Coraggio Consulting Prince William Board of County Supervisors Meeting, Tuesday, December 12, 2023 Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023 Place: Prince William County Board of County Supervisors, Virginia Length: 26h 46m (video) Official meeting video (Prince William County, Granicus): https://pwcgov.granicus.com/player/clip/3410 Official Board of County Supervisors page (Prince William County): https://www.pwcva.gov/department/board-county-supervisors Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting. Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-11-02. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:06:39] It is 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. For those who wish, please join me in a moment of silence. We'll rise for the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. [00:07:02] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So our next item, item three, public hearing standard agenda, we are going to start in a minute, but just because we're going to, We have a closed session item today that someone has requested, so we are going to take this time to immediately go into closed session, so a little anticlimactic. [00:07:36] If I can get a—Ms. Roble, can I turn it over to you? Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. We will have consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members pertaining to probable litigation regarding rezonings REZ 2022-00032, Digital Gateway North, REZ 2022-00033, Digital Gateway South, and REZ 2022-00036, Compass Data Centers, Prince William County, Campus 1, where such consultation or briefing in an open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body, [00:08:09] Along with consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel pertaining to legal advice regarding land use law and rezonings, REZ 2022-00032, Digital Gateway North, REZ 2022-00033, Digital Gateway South, and REZ 2022-00036, Compass Data Centers, Prince William County Campus One, where such consultation discussion or briefing in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position negotiating strategy or litigating posture of the public body [00:08:43] and this item is appropriate for closed session pursuant to 2.2-3711A7 and 8 of the Virginia Code so moved madam chair second motion made by supervisor angry seconded by vice chair bode i wasn't expecting it to be that long we've all gotten a break um uh ms madden can you take the voice any discussion seeing no with their light on can you take the voice call supervisor angry supervisor Bodie aye supervisor Bailey aye supervisor Franklin aye supervisor Lawson [00:09:14] supervisor Vega yes supervisor we're chair Wheeler aye vote unanimous okay we will be back [00:09:25] or back from closed session um may I get a motion to certify please so moves second motion made by Vice Chair Bodie, seconded by Supervisor Angry. Any discussion? Mr. Weir, your light is on. [00:10:05] Okay. Seeing no discussion, Ms. Madden, can you take the roll, please? Supervisor Bodie? Aye. Supervisor Angry? Aye. Supervisor Bailey? Aye. Supervisor Franklin? Aye. Supervisor Lawson? Aye. Supervisor Vega? Aye. Supervisor Weir? Aye. Chair Wheeler? Aye. [00:10:21] Vote unanimous. Okay, thank you. So we are now on to our public hearings of the day. Madam Chair, before we get to start the public hearing, we're going to have the applicant presentations. I mean, before we start the applicant presentation, I know it's useless, but I'll do it anyway. [00:10:42] Given the additional threat of litigation, I would move that we defer the public hearings on REZ2022-0032, REZ2022-00033, and REZ2022-00036 until such date as a proper public notice has been issued. [00:11:05] I just have a legal question. Didn't we vote on this last time we were here, Ms. Robel? Is it a difference? It's the board's prerogative to go forward with this vote based upon the second closed session. Okay, great. So we have a Supervisor Weir motion seconded by Supervisor Lawson. [00:11:23] Any discussion? Seeing none, Ms. Madden, can you take the vote, please? Supervisor Weir. Supervisor Lawson. Supervisor Angry. Nay. Supervisor Bailey. Nay. Supervisor Bodie. Nay. Supervisor Franklin. [00:11:39] No. Supervisor Vega. Yes. Chair Wheeler. Nay. Motion fails, three to five. Supervisors Angry, Bailey, Bodie, Franklin, and Chair Wheeler voting nay. Okay. Thank you. we are now on to our standard agenda the public hearings as we start the day i just thought i'd lay out how the day is going to go and we're going to begin with presentations for each rezoning each rezoning will have an applicant presentation and then a staff presentation at the end of all the presentations the boards will ask questions you know when we do the board questions today [00:12:13] i'm planning to sort of go down the dais so if you have questions just um you know to be lined up so we can sort of do them methodically and and uh you know give everybody time and so maybe you know two or three questions at a time and then just keep on moving down the dais madam chair supervisor lawson thank you are you going to start with the district supervisor of record we could do that if that's important to you well i think it's just protocol okay um we can start with supervisor weir and sort of go down and you know and we can uh it doesn't mean that you have to ask your questions all at once but just make sure it's methodical and we can keep [00:12:51] it moving so one or two people don't dominate also and then after the end of board questions we will open the public hearings and then after the public hearings we will have motions and discussions so with that I will start off with the rezoning 2022-00036 compass data [00:13:14] Thank you, Madam Chairman. Good morning. My name is Mark Looney. I'm a land use attorney with the law firm of Cooley, representing Compass Data Centers. Joining me this morning is Chris Curtis, the Senior Vice President for Compass Data Centers, my colleague Lee Gleason, and our co-counsel Janelle Cameron from Walsh Colucci. [00:13:40] We're pleased to be here today to present the rezoning application for Compass, if we could pull up the presentation slide real quick. [00:14:01] So at the outset of the presentation, I want to try to set a framework around the conversation today, and that's the difference between whether and how. [00:14:23] Weather is the policy question of whether data centers are appropriate in the Pageland Lane Corridor and what's become known as the digital gateway. That question was answered 13 months ago when the Board of County Supervisors adopted the Comprehensive Plan Amendment saying that data centers are inappropriate use within the Pageland Lane Digital Gateway Corridor. [00:14:47] What we're here today to answer is the question of how that policy is to be implemented, and that's through the consideration of the rezoning applications that are before you today. So as we talk about this, I want to make sure that we keep in context that we're addressing the how question and not the weather question. [00:15:05] Just to give you a little bit of context, the Compass property is divided up into seven different land bays. Sudley Road is to the top of the chart here. Route 29 is to the bottom. The bulk of Compass's assemblage is in the middle of the corridor. [00:15:22] Land Bay 4 is on the east side of Pageland Lane, directly underneath of the existing transmission lines that run north-south along the corridor. Land Bay 1 is closest to Sudley Road, and Land Bay 6 is closest to Heritage Hunt. [00:15:39] In terms of a summary of the application itself, it's nearly 900 acres in size. The rezoning is proposed to go to the planned business district. The permitted uses are limited principally to data centers and supporting uses. We have a minimum commitment, and I'll come back to this later, a minimum commitment in terms of the overall amount of open space of 39 percent of the property, of which 30 percent is protected open space, which effectively means tree cover. [00:16:09] We also have a total proposed development of about 11.5 million square feet, or a 0.3 FAR with specific FAR limitations in each land bay. We've proffered to a maximum building height inclusive of rooftop mechanical equipment in two of the land bays being 60 feet and the rest of the land bays being 90 feet. [00:16:31] The two land bays where the proffered maximum building height is 60 feet are those closest to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and to Heritage Hunt. The closest residential dwelling to any of the buildings to be constructed in the compass assemblage is between a quarter and a third of a mile away. I know you all are used to getting applications where there's conversations around data centers being 100, 150 feet away from residential dwellings. In this case, we're nearly a third of a mile away from the closest residential dwelling. As you know, the staff recommendation is denial on this [00:17:06] application, and I really think it reflects a disconnect between the applicant and staff with respect to two questions. One is, what's the appropriate level of detail in connection with a 900-acre rezoning application proposing 11.5 million square feet to be developed over a 15 to 20-year time horizon? And that's borne out in the conversation in the staff report about the requested waiver of the special use permit, which is permitted when you're rezoning to the planned Business District. The second disconnect with staff is the applicant's ability to proffer or promise [00:17:42] to Prince William County where Dominion Energy is going to construct the internal transmission network that would hook up the proposed data centers within this development to the existing transmission lines. And as I'll talk about later, what it really is driving at is how much tree preservation can be maintained in connection with Dominion's construction of those transmission lines. [00:18:09] Just to give you the framework of what the application includes, it includes three principal elements, a master zoning plan, a master corridor plan, and a transportation plan. The master zoning plan establishes the limits of disturbance in the building envelopes within which the development activity can occur, the points of access, the locations of substations. You can see the other elements on the plan. The master corridor plan, which was designed in consultation with the other applicant, QTS, so that we had a cohesive design program within the three rezoning applications, [00:18:45] includes detailed site layouts of each of the building envelopes established by the MZP, architectural elevations for the buildings that we anticipate could be built within the [00:18:57] development. I'll come back to that. The establishment of the buffer types and locations of those buffers, trail networks, etc. The third element is the transportation plan, which principally includes an upgrade to Pageland Lane from two lanes to four lanes, six roundabouts, a parkway style design with 10 foot shared use paths on either side of Pageland Lane and avoids impacts to the Manassas National Battlefield Park in terms of the need for additional right of way for those upgrades. [00:19:28] So this is an example of one of the land bays within the Compass assemblage. This is Land Bay 6. This is the one farthest to the southwest, closest to Heritage Hunt. In the lower left-hand side of the screen, right in here, if I can get this to work, this is Heritage Hunt, right in this location here. [00:19:47] The brown area represents the building envelopes within which the data center buildings, the supporting equipment yards, driveways, parking lots would be constructed. the green areas represent the open space areas that would surround that building envelope. In terms of the different types of open space, the hatched areas largely are treed areas, including reforestation and preservation of existing trees. The softer hatching green areas would be proposed meadow or grasses to be to be planted after construction is finished. [00:20:22] And as I'll talk about later, we have minimum proffers with respect to reforestation and replantings within the development. How that building envelope then gets implemented is shown on this plan, which is filling in the building envelope with proposed data center layouts. [00:20:39] The white parts being the buildings themselves, the gray areas being the equipment yards, and then the circulation around it with the yellow green areas being the reforestation along in here. and then the preservation areas in the darker green. [00:20:55] Importantly, when we think about how to implement the master zoning plan, think about it in the context of, let's say, instead of 900 acres worth of data centers, we were doing 900 acres of two acre, or excuse me, half acre residential lots. [00:21:11] So two houses per acre. You wouldn't expect in the context of a 900 acre 15 year build out to show every home driveway in the master zoning plan. Instead, what you would do is you would set up the guardrails for how the developer fills in that building envelope. [00:21:30] What are the buffers? What are the setbacks? What are the major open space areas? What are the major transportation networks? And then you probably would have design guidelines that would follow behind that would show a typical lot layout in terms of how the residential dwelling units were to be constructed. [00:21:47] Similarly, from an architectural perspective, you would want the developer, over time, to be able to give homebuyers the architectural style of home that they would want to buy. It could be, you know, 20 years ago, the Center Hall colonials were all the rage. [00:22:04] Today, you get a lot of more modern-style homes. The same thing is true in the data center industry. The buildings that were being built 10 or 15 years ago are not the buildings that are being built today. You want data center developers to have the flexibility to adjust to market demands, to adjust to innovation, to adjust to changes in sustainability practices over time. [00:22:27] That's good planning. That's good process. That's really all that we're asking for in the context of this. And the disconnect with staff largely has been around whether we have the flexibility to take, let's say, one of these buildings and split it into two. [00:22:41] In that scenario, it's the same FAR. It's the same building height. It's the same setback. It's the same everything. It's just that we have two buildings instead of one, perhaps because a customer requests it, or perhaps because a customer like a Google or a Meta decides that they want to buy a building from Compass as opposed to lease a building from Compass, and they want their particular design as opposed to Compass's design. [00:23:08] That's the flexibility that we're seeking as part of this application and the challenge that we've had with staff in that conversation. In terms of building elevations, we've got proffers about the materials that we're going to use, the paint colors, other sorts of things. We've proffered to substantial conformance within Land Base 6, which is the closest one to Heritage Hunt. [00:23:28] We've got screening walls. We've got all sorts of things to try to mask these buildings within the park-like setting that we're trying to create with the buffers and the tree preservation and reforestation that we're doing. This is the typical compass elevation that we would anticipate building in phase one, one-story data center on the left, two-story data center on the right. [00:23:48] One thing to notice about this is the HVAC equipment in this scenario is put on the side of the building as opposed to the roof of the building. The reason is it's a more efficient design. Instead of pushing the air down and around inside the building, they can shoot it straight out. That design didn't exist five years ago. [00:24:07] And so that type of innovation that creates a more sustainable data center is something you should be encouraging, not discouraging, by saying you have to build this cookie-cutter design and nothing else. And again, that's the flexibility that we've been seeking. Just for comparison purposes, in the Gainesville Crossing rezoning, there was no commitment to substantial conformance with building footprints. [00:24:30] There was no commitment with respect to substantial conformance of the architectural elevations, yet both the staff and this board agreed that the special use permit in that context could be waived because it was a rezoning to the PBD district, the same as what's being provided here. Just to give you sort of a snapshot of the way this conversation has gone, and I'll leave this on the screen for you to read, but in essence, for six months, the conversation that we had with staff was they wanted us to commit to substantial conformance to all of the footprints and all of the architecture over a 15 to 20 year build out. And we kept saying we want [00:25:05] the flexibility to change and modify over time as I've talked about. Yet in the staff report that came out for the board hearing, the staff has recommended that we now revert back to the general conformance standard that we had been pushing all along because they're worried that we don't have sufficient engineering on the last building to be built 15 years from now to commit to substantial conformance. So even as we've gotten to this later date, we're still in this conversation about what's the appropriate level of detail to proffer in connection with this application. One of the important points that I want to make is there are very tight limitations [00:25:45] on what we can do in terms of the limits of disturbance and any encroachments on the limits of disturbance. There are three permissible encroachments on the limits of disturbance, meaning areas where we might impact trees beyond what we currently anticipate. One is the removal of existing homes. There are 103 homes within this assemblage that need to be removed, including their driveways, swimming pools, whatever other elements there are. Two, we have encroachments that are outside resource protection areas, where maybe when we final engineer a land bay, we have to move a little bit to the left or a little bit to the right and encroach upon a tree [00:26:23] that we didn't anticipate when we finally got to the design. Exactly what staff is raising in terms of the question of general conformance versus substantial conformance. In that scenario, if we impact a tree, we have to replace it on a one-to-one basis. The third set of encroachments that are permissible under this plan are things that are already permissible in your DCSM. [00:26:44] We are not looking for any additional flexibility beyond what your current codes and ordinances already permit, and that's for the crossings of utilities, for example, for water and sewer, or for the distribution electric lines that would come from the substations into the buildings. [00:27:02] Those are things that are permissible today, whether it's a data center development or a residential development, and we're seeking to have the same flexibility. There are also proffers that talk about encouraging the utility providers to minimize impacts on the things that we and the staff have identified as being important aspects of this property. Cemeteries, tree preservation areas. We have an affirmative commitment to work with those utilities and to encourage them when they are designing their facilities that they do so in recognition of these important resources. In terms of the amount of open space, I'll go through this quickly, but if we look at the, or excuse me, tree preservation, if you look at the [00:27:41] corridor today, this is the entire digital gateway CPA area, 33 percent of the land area in the corridor is currently some form of tree cover. During the period of construction for both Compass and QTS, should both applications, sets of applications be approved, that tree cover would be reduced from 33 percent down to 23 percent. We then would come back and add in what we call restored open space, which is effectively reforestation and tree planting, to bring that up by almost 11%. And so at the end of development, the total amount of tree cover [00:28:18] within the corridor itself would be on the order of 34% of the land area. And then we add in the meadow areas and the lawns that I talked about earlier in terms of the MZP, it goes up by another 9%, which means that at the end of the development, the total amount of open space across the entire corridor would be on the order of more than 43% of the total land area, of which more than 30% would be this protected open space, which is in effect an area that we can't disturb and there would be covenants on it or it would be conveyed to an association to manage so that it is preserved. [00:28:57] In terms of storm runoff, we've committed as part of the proffers to achieve a good forested condition at the end of development. Effectively, what that means is there's, at the end of the day, we would use technology to ensure that the rate of storm discharge from the property and the quality of that discharge would be equivalent to or greater than if the entire assemblage was in a good forested condition, as though no development occurred, including farming or clearing or other sorts of things. [00:29:28] This misnomer, excuse me, this misperception that we're somehow harming the watershed is in fact false. Other sustainability commitments we've talked about, I've talked about the tree preservation. We're not going to use water-cooled data centers except to the extent that they are closed loop, but that's not Compass's technology anyway. [00:29:48] We've committed to a range of sustainability measures that we can pick and choose from by phase or by building based on the needs of a customer, the desires of a customer, or changes in sustainability measures over time. We've proffered to maximum noise levels using a cumulative noise study. So each time a new building is brought on, we have to do a new noise study that documents the cumulative effects of all of the data centers operating together, as opposed to a one-off assessment of a particular building. We've spent a lot of time and energy working on the [00:30:24] cultural resources component of this. Approximately 10,000 shovel test pits across the assemblage in areas where we found something, we tightened the circle even more to be able to ensure that we were covering the landscape as best as we could. The results of our analysis was our consultant identified 10 sites within the assemblage that were worthy of a phase two analysis. None of those 10 sites had any, I shouldn't say none, one of those 10 sites had an existing structure that they recommended preservation on, which we were already not [00:31:00] disturbing. Of the additional nine, none of what was found was significant in terms of foundations of homes or other things. Instead, it was fragments of glass and ceramics and other sorts of things. Of those 10 sites, five we were already setting aside and not impacting. The additional five we've committed to doing the phase two study on, and we've committed to a sixth one based on the county archaeologists' recommendations. One of the significant benefits of this application is there's a lot of different sources about the history of the settlement in the Thornton Drive [00:31:37] Corridor and the former Thornton School. What we're proposing with this application is to do a cultural resources inventory of all things related to the settlement and to set aside two acres to establish a commemorative facility for the Thornton School that would be designed in consultation with the Historical Commission and other county agencies and groups, the county archaeologists, as a way to permanently allow the public to access the history of the settlement, the history of the Thornton School, and provide a commemorative facility that can be enjoyed by all. [00:32:13] We would construct the facility and then dedicate it to the county. In terms of cemeteries, There are three known cemeteries within the assemblage, all of which through this process have been fully delineated. We've proffered to additional buffers around each of those cemeteries, proffered to public access to the cemeteries in accordance with state law, and we've developed a pretty significant and robust plan with respect to how to look for and then what to do with any unanticipated burials that might arise during the period of construction. [00:32:48] For example, we've proffered to have two monitors on site with historic credentials to oversee the land disturbance activity and have authority to halt construction in the event that something unanticipated is discovered through the construction process. [00:33:05] In terms of visual impacts to the battlefield, we conducted viewshed analyses both from inside the assemblage and outside the assemblage looking back into the assemblage. There were no significant visual impacts to identified locations within the Monashas National Battlefield Park, even with buildings that were 90 feet in the closest areas to the battlefield. [00:33:33] And we've subsequently proffered to limit the building heights closest to the battlefield to 60 feet. And then from Heritage Hunt, we took similar measurements, and none of the buildings are visible above the tree line at 60 feet from any of the measured points within Heritage Hunt. We've kept the building height at 60 feet to keep the trees beneath the tree line as opposed to above the tree line and proffered to treat them appropriately to mask their visibility. Just to give you a flavor of how it was done, on the right-hand side are 14 sites within the battlefield from which views were taken. The numbers on the left-hand [00:34:12] side represent locations within each of the land bays where building footprints could go or the extent of building footprints could go. And so we analyze from all of the 14 sites in the battlefield, looking back, this is an example. The one closest to land bay 6 is about 4,000 feet away, so roughly four-fifths of a mile from the site in the battlefield. This is what it looks like at 90 feet. It's all below the tree line. It's 4,000 feet away. And obviously in the foreground, you can see the existing transmission lines very clearly. This is a wintertime view of showing a 90-foot [00:34:50] building. And again, we've proffered the building heights to be 30 feet lower than what you see on the screen here. In terms of Heritage Hunt, we similarly took viewshed analyses from inside of Heritage Hunt. What I'm going to show you is number one here, which is the closest point, again, about 1,500 feet or between a quarter and a third of a mile away from the closest house within Heritage Hunt, looking back at State 10, which is the closest building to that development. At 60 feet, you can see that the buildings are all below the tree line, roughly 1,500 feet away. That's a fall-time view and then a winter-time view. And again, we'll treat it with colors and other [00:35:27] materials to mask the visibility through the trees. In terms of transportation improvements, I talked about Pageland Lane, widening three and a half miles to four lanes with six roundabouts, shared youth paths, et cetera. [00:35:43] And then there's a pretty robust amount of trail network. You have about two minutes remaining. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. A pretty robust set of trail networks through the compass assemblage and then connecting with proposed trails within QTS as well as existing trails along Cat Harpen Creek and Little Bull Run. [00:36:02] And then the total amount of open space I talked about before, which is 39 percent total open space, 30 percent of which is protected. And I want to come back to the transmission line question in the context of this. We are proffered to have 30 percent tree cover within the assemblage, no matter what Dominion does with respect to the transmission lines. [00:36:23] we have coordinated with them to identify the substation locations within the assemblage, to identify potential routes to link those substations together, and to understand impacts on our tree preservation and open space areas. [00:36:40] But if Dominion and Novec and the applicant are irresponsible during the construction of the transmission lines and more trees get removed than we anticipated, we're obligated to find another location for those trees somewhere else because we're committed to that minimum percentage no matter what. [00:37:02] And that's why we've suggested to staff that we can't plan Dominion's system for them. All we can do is react to it, and this is our reaction is. No matter what they do, we will meet that minimum tree cover percentage. [00:37:19] So with that, Madam Chair, I'll stop and look forward to having your questions. Thank you. At this point, we will turn it over to staff for the staff portion. [00:37:40] Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the board, staff, applicant team, and members of the public. [00:37:55] My name is Emily Wolfson, and I'm the case planner for Compass Data Centers, Prince William County, Campus 1, REZ 2022-00036. I'm here with many of my agency partners who all put a tremendous amount of work and time into reviewing this application. [00:38:10] I would also like to acknowledge and thank the applicant and their team for also putting in a tremendous amount of time and effort worth working with staff. So the request for the project is to rezone 884 acres from A1 Agricultural Zoning District and SR5 Semi-Rural Residential District to PBD Business District using the Office High Rise District, Office Flex District, Office Mid-Rise District, and M2 Light Industrial. [00:38:38] The proposed overall FAR for the property is no greater than an overall .3 FAR. The request allows for 11.5 million square feet of data centers, accessory uses and structures, public facilities including streets and parks, seven substations, one sanitary sewer pump station, one natural gas gate station, freestanding non-hazmat assembly uses, cultural art centers, Ancillary secondary use is limited to 10% of the gross floor area of each building to be used for visitors and employees. [00:39:14] The application also includes waivers and modifications, including a height modification with the option of going up to 85 feet in land bays 1 through 5. Staff's recommendation is denial. The location of the property is comprised of 103 parcels divided into 11 land bays, which are generally located on both the east and west side of Pageland Lane to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park, northeast of Conway Robinson Park, east of Heritage Hunt, Golf, and Country Club, and approximately one mile north of Route 29 Lee Highway. [00:39:51] The property is designated I-3 Technology Flex and POS Parks and Open Space in the comp plan. The property is zoned A-1 Agricultural and SR-5 Semi-Rural Residential. The existing uses include dwelling units and existing farm buildings, fields, and farmland. [00:40:10] On November 1st, 2022, about a year ago, today, a little over a year ago, the Board adopted the Prince William Digital Gateway Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which provided many policy and action strategies and recommendations. The overall vision of the CPA is to promote opportunities for expanding the data center industry. [00:40:31] The vision encourages context-sensitive building design, the provision of a connected trail system, and the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment and cultural resources. In addition to the rezoning, there are two other rezonings that have been processed concurrently, which you'll also hear this morning and into this evening. [00:40:52] QTS, Digital Gateway North and Digital Gateway South, which also will be heard tonight, as I mentioned. Let me go back real quick. Also shown in the graphic, there are portions of the CPA area that are not part of either of the three rezonings, notably the southern portion of the study area, as well as east of Digital Gateway North and portions in between this application and Digital Gateway South. [00:41:20] Staff has received hundreds of written and verbal feedback from the public and interested parties on this proposal, as well as the Digital Gateway North and South. At various times throughout the review of the project, residents have spoken at the Planning Commission meetings and Board of County Supervisor meetings. [00:41:37] Concerns and supports from the project from the community are summarized in the staff report, and you'll also be hearing from the public as well. So, application updates with the fifth submission. At the November 8th public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended denial based on proffers dated August 25th, which is the fourth submission. [00:41:58] Based on the number of revisions and amount of time before the hearing, staff was unable to review the fifth submission prior to the Planning Commission hearing. After the Planning Commission hearing, staff reviewed the fifth submission. The board staff report and presentation that I'm here today is based on the fifth submission and subsequent proffer revision that was submitted on November 28th. [00:42:19] We