By Jill Palermo Times Staff Writer Dec 13, 2022
Part of the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land use map that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors will hold a public hearing and vote on tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Prince William County
The Prince William Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing and are expected to vote tonight on an update to the county’s long-range, land-use planning document known as the comprehensive plan. The plan is dubbed “Pathway to 2040” because it is meant to guide residential and commercial development in the county over the next 20 years.
Such planning documents are required by Virginia law, which dictates that local plans should be updated every five years. Prince William last updated its plan in 2010.
A wide swath of land along Vint Hill Road, marked with diagonal lines, is planned for “conservation residential” under the final draft land-use plan included in the “Pathway to 2040” comprehensive plan update.
Prince William County
The comprehensive plan update has been under way since 2016 but began in earnest in mid-2021 when the board of supervisors hired consultants to propose a plan to accommodate an expected population growth of about 100,000 residents over the next two decades.
An area along Bristow Road planned for “conservation residential,” designated by the diagonal lines, in the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land-use map.
Prince William County
The first draft was released in February 2022. Since then, supervisors held a few work sessions on the plan during their meetings, most of which occurred during the late-night hours, to tweak the plan. The planning commission voted Sept. 28 to recommend the land-use plan’s approval with several adjustments, none of which were included in the final draft of the map released Thursday, Dec. 8.
An area along the Fauquier County line designated for “conservation residential” in the final land-use draft of the Pathway to 2040 plan.
Prince William County
The plan reflects new housing goals recommended by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which the county adopted in 2019.
According to the county’s planning office, the county has about 155,000 housing units, and the current comprehensive plan allows for as many as 191,071. The Council of Government’s goal for Prince William is 203,300 units, according to county long-range planner Alex Vanegas.
The draft update would allow at least 227,900 housing units, which is an increase of 36,800 from the current plan and of 24,600 over the council’s goal, according to estimates Vanegas provided in late September.
How will your neighborhood change under the proposed “Pathway to 2040” update? See the interactive map here
Some of the more controversial elements baked into the plan include:
The end of “rural crescent” development rules: The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted in 1998 to protect 80,000 acres of mostly undeveloped farmland along the county’s western and northern reaches by limiting it to one home per 10 acres and largely prohibiting the extension of public sewer lines.
The aim was to curb residential sprawl and limit the county’s need to build additional infrastructure such as new schools and roads.
Pathway to 2040 would extend access to the public sewer lines throughout the county and add a “conservation residential” land-use designation that would allow up to two homes per acre if 60% of the total development is preserved as “open space.”
Pathway to 2040 is proposing the largest areas of conservation residential along Bristow Road, Vint Hill Road and around Lake Jackson, as well as along the Fauquier County border along Mountain Road.
The conservation residential designation is controversial because it would allow for thousands more homes than the current comprehensive plan.
The plan retains some one-home-to-10-acre areas under a new designation called “agricultural and forestry.” The exact number of acres that will remain AF was not available Tuesday morning.
The “Devlin Technology Park”: Western Prince William residents took to the streets in September to protest the Devlin Technology Park, a plan to rezone 270 acres near Devlin and Linton Hall roads for data center development.
Residents of Amberleigh Station and Silver Leaf Estates expressed concerns about being surrounded by seven to 11 unsightly, 85- to 100-foot buildings that would take years to build and then may cause noise pollution and other disturbances when operational.
The property is adjacent to Chris Yung Elementary School, which will likely add a substation behind it if the data centers move forward.
The Devlin Technology Park was approved by the Prince William County Planning Commission over the summer, but developer Stanley Martin asked for a deferral from the board of supervisors days after the protests.
Pathway to 2040, as proposed, would change the designation of the property to Industrial 3, which would allow for data centers. The developer would still need to receive a rezoning approval before the data centers can be built.
The area proposed for the Devlin Technology Park, the blue “I-3” area along Devlin Road, is shown on the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land-use map as replanned for “Industrial-3,” a designation that includes data centers.
Prince William County
Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, said Monday she would move tonight to allow the area to retain its residential designation.
