A month after officials in a Washington, D.C., suburb approved new guidelines that would allow more than 27 million square feet of data center space to be built in a rural swath of their county, area residents have filed a lawsuit to try to halt the plan.
A group called the Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth filed the lawsuit in Prince William, County, Virginia this week “on behalf of affected homeowners in the community” surrounding the proposed data center development site about 35 miles west of Washington.
According to the suit, the development would create traffic congestion, increase commercial development and bring industrial blight as well as noise and water pollution to the community. The group is hopeful the legal action results in the adopted policy being overturned.
Opening the 2,100 acres of rural land would undoubtedly bring some changes to the county. If fully developed, the additional 27 million square feet of data center space would help Prince William County overtake its neighbor, Loudoun County, as the most highly concentrated data center hub in the United States.
Last month, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved the amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan after a 14-hour meeting and public hearing that stretched into the day after it started. The approved amendment opens up a stretch of rural land between U.S. 29 and state Route 234 bordering Manassas National Battlefield Park and a state forest.
While the land is not officially rezoned after the latest amendment, the new policy provides guidelines to follow when rezoning proposals for new data center developments come in.
Demand From Tech Companies
So-called mission-critical facilities that store computer systems and data are in demand among technology companies such as Amazon and Meta.
A report released in June by economic development consulting firm Camoin Associates suggested Prince William County could run out of space for data centers by 2035, sparking the push to open up more land to development.
Proponents of the amendment say it could help the county’s economy, as Loudoun County is expected to generate $586 million in revenue this year from its data centers, according to the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development.
The lawsuit, however, argues that this “desire of the County to reap funds from the data center industry does not justify the overreaching scope" of the amendment.
The Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth banded together early this year and brands itself as a public interest advocacy group. It has raised $3,290 for its campaign as of late Friday, according to a GoFundMe page.
Prince William County is already home to about 6 million square feet of data centers, and another 5 million square feet is in the pipeline, according to the county’s economic development department website.