acknowledge that the applicant has made headway in some of the weaknesses and some of the issues from the fourth submission, but staff feels that not enough has been done to change staff's recommendations. As such, the planning office maintains its recommendation of denial. [00:42:35] I want to acknowledge the strikethrough, which was a previous weakness in the Planning Commission's staff report. The applicant has since then revised the height modification from the 4th to the middle to remove the option of going up to 100 feet in land bays 1 through 5. [00:42:51] The height is now 85 feet in land bays 1 through 5, and this is no longer a reason for denial. The applicant has also corrected the issue with eminent domain proffer, which was a transportation plan issue. It's now consistent with the transportation comprehensive plan and the CPA. [00:43:07] The listed bullets on the slide are still reasons for denial, which will be discussed throughout the presentation. The 10 core reasons for the denial play an important role in staff's analysis on the project's consistency with the various sections of the comprehensive plan and the CPA. [00:43:26] These main issues interweave and come up in almost every section that was determined inconsistent, such as community design, cultural resources, environment, electrical utility services. As I mentioned before, transportation is now consistent with a comprehensive plan in the CPA. A major theme and large weakness that intersects the four subject areas that I just mentioned is the lack of information on the electrical transmission lines, which I'll talk about a little bit later in the presentation. [00:43:54] and just to mention, while there's no comprehensive plan focused on sustainability is mentioned and identified as a focus area in the strategic plan, in addition, the sustainability component of the CPA provides additional policies and action strategies that apply specifically to the study area. [00:44:12] Because time is limited for this presentation, and it's going to be a long haul, this focus will be on the core reasons for denial, as well as the project's main consistencies with the identified subjects of the comprehensive plan, as well as major strengths of this application. [00:44:28] This is a summary guide to the project. Staff notes that many elements of the proposal were consistent with various components of the comprehensive plan. Notably, long-range land use, as the project does include the primary uses that were anticipated in the CPA, which were data centers and other accessory uses. [00:44:45] Staff also recognizes that the project does have a number of strengths, but based on the severity of the weaknesses and the pervasive effect that have on numerous comprehensive plan elements, they're weighed more heavily. As stated previously, the applicant has made headway on some of these issues, but not enough has been done to change staff's recommendation. So I'm going to go over the community design first. So the key provisions from the CPA was to require rezoning, special use permits, and public facility reviews to include limits of disturbance, site layout, colored architectural elevations, and conceptual, [00:45:22] illustrative, and design considerations, require line-of-sight exhibits, encourage site-specific designs, encourage design guidelines. When facing and visible from Manassas National Battlefield Park, buildings should be non-reflective and earth-toned, screening mechanical equipment, sound attenuation, enclosures around generators, and substation locations and screenings. [00:45:44] One of the weaknesses is that the master zoning plan does not provide site layouts consistent with the information required for an MZP in the zoning ordinance, which requires a location of all buildings and other structures. Rather, the MZP delineates the limits of disturbance, development areas, the building circulation and parking envelope, which is sewn in the beige color, and other non-pervious areas noted in various shades of green. [00:46:12] So this is a typical land bay, land bay 6. As previously stated, the zoning ordinance requires a location of all buildings and structures, as well as sanitary sewer and water systems. Furthermore, the CPA encourages including limits of disturbance in site layouts. [00:46:30] This is really important because the V-shed analysis is predicated on the building locations that are depicted in the master corridor plan. Without proffered site layouts that depict building footprints on the MZP, the county has provided less assurances that what is being presented in the viewshed study is what will result in the project build-out. [00:46:52] Staff does not support the approval of the waiver of the SUP because the application lacks building footprints, site layouts, and proffered elevations, and the SUP is the mechanism by which these specific details are typically provided. This equivalent level of detail has not been provided in the MCP. [00:47:11] And this is a screenshot of the master corridor plan. As proposed, the county may end up with general conformance regardless of the substantial conformance to the MCP being proffered. This is unless the applicant has done enough engineering to determine that the site layouts depicted in the MCP can be substantially met, including room for the substantial amount of utilities needed. [00:47:34] At this point, no one truly knows what site challenges will come up and may alter the site layout. It's possible that enough engineering has been done by the applicant to know that the site layouts can be met, but that is not demonstrated on the MZP. Thus, when it comes time to review and approve the final site plans, our project managers are going to do the best they can with what is truly an illustration to get some form of conformance. [00:47:59] Next slide is the architecture. Currently, the applicant proffers substantial conformance with quality and character of the architectural designs of the building elevations fronting Artemis Road and Land Bay 6. In addition, the applicant has proffered that the quality and character of the architectural design shall be in general conformance for all subsequent data centers, buildings, and portions thereof with the development provided such architectural design for all subsequent data centers shall be of similar quality and character to the architectural design for the data centers building [00:48:34] fronting Artemis Road and Land Bay 6. The MCP does not proffer specific building materials that will make the delivery of these standards harder to monitor and regulate. Staff believes that this proffer may make it appear that the applicant has committed to a higher standard. However, enforcement of these standards may be difficult. Typically, when substantial conformance is proffered, it is commitment to the exact known visual impact. To have this level of variability and still call it substantial conformance, can be misleading. [00:49:05] While these revised proffers are an improvement from the forced submission, enforcement may be difficult. I'm going to go over the viewsheds quite quickly. So the CPA encouraged building heights in the northern districts limited to 85 feet unless a viewshed analysis provided that shows at the building height either no impact to viewsheds from Manassas National Battlefield Park or a mitigated impact to viewsheds. [00:49:33] The applicant, as I mentioned, the applicant proposes 85 feet maximum building heights from land bay 1 through 5 and 60 feet in land bay 6 through 7. These include mechanical equipment, penthouses, and all other rooftop structures exclusive of penthouse, elevator penthouse that do not exceed 10 feet in height. [00:49:54] The viewshed analysis prepared by the applicant includes selected locations within land bay 6, which is the area in closest proximity to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and Heritage Hunt. Locations within the Monashius National Battlefield Park were derived from locations included within the CPA and in consultation with the county archaeologist and the National Park Service. [00:50:18] The image on the slide includes 14 observation points and on-site cameras. This is an image of a potential observation from stakes 11 and 12 within land base 6 of the application boundaries, which are the closest building corners located. [00:50:44] Visual simulations from the Manassas National Battlefield Park included potential impacts of a 90-foot building. As you can see on the image on the bottom is the simulation of the image with the project. Very little can be seen of the building. [00:51:00] In conclusion for the visual simulations, the applicant provided viewshed analysis and line of sites from Heritage Hunt, which all show that the studied building height, there are little impacts to viewsheds from the nearby Heritage Hunt. Buildings are visible, but only within and below the existing tree line. [00:51:20] Visibility is mitigated by building height, distance, topography, and existing vegetation. Summary of strengths for community design included a viewshed study, exclusive uses, noise attenuation, rooftop equipment included in maximum building height, proposed substations and locations and screenings, perimeter buffers, construction impacts, management plan. [00:51:45] Summary of weaknesses, I touched on the lack of building footprint, lack of proffered elevations. We're going to get into the uncertainty in transmission line corridors, as well as some of the issues that I listed here as they're pertaining to other elements of the Comprehensive Plan. [00:52:01] In terms of the green infrastructure, the Comprehensive Plan established protected open space, protections for environmental resources. The overall goal of the study area is to achieve 30% natural open space over the entire study area. [00:52:19] It also established a wildlife corridor, restorations of previously disturbed areas, and buffers along the perimeter. In terms of summaries of strengths from environmental plan analysis, the application does provide significant restored open space, protected open space, as well as wildlife corridor that meets and in some sections exceeds a recommended 500 width. [00:52:41] Terms of the weaknesses, natural open space, the applicant has indicated in the open space computation chart below on sheet 9 of 10 of the MZP that only 16.9% of their total site area might set aside as natural open space. [00:52:59] This is inconsistent with achieving the CPA's overall study target of 30% of natural open space. Given the proffers on utilities, it's unlikely that even this 16.9% will be met. In addition, Proffer 28, which is a limits of disturbance proffer, contains many exceptions allowing encroachment beyond the limits of disturbance that preservation of the natural open space cannot be ensured, leaving very little assurance that areas of environmental resource, wildlife corridors, forested areas, and RPAs will be preserved. [00:53:35] With respect to electrical transmission lines, a commitment to locating the power loin corridors need to serve the data centers within the development area has not been provided. Weak proffer language such as the applicant only committing to encouraging utility providers and offering a good faith effort are not enforceable. [00:53:53] Staff is really concerned that the natural open space may be utilized for these power loin corridors and other utilities, particularly since the site layouts do not indicate they have allowed for routes within the development area. Profer 8, rather than committing to located utilities outside natural open space, allows them with the natural open space, including RPAs. [00:54:17] Furthermore, this is images of the wildlife corridors. The right is the CPA, and the left is from the Master Corridor Plan. The applicant did not provide the Western Corridor Wildlife Corridor as it is identified in Figure 13 of the CPA. [00:54:36] The corridor provides a connection to high-quality forests west of Pageland Lane. An important section of Wildlife Corridor that directs wildlife away from Pageland Lane is not proposed with this application. Next is the Electrical Utility Services Plan. [00:54:53] Main policies associated with this plan include locating electrical utilities facilities to provide maximum service levels as unobtrusively as possible, design electrical facilities to minimize negative impacts on existing and future communities, and to support and encourage alternative green energy infrastructure. A policy objective associated with the CPA also encouraged substations to be located to the interior proposed development or abutting existing high-voltage lines when possible to minimize viewshed impacts. [00:55:29] Additionally, substations that are visible to Manassas National Battlefield Park or from surrounding major roadways are encouraged to use innovative designs and screening. In terms of strengths for electrical utility services plans, substations are located interior to the site or abutting existing transmission lines, with the exception of substation located in land bay. Three, the weaknesses really is other than substation locations, no information is provided about the proposed location of the electrical infrastructure on the property that would serve the facilities in each land bay, such as transmission lines. Without this information, [00:56:07] staff is not fully able to analyze a project's impacts on the surrounding community to include, but not limited to impacts on view sheds, open space, preservation areas for trees, and site layout. By not including transmission line corridors in the MZP and as proffered to provide the maximum flexibility for the location of these lines, these transmission lines may be located in areas identified to preserve forests and sensitive environmental resources and the supplemental landscaping areas shown on the MZP. The applicant is encouraged to depict electrical transmission [00:56:42] line corridors in the MZP and provide proffer 28 to permit any slight modifications or adjustments to the utility locations that may occur during final site plan. In terms of cultural resources CPA, the key provisions were to prioritize preservation and protection of existing cultural resources, minimize impacts to significant viewsheds, encourage preservation and interpretation of local and national history. [00:57:10] Building heights should be limited to 85 feet in the northern district. In terms of the strengths, the application did include a phase one cultural resource study. The application conducted a cemetery delineation on suspected cemeteries. [00:57:26] There were viewshed studies that were completed, as I mentioned before, and additional buffers were proffered beyond the cemetery preservation for each cemetery. In terms of cultural resources weaknesses, there were no Phase II during rezoning, which prevents preservation in place of resources, which is a goal of the comprehensive plan. [00:57:48] The proffer for Phase II evaluations after rezoning approval did not specifically list archaeological sites by number, did not include Phase II and Phase III data recovery resources. There was limited information on electrical transmission lines. There are significant limits of disturbance flexibility, and the proffered landscape innovatory is not a cultural landscape report. [00:58:11] Finally, sustainability. There is a sustainability provision and chapter in the CPA. While there's no comp plan focused on sustainability, it's been identified as a focus area in the strategic plan and as mentioned in the comprehensive plan amendment, which strategies and policies were to encourage development to be a steward of world-class innovation and sustainability, encourage enhanced indoor environmental quality, encourage energy efficiency design, encourage renewable energy on site, and encourage enhanced erosion and sediment and stormwater management. [00:58:46] In terms of strengths, the applicant is providing a proffer that data center cooling will not use groundwater, surface water withdrawal, or surface water discharge, which is a strength. They provide a variety of measures to choose from, and as mentioned by the applicant, includes a Green Globe measure. [00:59:03] The weaknesses are it's unclear what the impacts will be of each measure given the menu of options. It's difficult to enforce. The application does not specifically address enhancement of indoor environmental quality. data center energy efficiency design, data center clean energy, less carbon intensive or carbon natural energy generation. [00:59:24] So in closing, the PC recommended denial based on the fourth submission, and staff is recommending denial based on the fifth submission, based on the following reasons, lack of building footprint, building elevations as proffered, the waiver of the SUP, ability to make changes, flexibility in landscaping and open space, the location or lack of location of the proposed electrical infrastructure, inconsistencies with the comp plan, remaining proffers, issues, and deficiencies, and outstanding review comments. [00:59:56] I'm here with many of my agency partners and happy to answer questions at the appropriate time. Thank you. Thank you very much. At this time, I assume the applicant doesn't want to get up and say anything. We were going to go on to the next presentation for the next rezoning. Our next rezoning is Digital Gateway South 2022-00033. [01:00:17] Madam Chair. Supervisor Lawson. We're going to ask all questions at the end. Well, frankly, I think it would be better for all of us while cases are fresh in our head. If I recall correctly, that's what the Planning Commission did. [01:00:33] No, the Planning Commission didn't. Well, I know that the Planning Commission had a series of questions for staff and Mr. Looney before Mr. Calabrese spoke, because I watched part of it. There weren't any questions. [01:00:51] Was there any Q&A? I mean, it'd be really nice to have some questions. I prefer we do it all at the end, as we discussed at the beginning. Okay, maybe I misunderstood you, but. I mean, so many of the issues are general issues, and so to go through them with every single application is not necessarily the most efficient. [01:01:11] Well, you're right. I have a lot of similar questions. Mr. Looney? All I was going to say, Madam Chair, was that the Planning Commission did each of the three presentations and then did about four or five hours worth of Q&A cumulatively after the three presentations. [01:01:32] From my perspective, this is the board's call as to whether you want to do questions now or questions later. We're happy to answer questions whenever. I'm just conveying to you what the Planning Commission did. I appreciate that. It's been a while, so my memory is probably a little foggy on it, but I thought that Mr. Looney had answered a bunch of questions before QTS presented, but it doesn't seem to be that case. [01:01:54] I'm totally fine with that. So we're going to move on to the next rezoning? No problem. Okay, very good. That's rezoning 2022-00033. I do have a question for the applicant when you're ready are you doing one presentation at well not for mr. Calabrese are you doing one presentation [01:02:32] total mr. Calabrese are you doing one presentation for the two rezoning no ma'am I believe I have to do two separate presentations okay I promise back I'm happy to monopolize your time you should like me to do that that's right you'll do them back-to-back and then we'll have staff do the application the staff presentations back to back is that correct for the two rezoning sir you're [01:03:07] gonna do them back to back I'm happy to do that ma'am okay just lost I have to say so we watch TV regularly and in terms of memory my wife always says I should be taking Prevagen she loves a Prevagen commercial I said my wife and I watch TV regularly they're Prevagen commercials whenever I forget something she says I should be on Prevagen I don't think you need that you're much No, ma'am. I don't think I want to start that way, though. Thank you. I appreciate it. [01:03:40] So, Madam Chair, Vice Chair, Honorable Members of the Board, Antonio Calabrese with DLA, happy to present not one, but apparently two cases back-to-back. I'll start with Sal. Some of this is going to be repetitive, I think, for the record, but I'll try and move through with alacrity. [01:03:57] We're proud to associate ourselves, I think, with a number of comments you heard from Mr. Looney. high bar of the CPA in these applications before you achieve many of what many in the data center industry have asserted is the highest CPA master plan standards that exist not only frankly in the region but in the country. Despite what you may have heard and read, QTS has met and exceeded the lofty goals memorializing the CPA that this board adopted over a year ago after a tremendous [01:04:30] amount of consideration and i think a forethought context sensitivity respect for place open spaces cultural and historic resources miss franklin you in particular raised that about a year ago are all subsumed as part of the application before you your good staff and the commission and the board thoughtfully considered carefully delineated the 2100 acres that are on the screen as you acknowledge and adopt the cpa would we be here but for these transmission lines the answer is of course not. They are an important infrastructure and important resource that go [01:05:07] right up the chute to the north to Loudoun County. We'll talk here before I'm done about the many benefits that Loudoun has enjoyed from this important infrastructure and I'd ask you to keep in context the heights of the buildings and the 137 foot towers that are on the western edge that really frame the western edge of the battlefield. Mr. Looney did quick overview of The respective land holdings of QTS in the purplish-blue colors, north and south, we're starting out with the two southern land bays. [01:05:41] Let me see if I can get, there we go. The two southern land bays, which are reflected in red in the middle on compass, are northern land bays, which I'll get to here in a couple minutes. Please note on the left the substantially reduced density as compared to typical data center cases that are before this board, the staff, your planning commission on a regular basis. [01:06:00] The overall corridor, you all thoughtfully laid out in November of 2022, a 0.3 FAR max. Data centers regularly come in at 0.6 or even up to 1.0. Double, triple, quadruple the density associated before you this evening. [01:06:20] I'm going to rifle through these issues, so I'm sure I don't need to encourage this board to interrupt me with questions, but there's a lot to cover. I think a lot of it's been done over the last 45 minutes. Building footprints, specifically proffered. The limits of disturbance, the layout, the orientation, the access, architectural elevations, which I will show you. [01:06:39] We talked about the special use permit and, frankly, the unnecessary need for that. View-shed certainty. This one-to-one replacement is really important. I'll come back to that. It really goes to the heart of the Dominion issues that have spent a lot of time and effort and consternation. [01:06:55] The targeted cap densities, the master landscape plan, the electric infrastructure, consistency with the comprehensive plan. We think we're in total alignment with the very high bar that this board set. Transportation, proffers, planning director's judgment, the fourth review comments, and I'll certainly talk about cultural and historic resources before we wrap up. [01:07:19] It's really important. The building footprints and the site layout, we have very carefully delineated. These are excerpts from the two southern land bays. To the left, the western portion of Paiton Lane. On the right, the eastern portion closer to the battlefield. [01:07:36] These are excerpts from the Master Concept Plan, the MCP. You'll hear a lot about that. These have been specifically proffered. To me, a picture's worth a lot of words. I'm a visual person. To the point made a few minutes ago by Mr. Looney, what this really helps delineate, in the upper left is the Master Zoning Plan. [01:07:57] You can see the development areas, the limits of disturbance in white. The green areas are basically protected, treed, and forested areas, supplemental landscaping in the lighter green. On the right-hand side is the proffered excerpt from the master concept plan. [01:08:13] Really important. All the engineering has not been done, Mr. Looney said, a 10- to 15-year project. You can't do that level of engineering for projects of this magnitude and this side. But sufficient engineering was done so that we were all very comfortable proffering to what's on the left in the MCP and, most importantly, to virtually every major staff issue what's on the right in the master concept plan. [01:08:37] So the words and the bullets on the right-hand side, we have to have consistency with the tree and the forest protection areas, 35-acre forest area next to Heritage Hunt in the upper left, the reforestation, the LODs, the building envelopes, the buffering, landscaping, setbacks, stormwater management, access and circulation, building heights, FAR limitations. [01:08:58] These are all proffered. These are all subsumed in the proffers and the plans before you and a part of your deliberation. And what you can see merged here I think is very illuminating because what it reflects is when you take the proper MCP and the building elevations, the building footprints, they fall squarely within the development areas, the limits of disturbance, and the protection areas that staff is correctly concerned about. [01:09:26] It's their job. They should be bringing these issues to your attention. We respectfully submit that we took those constructive suggestions very seriously, and that's why we went to the level of detail that we have in the MCP and the MCP. These things are easily understood. A lot of consternation about, oh, can this be administered? Absolutely. Absolutely. This is seamlessly administered. It's very typical, particularly for larger, longer-term master plan communities, whether they be residential or, in our case, data center. It's good engineering, good practice, good sense. [01:09:58] The burden critically is on the applicant to demonstrate to your staff satisfaction that we comport with all these proffers, or we have a hard stop. So to that point, again, visuals are good for me. Substantial conformance on the left-hand side, to the point, again, that Mr. Looney was making. [01:10:20] What's on the left-hand side, same area, the western land bay of the southern portion. If we wanted to take this smaller building and shift it, say, 50 or 75 feet to the southwest for legitimate engineering reasons, perhaps stormwater management facility needs to be a little bit bigger, and this needs to be pushed down, that's in substantial conformance. [01:10:40] If we wanted to take the middle building, we're not likely to do it with QTS, but just for example's sake, if we want to take that middle building within the envelope and divide it into two for some reason, still within the building envelope, protective of all the LOD and other critical issues, that's substantial conformance. [01:10:58] This is not substantial conformance on the right-hand side. If we wanted to take these three buildings and try and rotate them in a clockwise direction, you would immediately, your staff would immediately say, that's not in substantial conformance. You're violating setbacks, you're hitting a forested protected area, you're going beyond requirements. This is not in substantial conformance with what's underneath. Similarly, on the right-hand side, if we wanted to go in and flip the infrastructure of NOVAC with the building, not in substantial conformance. These are easily understood. I'm going to segue next to [01:11:37] another topic that, frankly, was a bit of a head-scratcher for me. This is the densities associated with the four land bays in the south, and particularly land base C. So, very quickly, as you all know and have you read and as you adopted, the density ranges in this corridor can be at a low of 0.23 up to a 0.57. There is a cross-the-cap density of 0.3 for the applicants, again, the lower end. We have said throughout the course of this application for our southern land base, that we were actually going to put in a cap of 0.25. When you accumulate land base A and B [01:12:16] to the west, land base C and D to the east of Pageland, we have an overall proper cap of 0.25. Importantly, for land base C and D, which have been the focus of what you'll hear from Chris here in a couple minutes, when you accumulate those, you're at a 0.22 FAR, well below the 0.23. [01:12:36] The issue has been, the issue that will be raised is this land base C is at a 0.36. Staff recently asked us to delineate exactly the amount of density in each of the four land bays. They wanted a recitation of that. [01:12:51] And in fact, because we're being respectful of the CPA, which says there should not be data centers on the east side of the power lines, we of course had to accumulate some of that data center opportunity here in land base C. So the simple math, and my father always alleged that I went to law school because I didn't do math very well at my alma mater with Mr. Weir. [01:13:16] But the simple math is, if we simply remove this land bay D designation, and I called this whole area, this 156 acres on the east side of Pageland, land bay C, we would be at a 0.22 FAR. [01:13:33] Again, below the recommended density of 0.23. So there has been no additional density requested. We've been completely consistent, very transparent in the south for the last 10 months as reflected here. [01:13:51] This is the CPA. It shows specifically the development that we're proposing, the electric infrastructure. And we are seeking no greater density in this area combined than a 0.22. Yes, this is a little bit higher. It's still below the 0.4, which is the middle area of the range. [01:14:10] But there's nothing nefarious going on. There's been no last-minute request for additional density. I think respectful of the fact that we're proximate to the battlefield, to Conway-Robinson, to Heritage Hunt, there's tremendous focus, additional open space in the south. [01:14:27] This area and this summary graphic basically reflects that just in the southern area, there's about almost 300 acres of what will be permanently protected open spaces, which is appropriate for this area, and again, consistent with the CPA. [01:14:44] For Heritage Hunt, we have a 35-acre permanently protected forested area with a very advantageous ridgeline. It's actually a peak where this trail is reflected. These trees are some 70 to 80 feet in height. Closest buildings in this area is some 970 feet, again, included. [01:15:03] This one, to me, is a bit of a head-scratcher as well. Mr. Looney alluded to it. This is right out of the MCP. This is with regard to the substantial conformance of the architecture and renderings. We know exactly what our prototypes want to look like. [01:15:19] We're proud, frankly, of the architecture. We have specifically committed to earth tones associated with these buildings. You all have seen our buildings in innovation. For those of you who have visited our headquarters in Ashburn, which is reflected right here, we like our buildings. In fact, we have specifically property, as reflected here in the bottom left, detailed architectural elevations, defined elements, extensive glass facades, precast panels, earth tone colors, parapet walls, mechanical screening. [01:15:50] These are directly out of the MCP. These are incredibly detailed. In fact, I've done a lot of data center cases over a lot of decades. These are as specific as I've ever been in terms of the building elevation. So, again, this concern that somehow this will be difficult to enforce, we respectfully submit, is not accurate. [01:16:11] You guys have a very good staff, a very smart staff, a very vigilant staff, and the burden is on us when we move forward with any site plan or building permit to show compliance with all proffers and plans, which we will do. You guys have already heard a bit about the special use permit. [01:16:27] I think it's very clear that we have demonstrated, particularly with the graphics that I just reflected, that is the tremendous detail associated with these buildings, with the envelopes, with the limitations on heights, on setbacks, on landscaping, on forested areas, that the special use permit waiver is entirely appropriate. [01:16:50] Again, to cite Gainesville Crossing, as you all know, 153 acres, 3 million square feet, up to a 0.6 FAR. R2 cases to the south are at a 0.25 FAR, a 58% reduction on an FAR basis as compared to Gainesville Crossing. [01:17:09] Far less detail, virtually none with Gainesville Crossing. We have proffered to the very things that I've been alluding to over the last 10 minutes, including significant reforestation areas where there's been farmed for decades, if not generations, a dedication of nine acres to the battlefield. [01:17:27] this area closest to the battlefield consistent with the cpa actually is about 50 acres of forested or reforested