Prince William supervisors approve $185,000 study of data-center overlay after sharp debate

The Prince William County Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday approved a transfer of $185,000 from fiscal year 2025 contingency to the Planning Office to fund a boundary study of the county's Data Center Opportunity Zone overlay district and related analysis, after hours of debate and more than a dozen residents urging the board to restrict data-center development near homes and schools.

The funding will pay for consultant work to map parcels in the overlay, analyze approved and pending data-center applications, assess proximity to residences, schools and parks, and propose changes to the overlay boundary; the transfer also authorizes budget and appropriation of the funds in fiscal year 2026.

Supporters said consultant assistance will speed a complex zoning amendment that staff must carry through review by DORAC, the Planning Commission and the board. Planning Director Tanya Washington told the board the study will help implement Directive 24-23 and produce removal recommendations based on proximity and impacts to residential areas, schools and parks.

Opponents and several supervisors warned the narrow study is not enough. Multiple residents from 4 Seasons at Historic Virginia and other nearby communities said potential projects such as Lexora Park and the Bristow Campus are already harming property values and quality of life. Michael Slater, a 4 Seasons resident, told the board the question is "a moral, ethical decision of enormous significance and long lasting ramifications." Lisa McFerrin Polgar, also of the Potomac District, cited noise and emissions observed at nearby centers and urged the board to refuse applications sited next to homes and schools.

Board discussion centered on two questions: whether to proceed now with the consultant boundary analysis and whether to hold a facilitated, broader policy discussion about the county's approach to siting and regulating data centers. Supervisor Tanya Washington (Planning Director) recommended both: the consultant study to support the initiated zoning map amendment and a separate facilitated session to clarify board policy objectives on noise, siting, power and other tools beyond the overlay.

Several supervisors said they want a fall work session to frame policy priorities before staff drafts regulation changes. Supervisor Gordy argued the overlay "has outlived its useful purpose" and suggested that stopping by-right development is the only real long-term fix. Supervisor Bodie and Supervisor Bailey said they feared the study would delay stronger action and asked that the scope explicitly analyze the option of removing the overlay entirely.

After extended debate the board voted 6 to 2 to approve the transfer and appropriation. The motion passed with six affirmative votes and two nays; the record shows Supervisors Bailey and Bodie voting against the budget transfer.

What happens next: staff will engage a consultant (staff suggested working with Moseley Architects, already contracted for development-standards work) to complete the boundary analysis and return recommendations to the board; staff also asked for direction on whether to broaden the study scope to include alternatives such as eliminating the overlay or siting-only approaches. Washington told the board the study would support the initiated zoning map amendment and that public engagement and commission review would follow.

County staff and several supervisors emphasized that the study money comes from FY25 contingency and will not carry forward if unused, which factored into the timing of the vote. Supervisors who favored deferring the transfer argued the larger policy discussion should come first; supporters said using contingency now will let staff move faster toward regulatory options.

The debate came as residents described local impacts from existing centers and from proposed transmission and substation projects needed to serve industrial-scale data centers, including noise, heavy electricity demand, diesel backup generators and visual changes to previously rural or residential areas. Several speakers urged the board to limit siting near homes and schools and to accelerate noise-ordinance updates and other regulatory reforms.