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Prince William County Ends Legal Defense of PW Digital Gateway Rezoning

The decision keeps the appeals-court halt in place, with developers now responsible for any appeal.

Overview

  • - The Board of County Supervisors, which voted unanimously Tuesday after a closed session, withdrew the county from the appeals and ended taxpayer spending after about $1.7 million in legal costs.
  • - A Virginia appeals court had already paused the rezoning in late March after judges found the 2023 hearing failed to give required notice to nearby homeowners.
  • - Developers QTS and Compass can still ask the Virginia Supreme Court to review the case, though county attorneys now plan only to respond if courts require filings.
  • - The plan envisioned roughly 22 million square feet of data centers on more than 2,100 acres near Manassas National Battlefield Park, drawing strong opposition from homeowners and preservation groups.
  • - The move lands as Northern Virginia’s data center build-out accelerates, and local lawyers and advocates are pressing for tighter rules or even a pause on large industrial data center rezonings.