areas i don't think we have time unless the board wants me to do so perhaps on rebuttal we actually have some very illuminating videos i'll spare you from those unless you want to see them but consistent with what you heard from compass we actually have 15 sites that we work very closely with Mr. Patton, with the battlefield reflected here, some of the most important sites within the battlefield, where our extensive viewshed studies were done, [01:18:05] reflective of the buildings shown here. And in fact, I think Chris alludes to this very helpful information. There were one or two additional questions that were asked. We supplied that additional information, and I'm very confident about the viewshed work that's been concluded. [01:18:23] Again, just to highlight, nine acres will be conveyed to the Park Authority. If there's a successful outcome to the south cases, you see there's a significant additional buffer. This whole area has been farmed for generations. So in order to reforest it and really buttress the distance and supplemental landscaping throughout this area, that will be done early. [01:18:46] no data center east of the power line. That goes to the issue of why there is slightly additional data center here to the west, which is appropriate, further away from the battlefield. I'm going to rifle through the rest here pretty quickly, Chair. [01:19:02] But the MCP, we hired and have worked with both entities. One of the things that we lauded at the Planning Commission here, and you have two of the best data center companies in the country that want to be here, that want to invest between the two of them over the next 10 to 15 years some 40 to 50 billion dollars in Prince William. That's what the total infrastructure, buildings, land costs, servers are going to amount to over that period of time. And it's been a terrific collaboration of frankly with groups that typically compete with one another for the benefit of the county, the region, and digital gateway. Land design is in Old Town Alexandria. They're one of the best master [01:19:41] planning groups not in the region but in the country they've done a very thoughtful analysis of pageland and how to really implement something that's that's noteworthy along pageland with the master landscape plan with a lot of consultation from interested parties we updated one of the proffers that chris highlighted before we took took out the sunset provision which you're concerned about in terms of how much time the county has to review us which is perfectly fine there are strict protections of proffered open spaces. We understand and respect staff's legitimate concern about protecting the forested area and the open spaces. We can't dictate, we can't proffer where [01:20:20] Dominion lines are going to go. Dominion can't even do that. The electric infrastructure is subject to the estate corporation commission review and approval, but what can we do? That's what was articulated a couple minutes before, reiterated in the graphics before you. We've come up with what I think is a really unique and interesting proffer one-to-one protection across the board if there's one if there's one area of forest that has to be touched we have to have an equivalent area of forest like to like if it's landscaping or buffering or reforestation has to [01:20:55] be done and it's not limited to dominion or novac it's all the utilities so if a gas line impacts 50 square feet of a tree-save area, we've got to find another 50 feet. We believe that our good engineers sitting behind me here have done sufficient work, that this is going to be the rare exception, not the rule. Staff has taken the position, it might be the rule, not the exception. [01:21:16] We don't believe that's the case, and most importantly, you have proffers that assure you that it will not be the case. This is just a reflection, again, of both the proffer commitments and an ongoing deliberation with Dominion and with NOVAC. [01:21:32] I believe both are here and will speak to you if you have questions about them. But we've been working very carefully to ensure that some of the concerns articulated by staff are not realized. This is a perfect example. We put the substation in this area immediately contiguous to the power lines. [01:21:50] That's the best place to put it, least visible, surrounded by existing trees or reforestation areas. No reason to put it someplace else. So we're doing the best that we can in the areas that we have and the control that we have. Again, I'm back to my happy visuals. [01:22:06] This is the same area. This is the infrastructure. We've got some tree save and some landscaping in this area. It might be, for example, that rather than connecting immediately east and west, Dominion might have to pull their transmission connection in this quadrant. [01:22:22] If that impacts 5,000 square feet, we have to find another 5,000 square feet. This is exactly the type of commitment that is memorialized in the proffers and plants before you. Very quickly on transportation, Rick, Paulo, your staff's been terrific, as has VDOT. [01:22:40] We're really proud about the work that's going to be done on Pageland. This is not the Bi-County Parkway. Let's be 100% clear. Pageland needs to be widened today. There's too much traffic on it today. It's not a safe circumstance. We're going to be doing four-lane, median divided, 50-foot of buffer on either side of Pageland, along with 10-foot shared-use pass on either side. [01:23:04] The type of ambiance that can be there, will be there, is reflected in these graphics. Really important, $180 million, all of the applicant's cost, not the county's cost, not VDOT's cost. We have to deliver on it, and frankly, Rick and his good staff have held our feet to the fire. [01:23:25] We're not going to do six different intersections with traffic signals. We're going to do much more attractive, much more, I think, appropriate roundabouts. They look great. They're terrific for traffic calming. It strikes the right balance. Here's a depiction of what I just said. [01:23:42] Shared-use paths, 50 foot of buffer on either side. There are no, it's not, we've talked a lot about wildlife corridors. Well, right now the wildlife takes its life in its hands going across Pageland, as we all do. We're going to have three different significant grade-separated connections. [01:24:01] They're actually going to be built big enough even for equestrians, and I think it's going to be, again, you see the type of ambiance we want to create here within Pageland. It's going to really open it up in a way that is available to the public that certainly doesn't exist today. [01:24:18] Some discord about proper clarifications. We've done, I think, virtually everything that we can. I think we've addressed every fourth review comment, a lot of discussion about the flexibility. I think, again, as Mr. Looney alluded to earlier, we've been really clear in our proffers. [01:24:38] Basically, they have to be strictly enforced. We're citing to the relevant zoning ordinance section, so it is the county, not the applicants, who are the ultimate arbiters of substantial conformity and enforcement of the proffers and the plans. [01:24:54] This is what exists in your zoning ordinance, and that's what we've proffered to. It's been identified as a weakness, that things are more subjective or might be difficult. Respectfully, this is imbued in the zoning ordinance. This is typical, as Ms. Robel knows, of all the local jurisdictions. [01:25:12] It gives the authority and the power of the zoning administrator and the planning director to make informed decisions. These are objective, legally enforceable, well-instead standards. So we did have different proper language before. We did accede to, I think, some very good recommendations from your staff, and it's quite clear what we need to do in order to satisfy. [01:25:34] I'll be wrapping up here, and I don't know what my time yet is, Chair, but in terms of cultural resources. Real quick, Ms. Bannon, are you just giving them a total for the two presentations? I started at 40, and we're down to 18. For both presentations? Yes. Okay, so you have 18 left for the other presentation. [01:25:49] Sweet, I'll take it. No, I won't use all 18. I'll try and wrap up quicker. With regard to the cultural resources, I personally, and I have to say, I've had a lot of respect for Mr. Patton before we started this exercise. [01:26:06] We haven't always agreed on every different topic, but I would respectfully submit that, again, holding feet to the fire. Between the two applicants, we did 19,000 test fits over the cumulative 1,700 acres, 1,800 acres, and we have two nationally known, respected cultural and historic consultants who have done, I think, a noteworthy job. To date, we have found no human remains with any of those, but Justin and the Historic Committee, with whom we have met more times than any one of us care [01:26:42] to recount, I think have come up with a number of additional proffers that really address comments I heard, Ms. Franklin, from you a year plus ago and a number of your colleagues. This area is important to us. It's important to the county, and a lot of allegations that we're ignoring it or we're going to asphalt over it just absolutely are not true. These are two nationally known, very well-regarded data center companies who want to do right by the county and by this region. So multiple phase two studies. We have agreed to hire a civil war historian that [01:27:18] has to meet certain standards. If we need to go and do phase three studies, we will. Unanticipated discovery plan, good idea from Mr. Patton, to basically ensure that during and prior to construction, people are being attentive to. And if there's any question about something important being an NIR of our land base, it's identified, scrutinized, protected, on-site archaeological monitoring. We actually have agreed, Justin, I don't even know if you had time to know this, but we actually went from the cultural landscape inventory to cultural landscape reports. I think [01:27:54] the superintendent of the battlefield requested that as well. That is the case for all four of our southern land bays. We did a lot of extensive work with with Emma. The Marble Hill Cemetery is not and I repeat not on any of our application properties but we will continue to work on that important area as well and do the CLR work. There are all the phase twos that are being undertaken And what's highlighted is what's really important. [01:28:26] County archaeologists get to review, comment, and approve during our site plan review any of these important sites. If there's anything that requires additional study that has to be concluded, it has to be concluded prior to any land disturbing activity in the proffers. [01:28:45] I am really, frankly, enthused. This is, I don't mean to steal a compass's good thunder, but this is on the compass property. Mr. Looney alluded to it. The Thornton School is really important. I personally love the idea of elementary school students, not only from Prince William, but from other schools, to come here and be able to sit around the foundation of an important area. [01:29:09] Whatever you think of the Confederacy, they had their unfinished railroad, which goes through a portion of the application QTS property, which is reflected here in this graphic, actually, is that area out on the site today. [01:29:25] We've really designed about a five-acre park, contemplative in nature, quiet in nature. I love going to Williamsburg. I love when you have the characters from Williamsburg or Monticello there who can act like Thomas Jefferson. Having that type of opportunity here on this site to talk about what occurred is a unique way to convert what is currently private property into a public amenity. [01:29:53] The boundary tree, we believe, goes all the way to the Civil War. actually on the battlefield property is contiguous to our application. Doing something noteworthy there is in our plans as well. Like Compass, we have three cemetery sites. They've been very carefully delineated. Justin's been there, Emma's been there, our consultants have been there. [01:30:12] Of course, we're being respectful of those, ensuring that the descendants have access. We talked about open space. Mark stole all of my good graphics, so I'm not going to repeat them, But the open space and how we have layered forested areas, tree preservation areas, reforestation areas, hundreds, thousands of these acres have been farmed for generations. [01:30:37] So reforestation is a very appropriate means to proceed. And frankly, reforesting around the streams is one of the most effective stormwater quality measures that we can and will implement. We talked earlier about the southern places and how the density is so much lower. [01:30:56] I will focus you for just a second. This is the 89 acres designated as the Southern Community Park. You all should have received from us yesterday a letter, a commitment from QTS, not a proffer, importantly. This is the 89 acres that I just highlighted. [01:31:14] QTS, it's taken us almost two years, and we just finished the last contract literally over the weekend. But QTS has under contract some 65 of these 89 acres, as memorialized in a letter that each of you should have received, went to Ms. Roble, went to Mr. Shorter. [01:31:32] We think something really interesting can happen there. We have a commitment, not a proffer, to work with the county if there's a successful outcome to these cases to really create something noteworthy in an area that makes all the sense with the battlefield to the east and Conway Robinson to the west. [01:31:51] So I hope to have an ongoing dialogue with the future board and many of the people assembled here at the table about what could be a beautiful place, not only for Prince William County residents, but for the region. Environmental issues we've talked a lot about, stormwater, park context, extensive trail network, nine-plus miles of trail. [01:32:15] We're going to be, both applicants have agreed to some $10,000 per data center for use by the park authority to undertake maintenance. We'll construct the trails in a phased and methodical way. Great opportunity for equestrians throughout this region. [01:32:33] and a couple of important trailheads at just the right locations. In terms of noise, a lot of time and effort has been spent on that. Critically, we have to do a noise study with the first site plan one month after occupancy, and we have to do another one if mitigation is warranted. [01:32:53] Totally enclosed generator systems. Our generator systems are behind 20-foot screening walls, typically. We have already adopted the HVAC, counting cumulatively to any sound impact, any operation or source counts. 35 acres of forest next to Heritage Hunt. [01:33:11] This is actually a typo. There's almost 50 acres of permanent open space next to the battlefield. For those of you who have been to QTS headquarters in Ashburn, before they closed down, there were two daycare centers located immediately next to our headquarters. [01:33:28] The kids were louder than the generators. I think a number of you actually went outside to listen. Sustainability, this is too much to cover other than to say it's laudable that there are sustainability considerations. There should be 17 options within the plan. [01:33:44] We've said that we'll adopt at least seven of them and look forward to implementing that. If you look at QTS's website, you'll see a lot of the nationwide commitments. And just to wrap up, Chair, economic development is a critical element, not the only element of what's before you, but a critical element of what's before this board and your successors. [01:34:05] There's a lot of provisions in the CPA about achieving this, I think, tremendous resource. I love the ideas of being able to work with NVCC, with George Mason, frankly with your high schools, the tech programs, the partnership with tourism industries, all part of what can be achieved with your endorsement of the applications before you. [01:34:30] We have estimated between both companies some $40 to $50 billion of economic investment over the 10 to 15 years. Sounds like a lot. That's absolutely consistent with what we see in Loudoun County. Loudoun County, as you all know, heard and read, Mr. Shorter's looking at this with envy, last year got $663 million in tax revenue from their approximately 20 million square feet of data centers, thousands of highly paid tech jobs, construction jobs. These are all absolutely necessary to achieve the objectives that I frankly have heard articulated by many of you all on a regular basis. The best interests of your respective constituents, ball fields, better schools, higher [01:35:10] teacher salaries, affordable housing, libraries, mental health support, reducing the tax burden. These issues of which we have, these uses of which we have in abundance are not going to move the needle ultimately for commercial tax revenue we should have had dunkin donut in there by the way my favorite um this is this was interesting to me we review this at the planning commission and some of this even though i'm a long time loudon county resident i frankly thought that loudon had more residents than printway i'm not correct um you can see the respective budget numbers loudon has about 800 million dollars more in the last budget you can see the park and rec numbers to [01:35:50] 20 million dollars more school comparison and then the tax rates so all of that is not just because of data centers but of real salience i think to this board today over these deliberations and going forward you got about 100 million dollars in data center tax revenue that last year loudon has peaked over 663 you can see the breakdown of how that works most of it personally property tax. You can see the respective commercial tax base. We know that the county needs and wants [01:36:25] to enhance your commercial tax base, important for your bond rating, among other things. You can see the respective property tax rates. Is all of this because of data centers? No, but a lot of it frankly is. I think that's my last slide. Madam Chair, I have other slides for the north, but honestly, they're so duplicative of what I just went through. I'll simply note, unless Ms. Robel needs me to do anything different, that there's tremendous overlap about these issues. They're really all applicable to both of the cases before you this afternoon. I do want to say there's been [01:37:00] a lot of angst. There's been a lot of attention. No one can complain that this hasn't gotten a lot of public scrutiny. And I laud every member of this board for your efforts to do what you all believe is right for your constituencies and for this important county. I laud every member of the staff who's sitting next to me or behind me or not in the room. This has not been easy. They've been under the microscope, and we are grateful, even when we agree to disagree, for their professionalism and civility. I thank you, Chair. I'm happy to answer your questions now or go sit in the back until you want to call me back up. We will wait for those questions, but thank you [01:37:37] very much. With that, we will turn it over to staff for the North and South. Do you have two [01:37:47] separate presentations or just one? I have two but I mean I think I could yeah I have two. Good [01:38:26] morning supervisors. So I'm going to go ahead and jump right into south. This is a request to rezone 342 acres from A1 agricultural zoning to plan business district utilizing the OM office mid-rise designation. The applicant is requesting an FAR no greater than 0.25 FAR. They're seeking 3.7 million square feet in data centers, accessory structures such as security booths, permitting [01:39:01] public facilities such as streets, parks, and substations, ancillary secondary uses of 10% the gross floor area of each of the buildings. Staff is maintaining a recommendation of denial from the Planning Commission. The location is right next to the Manassas National Battlefield Park as well as Conway Robinson Memorial State Park. Generally, it's located on east and west sides of Pageland Lane. The CPA that was adopted in 2022 did change the lane use designation to [01:39:36] I3 TechFlex, Parks and Open Space, as well as County Historical Sites. As you can see, the property is also zoned A1 currently. So the CPA was adopted in 2022. These are the three rezonings that are coming through at the same time. There's the Northern application, which is rezoning 2022-32. [01:40:00] There's the Compass application, rezoning 2022-36, and the Southern application, rezoning 2022-33. During some of the applicants' presentations, I heard a lot of stuff about staff disconnect requiring certain elements that are mentioned in the staff report, the concerns that they raise with regards to a 10- to 15-year build-out, making it hard for them to provide these details. [01:40:30] The reason why staff focused on these issues and put them in the staff report and required them since the very beginning of the project was because of the CPA and the policies that the board adopted. Staff was pushing those. It's not our purview to let those slide. [01:40:46] We gave where we could give. However, we put in the staff report weaknesses and reasons for denial that were part of the CPA. Some of the things that were thought to be important or are important based on the CPA are the view sheds being preserved, having minimal impacts if none to them, community design of the proposal, cultural resources in this area, environmental aspects, electrical utility services, as well as sustainability. These are some of the areas where there are weaknesses and the plan does not conform to the CPA. [01:41:24] During this whole process, we have heard a lot from the public. These same concerns were raised during the cpa and they came back during the rezoning review environmental impacts cultural resources and historic changing this area from agricultural to industrial debt for data centers folks were focused on requesting additional studies be done people were very concerned about the view sheds about the noise about the pollution others raised concerns about the long term viability of data centers what's going to happen in these buildings after these large [01:42:00] complexes are no longer needed. Energy and water consumption, there were concerns about transmission lines, concerns about increased traffic, and concerns about power infrastructure. Supporters, they were in favor of the economy, commercial taxes, that there are existing transmission lines here from Dominion that run through, as well as the potential to widen Pageland Lane. So the reasons for recommending denial of this project in the South are essentially the same reasons that we raised during the Planning Commission's review. During the PC's presentation, as well as the staff [01:42:39] report, we had written to the fourth submittal. The applicant presented on the fifth submittal. We went ahead and reviewed the fifth submittal after the Planning Commission meeting and incorporated all those findings into this staff report. While a lot was done, in our minds, not enough was done to meet the CPA's policies and guidances to flip these weaknesses into strengths, and that's why they're still here today. I'll go through them real quick. Lack of building footprints and site layouts, proffer building elevations as they're currently proffered, [01:43:14] this waiver of the SUP to permit data centers outside of data center opportunity zone overlay district. That's a crucial element. This is outside of that district. Thus, an SUP would be required. The applicant has chosen not to go through the SUP process. Instead, they requested the waiver. [01:43:36] Habitually, staff reviews the waiver based on getting enough information that is provided in the SUP process. We felt that we did not get all the information we needed to review the SUP, thus we are not supporting the waiver of that SUP. For the Southern District, there is this fourth characteristic of uncertainty in the view shed impacts based on final buildout. The Northern application did not have that weakness. Target densities in land base C, which the applicant recently mentioned, we'll talk about that in a little bit. Ability to make changes, flexibility [01:44:11] and landscaping, the lack of electrical infrastructure being shown on the MCP or discussed in the application, various inconsistencies with the comprehensive plan, persistent proffer inefficiencies and deficiencies, and outstanding review comments from that fourth submittal. The reason why those still matter is we got the fifth submittal four days before the planning commission meeting. [01:44:36] We had to quickly review this document with the fifth submission to write this board staff report. Not every agency was able to conduct a review during that short time frame. I think we had maybe seven or ten days total to do the review and then to write this staff report for the board. [01:44:54] Thus, outstanding fourth review comments are still applicable. Various sections of the comp plan and CPA that are not consistent, again, are the community design section, cultural resources, environmental, electrical utility services. And while not a section in the comp plan is a mention in the CPA, the sustainability. [01:45:14] The only section that did flip from the Planning Commission to the board from a no to a yes was transportation. The applicants modified the proffers sufficiently enough to meet DOT's requirements with regards to the proffer. [01:45:32] So let's get right into the FAR. I know Tony was talking about earlier, and I will get into it right now. So with the submittal in the southern district, the CPA encouraged the southern portion of this area, which is adjacent to Manassas Battlefield Park, as well as Conway Robinson, to be at the lower end of the I3 transect. [01:45:57] The applicant has argued that anything below .4 is the lower end. When I first saw the 0.36, you know, I immediately called it out. I gave a shout out to the applicant on the phone call and had a discussion how really the lower end being end is a 0.23. [01:46:15] Staff has been accommodating not making an issue out of a 0.25, being that it's close enough. We were willing to move on. However, to pop a 0.36 in land-based C and then discuss clustering as a reason for this to be acceptable, I don't buy it. [01:46:34] It's not what the CPA said. let's pretend the applicant included the 89 acres that is the southern community park and then all of a sudden was at a 0.39 for land bay c is that okay no i don't think so we wanted a 0.23 we were good with the 0.25 a 0.36 in land bay c right adjacent to the battlefield is not acceptable and doesn't meet the cpa's policy so that was a pretty big thing that became a reason for a weakness that was not originally a weakness why does it matter the difference in square footage [01:47:09] between a .23 and a .36 is around half a million square feet of data center buildings. We're going to put an additional half a million square feet right next to the battlefield, which that was a major element of the CPA, protecting cultural resources. Another section we'll go ahead and talk about staff was pushing as well as was in the CPA was site layouts, colored architectural elevations, limits of disturbance, conceptual illustratives, line of sight exhibits. Other [01:47:46] things that the CPA focused on was that substations would be interior to the site and that substations would be adjacent to high voltage lines. While a lot of those things did happen, some very important elements were lacking and continue to be lacking. We've been raising this issue since I believe the second review after the CPA was actually adopted. The first review was conducted before the CPA was adopted. The second one happened after the CPA was adopted. What you have here is the MZP pieced together the various land bays, A, B, C, and D. The zoning ordinance requires site [01:48:23] layouts, which include all buildings and structures to be depicted on the MZP. The CPA encouraged that to be shown for all rezonings and all special use permits. It hasn't been shown. Why does it matter? Because the view shed analyses that were provided that ensure that the view sheds from the battlefield or Conway-Robinson Park or Heritage Hunt actually are going to be maintained were predicated on those building locations. What we have in the fifth submission, again, the fourth submission didn't include this, but the fifth one did, a proffer to substantial conformance to the master [01:48:59] corridor plan for building footprints, building layouts, orientation, electrical infrastructure areas such as the substations, and points of access. Again, this is the master corridor plan. Prior to the fifth submission, this was an illustrative. [01:49:18] Now, all of a sudden, it's a substantial conformance document. However, the MZP requires this information, not the MCP. And to be able to enforce this at the site plan stage is going to be very problematic. That language is not coming from Chris or Emily. It's coming from the site plan reviewers who are going to be reviewing this after it's been approved. [01:49:39] The words that are in our staff report are their words that we took and put them in the report, that it would be problematic to enforce that not enough engineering was done to ensure that the locations that they're showing on the MCP could actually be accommodated at the site plan. Mark earlier mentioned staff flipping and saying, oh, we're going to go ahead and focus on general conformance. The reason why we're even mentioning that language is if we go ahead and do substantial conformance to the MCP at site plan, based on engineering, it's going to be really problematic [01:50:14] to ensure that this gets done at substantial conformance. Thus, to avoid proffer amendments, to avoid a lot of minor modifications we suggest they go back to their original concept of general conformance to the mcp if we're even going to consider the mcp as adequate architecture you know what the buildings look like matter what we have here is the cpa it encouraged colored architectural elevations what we got was illustratives up until the fifth submission at which point those illustratives in the mcp they got switched out into a new proffer [01:50:53] substantial conformance to the MCP for these elevations. However, we still have proffers that provide a lot of flexibility in facade designs as well as facade materials. Thus, what you see here is not necessarily what we're going to get. Typically, when we have this level of conformance of substantial, we actually see what's going to be approved at site plan stage. [01:51:19] Right now, we've got a building that looks pretty with a lot of variables that could come later, which we're not really sure. Again, the site planners came up with a language that was in the staff report has this being problematic. That's why, as mentioned, this is still an issue. The CPA encouraged the Southern District to limit land base heights of the buildings to 45 feet unless a viewshed analysis is provided, that either no impacts to the viewshed from Manassas National Battlefield Park are shown, or that all views are mitigated. The applicant is proposing 60-foot [01:51:54] maximum building heights from the entire proposal in south. So they went ahead and provided view sheds. These view sheds, they did have some areas that showed impacts. However, all the impacts were mitigated based on distance, large trees, various topography, as well as in the next section when I talk about the studies, the color of the buildings. Here's the various shots that they went [01:52:27] ahead and took from 15 different vantage points. This is the most prominent view. It comes from camera one, which is really close to Land Bay B. On the left, you'll see the outline of where the building would be at 60 foot tall. On the right, you'll see that it is visible if it was in white. However, they're proffering to earth tones, which really blended in with the existing tree line. Thus, the visibility is mitigated. Here's the camera location one into Land Bay C [01:53:04] and D. Again what you'll see here is on the left hand side the 60 foot tall building outlines. On the right you'll see it's not visible with the existing tree line and these were taken during winter months so as currently proposed it's not visible. But again there was visibility from cameras 1, 2, 4, 5, and 15. However all of that was mitigated based on building heights, the distances, the topography, earth tones, existing vegetation as well as proposed plantings. However in the Southern District, this was an area of concern for us, that we still are uncertain with the [01:53:44] viewshed impacts at final build-out, with one of the big outstanding unknowns being transmission corridors. These corridors, where are they going to go? When we spoke to Novec, as mentioned in the staff report, they said if it's not specifically shown on the MZP, they're not going to be able to put it in the developable area, because there's going to be buildings there. There's going to be parking there. There's going to be other infrastructure in the way. So the only