Keep it up – It’s Working! – The Coalition to Protect Prince William County

Keep it up – It’s Working!

The message is resonating – CONGRATULATIONS!

From the outset of the disastrous proposals, the community has held steadfast to the message: Building industrial data centers in the Rural Crescent, next to National Parks (Manassas National Battlefield Park and Prince William Forest National Park), next to State Parks (Conway Robinson State Forest Park), in our watersheds, and on hallowed ground is an environmental and conservation abomination, and just bad business.

We knew if we kept the faith, even during the COVID shutdown when we could see the developer scheme on the horizon, that our message of One Prince William would find its way above all the noise, all the tricks, and all the bullying and intimidation.

The new documents submitted by the Pageland applicant for the CPA and rezoning are just more of that noise. They are just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

This is NOT a choice between good economic development and our natural resources. We can have both!

There are thousands of acres remaining in the data center opportunity zone. This county already has 6.2 million sq. ft. of data center development built, AND another 26 million sq. ft. that has already been approved but is not yet built! We are NOT at all data center development ‘challenged’ in this county!

We want this community to be an informed citizenry. That is how we protect our past, present, and the future for the generations yet to be. We have included links to the most recently submitted ‘Special Planning Area Corridor Plan’ and new Pageland Rezoning applications (Digital North and Digital South). We understand it is dense material, and the applicants keep changing their story or adding more layers. One troubling aspect is that ‘old’ material seems to disappear, like the very first CPA. Luckily, we downloaded that material, so it isn’t ‘lost.’

Our message is also: Do not mess with this community. We understand the developer playbook all too well. One tool they utilize is to obfuscate with words like ‘encourage’ or ‘recommend,’ making promises through what is called a ‘proffer.’ And then, if the Comprehensive Plan Amendment or Rezoning is approved, either the conditions of the proffers change through a ‘proffer amendment’ (happens all the time), or the promises are just word-salad legalize which have no actual enforcement power.

No need to look any farther for evidence of the ‘promise’ game than the current struggle at Belmont Bay to protect their green space. Or Haymarket, where Toll Brothers ‘proffered’ a community swimming pool and professional riding arena at James Long Park! Anyone been to the pool or phenomenal riding ring in that park’s ‘wonderful proffered’ amenities? Of course not – almost 25 years later they don’t exist – and never will.

The applicant for the Pageland CPA renaming the Digital Gateway the ‘Gainesville Activity Center’ is just more word play, and it won’t work. We were so successful calling them out for sneaking the Bi-County Parkway (BCP) into the Pageland application that the Board of Supervisors voted in their last meeting to remove the BCP from the updated Comprehensive Plan.

But – none of us believe that the BCP is truly gone, they’ll just give it a different name. This newly submitted map shows the widening of Pageland Lane, which perfectly aligns with the BCP parameters from their original application. Here’s their direct quote: “4-lane divided road (MA1) with shared use path.”

Regarding their proposals to widen and expand roads, here are some of the comments from county agencies: “The county’s transportation department found fault with several parts of the proposal, but mainly with the widening of Pageland Lane to four lanes.”

“It said the county does not have the funds to widen roads, that right-of-way would have to be purchased to widen the road, and that “it is unlikely that these improvements could be in place within the next ten years.””

County finance department: Data centers’ tax revenue would fall short of projections | News | princewilliamtimes.com

What has scared the applicant is the power of the East and the West of the county joining together as one community. Now is NOT the time to let up.

The community has been advocating that the existing data center opportunity zone has all the water, power, sewer, and roads to accommodate millions upon millions of more sq. ft. of data center development. In fact, precisely BECAUSE the infrastructure is there, it means faster data center development in an area that the community supports.

Data center development can be an important revenue source for the county – but only if data centers are built in the right places. Build them in the wrong places and their ‘costs’ rob us all of much too much.

So – keep up the fight: the fight for clean drinking water, for historical preservation, for the integrity of all of our communities, and for the rights of those not yet born who deserve the natural resources we have all enjoyed.

The lessons we want to teach our children are that we did not sacrifice their future; that we understood the lessons of the golden goose story; and that we fought for sustainable and quality communities for everyone county-wide!

Enjoy this video!