| Planning Commission Hearing: PW Gateway
Wednesday, Sept 14 | 7 pm
James J. McCoart – Board Chambers
1 County Complex Ct.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment #CPA2021-00004, PW Digital Gateway, a proposal that would remove 2,133 acres along Pageland Land from the Rural Crescent in order to develop data centers.
Share your views: email the planning commission, attend the public hearing, or sign up to speak remotely. >>Read more
Prior to the hearing, conservation organizations including PWCA will be hosting a press conference to outline our concerns regarding this proposal. Join us at 6 pm outside the McCoart building.
Location, location, location
The Pageland Corridor lies in the Rural Crescent between two protected areas: Conway Robinson State Forest and Manassas National Battlefield Park. It is in the Rural Crescent and within the Occoquan Reservoir Watershed. This location is inappropriate for industrial land use.
Removing vast amounts of land from the Rural Crescent for data center development would increase traffic, noise pollution, stormwater runoff, and energy demand and diminish the view shed. These environmental impacts would negatively affect our state and national protected areas. It would degrade water quality in Bull Run, which flows into the Occoquan reservoir.
“I can guarantee [that impacts to the reservoir] will occur as land is converted from forested land to more urbanized land” Dr. Souza, Sept 21 2021) >>watch more
Data centers outside industrial areas would also generate the need for new road improvements, notably the bi-county parkway, and contradict our commitment to mitigate climate change. Data centers should be located in areas designated for industrial uses, where social and environmental impacts are minimized.
Piecemeal approach to planning is confusing and uncomprehensive
Drastic changes to the Comprehensive Plan, including high-density residential development, expanding the Data center overlay, and large proposals like the PW gateway are likely to be decided before the water study and the Sustainability Office’s climate action plan are completed.
Data center proposals are being considered through several parallel processes, which challenge our ability to have a comprehensive view to make smart, sustainable planning decisions.
The House Farm Data Center application and other data center proposals, for example, are considered as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update, not individual applications. Proposals submitted through this process will be approved en masse without public scrutiny. >>Long-Range Land Use change request map
Every major environmental organization recommends denial.
Local, regional, state, and national conservation organizations have come together to stand for a Prince William County that values our parks, waterways, and rural areas, and invests in underserved communities. We stand with the National Park Service and a growing number of voices that see this proposal as cause for concern. >>Read letters here
Join us Wednesday, Sept 14 at 6pm in front of the McCoart building for a press conference to hear more.
Quotes from conservation organizations
“No one would ever consider building 27 million square feet of data centers, the equivalent of 150 Walmart Supercenters, directly adjacent to Yellowstone or Yosemite National Parks, so why would we even consider putting them next to this national park site?” Kyle Hart, NPCA
“They’re moving forward as if climate change doesn’t exist,” Ann Bennett, Sierra Club -Great Falls
“Ultimately, the county’s massive development push is also about forcing through the long-controversial Outer Beltway. The road expansion for the data centers IS the BiCounty Parkway and turns all of Route 234 in Prince William into the Outer Beltway and a massive 18-wheeler truck corridor at the expense of residents all along the corridor down to Dumfries.” Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth
“Industrial development would adversely affect the cultural and environmental resources within and adjacent to the park and would negatively affect the visitor experience and enjoyment of this national park. This ill-advised development of numerous data centers adjacent to the battlefield is the greatest threat to the Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly thirty years.” Joseph Eaves, Manassas Battlefield Trust
“The PW Digital Gateway is one of the largest and most impactful land conversions ever considered by Prince William County. The transformation of 2,133 acres of rural land into a massive corridor of data centers, substations, and transmission lines would be dramatic, forever changing the rural landscape around Manassas National Battlefield, Catharpin, and Haymarket.” Julie Bolthouse, Piedmont Environmental Council |