Supervisor Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan, said Monday he would agree to such a move, while Supervisor Margaret Franklin said she was undecided. It’s unclear how the other four supervisors will vote.
Compton property data center: The Pathway to 2040 also allows for a new data center on 70 acres next to the Manassas Mall on the former Compton farm. That plan was rejected by the Planning Commission during its Sept. 28 review of the comprehensive plan update. More recently, the planning office recommended denial of the project.
The Compton farm property, located next to Manassas Mall, is shown on the final draft of the of the Pathway to 2040 map as “I-3,” an industrial designation that would allow for data centers. The I-3 is the turquoise blue color.
The planning commission was scheduled to review a rezoning and comprehensive plan change for the Compton data center on Nov. 30, but the developer asked for a deferral.
Still, the land-use plan the board will vote on tonight retains the area’s I-3 designation.
Lawson said she will move to change the area to the high-density housing designation of Mixed Use 5 or 6, which is what the mall property itself has been designated. Mixed Use 5 allows 20 to 50 dwellings per acre, while Mixed Use 6 allows 50 to 100 units per acre.
Other areas open to data centers: The plan also shows areas planned for I-3, which allows data centers, around Independent Hill in the mid-county area near Independent Hill and Colgan High School.
The Independent Hill area, as shown on the Pathway to 2040 land-use map, shows “I-3” designations, shown in lighter blue, next to Colgan High School, shown by the “PL” designation, for “public land,” at the top of the map and adjacent to the landfill on Va. 234.
Prince William County
I-3 data center planning is also shown in the Occoquan District near Caton Hill Road and beside the 14th high school site near Telegraph Road.
In the Occoquan District, areas designated “Industrial-3,” which would allow for data centers, are located adjacent to the 14th high school site, designated by the “PL” designation at the top right side of the map.
Other “I-3” areas are near “The Landing,” along Caton Hill Road, and near the Potomac Mills mall.
These areas are designated on the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land-use map, which will be considered by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Prince William County
In Woodbridge, the plan shows I-3 designations next to Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge and in North Woodbridge near Belmont Bay.
Areas in turquoise blue in North Woodbridge are designated as “I-3,” which would allow for data centers, in the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land-use map.
Prince William County
Area supervisors, however, note the I-3 designation allows other uses, including light manufacturing and small businesses, and say the areas are not being targeted for data centers.
Supervisor Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan, said the areas designated for I-3 near Caton Hill Road and the 14thhigh school site were already designated I-3 through previously approved “small area plans.”
Boddye said rezoning applications have yet to be submitted for data centers in those places, and he doesn’t suspect there will be.
“I would not be supporting data centers in those areas,” Boddye said, adding that he is generally opposed to citing data centers near schools.
Supervisor Margaret Franklin, D-Woodbridge, said regardless of the I-3 designations, no new data centers are planned for the Woodbridge District. Franklin said the designation is meant for other uses, and she is mostly focused on redeveloping aging commercial development in the U.S. 1 corridor.
“I think it would be dishonest to say we’re opening up the east end of the county to data centers,” Franklin said. “The little land we have left in the east end, we have to be very strategic about what we put in these parcels.”
The 660-acre “Delaney Tract” is shown in the light-green “conservation residential” designation on the final draft of the Pathway to 2040 land-use map. The designation is controversial because it would allow hundreds of homes in an area otherwise designated as the “Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area.” The new area is proposed to be downplanned to one home per 5 acres to protect the reservoir from over development.
Critics say the “Delaney Tract” should be included in the Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area.
Prince William County
Delaney Tract: The “Delaney Tract” is a 660-acre parcel along the Prince William Parkway in the Occoquan District that is designated for conservation residential development in the draft land use plan that will be considered for final approval. The area is some of the last undeveloped land adjacent to the Occoquan Reservoir and it is surrounded by a new designation called the “Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area.” The area is an effort to downplan areas adjacent to the reservoir to one home per five acres. Critics note that much of the area is already developed at one home per two acres.
The Mid-County Civic Association, among others, is calling for the Delaney Tract to be removed from the conservation residential designation and included in the Occoquan Reservoir Protection Area. Boddye said he will suggest that move during the board’s discussion.
Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@fauquier.com