Inside NoVa: Citizens file lawsuit against Prince William County chair, supervisors over Digital Gateway vote

A group of Gainesville residents is asking a Prince William County judge to overturn approval of the PW Digital Gateway.

Roger Yackel, Roger Miller and Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Board of County Supervisors, Chair Ann Wheeler and Supervisor Pete Candland.

The lawsuit focuses on the board’s Nov. 1 vote to approve an amendment to the county’s Comprehensive Plan to create the data center complex.

“[T]he desire of the County to reap funds from the data center industry does not justify the overreaching scope of the [Comprehensive Plan amendment],” the lawsuit says.

The project, which proposes 27.6 million square feet of data centers on 2,139 acres along Pageland Lane, is the most controversial and contentious local land-use proposal in decades. Opponents and proponents have launched personal attacks against each other, and it has spawned recall efforts against Candland and Wheeler and a federal lawsuit between landowners and the developer.

The board voted to approve the guidelines for the project after a more than nine-hour public hearing and a roughly 14-hour meeting.

Read the full lawsuit here:

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