Boddye’s directive to county staff initiates a process to restore case-by-case scrutiny and community protections for every data center proposal in Prince William.
Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye directed County staff to begin the formal process to eliminate Prince William County’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District (DCOZOD), calling the overlay “an outdated planning tool that did not evolve with Data Center impacts and community needs over the last decade, limiting the ability of Supervisors to protect residents more than it aided us. It has outlived its original purpose.”
“When the overlay was first adopted in 2016, data centers were a new industry that the Board at that time, some of whom, quite frankly, sought to limit residential development, took aggressive measures to attract,” said Supervisor Boddye. “Data centers of the 2010s were smaller, and people were less aware of their impacts. In that environment, Supervisors created an overlay district that allowed data centers to develop by-right in close proximity to homes, schools, and other community amenities. To secure larger setbacks, sustainability measures, and other protections, this Board often finds itself negotiating concessions, such as increased building footprints or heights in areas designated for data centers. In removing the Overlay District, the Board would free itself from limitations set by our predecessors, giving us greater control over where data centers are sited and the protections we require.”
If approved, eliminating the DCOZOD would:
- Restore site-by-site review countywide through special use permits;
- Strengthen protection of critical resources like the Occoquan Reservoir and other local watersheds;
- Allow the County to apply updated noise, height, visual, and sustainability standards consistently;
- Align land-use decisions with community plans, climate and resiliency goals, and environmental sustainability priorities.
“Given the limited authority granted to us by the state, one of the most significant ways we can reduce the impacts of data centers on our community is by reforming how and where we site them,” Boddye explained.
Boddye noted that the directive also builds on his longstanding work to safeguard water quality, revise the Economic Development Target Industry list, modernize zoning laws, and raise environmental and design expectations countywide. “Even with the standard suite of environmental proffers the County now applies to data center projects, and the industry’s growing use of clean energy and green building standards, more must be done if we are to meet the Climate & Sustainability goals I introduced in 2020.”
Under Boddye’s directive, County staff will prepare the zoning text and comprehensive plan amendments needed to remove the overlay. As part of this process, residents, civic associations, business owners, and other stakeholders will have multiple opportunities to provide input, culminating in public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of County Supervisors.