place for them to put it along the property lines, through the RPA, potentially through cultural resource areas. Not because they want to put it there, but because they have no other choice to [01:54:23] put it anywhere else. So that remains an uncertainty, the view sheds. Only for the south, though. Summary of strengths, the heights, the view shed studies, the rooftop equipment is included in the maximum building height, the exclusive uses of only data centers, noise attenuation proffers, the perimeter buffers that were discussed, as well as the SEMP, the Construction Impacts management plan that the applicant so graciously provided us. Some of the weaknesses, again, the lack of building footprints and site layouts that are required to be shown in MZPs that guarantee that [01:55:00] what we're seeing in these view shed studies is actually what we're going to get. Building elevations is currently proffered. Again, another weakness. We're not sure exactly if those building designs are going to be what actually materializes. The uncertainty in the transmission line corridors without properly planning, these may be in areas of buffers, may be in landscape areas, cultural resource areas, as well as the page on the lane frontage. You've got the water and sewer lines being shown along that frontage. Some other areas of weakness, the proffer's issues and [01:55:35] deficiencies. There remains some outstanding issues based in attachment H. Recently we received revised proffers. Go ahead and quickly run it off. The fifth submission was submitted on November 1st. [01:55:51] We went ahead and conducted the review, wrote the staff report. The sixth submission of the proffer's came in on November 29th. Gave a look at them. It was a lot of clarification, just some small things. We wrote the staff report for the board on December 7th. It was dispatched, and I just got a seventh version of the proffers yesterday, which did some minor changes to a couple important proffers, one being the master landscape plan, as well as some other cultural resource proffers. [01:56:23] But there still remains issues and deficiencies with the proffers. Cultural resources aspect of the CPA really wanted to focus in on minimizing impacts to significant view sheds, building heights, limiting those to the 45 foot in the southern district, unless there was no impacts to the view sheds or that the impacts were mitigated, preservation and protection of existing cultural resources. [01:56:51] So some of the strengths of this project. The applicant did conduct a phase one cultural resource survey. They did conduct a cemetery delineation. They conducted a phase one historical architectural survey. Viewshed studies were conducted. [01:57:09] However, there does remain weaknesses. Working with Justin, these are a summary of the weaknesses. These aren't all of them. The rest of them are in the staff report, but I'll just run through a couple of them. No meaningful efforts have been made to research and find potentially unmarked human burials. [01:57:25] The proposal has a direct effect on various historic districts and study areas, such as the Manassas Battlefield Historic District, the Second Manassas Battlefield Study Area, the Manassas Battlefield Core Area, the Manassas Battlefield Potential National Register District. [01:57:44] Phase II evaluation studies were not done with this rezoning. However, the CPA, the comprehensive plan, does encourage them. Summary of other weaknesses, metal detector surveys. Justice was really seeking more intensive metal detecting in land-based sea, felt those were needed. [01:58:03] Additionally, there was a cultural resource landscape inventory being proffered, not the cultural landscape report. Again, this is only a summary of the weaknesses. The CPA for the green infrastructure established the protection of open space areas, protection of environmental resources, a goal of achieving 30% NOS, natural open space, for the entire study area, establishing wildlife corridors, establishing the restoration of previously disturbed areas, as well as providing buffers [01:58:39] along the perimeter. The environmental plan does have some strengths. Julia and Clay are in the building, I think, to answer some of the questions once we get to that, but I'll go ahead and run through the strengths and weaknesses. The applicant did provide significant restored open space areas for reforestation, approximately 66 acres in the southern area. The wildlife corridors meet or exceed the recommended 500 foot for this application. Some of the other weaknesses though were the NOS is still below the 30 percent that was targeted for the area. We're at 21 percent [01:59:17] with the most recent submittal. Wildlife corridors, you know, it's unclear how these transmission lines are going to affect these corridors. Where are they going to go? If they're not going to go in the developable area because there's buildings there, they're going to go somewhere else and potentially a wildlife corridor is going to be interrupted by it. There's various proffers that allow numerous exceptions to the LOD. The lack of site layouts were unable to determine if the landscaping for interior parking is going to be met. The proffer issues and deficiencies had a [01:59:52] slew of issues that needed to be addressed, such as reforestation proffer, stormwater management proffer, Chesapeake Bay RPA encroachment proffer, some issues with the LOD proffer. Watershed did have outstanding fourth review comments. They reviewed the FIS submission in that short duration of time. And they hit the highlights. However, there was still a lot of outstanding comments with the forced submission. That's why it's included in attachment G, such as changes to the ECA and various changes to the MZP that they were seeking. Electrical Utility Service Plan. [02:00:29] This is a section of the comprehensive plan that focuses on locating electrical utility facilities as unobtrusively as possible. Designing electrical facilities to minimize negative impacts on existing and future communities. Encouraging alternative green energy infrastructure. Here's some of the strengths for this application were the substations you know they are located interior to the site and they are located abutting existing transmission lines for the southern district we focused on having substations no greater than 10 acres the applicant conform to that cpa policy [02:01:04] they kept true to that summers do the weaknesses again we're not planning for the transmission quarters where are they going to go what we were seeking in this most recent submittal submission five was to get a commitment to the transmission quarters either being in the developable area or actually showing the location of where they would go so we know what's going to be impacted. [02:01:27] Neither of those two things happen. The applicant continues to rely on, we can't talk about it right now. Novec can't talk about it right now. Nobody can guarantee us anything. I just feel like there's too much on the line with this project, the impacts to the view sheds, the historic area, the green space, the open space. [02:01:44] There's just too much on the line, and this project is heavy on utilities for electric. To just push it off on Novec and Dominion and say, we don't know, we'll deal with it, we trust that they'll get it in the future, they'll do their best, I don't think it's good enough. [02:02:01] I don't think the CPA thought it was good enough. We're really trying to push for that. Mobility CPA, mobility section of the CPA, really focused on turning Pageland Lane into a four-lane road, providing shared use paths on both sides of the road, and an extensive trail network. [02:02:20] The applicant did provide a TIA. They have mitigated the traffic impacts of the proposal. The project is going to be phased from south to north. There's going to be four phases with a zero phase as well. It's going to be 120-foot right away, four lanes. [02:02:36] There is going to be 10-foot shared use passes on each side of the road. There's going to be a 16-foot landscape median, and there will be 50-foot planted buffers along the frontage, provided that the impacts based on utilities don't impact that too much. [02:02:53] This is the one section that did flip. The applicant was able to remedy all weaknesses, and this section is found to be in conformance with the CPA's policies. Sustainability with CPA. Sustainability was really a focus area of the CPA, wanting to encourage this development to be a world-class innovation for sustainability, encourage indoor environmental quality, encourage energy efficiency, encourage renewable energy on-site, encourage enhanced stormwater management. [02:03:28] Some of the strengths of this proposal, the applicant has committed to not using groundwater, to not having surface water withdrawals, and not discharging surface water. They did provide a variety of sustainability measures. [02:03:44] In the latest submission, they bumped it up to seven potential sustainability measures out of 17. However, the weaknesses really ring true based on while we're getting seven out of 17, what are those seven going to do for us in sustainability? [02:04:04] There's no real measurable impact listed in the proffers. At this point, we're left to think that seven is some magic number, more than five, more than four, more than three, which were all various numbers that they provided before of sustainability measures. So now we got seven. [02:04:20] Two of those are LED lights. Right off the bat, if we just do LEDs, we're at five. The proffers is currently written. They're going to be difficult to enforce. At this point, while the applicant does have some of these four things mentioned in the various seven, sorry, the various 17, there's no assurances that they'll actually be chosen to be one of the magic seven, such as will the data center buildings meet energy efficiency design? [02:04:51] Will the data centers operate by purchasing clean energy? Are they going to use less carbon intensive or carbon neutral energy to generate these backup generators? Again, those are options out of the 17, but will they be chosen as one of the magic seven? We don't know. So at this point, still a weakness. So these are the reasons why we're recommending denial. The Planning Commission recommended denial. Most of these were, again, mentioned in the PC staff report. The only two [02:05:23] ones that are new are number five, target densities of land-based sea, as well as, well, I think that was it for this one. Yeah. So that's the end of this application. I'm going to quickly jump to north, and there's really not much difference. There was a little bit of overlap, but just kind to quickly talk about north. So north was a little bit larger, 534 acres, going from A1 to PBD, OH designation. Again, we're recommending denial of this as well. We were recommending denial at [02:06:03] the PC. The location of this is the very upper end of the CPA study area, which is on the east and west sides of Pajan Lane. It's south of Cath Harpin Regional Park, and it is north of Thornton drive. And it is also designated I3, tech flex. You'll see at the very top, the highlighted portion, that's what we're talking about right here in this quick one. Talked about this slide. It's duplicative of south. What you'll notice here is there's only nine weaknesses. The uncertainty in [02:06:42] the viewshed impacts upon final buildout isn't a problem for north. The distance was so far from the battlefield. We just couldn't go there. The same reasons for the CPA, same areas. For this one, the target FAR was appropriate and did meet the CPA's guidance. They're pushing a 0.30 FAR. [02:07:12] The target is between 0.23 and 0.57. So we had no issues with this. It met the CPA policies. And all the other reasons that were mentioned in the South application, all the other slides are essentially the same, so I don't really feel like we need to go through them. What you'll see here, though, the reason why I combined all the MZP landbays on one sheet into one view is so you could see the impact of the developable area. When you look at the MZP on individual pages, you see a lot of green around the borders, and you see the middle, which is essentially the [02:07:50] developable area. But when you stitch them all together, the impact, the area of this really becomes clear. It's a big area being developed. That's why we're really trying to focus on preserving these green areas, preserving these natural resources, having the applicants show us where the utility lines are going to go. I'll tell you right now, they're not going to go in the developmental area, because that's where buildings are slotted. So where else is it going to go? While they are right next to utility corridors for the electrical infrastructure, [02:08:26] you got land bays on the other side of Pageland. How is the power going to get from this main transmission line that dominion already has across pageland where's it going to go we feel like this is such an impactful project it's such a big project that's the key thing that we really need to know to assess the impacts of this project and everything else is the same as um south so i don't really feel like we need to get into all that so i'm going to ahead and close that application as well thank you very much mr prez we are now going to go on to our uh questions from the board and [02:09:05] not discussion or editorializing, but questions from the board for the applicant and for staff for the three different presentations. Supervisor Lawson, you mentioned you want me to start with Mr. Weir. We will start with Mr. Weir and go around to his left and go around. Before I do, though, Madam Chair, I need to bring something to everybody's attention, including the county attorney. [02:09:29] The QTS representative, Mr. Tony Calbreze, I believe he referenced a commitment, not a proper but a commitment and had a slide up is that right regarding a park i love taking the attention away from mark yes ma'am i'm sorry um i believe in your presentation you referenced a quote commitment not a proper regarding a park or or some assemblage that you are currently working with yes would you like me to be more specific no actually i'd like you to be aware of our zoning [02:10:05] ordinances and that you violated section 32-700.44 regarding matters to be considered in reviewing amendments which is exactly what this board and public hearing are doing and the last sentence in this is in addition only those written and graphic materials that have been referenced in a proper statement may be displayed at any public hearing before the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors so I think it's probably something that we should be extra careful about that it's not referenced anymore simply put up a slide that reflected consistent with the letters sent to the board yesterday ma'am well you might want to take [02:10:43] note that it's in violation of our zoning ordinance i appreciate your counsel i disagree with it though we'll start with mr weir supervisor weir and then if you can ask just a you know one or two questions and then we'll go around and go to supervisor angry and if people are prepared to questions we'll keep on going around supervisor we're thinking out of care well let's start with that because mr. Calvary's madam chair if I could real quick what's what do you envision as the process here the way the Planning [02:11:19] Commission ran this was that we went to all of the questions for compass first got those out of the way then moved on to QTS so that we weren't bouncing up and down a lot so I do believe that we have a lot of different questions sort of general questions not necessarily specific to that I understand what you're saying why don't we try it my way where people can ask a couple of questions and it doesn't work out we can certainly go to applicant application and project specific questions if that's okay that's I guess that's okay I just want to make sure that for purposes of building the appropriate record that we [02:11:59] understand which questions are directed at which applicants through this process because there are certain things that are applicable to both and there are certain things that are not applicable to both that's a really good point and so I would I would ask that when you are asking your questions please state which rezoning the questions will refer to and then we'll have the applicable person to get up and speak supervisor we are a couple of questions from you mr. Calvary's let's start with the issue to Supervisor Lawson brought [02:12:35] up and I do agree but more to the point I'm looking at the letter that you delivered to staff and are delivered to the county dated yesterday literally less than 24 hours before this public hearing began and although I read in here you're reiterating QTS's commitment to the county and our support of the Southern Community Park concept outlined, yada, yada, yada, that it's not a proffer. [02:13:04] You don't have any of the acreage under control, or all of the acreage under control, and it has nothing to do with this particular application, so it's irrelevant to me. Staff. I'm sorry, was there a question there for Mr. Calabrese? [02:13:21] No, it's simply a statement. So I prefer, if you can just really keep your, you're welcome to do those statements during discussion, but if you can ask questions. Madam Chair, the issue was raised, I'm simply addressing it. No, I'm asking about asking questions during this time because we don't want to spend five hours doing this. If you could just ask questions to get answers. [02:13:36] I know other people have spoken to the applicants and staff already before this and gotten some of their questions answered, but if you could just ask questions, that would be great. Thank you. I will do what's required of me. Mr. Perez and Ms. Wolfson, actually, kind of like both of your take on this. [02:13:53] As I understand it now, the Planning Commission reviewed these applications based on the proffers dated August 26th. New proffers were received, at least partially reviewed, on November 28th. [02:14:13] I'm assuming that they were not reviewed by all agencies, given what I'm reading in the staff report. I just wanted to confirm that. And I'm going to assume that the proffers received on November 1 and December 11th haven't been fully vetted either. [02:14:30] Is that correct? yeah so the november 1st was the fifth submission we reviewed that with a handful of staff that wrote various sections of the staff report that i feel was sufficiently reviewed by everybody who was involved with the proffers then a different version came on the 29th which had some other changes it was sent to those specific agencies that the proffers changed and might have affected [02:15:05] then we got revised proffers yesterday december 11th we sent those out to the various agencies that would be affected specifically watershed and cultural resources cultural resources was able to do a quick look over and they didn't have any opposition to those proffers watershed was unable to comment at that point based on the short duration of time planning staff did look over it didn't see anything that jumped out to me, but I really want what Watershed says somehow considered. [02:15:39] So I hope they're here today. To that issue, would you consider the cumulative changes between August 26th and December 11th as significant and numerous or numerous? [02:16:01] I would say the largest amount of proffers really changed on November 1st with that fifth submission. The other stuff seemed to just keep pecking away at little small things that persisted, but it still didn't address all of the issues and deficiencies in Retachment H. [02:16:18] But I think the majority of the bulk changes came on November 1st with that fifth submission. That's really where the big changes happened for me. Continuing on that line, in reviewing this – oh, I'm sorry. This mic is not working. [02:16:33] I was just going to say I agree with that. The fifth submission was transmitted to the agencies, as Chris had indicated. So those were the bulk of the changes from the 4th to the 5th submission. And then subsequent proffer changes from the 28th and yesterday were fairly minor. [02:16:53] Okay. Continuing along that vein, I read repeatedly that in all of these comments, particularly with respect to the proffers, that there are still outstanding comments from the 4th review. [02:17:09] Is it safe to assume that those are outstanding comments not only for the 4th review, but the third the second and the first yes you could assume that the applicant again for staff you know lack of building footprint site layout being not not consistent with the cop plan or the CPA policies despite many of these same requests that have been going on for almost a year the applicant says they [02:17:43] have been addressed you disagree can you sort of give me a sense of where the where the difference in opinion is specific to building footprints or is Is that your main question? [02:17:59] In general, building footprints, site layout, that sort of thing. Okay. In terms of the building footprint, we believe the zoning ordinance requires building footprints to be shown on the MZP. [02:18:17] They are not. So that's a simple answer to your question. And I'm assuming that a lot of that has to do with the waiver of the SUP, or is that entirely separate, or is it interrelated? They're interrelated. Interrelated. With respect to the SUP, could you walk me through the process for granting an SUP for a data center outside of the overlay district? [02:18:39] Because it was my understanding that the zoning ordinance requires that that termination be made early on in the process, specifically by code, I believe, during the pre-application conference. In terms of the pre-application conference, I'm not exactly sure on that. [02:18:58] But from a process standpoint, if it's outside the data center overlay, it would be required to have a special use permit. Correct. But the waiver of that permit requirement, I mean, to my understanding of the zoning ordinance, that is handled very early in the process, and I believe specifically at the pre-application conference. [02:19:18] And if that did not happen, do we have any record of that happening? How did we get to this point with no SUP? During the initial review of this, when we first got it, we were really pushing with the applicant that they needed to submit that waiver. Disagreement came pretty hard from the applicants saying they didn't need the waiver, that they could just proffer it into the PPD permission. [02:19:42] Staff doubled down, got with leadership, and really pushed that they needed to request that waiver. Otherwise, they would need an SUP. So that was discussed at the very beginning of the process. I'm not really sure when the waiver came in, as in in the proffers, and when it started becoming a thing. [02:20:00] Potentially the second review, we're thinking second submission. Do you want to speak so one more question mr. Weir and then we're gonna keep on going around the dance so by definition of the zoning ordinance the SUP waiver is not correct because the process hasn't been followed is that what I'm understanding or the material and the process hasn't been provided in full Supervisor we're at this statement get again from the planning office the the planned districts allow [02:20:40] qualifications of requirements including the route The route that was chosen for this one, which was a waiver of the SUP Requirements as part of the pit plan business district and with that One of the main purposes of the special use permit is to know where electric Transmission lines are coming from to see what those impacts are going to be and so That is not included in in the materials provided as far as location of transmission lines [02:21:19] Which we would want? The reason the SUP is is out Is required outside of the the overlay district is to look at the impacts of those transmission lines Yeah, I'm very well aware of the reasoning for the SUP requirement But it sounds like we're getting almost three different stories here and with that I will defer to Supervisor angry Supervisor Angry. [02:21:45] Madam Chair, before we move on, is it possible for me to clarify one of the statements that was made? Yeah, sure. So just to be clear, the different dates on the different proffer submission address different things and were generated by different reasons. [02:22:03] With respect to the Compass application, in between the November 1st submission of proffers and after the Planning Commission public hearing on November the 8th, We received from Ms. Wolfson comments and proposed revisions to our proffers that I believe were generated by the Office of the County Attorney. We took those suggested revisions, incorporated them into the proffers, resubmitted them on November the 8th, excuse me, November 28th. So the November 28th submission was not in response to anything that the applicant did. It was in [02:22:41] response to proffer clarifications and comments that I believe came from the county attorney's office. That may be different than what happened in the QTS circumstance, but I wanted to try to clarify that for you. Thank you. Madam Chair. Supervisor Lawson. Since Mr. Looney's referencing the county attorney's office, I'd like her to comment if it's appropriate. Ms. Roble. [02:23:08] Madam Chair, members of the board, we provide our confidential legal advice to the board and to staff and that staff that advice is given to staff it's not given to the applicants thank you supervisor angry thank you madam chair my question is for both applications but specifically to dominion and novek or either or or both if you can answer do we have anybody from dominion novek i heard they were ah okay thank you and while you're walking up it's just really basic based on what I've heard here. [02:23:46] We have Dominion representatives from Dominion in person and then one representative from NOVAC virtually online. Okay. And if you could just introduce yourself and also introduce the person online if we know who someone can introduce NOVAC just so we know who we're speaking to. Sure. Steve Precker with Dominion Energy Electric Transmission Communications. [02:24:05] Thank you. And online we... Yes, this is Arnold Singleton, the Vice President near NOVAC. Very good. Thank you, sir. I appreciate the fact that you are even online, so thank you very much. [02:24:25] Thank you both gentlemen. I don't know which presentation, I think it was the first one on slide 27. Don't worry about that, but there's this whole discussion about the electrical corridor and whether or not staff was to get that from the applicants approved, and then there seems to be you all being the missing element. [02:24:44] Can you answer that question, per se? Did you hear that question? I don't know if I... Sure. Sure. So if the question is with regard to transmission line corridors, let me start with the way that the process works. So this is in NOVAC service territory. [02:25:02] NOVAC provides or distributes the energy to the applicants. NOVAC comes to Dominion requesting the energy. As a transmission provider, we move that energy to NOVEC stations, which then distributes it. [02:25:21] So I do want to just make sure that there is some clarification because I have heard just the use of the term power lines or how are we connecting the power lines to the actual data center buildings. There is a separation between how Dominion gets the energy there and then how NOVEC gets the energy there. [02:25:42] Typically, we start our engineering and transmission line routing process after projects are approved, once we know that there is an actual project to serve. We've stated, you know, in the planning commission hearing that we are committed to working with you all, working with staff, working with the applicants, and working with the public at large through our community engagement process, which we do on all of our projects, [02:26:17] to get this right, to minimize impacts as much as we possibly can. We are well familiar with the comprehensive plan, the designated areas for parks and open space, wildlife corridors. [02:26:35] So we're aware of those. Where exactly the transmission line corridors will be is something that we have to continue to evaluate and something that we're committed to working with everyone on. And because my concern here, I'm going to be very specific, I've got staff on the record that says, you know, when it comes to these power lines in this corridor, that they're not going to be built in the developable area. [02:27:00] They're going to be built in places where we would, of course, have concern. Now, I got concerned with that statement because if that is a true statement, and I would ask and I'll even get our applicants up here to answer that question as well. I feel like there's this process that we can solve this to where that statement is not true. [02:27:19] Now, whether or not we solve that process here today or you guys are going to go and really give a good hope faith that we're going to figure out where these buildings go and get power in there before we get to whatever this phase is, then that's what I want to discuss here. I don't want to see, you know, on record saying that people aren't being in good faith about what we're going to do. [02:27:38] And if power going in is a question because of the building needs to go up first, then somewhere in this conversation between the applicant and power and even staff, we should have that laid out, whether it's written and locked down or not. I want to know that that's the thing that's happening. I feel good about it. [02:27:54] I just don't like this statement made. So I want to make sure that we're clarifying what that actually is. Sure. Yeah, and I don't know that it's something today that we can figure out where the transmission line corridors will go. But part of the process that we'll pursue as we evaluate that is surveying what can be permitted. [02:28:19] I think that's often, if we get requests to pre-plan transmission line corridors or proper transmission line corridors, I think that we'd always say we need to have that flexibility to make adjustments to transmission line corridors based on what can or cannot be permitted. [02:28:40] There have been examples in other projects in other locations where transmission line corridors have been proffered, and then we come to find out that they're proffered through, and I'm not saying that this is the case here, but they're proffered through, say, wetlands, which then we have to work with the Army Corps of Engineers who may not permit that. [02:29:03] So that's an example of the types of things that we look at. But, again, I think we remain committed to working with everybody to minimize impacts to the maximum extent possible. And thank you for that. Before, the gentleman, is that Arnold online? Did he want to add anything to that? [02:29:21] No, sir. I agree, of course, when you're talking in terms of transmission, that definitely we rely on Dominion, who is our transmission provider, to provide transmission services for us. Okay. And then just real quick, I'll ask if either of the applicants want to address that as well. [02:29:39] Sure. Whichever one of you, Emily, if you could throw up on the screen, maybe the trails plan is the best one to show. Sorry. So let me tell you, Supervisor Angry, what we've done in this circumstance leading up to this, because we understand the importance of this topic. [02:30:06] Back in the spring, both applicants began meeting with NOVAC and Dominion independently of one another to talk with them about the power needs that we would have should these data centers be approved. And among those questions are, excuse me, how many substations are required to download the power off of the existing transmission lines that are both 500 kV and 230 kV and network together all of the substations either within the Compass application, if that were the only one to [02:30:43] be approved. Similarly, if QTS would be the only one approved, how would you network those substations together? And in turn, later on in the process, when we talked about networking all of the substations, both QTS and Compass, together, because as you may know, electricity, once it goes up onto the grid, it flows in all directions. And part of Dominion, as I understand it, part of Dominion's objective in the transmission business is to create a loop or a network where the power can reside within the loop and you're not pushing it out on a one-way train and then coming back, [02:31:21] right? You want to network it together. So in this instance, what we have discussed with them is the existing transmission lines run north and south along the eastern edge of the property, the western edge of the battlefield. The idea is that they will pull power off of the transmission lines in this northern area here or in the south or I shouldn't say or and in the south and it will eventually cross Pageland Lane be networked along the western side hitting each of the substations [02:31:58] along the way to be able to power those substations and then loop