FREEDOM FOOTBALL ADVANCES TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Coverage, SPORTS, Page 10.
December 8, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 49 | 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.
Gainesville residents take their fight against the PW Digital Gateway to court By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Residents of Heritage Hunt, Oak Valley and surrounding areas in western Prince William County are taking their fight against the 2,139acre Prince William Digital Gateway to court. In two lawsuits filed in Prince William County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Monday, Dec. 5, the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, the Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth and 12 residents of Heritage Hunt, Oak Valley and Catharpin are asking the court to halt any development related to the Digital Gateway made possible by a Nov. 2 amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan. County supervisors approved the amendment after an allnight, often-heated public hearing. The lawsuits argue that data center development in a rural area of homes and small farms will harm
residents’ property values, health and quality of life. The Oak Valley lawsuit also asks that the court stop any county effort to use taxpayer money to purchase private property near Manassas National Battlefield Park for public parkland in connection with the data center development. The amendment provided for new parkland but didn’t specify how the land will be acquired. The amendment changed the county’s long-term land-use plan for the corridor from A-1 agriculture to “tech/flex,” allowing for up to 27.6 million square feet of data centers. Any further development would require rezoning approval first. Mac Haddow, president of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, called the approval of the Digital Gateway a “rush to judgment” made with little regard to nearby neighborhoods. “We have a mess on our hands.
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Opponents of the Prince William Digital Gateway protest in front of the James J. McCoart Building in September. Why? Because of some very effective lobbying by multimillion-dollar corporations to the detriment of all the citizens of Prince William County,” Haddow said in a Dec. 6 interview with The Prince William Times. “There’s been no explanation as to why we had to do this so quickly.” Heritage Hunt is an over-55 community of 1,863 homes and 3,400 residents. Oak Valley comprises 254 homes just west of Catharpin Road. The Oak Valley lawsuit also includes
plaintiffs whose properties are outside Oak Valley but abut the planning area. More than 100 property owners – including all in the subdivisions of Trappers Ridge, Dominique Estates and Catharpin Farm Estates – are under contract to sell their homes and land for $500,000 to $1 million an acre to data center developers QTS and Compass if the county supervisors approve three rezoning applications that have been filed. See GATEWAY, page 2
Judge dismisses GOP lawsuits challenging election By Cher Muzyk
Times Staff Writer
Welcoming Santa: Hundreds turned out Saturday, Dec. 3 for the 76th Annual Greater Manassas Christmas Parade. More photos on page 7
A Prince William County judge last week dismissed lawsuits two local Republican election integrity activists brought against Eric Olsen, the county’s director of elections, and the county Electoral Board. The suits urged the court to undo the certification of the county’s Nov. 8 election results, direct that hand recounts be conducted in certain precincts and order that all equipment used in the election
Planning Commission OKs 240 townhomes for Kline Farm. page 3
be secured and analyzed by a third-party to ensure “full transparency.” After a near two-and-a-halfhour hearing Wednesday, Nov. 30, during which plaintiffs John Mills, of Woodbridge, and Elizabeth Block, of Manassas, provided their own sworn testimony and Mills called Olsen to the stand, Judge Carroll A. Weimer, Jr. ruled that the lawsuits were without merit and dismissed them “with prejudice,” meaning they can’t be refiled. See LAWSUIT, page 4
Dumfries, Nokesville Christmas parades set for Saturday, Dec. 10, page 8
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It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ CHER MUZYK
Prince William County General Registrar Eric Olsen