FOOTBALL: District standings, region rankings, this week’s schedule. SPORTS, Page 12
November 3, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 44 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Fairfax: Study water impacts before OKing new data centers By Cher Muzyk and Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writers
TIMES STAFF PHOTOS/JILL PALERMO
More than 300 people attended a 15-hour meeting of the Prince William Board of Supervisors Nov. 1 to 2, which ended with approval of the Digital Gateway amendment.
Supervisors OK plan for rural data centers
After 14 hours of sharp debate, PW Digital Gateway plan advances
See FAIRFAX, page 4
By Jill Palermo
Yesli Vega downplays Trump endorsement
Times Staff Writer
The Prince William Digital Gateway – a controversial plan to open 2,100 acres adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and within the county’s protected “rural crescent” to data centers -- took a major step forward Wednesday when the board of supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment designed to make it a reality. After a contentious 14-hour meeting and public hearing that began at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, and stretched until almost 10 a.m., the board voted 5-2 to approve the plan in a party-line vote. The motion was made by Supervisor Victor Angry, D-Neabsco, and seconded by Supervisor Andrea Bailey, D-Potomac. Angry and Bailey voted in favor along with Board Chair Ann Wheeler (At Large), Supervisor Kenny Boddye (Occoquan) and Margaret Franklin (Woodbridge). Republican Supervisors Jeanine Lawson (Brentsville) and Yesli Vega (Coles) voted against the plan. See SUPERVISORS, page 2
Citing concerns about the health of the Occoquan Reservoir, which provides drinking water to 800,000 Northern Virginians, Fairfax County officials are again urging the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to study the impacts of the “Prince William Digital Gateway” – or any significant new commercial development in the rural area – before moving forward. The Fairfax County board took the unusual step of sending a letter to its Prince William counterparts Tuesday, Oct. 25 -- just one week before the Prince William board was set to vote on a comprehensive plan amendment that would move the PW Digital Gateway forward. The amendment would replan 2,133 acres along Pageland Lane adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and in the protected “rural crescent” to allow up to 27.6 million square feet of new data center development. The letter, which the Fairfax board approved unanimously, urges that the Prince William supervisors not rezone any land in the Pageland Lane corridor – or extend public sewer in the rural crescent – until Prince William follows through with a study on the impacts on the Occoquan Reservoir. The Prince William supervisors voted in August to ask the Northern Virginia Regional Commission to use its computer model to do the study, but did not agree to wait for the results before voting on the Gateway amendment or voting on an update to the county’s comprehensive plan known as the “Pathway to 2040.”
By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
“No one wants to build a $1 million home beneath the power lines,” said Gateway supporter Melanie Williams, referring to existing power lines along Pageland Lane.
13th Annual Veterans Day Parade this weekend, page 10
Former President Donald Trump gave Yesli Vega his “Complete and Total Endorsement” Thursday in a message posted to his “Truth” social media channel. Vega issued a statement Saturday, Oct. 29 likening his support to that of voters, but had not promoted the endorsement nor posted it to her campaign website or social media sites. See VEGA, page 4
Respiratory illnesses on the rise in Prince William, page 3
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
Yesli Vega is the GOP nominee for Virginia’s 7th District congressional seat.
88 DULLES, VA