back to the east side of Pageland Lane back into the existing lines. So what we have done in in connection with that is they told us how many substations they needed to provide the power that's necessary to serve the data centers. [02:32:18] We pointed out to them, we located those substations based on where we thought was the best opportunity to achieve both the objectives and the CPA with respect to the screening of the substations, not putting them adjacent to cultural or residential areas to the extent that we could, and then began talking with them about some of the unique environmental and cultural aspects of this entire corridor about ways to minimize those impacts. [02:32:50] And we exchanged, we gave them our plans, our MZP plans, and the location of those substations. They take it back, they do what they're going to do to demonstrate internally, at whatever level they're doing it at this stage, on how to link those things together. [02:33:07] we in turn commit in our proffers that we will continue to work with them to minimize those impacts. But at no point along the way does Dominion hand us their plan and say, you can promise this to Prince William County, because that's what a proffer is. A proffer is a promise. [02:33:25] It is their plan. It is not ours. They are subject to additional and unique regulatory requirements beyond Prince William County. If one of these lines needs to have, or one or more of these segments of the line need to have state corporation commission approval, they can't promise you to it any more than we can promise it to you. So we have done, we have worked collaboratively with them to identify where we think the lines are most likely to go to loop [02:33:58] the network together. Importantly, we then were, given the work that we have done to date, we as applicants, or I'll speak just for Compass, we understood enough information about the potential impacts to these environmental facilities that we proffered minimum tree cover requirements on our properties. So regardless of where the power lines go, we have to meet that minimum tree cover requirement in our property. And if things get messed up and we guessed wrong in terms of where [02:34:34] we think those lines are likely to ultimately go, and we have to lop a half a building off in order to achieve the minimum tree requirements that we've proffered to, that's on us. But at no point along this process are we permitted to take Dominion's plans and promise it to you. Okay. [02:34:59] My second question for Mr. Patton, really, and it goes to, we were talking, I think, you know, there's been a lot of rumors gossip and kind of just conversation about civil war burial sites and so my question to you is how's the study been done you know and can you can you tell me right now if in fact there's any truth or or anything going on with civil war burial sites anywhere in [02:35:34] this area. He's the expert. Justin, members of the, Chair Wheeler, members of the Board of County Supervisors, Justin Patton, County Archaeologist. The evidence that we have suggests that there is [02:36:00] potential for Civil War burials from Confederate encampments within the Pageland Farm. So the Pageland Farm. The Pageland Farm in 1860 was much larger than it is today. It actually extends from south of land bays A and B a little bit, goes north up Pageland into the Compass property, [02:36:35] and then follows the Compass property to the west. It was owned by the Marstellers. The Marstellers also owned other farms. So there's one reference to the Pageland Farm, and then there's another another reference to Camp Hardy. Camp Hardy is, and I forgot the mileage, but I'll just throw out a number. It doesn't really mean anything, but it's two miles from Gainesville up Route 29 and then on to Pageland Farm. So the analysis that staff has done of this little bit of research that we've [02:37:09] been able to do suggests that Camp Hardy is also likely on Pageland Farm. To answer those questions of is there a high potential of burials requires a lot more research the applicant has proffered to do that research okay and and that's therein lies that whole weakness in staff report again because you know there was a lot i'm listening i'm a word of you listen to the words and just how you you say the applicants haven't done enough um i'm not like we specific to the words but it's [02:37:48] very a lot of they haven't basically done enough and i'm going to ask the applicants this too with you because I've heard great things even between your coordination and working together to look at these things. And I know they said they basically, you know, there was, I saw the list of the eight cemeteries, family cemeteries, which I love how they're protecting those. And then they said there was like 11 other potential, 10 sites worthy of a phase two kind of exploration to dig into deeper. So that's working, correct? I mean, are you working well with their team, archaeologists to do this? Because if you're working well, why am I hearing it seems as if [02:38:28] they're not being good stewards to work with you? And if that's the case, this is the thing I want to make sure we're focusing on to make sure that at some point you get an answer. Because I got to say, all of this is private land. These are all private landowners. Maybe we could have done all this prior to, before we got to this point of them wanting to sell their lands. But at some point, we're going to have to feel good about the discoveries that we find. And so far, it sounds like we've got the eight cemeteries identified i think they were already marked i think they're doing more they i've heard that there's 10 more areas worthy of a phase two uh look and so if [02:39:04] that's happening i just want to make sure we're doing the right things together as between the applicants and staff uh to get to the conclusion of whatever that conclusion may be so in most cases throughout the county, we have one set of policies that provide guidance on how we're going to conduct and when those studies are going to be conducted and how they will be profited. The comp plan for the digital gateway has a very specific policy recommendation that [02:39:40] recommends that phase two evaluations be done during the course of the rezoning. It also has a very specific recommendation that says that the very first priority should be preservation in place. Second priority is mitigation through documentation. Documentation would be things like phase three data recoveries, cultural landscape reports, and so on. Not something such as civil war burials that we've discussed just previously. Kind of a separate issue because [02:40:17] it deals with human remains. So the primary weakness in all three applications is that they are proffering to do the phase two evaluations after the rezoning is approved instead of during the course of the rezoning. It severely limits our ability to make recommendations for preservation in place, which was a goal of the policy that was adopted by the board last November. That's different than what we do for every other area of the county except for the digital gateway. In [02:40:52] every other area of the county, the digital gateway, we generally and historically have proffered phase two evaluations we've proffered mitigation that's a defining difference between these three rezonings and rezonings that have occurred in the past okay i'll just ask did either the applicants want to chime in on that would either like the applicants want to talk about the timing of some of these issues over the last year can't monopolize supervisor angry [02:41:31] a couple quick comments um i i do think we've had a terrific working relationship with justin which i appreciate he's clearly a lot taller than i am hopefully you can see me over this podium I want to reiterate some things that we talked about earlier didn't have time to do it is absolutely the case that the work that's been done in this important corridor has far accelerated any other zoning case that certainly I'm cognizant of certainly that we've worked on I think there has been a great collaboration I think it's been to the mutual benefit of the cultural sensitivity of this area that this board highlighted a year or so ago I want to highlight a couple things that [02:42:10] I noted. Again, 19,000 test pits between the two cases. To date, no human remains have been found. As you know, this area has been subject to farming for generations in some cases. I would think that would uncover things. Having said that, we've really refined the profits over the course of the last three to four months. We are hiring a Civil War historian, subject to certain professional standards, to assist in locating anything along the order of what Justin just alluded to. There's a lot of rumor and innuendo. Having said that, this will require specific understanding, field [02:42:48] testing results. We've proffered, both applicants have proffered, to the Phase 2 studies that Mark and I summarized. They have to be done prior to completion of final site plan, have to be signed off on by the county, and no land disturbance activity can commence until that's been done. I think that's critically important. Phase 3 studies is warranted. We're doing a strict, unanticipated discovery plan. If there are Union or Confederate remains out there, we want to find them. We want to be respectful of them. This has happened a couple times in the county. I think VEPCO [02:43:21] was the last time that I recall. It was done in a really noteworthy way. Justin's going to get up and correct me. Can I interrupt for just one second? Absolutely not. No, go ahead. The unanticipated finds also covers other human remains that may be found if they exist. They've done studies to identify cemeteries. That is something that we have not done for previous rezonings. So it covers more than just military burials. I'm happy to be corrected by my taller colleague here, so thank you. Ma'am, on-site monitoring will be done prior to commencement [02:44:00] of construction. Again, quick nuance, had to be done quickly. But part of the concern here, as to where I was alluding to it, is, you know, these updated proffers. These updated proffers have been done in direct response to requests for additional information and additional commitments. We're trying to do the right thing in the time frame that's allowed, admittedly a tight time frame. We've updated our proffers for cultural landscape reports as specifically requested by the superintendent of the battlefield, by the store committee, by Mr. Patton. They are now proffered [02:44:34] for all of our cases. We've specifically located the Marble Hill Cemetery. Again, it's not on our property. I know Emma was out on the site as well. Doesn't mean that area shouldn't be studied. It should be studied, but it's not on our property. So I think, to the points made, we are doing everything we can in an incredibly accelerated time frame to achieve the objectives, I think, that you were asking about, Mr. Angry. Thank you, sir. Thank you. I can move on, Supervisor Angry. [02:45:08] Madam Chair, if I could, on behalf of Compass, because I want to make sure that we're clear about which piece of this we're talking about. With respect to our, so our phase one analysis was submitted in April of 2023. [02:45:24] We received comments from Mr. Patton in September of 2023. And the comments on the phase one didn't request a phase two analysis. [02:45:40] Instead, what was given to us were comments on changes to the phase one analysis to reflect, I'll say, clarifications and improvements in connection with the phase one, as well as to identify the 11th site that I referenced in my presentation as being worthy of a phase two analysis. So five of the 11 sites we had already targeted for preservation based on, one, the recommendations of our consultant, two, based on [02:46:14] where the identified site was located within the development where we didn't have any land-disturbing activities anticipated. The additional five or now six sites that we're going to do Phase II studies on, it was represented earlier, that we didn't even commit to do Phase II studies and data recovery associated with those findings, which is just not true. [02:46:39] It's in our proffers that we will conduct a Phase II study, based on the recommendations of the phase two study if there is data to be recovered and curated with the county it will be provided accordingly um but but it it's it's a bit of a misnomer to suggest that we didn't do what was requested of us supervisor vega thank you madam chair uh for consistency and transparency i'm curious madam chair did the planning commission also adopt the practice of limiting commissioners to the number of questions they could ask [02:47:17] No, and I'm not trying to limit. I'm trying to keep us moving and give people a variety as opposed to having one or two people dominate, so maybe they might ask the same question. I'm not suggesting that I'm limiting the questions that people can ask. I'm just having them ask a couple of questions at a time and move around. [02:47:34] And quite frankly, I don't know what the Planning Commission did. I did not watch the hearing, and nor do I particularly abide by whatever they did. Well, I mention it because it's already been referenced that the Planning Commission did A, B, C, D. And so I ask the question, just to be clear, I have a lot of questions to ask, and it just sounds a bit juvenile to say, okay, Supervisor, so-and-so, you have one more question left, and then we can move on. [02:47:55] So I just want to be on the record saying that this is a very consequential vote that we're going to take here today, and that us supervisors have a lot of questions. And I don't want to be limited to the number of questions that I can ask, although I understand that we have a lot of folks that have signed up to speak. [02:48:11] I will sit here for as long as I have to, to hear each and every single one of you all, but I will ask the questions that I need to ask in order to get clarity. So with that out of the way, first off, to Chris, Emily, and the planning staff, thank you. Thank you for your hard work. I think that the term profile in courage is thrown out, and probably more than it should, but in this case, it actually fits utilizing that term. [02:48:34] I want to thank you for your hard work, for being thorough in what we have tasked you all to do, considering the time constraints that you all may have and to the applicants also thank you for being here today and for the work that you guys have also put into this application moving right along to parks and open space because we all know that this board loves green space they love the environment they're all about sustainability I'm going to try to be on track in terms of the various slideshow presentations that were presented here today and so I'm jotting notes as we go if I'm looking at slide 24 which talks about the wildlife corridor am I right to [02:49:14] assume that that goes right through the middle of the campus can you is that directed to staff it's directed to staff and is it the compass presentation it's the yes the first presentation I'm going in order miss Wilson you're referencing slide 24 yes I just want to make sure I'm pulling up the correct picture here my presentation or compasses presentation the applicants [02:49:40] presentation well I'm gonna pull up the presentation and I have Julie here County arborist to help me with this while I pull up the image madam chair members of the board my name is Julie Flanagan I'm the county's arborist in [02:50:18] the Department of Public Works I'll be handling questions on the wildlife corridor and I believe supervisor Vega your question is about whether or not the portion of the wildlife corridor goes through the campus campus right through the middle of the campus correct you're talking about the wildlife quarter per the comprehensive plan amendment and the answer is yes it does so actually if we could after all that work maybe have that handy but if we [02:50:53] could I'll just point out from here is there a point or anything I can use thank you so the I believe the area in question thank you thank you I believe the area in question and correct me if I am wrong as soon as I find out where that is. There it is. [02:51:14] Is this area here? Is that correct? Yes. Okay. So the image on the right is from our comprehensive plan amendment for Digital Gateway. And the image on the left is what the applicant is proposing for wildlife corridors. And so you can see, if I can get my little cursor here, that that corridor would be roughly in this area here and it's missing and that has been one of the comments that staff has made um throughout uh pretty much all of the applications of the all all the submissions that this is a important part of the wildlife corridor to reach because the the goal [02:51:54] of there's two main wildlife corridors one carries uh wildlife from concentrated areas of natural resources like conway robinson state forest up to different areas one carries them to an area over in the northeastern portion of the digital gateway study area. And then there's another area that carries them over to natural resources in the northwestern corridor or the digital gateway. This, what we call the western corridor, goes from Conway Robinson and avoids Pageland Lane, which is here. This is Pageland Lane. The CPA wildlife corridor avoids Pageland [02:52:32] lane carries wildlife through largely wooded areas here and then traverses them up into this area without needing them at all to cross pageland lane does that answer your question yes it does okay and then some thank you i just wanted to make sure that i was interpreting things correctly moving along to the electrical utilities portion and again all of my questions so far are directed to county staff if i have a question i will be very specific as to who the question is directed to. There are a lot of concerns that have been made in terms of the transmissions, where they're going to go. We've talked about preserved forest areas, sensitive environmental resource [02:53:12] areas, and probably our most treasured cultural resource areas. And there's a lot of uncertainties with the application. We don't know. We've heard it from both the applicant and we've heard it both from staff. It could be a possibility. It could not. My question to staff is, how would how would we enforce good faith efforts by the applicant to make sure that they don't put them in these areas what we have requested of the applicant and there's been a lot of discussion supervisor angry you've obviously been concerned about this there's been a lot of discussion about whether or not the applicant can specifically proffer to put them in certain areas we've [02:53:51] actually not been asking for that what we've been asking for is that they show that they're they will that they will not put them in certain areas not that they will put them here but they will not put them in certain areas, particularly the natural resource areas, the Chesapeake Bay RPAs, some of the exterior buffers, the supplemental areas of planting, which often include preserved forested areas, we've asked them to proffer that in those areas there would be only crossings, and we have not received that proffer. [02:54:25] What we've asked them to do is to demonstrate that they will have provided sufficient room Within the development area, the development area is where they're showing their buildings, their parking areas, where their generators and their fans, all of those things are going to go. [02:54:41] That's what they're terming the development area. What we've asked them is to proffer that they will specifically route their utilities through those development areas and only do crossings, meaning perpendicular crossings, of these more natural areas. [02:55:00] And we have not gotten that proffer, and that's why it's one of the weaknesses. Another aspect of that, another element of why that's important, is that when the applicant talks about preserving or protecting natural areas, they've shown, for example, I think Compass has 16.9% that they're showing as natural open space, meaning preserved woodlands, preserved stream corridors, that kind of thing. [02:55:27] That's in there as a number, but then they have these various exceptions that allow them to go in and reduce that number of preserved areas. What they've been saying is that what they're going to do is not give you additional preserved areas if they go into those areas. [02:55:44] If they take a utility and run through there, either parallel or perpendicular, whichever way, they're not offering to provide additional preserved area. That area would then be lost as natural open space. It would be impacted permanently and lost as natural open space. [02:56:01] So would then that reduce the percentage given, Chris, that you cited? The goal is for 30%, right? Based on the response that was given, the applicant, I guess, has committed to 16.9%. Does that area then reduce in size? [02:56:19] Reduce. Yes, it does. Okay, thank you. Now, there's an issue here that I'm very passionate about, and many are very aware as to why, and that is noise. Because in my district, I've been dealing with noise issues because of the Great Oak community and other data centers in the vicinity. [02:56:37] So I'm going to focus right now on the noise proffer addendum. And I'm going to read a little bit here because, again, it's important, and I want to make sure that we're all on the same page. I'm going to be specifically referencing Proffer 41, and it's basically Proffer 41 in its entirety. [02:56:57] Proffer 41 states that staff is unsure whether or not the county staff being charged with enforcement, have the required knowledge, experience, and expertise to apply and enforce these noise attenuation proffers. It goes on to say that proffers should account for any potential reduction in the noise standards. [02:57:16] Typically, the noise ordinance is not permanently regulated via proffers. It also states that the applicant should not cross-reference or incorporate noise ordinance provisions because it is separate and distinct from the proffers and zoning ordinance. all applicable provisions should be included in this proffer. [02:57:33] Staff has concerns that this proffer is being provided to mitigate and or limit the noise from emergency generators by limiting their duration of use, but the only limiting factor to their use is emission standards and permitting of the generators. If DEQ's regulations for emissions thresholds change or if the generators themselves emit less pollution or if litigation is enacted to permit the generators to run longer, then the duration of emergency generators usage could be expanded. [02:58:01] These variables make it hard to determine the effectiveness of this proffer to mitigate limit the noise from emergency generators. The applicant is encouraged to revise the proffer to provide specificity, thank you, regarding the duration of emergency generator use. [02:58:16] The applicant is encouraged to revise the proffer to define a timeframe such as a maximum of days, blank days in a month or some other defined period of time to limit the usage of all emergency generators on site. My question to staff is after reading all of that, are we going to find ourselves in the same case that I found myself in the district in terms of being able to rely on the applicant to self-regulate? [02:58:47] Or do we have the manpower to be able to enforce this? How are we going to be able to implement this cannot have a reoccurring instance like the one that we've been having in the Coles District with the Great Oak Community. Again, thank you for the question. Is this microphone working? I don't think so. Alright, thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Vega. The Department of Development Services reviews the site [02:59:25] plan and would have to hire an outside consultant with the expertise to review these proffers for consistency or provide for some third-party certification. [02:59:43] So we would have to hire an outside consultant? Yes. Okay. And that would be to be able to enforce the proffers? To review them. Okay. Thank you. And then the last question that I have for staff is the planning office opposes this plan the planning commission opposes this plan the historical commission opposes this plan the national park services and federal government opposes this plan and as of this morning we have some state delegates and senators that also oppose this plan uh is there to your knowledge any other department or commission affiliated with prince william [03:00:22] county government that said yes this is a good plan and i would support it supervisor vega we're not monitoring uh other agencies to to see if they support your office hasn't received a letter from anybody else that's affiliated with the government saying they're in support of this application? No, not to this point. Thank you. That's all I have for now, Madam Chair. [03:00:51] Supervisor Franklin. Sure, yes, thank you. I have a number of questions, but first I want to start with just addressing, I guess, the question from Supervisor Vega about if the transmission lines were to go through that particular site. I guess it was page 24 of the staff plan. I guess I do to point out and and you all can correct me if i'm wrong a lot of those areas are also rpa so a lot of them can't actually be developed on a number of the different sites whether it's the [03:01:26] qts plan or the compass land many of the just julie flanagan with public works again many of the areas that are set that are shown on the mzp as protected open space or as qts best names in natural open space Many of those are in stream corridors. [03:01:49] That does not prevent the utilities from running parallel through them. Sure, sure. And actually, transitioning to the discussion, and thank you, Supervisor Angry, for bringing up the discussion around the electrical line. And so a large part of the application was denied by the planning department because of cultural resources and not knowing specifically where the electrical lines would go. [03:02:14] Is that correct? Anybody? That was a weakness, yes. Weakness. Okay, well, I was told those were two of the main reasons. Talking about the electrical lines, because I've spoken to Dominion, and the gentleman said it here publicly, and this is not necessarily to you. [03:02:30] I'm looking at you because you're right in front of me. But, and actually, maybe Mr. Perez can actually come up, since he was the most vocal about it. So I've spoken to Dominion, and Dominion has said publicly, which was consistent with my conversations with them, about the process for determining where the electrical lines can go. [03:02:59] In my conversations and what was said publicly today is that they are not having conversations with applicants before their project is approved to determine where electrical lines will go. And I was told it's because a lot of it takes staff resources, human resources, to make those determinations. [03:03:22] Mr. Perez, you basically said that you don't buy that they don't know or they can't scope out where those lines would go. But if Dominion is actually saying that those are not conversations that they would want to have before the approval process, then how are the applicants supposed to know or be able to tell you definitively where those lines would go? [03:03:46] Right. So there's a difference between Dominion and Novec and the relationships to the various power conversations being had. So Dominion is in charge of the main corridor. I understand that. That brings the backbone through. Yep. Novec is the one who's talking about the connectors that go from those main points into the various land bays and substations. [03:04:08] The conversations we had with Novec were that it's not required, but they encouraged them to do this stuff pre-planning at the rezoning stage. Understood. And we doubled down and really talked about it in the report and clarified because there seemed to be some confusion at the PC as to what we're actually saying. [03:04:27] We're not saying that they have to do it. We're saying it's encouraged, especially at the rezoning stage for such a large project that incorporates a lot of power and utilities for this. And if I can actually cut in and say, understood, NOVAC and Dominion work together. [03:04:46] What I was told by staff is that Dominion made the comments that it would be helpful to determine where those power lines or those electrical lines will go. That comment actually came from NOVAC, but NOVAC relies on Dominion to have those discussions. [03:05:04] And Dominion has said publicly that they're not ready to have that discussion unless this project was approved. So how can you all base a denial on something so important? I agree with you that this is a consequential vote. I think my colleague has said that and certainly would also agree that it will certainly be helpful to have an idea or no. [03:05:25] And I think the applicant said they do have an idea. But if Dominion is not ready to have that discussion, and if NOVAC is relying on Dominion, then how can you base denial on that? It's a weakness. It's one of the weaknesses out of, I guess, 10 or 11. And it is a big deal, and it is an issue. [03:05:42] The applicants have chosen not to address it at this point. They could have chosen to address it at the rezoning. They could have done an environmental consultation. And, Ms. Wolfson, before you step in, let me address that. So it's my understanding that they did have some plans, the applicants, back in August, and this is based on my conversation with staff, on where some of these electrical lines would go. [03:06:06] It's my understanding that Dominion was not ready to have that conversation with the applicants, and that's why they pulled back those plans. So again, I understand that it's a weakness out of a number of weaknesses, but I was told that that was one of the number one weaknesses, and that's something that we've seen throughout this, all three of the presentations, that that is a top weakness. [03:06:24] And, again, I'm not sure how you base denial off of conversations that were not had. We had conversations with Novick, and, you know, it's not a reason. It's not the only reason for denial. It's a weakness. [03:06:40] Sure, sure. The applicants did provide us a document that showed potential utility corridors. That was, I think, on the third submission. In the fourth submission, they said, pull back. We don't want to talk about it anymore. Take that out of our consideration completely. That's correct because of Dominion. they didn't want to be beholden to it is what I understood but we were not aware that it was because of dominion well yeah and so it sounds like there's some miscommunication or lack of communication that determined a staff recommendation quite frankly so anyway I think I've made my point there with regards to cultural resources the first thing I want to just clarify is now [03:07:19] staff said that not enough work had been done to determine where certain graves would go and I I believe Mr. Padden said that there is strong evidence, perhaps, that there are Civil War graves that can be brought up. Now, Mr. Calabrese, I believe, said that they have done a lot of studies to determine if there are potential graves. [03:07:46] So, Mr. Padden, before you speak, I'd like to hear from Mr. Calabrese once more about what work has been done, and then, Mr. Padden, if you can respond to that. I'll just read your notes. It's okay. [03:08:05] i i'm just going to keep it up and hope you can see me over the over the podium ms franklin um we have done extensive work we've talked about the test work that has been done we've down we've done ground penetrating radar in some areas that in particular mr patten uh and others were concerned about for example on page snyder's property there was a concern a allegation of a Civil War mass burial in the southeast corner of Ms. Snyder's property, which her family legend, which we believe is correct, is that it was actually a World War I latrine. We did extensive [03:08:44] work in that area. There's additional areas that Mr. Patton has suggested that ground penetrating radar and other mechanical means be undertaken. We have proffered to do those as well. If anyone, particularly someone credible like Mr. Patton, Associate Ms. Emma, the Civil War historian that we have proffered to secure, and that work has to be done with our very first site plan. If anyone finds any credible evidence, if anyone says this is an area where we have some reasonable expectation that something can be there, we have proffered to these additional methodologies to be sure that [03:09:20] that is not the case. And if it is the case, then we will undertake the comprehensive plan recommendations of other for example preservation in place if that's appropriate or relocation if that's appropriate as was done with VEPCO I think and I can't remember the name of the project a couple years ago now what's the name of that project we talked about it before where VEPCO was doing some line work underground work and they