Overview
- The Prince William Board of Supervisors voted 8–0 to deny initiation of a comprehensive plan amendment for the Dulles South Innovation Center, a decision reached Tuesday after a five‑hour public hearing with roughly 90–95 speakers.
- The proposal would have converted about 1,940–2,000 acres along Sanders Lane from agricultural use to industrial and mixed use, allowing as much as 42–43 million square feet of data‑center space and was submitted by Sanders Lane Assemblage I LLC on behalf of more than 200 homeowners.
- County staff recommended denial because the site sits outside the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District and because of environmental and infrastructure concerns, including risks to the Occoquan and Potomac watersheds, diesel‑generator pollution and inadequate roads and utilities.
- The vote came days after QTS/Blackstone withdrew its appeal on the separate PW Digital Gateway project, and supervisors said they refused a piecemeal rezoning so the county can take time to plan the corridor holistically.
- The decision immediately halts development of the Dulles South plan, leaves homeowners who had agreed to sell in limbo, and could signal a broader local shift that slows large data‑center proposals while county leaders map long‑term land‑use and infrastructure choices.