Data centers are a major issue that candidates need to address in the supervisor special election.
Every election cycle has its headlines, but this one has its defining crisis. For the Gainesville District, there is one issue that towers above the rest: data centers, and more specifically, The Prince William Digital Gateway and its massive, precedent-setting expansion.
This isn’t just another land use issue. It’s the turning point. And if we don’t course-correct, Gainesville could be industrialized beyond recognition.
How We Got Here: A Timeline of Overreach
It all began with Gainesville Crossing, a data center development just outside the designated Overlay District, built along I-66 and across from the commuter lot. Was it ideal? No. But it was a single development near existing infrastructure.
Then came the real overreach.
Two landowners along Pageland Lane pushed to rezone their properties from Agricultural to T3 Industrial, opening the door to large-scale data center development. On May 19, 2021, a sitting supervisor proposed what would become a disastrous pivot: rather than evaluate just those properties, why not study the entire Pageland corridor and Sanders Lane?
That “study” ballooned into a 2,100-acre rezoning proposal—a project now known as The Prince William Digital Gateway. What started as a handful of developers looking for exceptions turned into the largest industrial land grab this county has ever seen.
Four Years of Division and Dysfunction
We all remember the all-night public hearing marathons, the public outcry, and the board meetings that ran until sunrise. We watched Gainesville fracture—neighbor versus neighbor, families divided, and trust in local government eroded.
And now? If developers get their way, Gainesville becomes an industrial corridor stretching through Pageland, across Sanders Lane, and eventually right up and down Sudley Road.
We lose the very thing that makes this district beautiful: our proximity to the Manassas National Battlefield, Conway Robinson State Forest, and the cherished Rural Crescent.
The Legal Fallout—and What Comes Next
In their final hours, the outgoing board—led by Chair Ann Wheeler—rushed the rezoning vote through, likely hoping to get it done before Chair Deshundra Jefferson could take office. In their haste, they may have violated state-mandated public notification laws.
Now, the county is facing the Oak Valley lawsuit—a legal challenge that has already cost taxpayers close to $1 million, with the potential to cost millions more.
If this lawsuit succeeds, the entire rezoning may be thrown back to the new board for reconsideration. That will be on the next supervisor’s shoulders.
My Commitment to Gainesville
This was Bob Weir’s battle, and it must remain our battle—because once this industrial train starts rolling, it doesn’t stop at 2,100 acres.
We either fight for Gainesville now, or we lose it for generations.
I’m running for Supervisor because I believe our community deserves:
- Responsible land use that respects our parks, forests, and history.
- Transparency in local government—not rushed votes and backroom deals.
- A return to community-first leadership—not developer-driven agendas.
Gainesville doesn’t need more noise and light pollution, more strain on our grid, or more data center sprawl. We need vision, preservation, and accountability. If you agree—join me. Let’s take back Gainesville.
