The fight to stop a massive data center development in Prince William County is being revived by two lawsuits filed by homeowners who live near the Digital Gateway project near the Manassas Battlefield.
The lawsuits say the Board of Supervisors failed to follow state law and its own county ordinances when it approved rezoning for 2,100 acres of mostly rural land. The plans call for up to 34 data centers there.
Attorney Chap Petersen argues the Board bent or broke its own rules, then took a vote just days before a newly elected Board took over.
“All of that was ignored in a rush to get this done before a lame duck board departed office, and that’s what we have,” Petersen said.
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Homeowners like Chris Wall are the plaintiffs. He says his family moved to the Oak Valley subdivision 20 years ago for the peace and quiet when zoning protected what was then called the Rural Crescent.
“That’s my big fear is the reason that we moved here is now being taken away,” Wall said. “That quiet and that peace and that peaceful enjoyment that we enjoy in Oak Valley is potentially going to be taken away from us.”
Residents like Mary Ann Ghadban, who have property they want to sell, say high-power transmission lines there are the reason the location is right for a massive data center development. She believes the lawsuit will fail.
“They don’t like how the Board voted and they want to try to usurp the Board’s authority in their decisions,” Ghadban said.
“I know that everything was done properly and in accordance with the county regulations,” she said.
A county spokeswoman said the Board of Supervisors has not been served with the lawsuit yet, but she added the county does not comment on active litigation.
One of the attorneys said he thinks the courts will have some sort of resolution in about six months.
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