found some remains and they did a really noteworthy laudable relocation to Arlington National Cemetery which was very well received [03:09:55] by the descendants of those, I think they were Confederate soldiers. If anything like that happens on any of our properties, we will follow a similar protocol. I hope that answers your question. I'll be happy to answer any more. Mr. Patton. So Mr. Calabresi is correct. [03:10:18] He has proffered those. Those will happen after this, if this rezoning is approved. All of those things are going to happen. The research that would occur through that proffer and, if warranted, any subsequent field testing would occur after the rezoning is approved. [03:10:49] The field methods that were conducted as part of the Phase I are not really field methods that are designed to identify burials of human remains. They're more designed to identify archaeological locations such as domestic sites, outbuildings, pre-contact, Native American sites, those types of things. [03:11:19] And that's not to disparage the wrong word, but to try and limit the amount of work that's been done. There's been a tremendous amount of work that's been done at the phase one level. Sure, and then we can talk about this during comments, but obviously we implemented a number of amendments to the CPA around cultural resources. [03:11:42] I myself did that, and I actually worked with your office and worked with you to do those things. So to see that there are still challenges that you have, it is a bit concerning, given that we work together on pushing those changes forward. But, you know, happy to have you address that, but we can also talk about it during the comments, but go ahead. [03:12:01] So when the board adopted the Digital Gateway Conference of Plan Amendment, there were kind of two primary changes in the way that we've treated cultural resources in the past. [03:12:19] First one was that we asked for and wanted to see phase two evaluations during the course of the rezoning. Purpose of that is that the phase two evaluation lets us know whether these sites are important and whether they have integrity. [03:12:36] In other words, are they eligible for listed on the national registry? That is the criteria that we use for determining significance and whether things are worthy of preservation or whether they get data recovery, whether they get documentation. [03:12:53] So in order to make that decision of preservation, we need that information. The applicant has not done that. They've proffered it, and that pushes that decision of preservation to the site plan review process. [03:13:11] Right, but I think a proffer is the strongest way to guarantee that it gets done. It's a proffer. I will leave that to your determination. It's a proffer. And then the last thing that no one has actually talked about were labor standards. I've been very clear from the beginning, particularly with the CPA, that I would not support any rezoning that did not include any labor standards. [03:13:35] And it's my understanding that the applicants worked with, I'm not sure who on staff, maybe you guys worked with maybe the county attorney's office on some labor provisions and would like to hear a little bit more about that. Could either of the applicants address that? [03:13:51] I'll also say that Christina Wynn from Economic Development is here as well. Excellent. Thank you. So, Ms. Franklin, I'm going to direct your attention and the board's attention to the Compass proffers, specifically Proffer 57, which is entitled Workforce Strategies. [03:14:14] In effect, what that proffer says is for each building or land bay where we are initiating another phase of the construction, that we will conduct outreach to the county's Economic Development Department and ask them to convene a discussion among interested parties that the Department of Economic Development identifies as stakeholders in connection with Compass's development of its data centers. We have identified suggested groups that could be [03:14:53] part of that stakeholder conversation to include labor organizations, to include representatives of women and minority and veteran-owned businesses and others who could potentially benefit from the contracting opportunities associated with the construction, and to discuss at that time potential strategies related to ensuring both access to the work by contractors, particularly the women and minority and veteran-owned businesses, but also to ensure that when the work is done, that it is done in a first-class manner, that [03:15:30] it is done in accordance with legal requirements, and that we are providing through our contracting processes, appropriate workforce protections for people who will be working on these jobs. We've identified some potential strategies within that proffer as to the specific elements that that arrangement could look like, but, you know, over a 15- or 20-year build-out, the strategies are likely to change. [03:15:59] And so we've identified a list of potential things and left ourselves some flexibility over time to adjust as priorities change and then at the end of the process we have to provide a report back that identifies the specific measures that were taken in connection with that both on the contracting side in terms of availability for minority and underserved contractors as well as some of the work specific workforce protections that we talked about. Thank you then I'll just say generally and yield that um i i do think that workforce standards should be part of the [03:16:36] discussion for all of our land use decisions moving forward and i don't want to scare the county attorney or any developers but i do think that uh this is an important issue that that we need to have when discussing land use i yield thank you i just have some uh basic questions i mean i have this yeah i'm actually not gonna i'm actually just i figure i'm in line it would easier than me going last every time um thank you um can either compass or qts tell me just in general how often they're you know over all their uh campuses how often the um generators ran last [03:17:11] year if they have that information um madam chair on the loudon county campus that compass um recently completed the backup generators ran approximately 16 and a half hours in total over an entire calendar year so out of 365 days i forget there was it what's the rent song 52 565 600 minutes right it ran for 16 and a half minutes over the period of a year or excuse me hours over the period of year great thank you um um actually this is um for uh justin [03:17:49] if i um we talk a lot about pageland farm and and mass burial sites and things that have happened over the years you know i know there's innuendos and rumors you know other than than those people even some people on the historic commission saying that they're there has there ever been any shred of evidence over the last five to ten or fifteen years that that's true like do you have that what is that yeah the the commission identified documents that said that they were that soldiers died at pageland we have not been able to find evidence that those soldiers [03:18:27] were removed and buried at home now we have not done extensive research on that that's the purpose of this proffer is to do that extensive research and try and answer that question and also try and identify areas where there might be burials the the estimates from jim burgess from the historical commission who's probably the best have any facts to base like besides just the burbage that he's [03:19:01] like has anyone found anything ever yeah the the commission found documentation no I mean bodies or when they've looked I know that they've been farming not on page one farm not that I'm aware of okay not on the not on the current boundaries of page one farm okay I don't know if anybody's reported anything else else yeah that's um on page one from 1860 the other thing about um there's a in the staff report talks about transmission lines over cemeteries are in conflict with the zoning ordinance. Have we ever had that? Is that an issue? And like, how do we deal with that? [03:19:34] Do you know? Or maybe it's a... We try and make sure that that's avoided because the cemetery ordinance creates, we try and get an easement over those areas. So we don't want conflicting easements. Okay. Thank you. And the applicant has committed to try and... I forgot the proffer, Mark, but they've committed to try and avoid that. Try to avoid transmission lines. Yes. Right. Okay. [03:20:00] And my other question, you know, this whole thing about the SUP waiver, you know, we are at this point, I know that people weren't necessarily around at the beginning and other people were in charge, but we have proceeded with an SUP waiver up to this point. So does that mean that it was granted at some point? [03:20:16] Like, how does that work? Can someone help me out with that? I mean, because we're here and we don't have the SUP, I can only assume that someone gave a waiver at some point. So the waiver is part of this process and would be granted by the board with the approval of this application. [03:20:35] The waiver is part of the proffer package. It lists the waivers and modifications that are requested by the applicant. So at some point, was the applicant sort of told to go this way, that it was okay to proceed this way? [03:20:50] I would think that if, we don't think that microphone works, by the way. I don't know. [03:20:57] So the applicants were told that David can answer. That's all right. Can you can you have Mr. McGettigan answer? Thank you very much. So, yeah, so the there are options for how we address the S. U. P. requirements outside the overlay district. And we saw in Devlin, for example, that it was part of the rezoning. They actually mapped that's the board to change the overlay district to map that area they can provide a concurrent special use [03:21:36] permit application with their rezoning or in the in the plan districts they can ask for a waiver of that requirement that's all permitted under the regulations it's permitted okay great thank you very much I will go over to supervisor Bailey I turn that chair thank you very much I almost said good morning I can everyone hear me I wanted to supervise the Franklin just reminded me of something so I love when we have used the terminology this morning collaboration [03:22:14] and I think with something as critical as this project don't know what the outcome will be collaboration is absolutely imperative and so I want to start and kind of expand on um my question will be an extension of what supervisor franklin so astutely brought up and that was in reference to the workforce piece and i don't want to get in trouble supervisor franklin we don't want to get in trouble so but i want uh if i could have compass come up and talk to us about two things one is um i'm very focused with something as [03:22:51] essential as this on commercial tax base and so I want to talk a little bit about that it can be as brief but very detailed commercial tax base and I want to bring Christina Wynn in also to talk about that what has been the contributing factor how does that look to Prince Wynn County it's a big ask of us so what does that look like to us do you mean in terms of tax revenues to be [03:23:23] generated. Compass has not done a specific financial impact analysis just on its application, in part because your tax rates will change over time, both on the real estate side as well as on the personal property tax side. So we've not done a specific, put a specific number out there in terms of impacts, other than to say that we anticipate that the revenue at build-out from the project, regardless of your tax rate, would be in excess of $100 million a year [03:24:01] and potentially even more significant than that, again, depending on what you do with your tax rates. I know that the economic development folks have done their own analysis, and I don't want to speak to that because it's their report, but in terms of what we anticipate, our specific contribution to that, it would be north of $100 million at full build-out, again, depending on your rates. [03:24:24] At full build-out, not 10, 15, just immediate? Well, there would be an immediate infusion, right, because the value of the land theoretically changes when the- not theoretically, actually changes in the event the rezoning is approved. So you'd get an automatic change in value once the rezoning- were the rezoning to be approved. [03:24:44] And then as you bring new buildings on, the value of those buildings, um, hopefully would accelerate over time. And as you bring on new buildings, you would be adding to it. The specifics of how much comes on in any particular year depends on whether we bring on one building or two buildings in a year, or whether you, you, you skip a year in terms of, of build out. [03:25:05] Um, but if we're assuming a building a year plus or minus in terms of the, of the build out, then it would accelerate over time, particularly as you got into the later years. Mr. Calabresci, would you like to comment on that at all? I've got to follow Justin. [03:25:24] I've got to follow Mark. No, I think some of the facts and statistics that I reviewed during my presentation, Ms. Bailey, are really self-evident. You can see what the impact has been in Loudoun County. We did an apples-to-apples comparison of about the square footage, the tax revenue. [03:25:43] Your next board is most certainly going to revisit data center taxes. We all know that, and that's legitimate. I may get fired when I sit back down. That's a legitimate thing to do. You don't want to get fired. So to Mark's point, the level of trajectory is likely to change. [03:26:00] But setting the framework for this type of a 10- to 15-year project absolutely supports the underpinnings of the economic development objectives that you're alluding to, the workforce housing opportunities for Prince William County families so they can stay in the county and work for the next 10 or 15 years instead of trekking to Loudoun County, this has great opportunity. [03:26:24] Are these the only things that are relevant to this board? They're not, but they are important, and they're imbued in your CPA. Have I answered your question, ma'am? You have, and I appreciate you. This is not the only thing. That's very imperative to be said. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mr. Calabrese. Christina Wynn, welcome. [03:26:41] My question to you is, as it relates to our targeted areas and the focus that we have here in Prince William County, protecting our taxpayers but also building an economic development a platform and foundation for the future, what does this look like from your perspective? [03:27:00] What does the tax base look like? Commercial tax base. So, sorry. Your targeted area, because I'm assuming this is one of your targeted areas. Chair Wheeler, members of the board, Christina Wynn, Economic Development. So data centers are a targeted industry. [03:27:18] And in regards- That's the wrong word, I'm sorry. Yes, it's okay. As part of when we are analyzing or looking at a project, the only time that we generally run a fiscal impact study is when there is incentives involved, financial incentives. [03:27:40] So we did not perform a fiscal impact on this project because it's at the entitlement phase and we are not providing any financial cash incentives to Digital Gateway. That being said, in 2021, we worked with the finance department and hired PFM to look at, really, the fiscal impact of the data center industry and really based on a prototypical data center, so approximately a 250,000-square-foot data center. [03:28:18] And in that sense, the study determined that for every dollar that the county puts out in terms of services associated with that data center, based in 2022, we generally get about $13.44 back in terms of revenue. [03:28:44] So if you were to apply that to this project over time, you can surmise that you are going to generate significant capital investment and increase the overall commercial tax base. Thank you. [03:29:00] How does that help us as tax base? Well, in terms of, obviously, when we're looking at trying to increase the commercial tax base, It goes directly towards helping to offset costs to the residents, but also goes back directly into providing funding for schools, parks, and libraries, and other services. [03:29:26] And so that by increasing in communities where the commercial tax base is increased, it directly benefits the residents in terms of being able to have those additional revenues either to offset taxes or provide additional services. [03:29:46] Yeah, hopefully reduce things like personal property taxes. That's why I would defer to finance on those particular questions. Of course, but I'm just trying to, for our audience and for our community, I'm just trying to paint a picture. Thank you very much. Absolutely. Thank you. My next question, and I'm going to ask this of conference and QTS, as it relates to substantial conformance, you were very detailed in your presentation as it relates to that. [03:30:14] And I just want to make sure that we are in the realm, if not on point with what Mr. Perez was alluding to. What does that look like in terms of the F-R-A? F-A-R, I'm sorry. [03:30:30] F-A-R. So, Ms. Bailey, we are capped on the amount of density that can be developed, described as floor area ratio in the application at roughly 11.5 million square feet with respect to the compass application. [03:30:47] So we can't go beyond that square footage at all, period. The conversations that we've had with staff around substantial conformance, which sort of, as I alluded to in my presentation, have changed over time, really relate to the specific building footprints and the specific architectural elevations of each of the buildings that are constructed. [03:31:16] As I mentioned earlier, we're trying to balance the need for establishing the appropriate guardrails within which Compass must abide when developing pursuant to these approvals and the flexibility to then be able to meet individual customer needs to take advantage of innovation, take advantages of changes in sustainable design, other things to be able to modify the footprint or the architectural elevations going forward so that we have [03:31:51] appropriate ability to meet the needs of the customers, you know, into the next 10 or 15 years. And that's been the conversation around the substantial conformance is more about the footprints and the building elevations and getting how specific associated with that. I know there was a representation earlier that the zoning ordinance requires building footprints to be put on the MZP, and that's just not accurate. I showed the Gainesville Crossing example earlier. The MZP didn't have any footprints associated with it. There was an exhibit that was attached, but it [03:32:29] wasn't proffered as part of the plan. And what the really MZP is talking about is in a broader context, in a 900-acre rezoning, that you are showing where are the buildings going in relation to all of the other elements that are required in the MZP, the roads, the open space areas, the resource protection areas, which we've done with respect to the building envelopes. [03:32:54] And then we squeeze it down even further by limiting the density, limiting the heights, providing minimum setbacks, all that other stuff that are squeezing the envelope of the building area down to what we think is appropriate flexibility moving forward. [03:33:12] I hope that answers your question. It does. You use terminology squeezing it down. Do you lose anything in terms of level of service to your client or adherence to what Mr. Perez is asking you for? What do you lose? [03:33:30] The terminology squeezing down, I think you need to. So squeezing down, I think what we fear is squeezing down too much to where we are identifying, I go back to the example I gave in my presentation. Imagine a residential builder standing before you saying, every house in this 1,800-unit development is going to have a center hall colonial style. [03:33:53] They wouldn't do it. You wouldn't want them to do it. You'd want the buildings and the homes to look different, right? You'd want, over that period of time, for changes in aesthetics to be able to be implemented. The same is true in the data center context. [03:34:11] Compass builds and leases data centers to end users, but it also could build and sell a data center to that same end user. And when that same end user, a Google or a Meta, wants Compass to build the building and convey it to them, they're not going to want Compass's design of the building, they're going to want Google's design of the building. And that's the flexibility, or let's say Compass had it designed as a, pick a number, 300 foot long building, and they decide they only want the building to be 200 feet long. If we've proffered that the buildings can only be 300 feet [03:34:46] long, then we're precluded from meeting that customer's needs. And so what we're trying to do is squeeze it down to where, from a regulatory standpoint, we have the appropriate guardrails that we cannot violate. And then what we do to figure out whether it's a center hall colonial or a modern design or a 200-foot building or a 300-foot building to meet the customer's needs, That's where we want the flexibility. [03:35:12] Okay, I understand. Mr. Calabrese, do you want to comment? I'm almost done. I might have missed the question, but I believe the question was with regard to specificity of FAR and limitations. [03:35:28] We've been really clear. In the south, 0.25 max cumulatively on all four land bays, and we actually put the FARs on each individual land bay. With regard to the north, we're at a 0.3 cap, and we actually specified within each land bay what's the FAR cap. [03:35:47] It comports with not only the development areas that we've described in some detail, memorialized on the MCP, the limits of disturbance, the protected areas, but it also comports with the MCP, and that shows all the building envelopes and footprints. [03:36:05] And we have done sufficient engineering to be very confident that the MCPs will reflect the types of graphics that you saw earlier, that merge exhibit, Ms. Bailey, that I showed. If you want, I can bring it back up. And if we're wrong, then the county is the arbiter of that and can say that's not in substantial conformance, clear definition on what that means for the zoning administrator, the planning director to determine, and then it's on us. [03:36:33] We have to fix it. We either have to come back through this fun-filled process, or we have to figure out a way to make sure that we comport with what was shown. And it is fun-filled. Yes, ma'am. Okay, thank you. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Perez, my question to you in understanding that, because I just wanted clarity on that. [03:36:51] You mentioned earlier that it had conformed, and then you said it hadn't. Could you be more specific on that? Because in the collaboration with the fourth submission and the fifth submission, I'm hearing that that had been satisfied. [03:37:10] So could you be more specific? Because you made a determination and it wasn't clear. Gotcha. Yeah, I mean, I'm hearing a lot from the applicant's Star Wars quote here. These are not the droids you're looking for. These are the droids we're looking at. [03:37:28] These are the ones. The CPA encouraged site layouts. The zoning ordinance requires site layouts, building footprints. We've articulated to the applicants that it is required based on various codes. We've got that confirmed by the zoning administrator as well as site plan review staff. [03:37:49] During the fourth submission, it wasn't substantial conformance. It was essentially an illustrative. The fifth submission, the MCP became substantial conformance. Okay. However, staff is putting out some concerns that what's shown on the MCP may not be enforceable at the site plan development stage based on that information not being shown on the MZP, but only the MCP. [03:38:16] So the question that you asked was in reference to the MCP for the conformance. We've been pushing it to be shown on the MZP so they can do substantial conformance. So what you required them to do was not on the MCP originally. [03:38:35] It was on the MCP, correct? Correct. Okay, that's what I want to know. Okay, thank you. Supervisor Brody. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, I wanted to echo one of my colleagues in saying thank you to staff for all your hard work. I know this has been a long process from way two and a half years ago when we started the initiation of the comp plan to now it's been a long journey. [03:38:55] So those of us who are here and then depart, those of us who have worked on this entire time, Those of us that have started this staff, thank you so much for your hard work. I want to thank the applicants for their work as well. And again, also wanted to, of course, thank all the residents that have been involved in this process in one way or another for the last two and a half years as well. [03:39:12] I know a lot of folks, especially in the Gainesville District, have come here basically each and every board meeting for the last three years. And I appreciate you, your engagement. I'm going to start very generally, but it pertains to some of the issues that we've already talked about. [03:39:29] And I'm going to drill down into sustainability. So to first talk about, to go back to it, because it has been sort of the big gorilla in the room, is this idea of the transmission lines. And I wanted to start with the representatives from Novec and Dominion and just ask them sort of a general question. [03:39:51] Generally speaking, and I know that you all see a lot of different applications, especially in Northern Virginia, about data center and data center applications. Do you sometimes see in these applications at least preferred or planned transmission lines or routes? [03:40:09] So, can you hear me? So, again, we don't see preferred routes. We're very committed to working with the community, working with localities to locate where development may occur, so data center development. [03:40:30] Certainly, it's more preferable to be located adjacent to existing transmission facilities so you don't have miles of new right-of-way to service a specific site. [03:40:45] But in terms of actual corridors, again, that process comes later once we've had the opportunity to do more detailed study in terms of environmental permitting, engineering, things like that. [03:41:01] Okay, and to follow up on that, a discussion that was had earlier in terms of specific language that would preclude transmission lines or distribution lines being done within buffers or forested areas, things like that. [03:41:18] I know that you can't strictly adhere to that, but does that help serve as guardrails or guidelines for you all as you work with folks to get it done? Certainly, it helps to know where the county prefers to have those areas, which is why I think having those areas outlined in a document like a comprehensive plan is very important. [03:41:39] Because that gives us an idea of the priorities for wildlife corridors, environmental sensitivities, things like that. So, again, I don't know that we can commit to no impacts whatsoever. [03:41:59] I think it would be disingenuous to say there are no impacts to any project, regardless of what it is. But we can commit to working, again, with everyone to minimize those impacts to the maximum extent possible. Sure. And then to add to that, based on what the applicants have proposed, have given us, given you all, Do you feel comfortable in that they've shown where there should be these lines and where it's precluding? [03:42:31] Do you have a comfort level there? I think the comfort level in terms of, I mean, we haven't shown the transmission line corridors, again, because we're not there yet. But in terms of the site layout of where the electrical infrastructure, I think that it's labeled, Those are the Dominion switching stations, Novec substation site pads. [03:42:54] I think we do have a comfort level to start working with. The last thing I'll say on that before I move topics is, because I remember Ms. Flanagan was here earlier, and she mentioned that to at least staff's perspective, they feel like there could have been more language or at least stronger language in terms of where staff prefers there not to be transmission lines, especially as it pertains to making sure that any things that happen are crossings and perpendicular versus running parallel to buffers, to stream valleys, to forested areas, things like that. [03:43:33] Do you feel like there's a deficiency there in terms of what's being asked of? I don't think it's my role to comment on where there are deficiencies. I would say that, again, we're more than happy and willing to work with staff to understand where their priorities are. [03:43:54] And that's, again, part of our public engagement process, as many of you on the board know and have been engaged with us on multiple projects, right? We work with you. Supervisor Lawson knows, for sure. We work with you. We have individual meetings with you all as elected officials. We meet with staff regularly. [03:44:10] We meet with members of the public and organizations throughout the county. So I think the more information that we can collect on preferences, that's great. Priorities, fantastic. And again, you'll hear me keep repeating it probably, but we're going to be committed to continuing that process. [03:44:32] To shift to staff, to give you all an opportunity to respond to that, do you have language in mind that you think would help put you at ease in terms of that issue? Julie, I'm going to call on you specific to the limits of disturbance because I think the devil is really in the details because we're talking about proffers. [03:44:55] And I know, Julie, you had specific proffer changes that you wanted to see for the limits of disturbance for this application. Supervisor Lodi, if I could ask you to repeat your question. Sure. So we were talking about the fact that some of the concerns that you raised were the fact that there isn't necessarily a question of where people are saying they want these transmission lines to be. [03:45:22] You were talking about the fact that you would like to see stronger language on where we prefer there not to be. Do you have language in mind, or is that more of a map thing? Can you talk about that a little bit more? In our comments, there was discussion earlier about the various iterations of proffers that have come through. [03:45:39] With our comments after what we're calling the fifth submission comments, there was significant changes to the proffers in there, and our staff in Watershed reviewed those proffers and made recommendations in writing, which I believe are in attachment age, yes, in which we've requested of the applicant to revise their proffers accordingly, and that would relate to the limiting the limiting the utilities to crossings of these areas rather than having [03:46:18] parallel or oblique impacts sure and I'm looking at attachment H right now which one of those we can go to proffer 28 I'm looking at let's make sure around the right one here is this compass this is compass so proffer 28 for compass is on the limits of disturbance I see it okay okay Thank you for that just as we continue to talk through these and ask questions I want to plants with the applicant right now that I want to see something work through in terms of that and there are similar [03:47:00] not for limits of disturbance It's difficult for them to profit that without it being guaranteed by Dominion. I mean, Dominion got up and said, you know, so I just wanted to make the comment that that's proper 28 for compass. They're similar for both of the QTS projects thank you for that um and that that's all i had for that that discussion um but miss land i want you to stay there because i want to go to the wildlife corridors that were talked about before [03:47:37] um it seems like where we we've sort of shifted things a little bit between what was approved in the comp plan versus what's being proposed with the rezonings where it looks like we went from a sort of north south corridor to sort of an east west corridor um do you foresee there i know you you noted it was a weakness or at least a concern there. [03:47:59] Can you talk a little bit more about what the concern is in regards to having it be an east-west corridor there versus a north-south one? Yes, I will. Staff presented or prepared a PowerPoint presentation that I think helps eliminate those concerns. [03:48:18] Give us just a moment to come up with that. Go on down, down, down. Okay. So then, again, we've seen this before. This is the CPA Wildlife Corridor Routes. So if we go down one more. it's a little more complex what we've done here is we've put an overlay of the aerial imagery showing the tree cover and open fields the green areas are the CPA wildlife corridors and then the purple areas are areas that are not those are the out parcels they're not part of any of the three rezoning cases [03:48:52] next please this is compass