BRISTOW, Va. — A big data center proposal in Prince William County is now on hold amid concerns from residents on noise, according to developers.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to hold a final public hearing and vote on Tuesday on the future of the Devlin Technology Park project.
"We deferred the case while the county resolves the overarching noise issue and we hope to be a part of the solution," a spokesperson for developer Stanley Martin Homes said.
The developer's attorney sent an email to the Silver Leaf Estates Homeowners Association the night before on plans to defer the proposal at the public hearing.
“I wanted to let you all know (and for you to pass along to your residents), based on feedback from Supervisor Lawson and the residents, the Applicant has decided to ask for a deferral of the public hearing tomorrow,” shareholder Jonelle Cameron of Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C., said in an email. “We will be submitting the deferral letter to County staff in the morning.”
The decision comes days after dozens of residents held a protest over the weekend against proposed data center developments in their neighborhoods.
Among the variety of problems listed to county officials during public hearings for weeks, noise has been one of the biggest concerns.
Stanley Martin Homes Vice President of Land Truett Young told WUSA9 the company will have to wait and see what happens next. It all depends on how the county handles complaints regarding noise.
"We deferred the case while the county resolves the overarching noise issue and we hope to be a part of the solution,” Young said.
The deferral is considered a big win for residents who have raised concerns about Devlin Technology Park ever since Stanley Martin Homes submitted a Comprehensive Plan Amendment Application in February to pivot from the original plans to create a subdivision.
The developer wants to transform the 270 acres that sits along Chris Yung Elementary School in the Lanier Farms subdivision in Bristow into 4.25 million square feet of data center buildings.
“The deferral of the Devlin Technology Park vote is a huge win for today, but a deferral by developers is not the same thing as a denial by our elected officials,” Prince William County resident Vida Carroll said. “Our Prince William community is still faced with an uphill battle to protect seven of our local public schools, hundreds of our residential homes, and thousands of acres of our rural space, from the threat of data center development.”
Similar to Loudoun County, Prince William County officials have made a concerted effort to grow the data center overlay, citing a big economic development.
The Prince William County Planning Commission will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Prince William Digital Gateway, a proposal to allow 2,100 acres near the Manassas National Battlefield Park to hold new data centers.
Many residents and environmental conservation groups have opposed the plans including the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), which plans to hold a gathering to speak out on the proposal before the meeting.
“At every possible opportunity, conservationists have registered deep concerns about the impacts loud, environmentally unfriendly industrial-scale data centers would have on this one-of-a-kind national park and its surrounding landscape and watershed,” NPCA said in a statement. “Despite the alarming risks data centers pose to this national park, this proposal has been on the fast-track for approval.”