Prince William Board orders comprehensive zoning rewrite, moves forward on new noise rules after years of data‑center complaints

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted March 18 to begin a comprehensive overhaul of the county’s zoning ordinance and heard detailed recommendations for rewriting the county’s 30‑year‑old noise law in response to resident complaints about low‑frequency noise from data center operations.

The board formally initiated a zoning text amendment to update Chapter 32—revising definitions, overlay districts, buffer and setback standards, and modernizing development standards—after staff described a two‑year minimum timeline for the work. The motion to initiate the comprehensive update passed during the meeting.

Residents, neighborhood representatives and technical consultants told the board the county’s current A‑weighted noise standard does not capture the kinds of continuous, low‑frequency sounds that neighbors say have disrupted sleep and damaged quality of life in communities such as Great Oak and Wellington Glen.

David Nelson, an acoustical consultant hired by the county, told supervisors that A‑weighted measures, long used to assess roadway and aircraft noise, undercount low frequency energy. He and consultant JMT recommended adding…