Prince William Supervisors Reject Dulles Cloud South Data Center Proposal

Prince William County supervisors voted against a rezoning proposal for the Dulles Cloud South data center project on Tuesday, less than a week after developers retreated from a legal battle over building the 1,760-acre Digital Gateway data center complex in the county.

Members of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County rally against the proposed Dulles South data center. (Photo by Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury)

The Dulles Cloud South project would have been the largest in county history, topping out at nearly 2,000 acres, allowing 43 million square feet of floor space for data centers.

The local decisions to halt both data center projects “will have statewide ramifications,” Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, said in a call after the vote.

Developers asked to amend the county’s comprehensive plan to rezone the acreage bordering Loudoun County from mostly agricultural and residential to industrial to build the project.

The county has a technology overlay district that is already zoned for developments like data centers, but some applications have been approved outside of those zones. Prince William is home to over 40 data centers, with dozens more on the way.

The Coalition to Protect Prince William County — a group comprising residents and data center opponents —rallied outside the supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The group was also one of the foremost detractors of the Digital Gateway project.

Similarly to their concerns about that proposal, representatives of the group questioned the potential transmission infrastructure needed for Dulles South, its power and water demands, and how the loss of the agricultural land it would require would impact the area’s rural character.

The Digital Gateway project was slated to span 22 million square feet near the Manassas National Battlefield Park, space reserved for data centers. The related rezoning appeal had been a point of contention since it was proposed in 2022.

Citizens argued in the lawsuit they lodged against the county that leaders unfairly sped up the zoning process and limited public input on establishing a technology overlay district for data center development.

“We are sick and tired of having to show up here and fight for a quality of life to protect our grid, to protect our property. This needs to end today,” said Elena Schlossberg, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County on Tuesday.

County leaders said after they reviewed the proposed rezoning for Dulles South and the change to the comprehensive plan it would require, they recommended against allowing the project to move forward. The supervisors’ report stated:

“Although this change would substantially increase the amount of the commercial tax base and increase employment opportunities, the request raises substantial concerns regarding infrastructure adequacy, environmental and rural character impacts, and land use compatibility with surrounding (zones).”

Dozens of people spoke for and against the Dulles South project. Those in support of the project told supervisors in the multi-hour meeting on Tuesday that the tax revenue would be beneficial to the county and that development is inevitable in the area.

Michael Slater, a resident of the Four Seasons neighborhood who is pushing back against nearby data center proposals, said the county has allowed enough of this kind of development.

“We have enough data centers to fuel the whole world. What do you want more for?” Slater said.

The board, which has welcomed data center development in the past, was united in its vote against the rezoning, which would have been the first step in the process to begin applications for data centers in that area.

“I don’t believe that data centers are the answer to all of our problems, and I am very worried that we’re putting all of our eggs in one basket, and I’m worried about the opportunity cost of voting for every data center that comes before us,” Board Chair Deshundra Jefferson said during the meeting.

The board voted against the rezoning 8-0.

Roem said the blocking of the Digital Gateway and Dulles South projects represents a “paradigm shift” in the county, where historically, there has been support for the facilities that bring millions in local tax revenue, like much of Northern Virginia.

The senator added that the action in Prince William could prompt the General Assembly to pass more legislation to help localities with solving siting issues and meeting their goals to preserve agricultural spaces and access to land for housing developments.

“The two counties with the most data centers are telegraphing to the industry that ‘Hey, this is too much,’” Roem said.

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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