Prince William County Supervisor calls on Board of Supervisors to put brakes on data centers

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (7News) — The battle over data center development in Prince William County continues as former Congressman Frank Wolf calls on local elected leaders to preserve the Manassas Battlefield and Prince William County’s rural land.

“Building these centers in a place where thousands of visitors come would be a stain not only to our parkland and historic preservation but to the surrounding neighborhoods,” said former Congressman Wolf.

On Tuesday, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors is expected to take up County Supervisor Jeannine Lawson’s resolution instituting a lame duck policy --- which would prohibit votes on contentious land use cases following the November election through December 31st until the new board of supervisors takes office.

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“Over the past few years, our current board chair Ann Wheeler and her majority have been reckless in their approach to land development,” said Lawson. “And specifically in their regard to data center development. She and the majority roll out the red carpet and essentially give a blank checkbook and keys to the county to this industry.”

“As I meet with my neighbors and friends here in western Prince William County, so many of them are concerned about the uncontrolled proliferation of these data centers,” said Bill Woolf, who is running for State Senate in District 30.

“They are concerned about how it is going to impact our historic battlefield, the rural crescent that we have in this area. They are concerned about what it might do for their children when they are planning to build some of these data centers right next to schools and right behind houses," Woolf added.

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Meanwhile, supporters of data center development point to the tax benefit of data centers. Some supporters of data center development say the local taxes collected by data centers could go to county services, including schools and transportation and tax revenue from data centers could potentially help offset property tax increases.