Dear Coalition Friends and Supporters,
This email is going to require some careful reading. We have identified significant process issues in multiple applications coming before the Board. Some of the applications will be heard on Tuesday.
Process in planning is the boring stuff of land use – but also the most critical. Process is all of the supposed ‘iron-clad’ standards that are set in place so that everyone understands the rules, and it evens the playing field. For too long Prince William residents have witnessed standards and rules being tossed to the sidelines to help special interests, and not the interests of residents. While the Haijoe application being heard on Tuesday is not for data centers, it allows for a change in land use designations without a Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPA). We have a problem with that, and so should you.
The Haijo application is being represented by Corey Stewart, ex-Occoquan supervisor 2003-2006, ex-Board Chair 2006-2019, three-time running and defeated for Va. Lieutenant Governor 2013, Governor of Va 2017, US Senate 2018. There is a lot of past history that comes with Corey Stewart. But that’s not what we want to focus on here. What we want to share is that Corey Stewart has been sending hundreds and hundreds of letters to homeowners throughout the Rural Crescent, representing LSI, putting together assemblages. The explosion of assemblages in Prince William County is an anomaly from the development practices in any other surrounding county. The neighbors in our communities who are getting these letters are becoming divided, they are losing what brought them here to Prince William, and many have reported feeling like they don’t have a choice.
Now, here comes Corey also representing the Haijo property. The Haijoe application (REZ2024-00021) is asking for a rezoning change from Agricultural A1 to Heavy Industrial M1, without a CPA. The existing long-range land use I2 designation for the site does not allow for M1 Heavy Industrial zoning! This is one of the reasons the Planning Office recommended DENIAL of the Haijoe rezoning application when it went to the Planning Commission.
But instead, the Haijoe rezoning application has been allowed to move ahead, and is up for a Board vote THIS Tuesday, September 1, even without a CPA.
Is Corey Stewart, ex BOCS Chair, receiving special treatment for this project by avoiding the CPA process? Whether for a smaller project like the Haijoe Rezoning…
Or for a massive project like the Madera Farm data center campus application submitted just a few weeks ago (MORE to come on this one in a future and separate email…!):
- AGAIN represented by Corey Stewart
- Looking for more special treatment, for a whopping 4.7 MILLION sq ft of data centers
- Outside the data center overlay
- ALSO without a CPA
- Right in the middle of Rural Nokesville…
Our county has a planning process and procedures for a reason: Planning process and procedures provide protections and transparency to the community.
ENOUGH of the loopholes and special treatment for the developer class in Prince William County!
And ENOUGH of reckless industrial and data center sprawl!
YOU have a chance to weigh in.
On next Tuesday, September 1, the Board will ALSO be voting on yet ANOTHER data center project application!
PROJECT INDUSTRY (REZ2025-00003) would allow for an 85 foot tall data center, AND a substation, on Wellington Road. While this 42 acre parcel is currently within the Data Center Overlay, only a 45 foot data center, with NO substation, can be built by-right. Substations require a Public Facilities Review (PFR), which begins with the Planning Commission and then goes before the BOCS if there are issues (as with the Vint Hill substation: Prince William supervisors defer vote on Dominion substation | Prince William | insidenova.com). The inclusion of a substation in a data center application, as has been done in the Project Industry application, will remove that oversight and culpability – again breaking our county process. An approval of this application would allow for a much larger data center, AND a substation, to be built, placing a larger strain on OUR resources – like water and air quality.
–> On September 1, 7:30 PM, tell the Board to DENY the Project Industry Data Center. AND tell the Board to DENY the Haijoe Rezoning until a corresponding CPA is filed.
These continuing aberrant applications and broken processes leave PWC residents wondering: While municipalities around the country are making the news for implementing moratoriums and ending by-right data center development, why are the residents of Prince William County continuing to get the bad news of MORE data center applications being considered outside of our county standards?
Did you know, Prince William County is currently considering a Zoning Text Amendment to the current Data Center Opportunity Overlay District (DCOZOD)? Prince William County’s DCOZOD draft Zoning Text Amendment would allow for a 90-day GRACE PERIOD for data developers to get their applications in. This for our county…while at the same time Loudoun County is considering eliminating the grandfathering loophole set in place when they eliminated by-right data center development over 18 months ago! And PWC leaders have not asked residents for feedback or input on the changes being considered!
You read that right.
We say it again: ENOUGH of the loopholes and special treatment for the developer class in Prince William County!
What residents want is simple.
- We want developers to play by the rules set in place, which means requiring a CPA when the process requires it! EVERYONE held to the same playbook, playing by the rules.
- We want by-right data center development eliminated immediately. NO grace periods for developers or grandfathering of “in progress” projects.
- AND We want a county-wide moratorium on ALL data center projects NOW until the impacts on our local watershed and air quality are known.
This is NOT too much to ask. In fact, with data centers making national headlines day after day in 2026, these expectations should be the bare minimum for our elected officials.
The first step to this end is on September 1, when the Board MUST DENY both the Project Industry data center (REZ2025-00003), and the Haijoe Rezoning (REZ2024-00021).
–> TAKE ACTION:
- Send an email to the Board: BOCS@pwcgov.org
- Speak virtually at the public hearings — Sign up by Monday, 8/31, 5 PM: Sign up here for 14A and 14B.
- Speak in person at the public hearings:
Tuesday, September 1
7 PM
McCoart Building – 1 County Complex Court
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The next day, Wednesday, September 2, our very own Elena Schlossberg is moderating:
Reserve your seat and get full details HERE. Wednesday, 6-7:30 PM – Don’t miss out!
The Energy Costs Listening Tour is a series of community conversations hosted by Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi that brings together local elected officials, energy experts, and Virginians to discuss the proposed Dominion–NextEra takeover and what it could mean for utility bills, grid reliability, and communities across the Commonwealth. It is coming to Loudoun, VA on September 2.
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MORATORIUM NOW!
–> NOTE: We have NEW yard signs:
As well as many other different yard signs and t-shirts advocating to protect our communities. Order one today, and start spreading the word to your neighbors!
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