in particular proposed wildlife corridors based on compass and if I can use that thank you all right and this is gonna look familiar but to see there you are okay so here is the wildlife corridor that's on the CPA and you'll notice these darker areas are wooded areas here is the wildlife corridor proposed by compass and we're gonna zoom into that area to get a better look at it next please okay so what the compass proposal [03:49:28] does is it takes wildlife across Pageland Lane in two locations. First here, and then it kind of goes off the picture here, and then it has to come back across Pageland Lane a second time. This is a perennial stream. It's a Chesapeake Bay RPA, but what you'll see here is these lighter greenish-brown areas. Those are open fields, and all this is up here is open fields. So you have two crossings of Pageland Lane, and then you're avoiding using, utilizing all this existing, this is all evergreen forest, seduous forest. There's a little gap in it right there. And then that [03:50:03] connects back up with another RPA and carries wildlife up to the northwest. And that's what we've been asking them to commit to, is to provide that CPA wildlife quarter. It is a higher quality, and I know, Supervisor Angry, you were concerned about these as well. The CPA quarter was specifically looked at because it took wildlife away from Pageland Lane, whether there's an underpass is relatively immaterial. The wildlife's not necessarily going to know that they should use the underpass, and some of them might be frightened by the underpass. So it eliminates two crossings [03:50:39] of Pageland Lane, and it also utilizes existing forested areas, which is a second primary thing that wildlife are looking for. Just in case you don't know, my degree is in forestry and wildlife management, so this is a focus of mine. So it also enables wildlife to have cover throughout that whole corridor throughout that section of corridor that's not provided with the alternative sure and thank you for that miss flangas and i wanted to give uh mr looney or whoever on behalf of compass because this is subject to your your assemblage to talk about that because to me it seemed more natural as miss flanagan said to use the existing forested area where wallop is probably already [03:51:18] used to using versus the proposed east west wildlife corridor first of all uh supervisor Bodie, I think the wildlife are going to go where the wildlife are going to go. And essentially, the only limitations or restrictions on where the wildlife are going to go is whatever fencing is put up to try to direct them into a different location. [03:51:44] I joked early in the process with Ms. Flanagan about the need to put up road signs in the wildlife corridor saying, you know, deer walk here, because they're going to go wherever they're going to end up going. [03:51:59] The challenge that we have with the wildlife corridor that's pointed out here is it is smack in the middle of one of the largest development land bays that the Compass Assemblage has. We raised this concern during the comprehensive plan amendment process. [03:52:18] It was part of the comments that we made during the staff's drafting of it, as well as in the Planning Commission and the board's consideration of it. Standing in this boardroom, Mika Dawes was asked the question, is there going to be flexibility in the implementation of the Wildlife Corridor, given our concerns and the competing desire under the Comprehensive Plan Amendment to achieve the economic development aspects of what was approved in the connection with the Comprehensive Plan Amendment? [03:52:51] And there's specific language in the CPA that provides that flexibility, both in terms of the width of the corridor as well as its location. And so what we are trying to do is balance the competing interests of maintaining connectivity for the wildlife through the corridor. [03:53:11] We have provided wildlife corridors that are substantially greater in width than what the minimum requirements are. We're constructing three crossings of roadways where we're grade separating the wildlife corridor from the roads in order to provide a protected environment for the wildlife to cross the road, unlike the way it exists today. [03:53:34] And we're doing all of that while trying to achieve the economic development aspects of the CPA at the same time. And this particular corridor, which is the one that we raised during the CPA process, is the one that we have said needs the flexibility to be able to route the wildlife around the land bay as opposed to through the land bay, because otherwise we're not achieving what the CPA wants to achieve from an economic development perspective. [03:54:08] Between a rock and a hard place with that one. I would describe it as it's really the difference between, I guess it's balancing those competing interests. I think that's correct. I won't disagree with that. I think what we're doing to maintain the wildlife corridor all throughout the three and a half to four mile Pageland Lane corridor far exceeds anything that's happened in other development projects. I mean, you know, it's rare [03:54:44] that you're getting proffers for three grade-separated wildlife crossings. Thank you for that. Yeah, I mean, the other thing, and we talked about this during the CPA, where they're designated to go is to follow the stream corridors where the wildlife are actually more apt to go. [03:55:04] We actually had a consultant who, when this came up, provided an analysis of where they thought within the corridor the wildlife were most likely to go, number one, and where the habitat would be best for them. [03:55:20] And protecting the stream corridors was prioritized in terms of those recommendations. - And the last one for this round, goes to sustainability. I didn't know from staff side who wanted to sort of address the staff portion of this. [03:55:39] But I also sort of am concerned about the sustainability part of this because I think Mr. Perez is the one that brought it up pretty succinctly. You know, you have 17 options on what you can choose from, and things as low-hanging fruit as LED lights or some of those. [03:55:57] We know that part of this is a business decision. If you all have more energy efficiency in your buildings, what have you, from an applicant's perspective, you're bringing down your overhead, you're bringing down your costs and what have you. So there's an incentive for you to follow that. But from the staff side, my question is, is there something you would like to see in terms of stronger language or commitments to show that folks are actually serious about hitting the sustainability measures that were put at the CPA. [03:56:25] I think our staff report summarizes our position on this. I think ultimately, while it's great that they're providing a menu of options, like Mr. Perez stated, some of these options are sort of low-hanging fruit, things that in the 21st century, 2024, people should just be doing automatically. [03:56:45] LED lights is an example. I think for us to feel more comfortable, we want to know what specific measures are going to be done. And I understand the need for flexibility. I get that technology changes rapidly. However, when you have a menu of options, some of which are so low-hanging fruit, it's unclear to us how they're going to impact sustainability. [03:57:08] And so I think our preference would be to know which measures they're going to choose. and we want to choose the ones that are going to have the most impact um so that's i appreciate that i want to give the applicants an opportunity to answer uh that concern framed this way um we there's been a lot of talk over the past couple years about the greenhouse gas emissions and the energy mix with which everyone draws within virginia not just data centers but we know that data centers are increasingly becoming one of the largest draws of electricity in the state. [03:57:47] To me, it flies in the face of our sustainability goals if we're not committing to having as much as possible folks, especially in larger commercial industries like the data center industry, to commit to as much as they can purchase renewable energy through especially PPAs, but also renewable energy credits. Separate but also related to that is this idea of having on-site renewable energy that's generated. [03:58:13] I know it's not going to offset it completely. We can't do that yet in terms of the current technology, but knowing that there are initiatives out there, there are other companies out there that are putting on-site renewable energy and also committing as part of their corporate standards to renewable energy credits and purchase power agreements goes to, I think, what Ms. Wolfson is talking about, how that far exceeds the, hey, we're going to put some LED lights as standard to the building. [03:58:38] So would love to hear from the applicant on their commitment to that. I want to address it one at a time, maybe. Supervisor Bode, with respect to the Compass application, I think we agree with you that the greening of the grid is definitely a priority. [03:59:01] And in fact, I submit to you that the data center industry is actually leading that effort by the amount of power that they are purchasing and forcing utilities, whether it's Dominion or other utilities across the country, to be more innovative in how they are generating the power that is needed. [03:59:23] The data center industry or data centers generally are a constant 24-7, 365 purchaser of a specific amount of power. They don't go away during the day to work. [03:59:39] They don't come home and shut their lights off at night. They run 24 hours a day. And so consequently, they can drive innovation in the generation industry more so than a residential customer could or probably even more than some legislators could. But the ability to then purchase that renewable energy, whether it's through credits or through actual direct energy, is dependent on the availability of it within the market to be served or out of market, as the case may be. We certainly have every intent on making that part [04:00:15] of the program, but it's to the extent that it's available when you execute the power purchase agreement or the electric services agreement for a specific building. And if there's little or none available at the time, then there's not really much to be in terms of direct power to be purchased. Maybe there's credits outside of the market that could be explored, but that's not we're limited in the in the generation facilities ability to provide that power I think we're certainly happy to explore making sure that we're prioritizing that as part of the process if [04:00:52] that would address your your question or concern it helps okay I didn't know if Mr. Calabrese wanted to add to that or not Mr. Bode vice chair doing my internet research as we speak so a couple of critical things. I think having the optionality is really important. We've got CPA policies, which I think you helped author, obviously the board endorsed. I know for QTS, we've agreed to a minimum of seven of the 17 options. As you know so well, you're an articulate spokesman about [04:01:31] these things. The technology changes every day. I think we have to look at this both on a micro basis, and we have to be a little bit careful. I wouldn't presume to advise your good counsel, But at some point, sustainability issues and how far you go with those, to me, go beyond a land use application. [04:01:51] Don't need to get into that. I think that what we have done in our profits, and I think Compass has in theirs, is articulate options. I think some of the things that we've talked about, power purchase, for example, Mark just said it well, there are times where they're absolutely available. [04:02:07] Sometimes they're available for the building, landlord. Sometimes they're available for the tenant. I think we're happy to take a look at the sustainability provisions, but I think what's also critical is that's the micro topic. The macro topic is on a company-wide basis, I'm looking at the QTS website right now, please feel free to do the same, Compass is doing it. [04:02:26] On a company-wide basis, companies like QTS and Compass are the impetus, maybe Stephen can confirm this, on what's a really amazing project, the wind project that Dominion is undertaking, you know, offshore. [04:02:43] The data centers and the funding by those data centers make projects of that basis really important. To your point, doing something like that versus determining what all the lights are, very different impact. So from a company perspective, you can flip through this. [04:03:00] I can send you the link if you like. But procuring 100% of the power from carbon-free energy sources, objective. Portfolio-wide annual water usage reduction, 5% per year. Voluntary reporting to all these different agencies. I don't even know what all these acronyms mean. Design 100% of our buildings to green building standards. [04:03:19] Pursue ENERGY STAR certification, LEED certification. Install EV charging stations at 75% of our facilities, even the older ones. Recycle 90% of our operational waste. So from a company perspective, these can and shouldn't be in our proffers. [04:03:36] But these are articulated requirements that our shareholders want and expect of us. So I think the laudable objectives that you're articulating, we're doing both on a micro basis with the application before you, and more importantly, on a macro basis, because that starts to move the needle to the very things that we care about. [04:03:56] I hope that answers your question, sir. It helps. And since the representative from Dominion was mentioned, I wanted to see if he had anything he wanted to add, especially vis-a-vis the concern that's been raised to me, I'm sure some of my colleagues is that as we see more data center development, not only in Northern Virginia, but throughout the country and the Commonwealth, it may unfortunately, unwittingly cause Dominion to need to stand up more fossil fuel type generation in terms of power plants, natural gas, what have you. Could you speak to that concern? [04:04:32] Sure. So we this year released our IRP, which is an outlook, it's a forecast integrated resource plan over the course of the next decade about power generation and power needs. [04:04:48] And what the IRP shows is an approach toward increasingly clean energy while also understanding that current power generations, such as natural gas, do have to remain in use to power the exponential growth in energy load that we've seen as a result of data centers by and large. [04:05:14] That being said, there are certainly areas in the IRP that show reliance on some carbon and fossil fuel-powered generation continuing to trend downward, and these are coal-fired power plants. [04:05:30] Those continue to trend downward. We are committed to increasingly clean energy. We believe that the current IRP that we released does adhere to our commitment to the Virginia Clean Economy Act. [04:05:47] So while it is an all-hands-on-deck situation with regard to meeting the exponential growth and energy needs, we are still committed to that increasingly clean energy path. Thank you. So we're going on to Supervisor Lawson. [04:06:05] We are coming to the point where we've been asking questions for two hours. Please proceed. I'm just putting that on everyone's radar. We can go around again. I'm hoping that people have things lined up, and then we can get on to the public hearing. Supervisor Lawson. [04:06:20] Thank you, Madam Chair. Before I start my questions, I actually would like to really commend the Prince William County planning staff and their agency partners, such as Julie Flanagan and Public Works, I mean, you all have put so much time into this countless hours. [04:06:44] I'm looking at Alex, Chris, David, certainly Justin, Chris, or I mean Emily. I want to personally thank you. You've been under tremendous pressure, and I just simply want you to know I'm grateful for your work, for your dedication um and uh to the applicants um i certainly have some questions for you but uh i i appreciate that that you recognize also the hard work of the planning staff because um [04:07:23] they're they're here to serve the public and not look out for their client per se their client is the county's interest and i and um let's just keep it at that um so before i go into my first line of questioning I want to read from the cultural resources piece of the comprehensive plan. Is this a question? I'm so sorry. It's going to be. Is there a reason why you chose to interrupt me? Yes because I'm trying to get make sure that people ask questions as opposed to. Madam chair [04:08:00] it is it's a preamble to a question and unlike a lot of the other board members although I do remember you interrupted supervisor vega i appreciate or maybe it was supervisor weirb i'd appreciate it if you would give me the respect of asking questions i'm the last one in the first round and i don't need you to interrupt my thought is that is that a fair request supervisor lawson as long as you go ahead and ask your questions that great why don't you proceed i will as needed [04:08:37] thank you prince william county promotes the identification evaluation and protection of cultural resource sites throughout the county, as well as the tourism opportunities these sites present. The cultural resources plan recommends identifying, preserving, and protecting Prince William County's significant historical, archaeological, architectural, and other cultural resources, including those significant to the county's minority communities, for the benefit of all the county citizens and visitors. And then I'll skip a little bit, especially for [04:09:14] sake of time the plan includes areas of and we're referring to the study area here digital gateway the plan includes areas of potentially significant known but ill-defined or suspected prehistoric sites civil war sites historic view sheds landscapes potential impact to important historic sites and encourages the identification preservation protection and maintenance of all cemeteries and or grave sites located within the county. [04:09:42] And then the next paragraph ends with, Due to the cultural sensitivity of this area, all development within the study area should be developed with the utmost sensitivity to cultural resources and historic viewsheds while leveraging opportunities to provide meaningful contributions to preservation and interpretation of the extensive local and national history. [04:10:12] Now, what is also worth noting is that the study area was a comprehensive plan amendment that was adopted by the majority of this board as referenced about 13 months ago. The applicants were absolutely part of it. [04:10:32] They played a significant role in it. They were here in the board chambers throughout the evening and early morning hours. They spoke. So they absolutely are very, very aware of everything that went into the policies to get us to where we are today. [04:10:55] I do recall in that early morning hour, and Supervisor Franklin had already referenced her contributions to the importance of the cultural resources and the preservation in place. And with that, I want to first start off my question, probably for Chris Perez, because I think this is Digital Gateway North. [04:11:19] Chris, the applicant for North referenced Marble Hill a couple times, the Marble Hill Cemetery, and said that it is not on their property. However, it's been noted that Marble Hill Cemetery is not delineated, so how can we know for certain that it's not part of their property? [04:11:49] And I'm sorry, Justin, I'm fine with either one of you, but I'd also like you to talk to me, talk to the public about how to properly identify and delineate a cemetery. [04:12:08] Sure. Just for the record again, Justin Patton, county archaeologist. Marble Hill Cemetery, as it's currently mapped, is adjacent to the QTS North property. [04:12:24] Say that again? He just coughed in my ear. It's currently mapped. It's adjacent to, immediately adjacent to the QTS property. That is south, go to this one here, yeah, number five. [04:12:43] Thank you. And trying to figure this out. Here we go. Right here. And the yellow, heavy yellow line is the boundary line for the rezoning. [04:13:04] Is there any way you can enlarge that? Unfortunately, no. Okay. Show me the, I think I see the yellow. Is it right above those words? Yes. Okay. And tell me what the words. So the red dot here is the approximate location of the cemetery. Okay. And that includes an estimated preservation area around the cemetery. [04:13:23] That's how we map the cemetery. in our county mapper because this cemetery in particular has not been archaeologically delineated. So we don't know the extent of it. We just know really it's centroid where its approximate middle location is. Okay. Whether the applicant proffers to do a delineation now when they file their site plan, they will have to do archaeology to confirm that there's no [04:14:00] burials on their side of the property that's a standard practice that we do that's how we implement section 32 250.110 preservation existing cemeteries and our zoning ordinance make sense well look yeah it does but how how close or how approximate is the qts property to what what we know right now is cemetery qts boundary line wow something like that okay um so this is marble hill [04:14:37] so again keep in mind that the cemetery has not been archaeologically investigated we don't know its boundaries we don't know how many burials are inside of the cemetery we don't know if there are unmarked burials within it it remains um at that stage of investigation okay and um jenny dean who is absolutely a historical figure certainly in the prince william county local history [04:15:11] uh was believed to be raised in on marble hill correct uh yes i believe that's correct so so from the staff page 36 um and i want to especially give credit to one of my historical commissioners miss megan reddick who did a lot of research um she said uh she reported she referenced at a commission report that Jenny Dean was born into slavery on Marble Hill Plantation. The farm was [04:15:46] owned by the Cushing Newman families. It's her birthplace, said to be only 300 yards from where she's buried at Mount Calvary Baptist Church today. She was an enslaved child, lived with her parents, Charles and Anna. It goes on. And then on page, where did I see that? Page 37 of the staff report adjacent land bay d for this is north is the marble hill cemetery which has not been delineated have we asked the applicant um have have they been asked prior to today to help us [04:16:25] with this archaeology archaeological we made a very late request archaeology site we made a very late request for them to take a look at that logistically it would be challenging i can't speak to this but it would be challenging for them to get somebody into the field and do archaeology that fast in times before this hearing okay um what do you mean by very late i'm trying to remember the day it would have been must have been after the november commission [04:17:01] meeting okay it's been october i don't remember exactly but it was it was late fall okay well Well, I know that the historical commissioners have been raising all kinds of, you know, requests and concerns as well as staff regarding a lot of the potential resources that are throughout the study area. [04:17:26] So I think it's fair to say that QTS should have been well aware of this long before a month ago. So, Mr. Perez, is there anything you would like to add to this? Because the applicants are trying to pride themselves on being great neighbors and being great companies. [04:17:44] But, frankly, I think they're really falling short on the true preservation in place of our cultural resources chapter. And I'd like you to weigh in before I ask my question to Mr. Calvary. I really don't have anything else to add to what Justin said. [04:18:02] He's been in charge of the cultural resource section. and I've relied on his expertise throughout this entire process. He wrote this section of the staff report for North and South, so I defer to him on everything related to cultural resources. Okay, okay. And let me just also share with the public, I've been in this seat for nine years, and my first year or two in this seat, we were Supervisor Weir, who at the time was Haymarket Councilman Weir and maybe Private Citizen Weir. [04:18:34] we for years fought dominion energy in a transmission line out in hay market and i went to richmond to testify for um for that transmission well to testify against the proposed transmission line that was going to go it was the preferred route at that time for dominion energy to go right through the heart of the carver settlement which is a post-civil war settlement in my district. So to be clear, I have been on record fighting for the preservation of history, [04:19:08] including African-American history, post-Civil War history, from the very beginning of my time serving as a county supervisor. And I don't see this Marble Hill Plantation, Marble Hill Cemetery as any different than what I have fought for regarding the settlement over at Carver. [04:19:34] So, Mr. Calbreeze, can you tell me, considering that you and your co-counsel, Mr. Looney, were very integral in the comprehensive plan amendment that was passed by the board a year ago, and knowing that the action policies, action strategies... [04:20:06] Supervisor Lawson, I actually can multitask. It's not like my wife, but I can, so go right ahead, because I'm just pointing. You're really dogging your wife today. [04:20:25] So as I was saying, you know, Supervisor Franklin championed some policy strategies and action strategies to action policies. I forgot exactly what they were referred to by Justin to protect our historical sites, and the focus of my conversation is regarding Marble Hill. [04:20:50] And not just phase one, but phase two during the rezoning process, not after the rezoning, but during it, which is exactly what you've been going through until today. So I'd like to know what you've done to help us achieve preservation in place regarding Marble Hill, the cemetery, everything to meet that goal in the comprehensive plan amendment. [04:21:19] Thank you, Ms. Lawson. A couple quick things. One, we've delineated the three cemeteries that have been discovered throughout our site. I don't pull that up at the moment. No, I'm sorry. This is regarding Marble Hill. I'm coming right to that. But you're asking about cemeteries. So there's three known cemeteries within the confines of our 900 acres. [04:21:36] They've been very carefully delineated. They've been very carefully studied. They've been permitted. We have specifically proffered additional buffer areas around them. And as I said in my earlier presentation, obviously perpetual access to the descendants. Here's Marble Hill. This is in the northern portion. [04:21:53] Marble Hill Cemetery. Do you have a, can you use that laser? Oh, sure. Does this help? No, I don't think I'm going to get my eye. Yeah, I got it. So there's Marble Hill. [04:22:08] It's actually on the east side of the Dominion Power Line. Our latest prognostication is, even though that's a big purple asterisk, that it's at least 400 feet from our property line. Critically, this area, which is part of our application, cannot will not be developed so immediately contiguous to the marble hill cemetery is an area that we cannot will not develop self-evidently we can't develop why is oh because it's the utility corridor yes ma'am this is the corridor itself we are happy and we'll stay for the record we believe [04:22:43] that as part of our existing proper for the cultural landscape report we are happy to participate with Justin. I don't remember which Marble Hill residents actually own these sites. [04:23:01] This is all private property, as you well know. Which is a lot of your clients. No, ma'am. My point is that I don't have any of these properties under contract. This is not part of our application. I'm happy to, and we will state for the record, we will be happy to ask for those landowners' permission. Happy to meet Justin and Emma out in the field. We're happy to get ERM and do a delineation, it takes some time and effort, but we'd be pleased to do it. [04:23:28] We want to come to the same conclusion that you do. This is an important site. We know that it's an important site. I think that we've demonstrated throughout the course of the last two years the high bar that you're alluding to and that you've been an advocate very well. We want to make sure that this is delineated. For the record, we'll be happy to participate in that delineation. For the record we'll be happy to go through the necessary state permits i can't i believe that i think this is tom pershing's property i don't know i think it might be tom pershing's property tom might even be out in the hall um and i think they've offered i i understood that marvel hill [04:24:07] had offered to the county the opportunity to come out and uh and to further research this it's my understanding that justin's assistant did oh good um but but i mean to really delineate it don't you need to use ground penetration radar and yes we will follow the typical protocols we have no problem doing that again and that's all part of your proper it is not but we'll be happy to make it the reason it hasn't been part of our proper is because it's off of our site we don't own it we don't have permission to go out there my hope is that with permission granted and i think [04:24:43] we'll have a cooperative owner we'll be happy to delineate it okay happy to work with justin but But in all fairness, you say it's off your site, but really it's a but to your site. So frankly, we don't know if it's off your site or not because we don't know if it's two graves or 300 graves. [04:25:01] We don't know if it's graves of Native Americans in addition to people pre and post-Civil War. But if it hasn't been properly delineated, we don't know if it's on your site. It absolutely could cross the property line. [04:25:20] I'm not going to volunteer, Steve, to come up here again. Every time I come up here, I talk about Dominion, and he has to come back up. But Dominion had to have done some appropriate study of that when they undertook this line, whatever it was, 20, 15 years ago. [04:25:36] Well, maybe Steve should, yeah, maybe. So let me just cut to it, if I may, ma'am. It is not on our property. That's our understanding. That you know of. It is certainly east of the power line. And again, for the record, we'll be happy to do a state-approved, county-approved delineation of the Marble Hill Sanitary. [04:25:53] I appreciate that, Tony. Steve, I would like you to come up because, frankly, I don't know what the Dominion requirements are for utility corridors. But what I do know is that there is a possibility that the Marble Hill Cemetery does cross property lines. [04:26:13] And I think this is an opportunity to make sure that it is properly researched, evaluated. One thing that this board is very familiar with is making sure that we do everything regarding cemeteries. [04:26:31] And we're all shaking our heads because we're all familiar with the thoroughfare cemeteries. But let's, you all know what I'm talking about. Let's make sure that we have opportunities when we can to protect in place, preserve in place, like the comprehensive plan amendment says. [04:26:51] So what can we do here regarding Marble Hill, if indeed it does cross? Thanks, Tony. Yeah, and, well, hey, he's the one who put it on my mental radar earlier. Yeah, Steve. [04:27:08] It's an important question. And I don't even know, maybe you don't know what was required a long time ago regarding that? Gosh, when that transmission corridor was developed, candidly, I can't speak with certainty as to what was done, but I know that we have a very rigorous archaeological and cultural and historical surveying team. [04:27:27] And whenever there's anything encountered, human remains, artifacts, things like that, that's obviously a very serious thing to take into account that we then address with the appropriate authorities. [04:27:43] I mean, working with Justin's team, County Archaeological Department, is certainly a priority for us. We've done that on previous projects. We do that on projects throughout the Commonwealth. So I can commit to you today that that process will continue to be followed to identify sensitive areas. [04:28:10] And also, I mean, I can commit that we're not looking to impact known cemeteries, unknown cemeteries. Okay. Well, you can't proffer me anything, but thank you, Steve, for your words and your work. [04:28:29] And I will follow up with Mr. Calabrese, and we will see what we can do to protect as much of that and frankly delineate it as it properly should be but thank you for the conversation i appreciate that um steve don't go too far actually well yeah well i'm actually not going to ask power questions right now because i think supervisor weir is going to but um i do want to stay on the [04:29:05] cultural resources discussion supervisor lost not to interrupt you but just as a time check you've been going for 25 minutes and that's the most that anybody's gone so far there's no way I've been going for 25 minutes. I know. There was a lot of conversation in there. [04:29:22] I'm just trying to keep us moving. Ask another question, please, but just be aware of that. Supervisor Bode spoke for 25 minutes also. Thank you. Okay. So, Mr. Looney, what can you point to in your section of the proffers that discusses Phase 2 work that you've done? [04:29:45] So that we've done to date, we have not done any of the Phase II work to date. Part of the reason for that is that, as I said earlier, we submitted our Phase I study back in the springtime. [04:30:01] We didn't get comments on the Phase I study until September, asking us to embellish on the Phase I study. We embellished on the Phase I study, added an 11th site as a potential candidate for a Phase II at that point in time. [04:30:18] And then there was no specific staff recommendation in those comments to conduct the Phase 2 study at that time. Instead, what we did, and I can point you to... I'm sorry, real quick. Sorry to interrupt you. Say that again. There was no staff comments when your Phase 1 came back? [04:30:36] Well, when they commented on our Phase 1, the conclusion, there was no recommendation at that time that we conduct the Phase 2 as part of the zoning. Instead, what we worked on was proffer language to do the phase two study prior to land disturbing activity down the road. [04:30:56] And I'll specifically point you to the proffer. I'd like you to hold your thought. Okay. And I'm going to ask Emily to weigh in because staff has made it very clear that they are following this board's adopted comprehensive plan amendment. And it was crystal clear in there that Phase 1 and Phase 2 were expected, and I'll let her weigh in. [04:31:20] I'm going to defer to Justin to answer that question. [04:31:32] I don't remember. We provided comment to Compass on their Phase 1 in September of 2023. By the time that, by late September, we were working on the Planning Commission staff report. [04:31:55] Thank you, Justin. I appreciate that. So, Mr. Looney, you just mentioned July or when did you say that you did your phase one and submit it? We submitted in April of 2023. Okay. You applied for this project in 22, correct? Correct. Why in the world did it take you till April 23 to submit phase one, knowing that it would be required? A couple of reasons. One was that the CPA wasn't approved until November of 2022 because, and so therefore we didn't, until we knew that there was a [04:32:34] possibility that this project could move forward, given the overwhelming amount of work that was required to conduct the phase one, we didn't want to initiate that process until we had certainty as to whether the comprehensive plan amendment was to be approved. