commutes on congested roads.
Out of the other corner of their mouth they admit the data centers will generate less traffic because they need fewer employees to operate.
After construction, jobs will be created from highly paid technical positions down to mopping the many acres of floor space.
However, you have to be quite gullible to believe that all positions will be filled by the current labor pool in the county.
High-paying positions will attract applicants from outside the county who may commute or move here. More families moving here will bring more demand for schools, more infrastructure at taxpayer expense. But why would all those high paid employees want to live here amid this urban clutter when they can afford to live in better neighborhoods elsewhere? Commuting on congested roads is still the lesser of evils. Their tax dollars will go elsewhere. It’s a no-win situation for the county.
From an environmental standpoint the Digital Gateway plan is an ecological disaster starting with the