The Bristow Campus data center project has been deferred to June 24, effectively delaying the public hearing on the matter before the Prince William Board of County Supervisors that was originally set for May 20.
The proposal would rezone approximately 58 acres from A-1, agricultural, to PBD, planned business district, for the purpose of developing a data center campus. The property is about 1,300 feet west of the Nokesville Road and Piper Lane intersection, on the north side of Nokesville Road and west of Broad Run.
Also included in the proposal is a concurrent special use permit to allow for data center uses up to 75 feet in height – excluding rooftop mechanical equipment that may be up to 15 feet in height – outside the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District.
According to a May 9 email from Tom Gordy, the Brentsville District supervisor who represents the area in which the proposed campus would be located, the applicant, STACK Infrastructure, provided the following reason for the deferral: “We have had extensive community outreach and with the flurry of emails that have come in over the past couple of days, we would like time to review the emails and proactively address feedback.”
During its Sept. 11 meeting, the county Planning Commission recommended approval for the Bristow Campus rezoning and its accompanying special use permit – with Brentsville Commissioner Christopher Carroll and Gainesville Commissioner Blake Ross casting the two dissenting votes and Woodbridge Commissioner Cynthia Moses-Nedd abstaining.
In a community email following the deferral, the Coalition to Protect Prince William County lamented the proffers within the Bristow Campus application and the project’s broader local impact, referencing Dominion Energy’s pursuit of new transmission lines.
“Their promises of trails and open space? Even if it were believable, it isn’t worth the trade,” the email read. “Routes for more new transmission lines, if approved, could be placed along the new trails that were just 'dedicated' by STACK.”
The email continued, “The trail being provided is not even in line with the Broad Run Trail location in the county’s own [Comprehensive] Plan. On top of that, the applicant retains access to the ‘undisturbed’ open space for grading, retaining walls, installation, and maintenance of utilities, and the like. This once again raises concerns about Dominion placing more utility lines in the ‘gifted’ trail.”
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