Dear Coalition friends and supporters,
We had the FIRST ever denial of a data center campus application in Prince William County!!
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But – We also had a Board approval – in a 4-2 vote – to commit more taxpayer money to be wasted on defending the ‘indefensible’ rezoning for the Digital Gateway data center campus.
“Upon exiting closed session, supervisors voted 4-2 in favor of the appeal – with board Chair Deshundra Jefferson and Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy casting the two dissenting votes, while Coles Supervisor Yesli Vega was absent from the meeting.”
“In a Wednesday text message to InsideNoVa, Jefferson, a vocal data center and Digital Gateway critic, said she could not comment on legal issues beyond her “no” vote. The previous board was led by Chair Ann Wheeler, a supporter of the project.”
Prince William County set to appeal Digital Gateway voiding | Headlines | insidenova.com
“The developers said that they were willing to accept the risk,” Haddow said of the project’s improper public notice concerns. “I don’t think you contemplated that that risk involved $1 million-plus of our taxpayer money to fund this particular proceeding.”
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NOW…to the GREAT news of our first Prince William County data center campus denial.
Congratulations community! You sent an average of 500+ individual emails EACH time the Bristow Campus was planned for a vote. YOU never gave up.
We want to say a special thank you to Chair Jefferson, Supervisor Gordy, Supervisor Boddye, and Supervisor Bailey for showing the Data Center Industry that their belief that Prince William County has more opportunities than only data centers waiting in the wings.
The joint press conference with CABSA also included residents from nearly every district, and EVERYONE was TERRIFIC. Without YOU – each and every one of YOU countywide – this DENIAL vote would not have been possible.
You can watch both the press conference AND the final vote LIVE on our Facebook page (15) Facebook
=> Please send this easy click to send thank you to the specific supervisors who demonstrated thoughtfulness and independence in their deliberation on this project and with their vote to deny the Bristow Campus.
In a rare move, supervisors say no to Bristow data centers | News | princewilliamtimes.com
“Supervisors who voted to deny the project said they want to diversify the county’s commercial tax base by attracting other industries to the Bristow area.”
“I’d like to go after other industries, but in order to do that, we’re going to start to have to say no,” Jefferson said.”
“The development’s proximity to homes also sparked opposition from supervisors.”
“The closer we get to homes, the farther we get out from these industrial cores (and) the more we should have certainty around what it’s going to look like, how it’s going to impact the community,” Boddye said. “We don’t have that here.”
Prince William supervisors deny Bristow Campus data center following protest
“The project, which consisted of a rezoning and a special use permit, had been deferred three times, including most recently on June 24. Bristow Campus was located outside the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overly District, hence the need for a special use permit.
“Democrat Andrea Bailey, the Potomac supervisor and a frequent supporter of data center applications, supported a motion to deny from Republican Tom Gordy, the Brentsville supervisor whose district includes the property.”
“Each application is case-by-case … we need to grow in different ways,” Bailey said from the dais of the county’s commercial tax base, oft-funded by data centers. “We need to educate as we grow.”
“Gordy in a Wednesday Facebook post said this is the first data center application the current board has rejected since it took office in January 2024.”
“Gordy initiated the denial by saying “this is just the wrong place” for a data center.”
Residents Rally to Delay Bristow Data Center Vote Until Gainesville Has Representation
“At Tuesday’s rally, speakers argued that moving forward now would be unfair to Gainesville residents. “With the Gainesville seat now vacant, the Bristow Campus applicant is trying to force this project through with just four votes instead of five, and possibly less,” said Angela Klein of CABSA, the Civic Association of Brentsville and Surrounding Areas. “That would deny all residents, specifically those in the Gainesville District, fair and equal representation.”