Planning commission defers Hornbaker Road rezoning and data-center permit after contested hearing

The Prince William County Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to defer a rezoning and a companion special-use permit for a 40‑acre parcel on Hornbaker Road, telling the applicant to return Oct. 29 with revised building elevations, landscaping and clearer sustainability commitments.

The developer, represented by attorney Lee Gleeson, sought to rezone the site from A‑1 to M2 Light Industrial and to allow a mixed industrial development that includes a single data‑center building and a separate industrial building. Gleeson said Novec has committed 100 megawatts from the Pegasus Substation across Hornbaker Road, which would allow the project to be built without additional transmission lines. ‘‘Those 100 megawatts have been allocated to serve our development,’’ Gleeson said, adding the distribution would run under Hornbaker Road and avoid new visible infrastructure.

Residents and online commenters pushed back. Jessica Wagner, a nearby resident, said she feared the project’s strain on water and electricity and questioned whether county residents would shoulder infrastructure costs. ‘‘Who’s footing that bill?’’ Wagner asked, saying she found only a $75‑per‑acre water‑quality monitoring proffer in the materials. Rachel Ellis and Jessica Grove, speaking virtually, said the parcel is outside the county’s data‑center overlay and urged the commission to reject the proposal in favor of life‑science or research uses.

Staff and the applicant said several protections are in place or under discussion. Planning staff urged higher‑quality facades for the Parkway frontage, noting the TIOD (Technology Overlay District) calls for a 100‑foot vegetative setback and high plant‑unit densities; the applicant said the development caps building heights at 75 feet for the industrial building and 80 feet (inclusive of rooftop equipment) for the data center and is committed to façade reviews. Chris Perez, senior staff, said the key outstanding issues are architectural elevation quality and resolution of several easements recently identified along Prince William Parkway (including VDOT slope and an unrecorded drainage easement).

Technical witnesses also addressed water and cooling systems. The applicant said sustainability proffers require evaluation, in consultation with county staff, of air‑cooled or closed‑loop cooling systems for the data center to reduce potable water demand. Engineer Mike Kitchen described a closed‑loop system as ‘‘like a car radiator’’—a charged coolant loop that is reused rather than an evaporative cooling tower that consumes large volumes of potable water.

Commissioners debated the tradeoffs. Some members welcomed the economic development argument that the site’s immediate access to distribution capacity from Pegasus could help the county capture high‑quality jobs; others worried that the site’s prominent location, steep slopes and reduced planting widths would leave the town center and adjacent neighborhoods with visible, difficult‑to‑screen buildings. Multiple attempts to record a recommendation—first to deny and then to approve—resulted in 4–4 tie votes. Facing that stalemate, Commissioner Justice moved to defer both the rezoning and the special‑use permit to Oct. 29 to permit the applicant and staff to work on elevation design, buffering and any needed proffer clarifications; the motion carried.

What’s next: The applicant has agreed to work with county staff on revised elevations, a potential closed‑loop cooling commitment and clearer planting and fencing details. The cases will return to the Planning Commission Oct. 29 for further consideration and a new recommendation to the Board of County Supervisors.