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, we had approximately 10,000 test pits that had to be dug by hand in order to conduct the phase one analysis. We hired Wetland Studies and Solutions and their archaeological subsidiary to conduct the research. The amount of work was so overwhelming that we had to fly in crews from [04:33:14] out of state to supplement the field work that they were doing, all overseen by the county staff in order to conduct all of that work. And then they had to process the materials and write the report. And so effectively between January and April, we were doing all of that work. [04:33:33] Okay. Hang on there. Thank you. Did you not know the historical landscape of the study area when you decided to take on this case? Of course we did. Okay. So you should have expected that much. we did. Okay. You requested this hearing be held today. So I would say that poor planning on your part doesn't constitute emergency on ours. And, and it was clear that the comprehensive plan amendment encouraged, required, whatever verb you want to use. It was clear in a, in an amendment [04:34:08] that the two of you attorneys played an integral role on that phase one and phase two were to be done before the rezoning. First of all, I'm incredibly disappointed. Supervisor Franklin made it very clear in that early morning hour on November 2nd what was expected. I think Supervisor Bodie weighed in as well. This board has demonstrated on multiple occasions throughout this county that we are committed to cultural resources and preservation in place, especially [04:34:48] when it comes to cemeteries and certainly also and i'm going to emphasize minority communities this is key history that we need to capture just like the carver settlement and it's incredibly disappointing that we're here having this conversation you're the ones who asked for this hearing to be held today do you have a question supervisor no i'm asked yeah yes i do no no my rejection is no to you continuing to interrupt me supervisor lawson you have to be responsible in your questioning i don't need you to lecture me and treat me like i'm a student i'm [04:35:26] not your student um i i have to you know raise this you guys because it's incredibly disappointing we owe it to the descendants we owe it to the county we owe it to to history we certainly owe it to jenny dean and her family and her legacy among lots of other historical figures we could talk about, but I'm really disappointed that we're here today having this conversation. [04:36:00] Supervisor Lawson, I want to point out a couple of things. One, as I noted earlier, the phase one analysis identified initially 10, and based on county staff's analysis or reading of the phase one, an 11th site for consideration for a phase two. Of those 11, five are to be preserved and not disturbed. The other six are candidates for the phase two analysis, which will be done. And I [04:36:34] want to read the proffer with respect to the phase two analysis. It's proffer eight. Hold on, let me grab it. Sorry. Proffer eight of compass. Proffer eight of compass. And then I want to follow up after this with a conversation about the settlement and Thornton school. Okay, hold on. Okay, go ahead. [04:37:09] Okay, so proper eight, I'll call it a third of the way down the paragraph. There's a sentence that begins based, and it says, Based on the recommendations of each phase two study conducted, and as necessary or appropriate, the applicant shall either pursue preservation in place and or conduct archaeological data recovery, and thereafter process any artifacts recovered from the property, including completing interpretations and additional analyses of such artifacts. [04:37:41] The point is we're obligated to follow whatever the recommendation of the Phase 2 study is. If the Phase 2 study says preservation, we preserve. If the Phase 2 study says it's not worthy of preservation, then we curate whatever we find with the county. [04:37:59] Yeah, I appreciate that, Mark, but this is my concern. Staff has already said, and I'm going to quote, that your process is severely limiting their ability to meet goals. You're going to hire somebody that's going to look out for you and your client. [04:38:20] You've already said on the record that you need a lot of flexibility. Well, flexibility to me means, i.e., code for dollars. And what I'm concerned about is that your project is going to do everything they can to protect what you can build and limit what is not buildable and and that's what the problem is which is exactly why this was supposed to be done before you were here in front of the board so supervisor you've handcuffed staff to be objective and protect the interest of our culture resources that are a commitment to our [04:38:55] county through our conference and plan amendment that was adopted by the majority of this board So the firm that's hired to do the work, whether it's WSSI, who did the phase one study, has to be credentialed. They have to be licensed. They have to meet all of those state standards for conducting those things. [04:39:12] Let me finish, please. In order to qualify for completing that work, we have to consult with your county archaeologist and staff as to whom we hire to do this. And they are going to sign off on the hiring of that entity based on their reputation, based on their professionalism. [04:39:33] I don't think anybody is suggesting that Wetland Studies and Solutions is a fly-by-night firm. They are one of the most preeminent firms in this region doing this work. And we hired the best. Compass has said they put a dream team together of consultants, not who follow what they tell them to do, but to produce the best product available for all of Prince William County and something that we can all be proud of. One of those points of pride, and I said this earlier, is our proffers with respect to Thornton School and the settlement will document for the [04:40:10] first time in one place the very significant history of which you reference in a way that the county can hold on to and celebrate in perpetuity, but for this application, that would not happen. You don't know that. This county just invested a lot of money in thoroughfare, so you can't say that, Mark. You don't know. Fair? Fair enough. I can't assume what you will spend your taxpayers' dollars on. Yeah, and you clearly aren't familiar with what we just did in the last couple years with public dollars regarding thoroughfare, so you don't know that. I'm just suggesting to you that this is an opportunity to do it using private resources [04:40:50] to create a public benefit. That's all. And I appreciate that. And obviously, I'm aware that that's a huge piece of this process. But my point is, is this should have been done prior to today. It was adopted 13 months ago. [04:41:09] You knew the expectations, both of you. You're both sharp attorneys. So it's not like I'm throwing surprises at you. But you knew the expectations. I remember the morning Supervisor Franklin made it very clear. [04:41:25] Supervisor Bodie said this isn't a bunch of flowery language that we're putting in here and that it's going to embolden staff to keep you guys accountable. And you're here with a recommendation of denial from staff. [04:41:43] And, by the way, they don't recommendation of denial very often. In my nine years, maybe twice. I was afraid of this. Is there a question, Supervisor Lawson? We've been going over 35 minutes now with you. So your answer is you don't have any particular proffers that you can reference on Phase 2? [04:42:04] I think my answer, oh, there's multiples, but I gave you the two that are pertinent to the points that you were trying to make. Phase 2 already done. I said before, we've not conducted the Phase 2 yet, correct. Okay. Thank you. I certainly have more cultural resource questions, which we'll get back to in our next round, because as everybody's aware, this is an incredibly consequential project. [04:42:27] The chair has decided that we're going to have all three hearings today, so I think it's only fair that you expect more questions. So just to be clear, part of my job as chair is to move our meetings along. It's a responsibility to make sure that everyone is heard from, that we rotate, and that we're fair, and that one person doesn't dominate or just talk as opposed to ask questions. [04:42:49] And so with that, Supervisor, I'm going to go to you with a time check. is now 3:40 or 2:40 please you know I'm hoping to wrap this up within the next half hour or hour and then we can move on to the public hearing because I know that we have a significant number of people here to speak and I also would say that there were a lot of people who reached out to the applicant if they had questions before this day to get their questions answered or discuss with the applicant concerns or staff I know that many board members did that and that was an option also. Madam Chair, I didn't get the staff report until Thursday, so not a lot of [04:43:27] options between Thursday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Supervisor Weir. Madam Chair, if you believe that this is going to be wrapped up in 30 to 40 minutes, you're sadly mistaken. I have pages of questions and my responsibility to my constituents is to ask those questions. Supervisor Weir, I know that you have some of the questions. I know that you know that they may not have some of the answers to this, and I know that you want to slow down the process, and that's fine, and you can- Madam Chair, it has nothing to do with slowing down the process. [04:43:56] It has everything to do with doing- Supervisor Weir, please proceed with your questions. You're accusing me of manipulating the process. I have a lot of questions to ask. It's in my district, and there are, and Supervisor Lawson is correct. When you drop 1,000 pages of staff report on me with many new things on Thursday afternoon and expect me to have everything ready to go and all of the questions answered, even Even though I had one of the applicant's attorneys in yesterday, and the other one begged out on last Friday, yeah, there's a lot of stuff that needs to be done. [04:44:27] There's a lot of things that need to be covered, and the Planning Commission took four hours in questions. We will probably take longer. I just -- and there was no -- We won't be doing this, Supervisor. -- there was no indication to be getting to this meeting that there would be a limit on the question and answer period. Madam Chair, point of privilege, it's clear that you've lost control of this meeting, and I would suggest that either we recess so that we can compose ourselves? [04:44:48] we should because it seems that people are going downhill I mean we're welcome to take a five-minute recess to take a break works do that if we could close the outside doors that would be great that we'll get them so we are back from our recess supervisor Bailey manager I move that we we waive the rules of procedure to institute a 10 minute round for each supervisor second motion made [04:45:23] by supervisor Bailey seconded by vice chair Bodie point of order supervisor we're during this we're in discussion that's point of order first what is your point of madam county attorney is there any codicil or provision within the zoning ordinance rules of procedure or any other state code or other prior precedent by the board to limit questions of an applicant in a rezoning application when they're especially one of this magnitude and would such a motion be considered [04:46:01] arbitrary and capricious. Madam Chair, members of the board, if you'd like my legal advice, we can go into closed session with regards to legal advice. I can be corrected if I am wrong, but I thought the Planning Commission has in their bylaws to have rounds of three questions each going forward. I am not the parliamentary expert. The clerk is the parliamentary expert. The board is required by the zoning ordinance is to hold a public hearing. The public hearing was advertised for 10 a.m. this morning and the public is here waiting to speak. So it's up to the board if you [04:46:37] have a majority of a quorum present they can vote on it. The legal requirement that the board needs to accomplish today is to hold the public hearing. There's a motion on the floor. Please vote. Motion passes 5 to 3. Supervisors Lawson, Vega, and Weir voting nay. Very good. Madam Chair, I will continue Anyone to protest? [04:47:10] My initial comment or my initial questions are for Mr. Precker. Could you time, Supervisor Rear? Thank you very much. For Mr. Precker and the Dominion representative, I mean Novak representative. Mr. Precker, it's pretty clear that this project is predicated on power availability, but there are two different aspects to that. [04:47:28] There are significantly different questions with respect to transmission line alignment and placement and distribution line alignment and placement. I am aware that there are conversations underway between Dominion and the applicant with respect to privileged load letters, which we are not allowed to see and will not be revealed until such time as a case is filed with the SEC for a determination on the transmission lines required, if there are transmission lines. [04:48:02] A couple of questions. Is there the capacity along the page line currently to facilitate power to all of these facilities? currently there is enough power to start the build-out of that was not the question is there enough to currently power them all it's a 15 to 20 year build-out so I cannot predict 15 to 20 years what impacts how many buildings can be I don't have the answer to that question right now currently I ask is [04:48:40] this the question is how many masters can that power line set serve we just initiated we just adopted a rezoning last week for more power for more data centers are going to be serviced by that line there are data centers currently under construction millions of square feet that are to be powered by that line i have it from as early as last september that a new transmission solution will be required to power this project i have it from your load engineer [04:49:14] in testimony before this body that there is not sufficient power to do this i think taking into account growth elsewhere in the county as you've noted growth across the grid in adjacent counties there will be additional infrastructure that will be required to continue to support data center growth in the area and in the commonwealth as a whole so there is not going to be sufficient i cannot pinpoint it all on the back of digital gateway nobody's asking you to i'm just simply Are you asking if there is sufficient to power that level of development? [04:49:52] There will be additional infrastructure required to continue to power the exponential growth of the data center industry across the Commonwealth. Presumably in the form of new transmission lines? That is correct. High voltage transmission lines, 500 kV or above, presumably? It will probably be a mix of 500 kV and 230 kV. [04:50:11] Are you aware that PJM authorized their first $5.5 billion in infrastructure improvements yesterday, including a transmission line? Yes. Are you aware that Dominion and PJM in conjunction, because there is an existing easement parallel to the Pageland line, would most in all likelihood run that right next to Conway Robinson Forest? [04:50:37] So my understanding is that the proposal to rebuild the existing corridor, which is what PJM approved in there by the board yesterday, is to be rebuilt within the existing corridor. My understanding from your chief load engineer is that is not possible, given easement encroachments on both sides, that you cannot condemn easements owned by both VDOT and Norfolk Southern, the two entities whose property you cannot condemn? [04:51:08] If we're talking about the existing transmission line corridor? Correct. Then, that's right. We cannot condemn public entities. And that's what would be required to upgrade that, is my understanding from your load engineer, Mr. Potter? I would have to confirm that with him. [04:51:24] Okay. How do you, perhaps this is a better question for the NOVAC rep, how does one square away the networking of all of those substations, given the number of substations that are delineated in accordance with the 300-megawatt rule? [04:51:50] How are you going to accomplish that? Sir, do you restate that again? Given the number of proposed substations that are to be networked, how are you going to do that and still maintain or comply with NERC and FERC standards regarding the 300-megawatt rule? [04:52:14] So, sir, as far as that goes, that we work collaboratively with Dominion and the transmission provider and the PJM, who is the leader of the transmission operator, and throughout the model of the system, and in modeling the system, the weaknesses in the system. [04:52:38] I'm specifically referring to the substations in this plan, or have you even looked at it? For the substations in itself, we rely on Dominion Energy, our transmission provider, to bring the transmission to us that will provide us with 300 megawatts of capacity to serve the customer. [04:53:12] All right. At the recent stakeholders meeting, it was identified that the only locations essentially for the transmission and the distribution lines were the RPAs and the trails as being the only locations left. Although we cannot dictate to Dominion where the transmission line go, as that's an SCC determination, not even Dominion's, I believe Novex distribution lines can be dictated? [04:53:39] Yes, but in this case, we don't have any, we don't foresee any overhead distribution in this area at this time. But, of course, we haven't gotten to a full engineering process yet. [04:53:59] So are you committing to burying the distribution lines? Excuse me, sir? Are you committing to burying the distribution lines from substation to substation? Well, I can't 100% say right now. That is normally our practice with the data centers. [04:54:15] But until we get a 100% engineering design, I can't say that with confidence. Mr. Precker, a lot's been said about renewable energy. [04:54:33] As I understand it, the SEC hearing examiner is proposing to issue a denial of the IRP based on the Renewable Energy Goals and wants a third-party review of data center power usage projections. [04:54:52] Are you aware of that? Excuse me. I read that in the media this morning. Quickly move to a different thing. For staff, it's noted in the review comments that in the fourth submission and previously, There were significant outstanding review comments with respect to parks. [04:55:15] We had a similar issue with Devlin. What is staff's analysis of how many parks' acres are being made available under the rezoning itself? I'm going to see if Patty's here. [04:55:34] Thank you. She's coming down the line. Good afternoon, Chair and members of the board. Supervisor Weir, there is no level of service for data centers, so we don't calculate it on a basis typical of what we would do with the residential rezoning. [04:55:57] So we just have to go with our, we've just set a goal for the Parks Department to acquire a total of 10,000 acres in the county for county parks, and we've identified needs by Park Planning District, and so we've identified needs for additional parkland, but it's not directly tied to the data center. [04:56:20] Given that and the lack of a nexus, why is there no strength or weakness listed for park proffers? Because of that nexus issue. It's not a comp plan from my understanding. We can't weigh the balance as far as a strength or a weakness given the lack of nexus. [04:56:42] If there's no nexus, then I would consider that a weakness in terms of enforceable proffers. To the applicant, Mr. Calabrese in particular, The PR powers that be continually tout several hundred acres of parks and open space. [04:57:03] And that largely does not exist within the rezoning proper. And I'm hearing a lot about acreage outside of the rezoning application. How do you, without proffering, and you've said that in your letter that you dropped on us yesterday, how do you make a commitment that's enforceable to properties that are not part of the rezoning or, more importantly, not under your control. [04:57:33] And that extends to trails and wildlife corridors as well, which you depict and delineate on properties that you neither own nor have under contract. And just as a note, that was your last question because you ran out of time, but Mr. Calabrese, can you please answer that? [04:57:51] I can. I think it'd be a lot more informational for the board, if you'll bear with me, Chair. Let me get to some of the graphics. There's a combination of answers. So, let me skip to the right one. [04:58:10] I apologize. Chair, bear with me for a moment, please. Got to get the right PowerPoint. Mr. Ware, while this is coming up, let me answer the concern about the letter yesterday. [04:58:31] As I noted, this is still the wrong one. I think this got saved twice, and it's mislabeled. This is supposed to be the rebuttal. That's south. [04:58:49] I'm trying to get the rebuttal one. Well, let's see. There we go. Okay. Let me rifle through. You've seen some of these graphics probably a couple hours ago. Here's the totality open space, and I will address both the public and private nature of what you're reflecting here. [04:59:06] And also, as you're aware, the CPA looks at the corridor holistically. The overall corridor, 2139 acres, natural open space, as Mark said earlier, forest and tree preservation areas. And I have a breakdown of the individual parcels. Bear with me. [04:59:24] The restored open spaces, the protected open spaces, natural and restored, some 729 acres, 34%, and then a series of additional open spaces throughout the corridor, some 43%. That's the natural open space that is the existing, the proposed natural open spaces after the development cycles, about 23.5% of the corridor, critically the reforested areas, which I think self-evidently really assists in both the ambiance of the corridor as well as in water quality issues. [04:59:59] Protected open space combined, reflected there, the 34.1%. Meadows, interior lot landscaping, seated pervious areas, which none of us have advocated would be particularly helpful or appropriate, if you will, for the public, but they are appropriate for how the zoning ordinance counts open spaces and, I think, creating the type of development envelopes that would be beneficial for this whole area. [05:00:24] But I would suggest, Mr. Calabrese, that the zoning ordinance contemplates that you're calculating your percentages based on applications within the application and not applications which are not under your control or not under your ownership. So there's two answers, Mr. Ware. One is what are we doing in terms of the zoning ordinance requirements for our respective applications? [05:00:42] We're more than satisfying those. Secondly, with regard to the other areas, I'm now going to highlight that you're alluding to. I'm not taking credit for areas that I don't control, but the corridor and your CPA require a holistic view of the entire corridor. [05:00:59] And so that's what I'm going to rifle through here. I understand that, but you are in your calculation of total open space areas. Please let him finish, and then we're going to move on to Supervisor Ingrid. So outside of the pending zoning applications, there are four main areas of what we've delineated as open space. [05:01:16] The CPA recognizes the 89 acres here to the south. I'll come back to that. This is the Mitchell Brothers property. I believe that there are four individual brothers, and I have a blow-off of each of those. Bear with me. This is the Battlefield Conservancy Trust property. [05:01:31] Self-evidently, that is intended to be open space. I'm not claiming credit for that. I'm simply calculating it. With regard to Marble Hill, again, that is within the corridor. That is designated ultimately for data center. It is not yet under contract, certainly not to us, not as far as I know to Compass. [05:01:50] At some point, I think that property will move forward. What we have said and what we have depicted is the following. With regard, I'll come back to the park in a second. With regard to the Mitchell property, they are definitely part of the corridor. I think it is very likely at some appropriate time they will come through and seek. [05:02:08] This board is receptive to the applications before you. Data center, their total acreage is 86 1⁄2 acres. They have about 42 acres of trees. They have about 43, 44 acres of developable area. Battlefield trust and adjoining parcels, I assume we're not going to be doing anything. [05:02:26] Marble Hill has about 166 acres. Quite a bit of that reflected here and here are RPA areas. So we have really carefully delineated each and every one of those quadrants in order to get to the totality of the open space that the CPA specifically asks us to evaluate. [05:02:47] Let me talk about this park for a second. You're right. It's not proffered. We did watch the Devlin case. I do listen, even though Ms. Roble is not giving me good counsel. She gives you good counsel, and we are not having these properties as part of the pending rezoning. [05:03:02] But I think it's absolutely appropriate to the question you're asking, are we doing more than our fair share to create usable, public, open spaces? We think we are. Of the 89 acres here, we have 65 and a quarter of those acres under contract. [05:03:18] I literally just concluded 14 acres here over the weekend, which is in part why I didn't get a letter earlier, because I wasn't done. But we concluded that over the weekend. What we said in the letter yesterday, for the record, not part of this pending application, if the board is receptive to these cases, we have a contractual obligation to purchase those lands. [05:03:38] If we do so, we also said very specifically in our commitment letter that we would work with the county, with the board, with Park and Rec, with the battlefield to the east, with Conway Robinson to the west, to do something special here. This is going to cost about $30 million. [05:03:53] dollars it is not an inconsequential investment in trying to create the very thing that you're alluding to a notable public attractive space for the resident for the all county residents we have some intriguing ideas i don't want to take chair time to go through them but i think it answers i hope your question about our commitment to try and achieve beyond the individual land bays we have various park areas within the land bays but in terms of creating something particularly noteworthy consistent with your cpa in a logical location this is an important commitment for the record [05:04:29] we're far from agreement on consistency thank you mr calabrese supervisor angry i have no further questions thank you supervisor vega thank you madam chair i would like to actually yield my time to supervisor bob weir um i don't think we could get into yielding time we could start voting on whether we did madam chair we did waive the rules again i'll abstain from asking questions should he need my 10 minutes i'm happy to yield them to him he will get his another chance when it gets down to him if you have no questions at this time you have no questions at this time but i would still like for us to decide on my wish to yield my time and if any other board [05:05:06] members feel the same way that they can have the right to do so um i would you like to make a motion that we are allowed to yield time yes madam chair that's my motion that's great there's a motion to be able to yield time made by supervisor vega seconded by supervisor lawson discussion i will discuss that i don't believe that that's really the intent of of going around and and we're as we're going to ask questions as we try to get to the public hearing i think that's a way to circumvent that but that's just my one start of the discussion during the motion supervisor angry [05:05:40] and this is a discussion what is our end state here listen do we need to make a motion to close out these questioning for a point that we can get public hearing because if you're going to give 10 minutes we're just going to keep going around with 10 minutes then this is never going to end okay so either we're going to reach an in-state or not to get the public hearing so what are we doing here and do we need a motion for that madam chair i made the motion and so the purpose of the motion is out of respect to the district supervisor whose ability to ask his questions for his district has been limited i'm okay with not asking my questions so long as he's able to [05:06:17] use my 10 minutes to ask his questions it's not controversial in any way you all waive the rules of procedure to limit our questioning time to 10 minutes i think it's only fair if i want to waive my time to another supervisor member of this governing body i can do so it's not controversial he'll still have 10 minutes he gets to ask his questions and that's it madam chair that's one opinion supervisor during discussion supervisor bailey thank you very much madam chair uh all due respect and let me apologize to you madam chair for taking 25 minutes it was irresponsible of me And it's because I wasn't looking at the timer. [05:06:52] So we're here to hear, not only to spew out how we feel about this project, but we're also here to hear from the people. And I think it's very respectful if we do so. But I think it's very disrespectful if we go into our entourage over and over again and not get to the point about things. [05:07:12] And as a part of this 1-8, I would just like to get to the point of asking questions and not to argue, not to be disrespected or disrespectful to anyone. I think that we need to be targeted and very focused on what we're doing in a very professional way. [05:07:30] So I disagree with Ms. Vega's motion because we are here to hear from the people, and I know there's a lot of people that want to come and tell us what they want to tell us, and so that's the purpose of my making the motion earlier so that we can be succinct, We can be professional, and we can get on with it, because I think we can do that. [05:07:53] So that's all I had to say, Matt. Madam Chair, my speak button is apparently not working. Actually, none of those speak buttons are working, but I did see Supervisor Lawson's light lit. I can wait. I can wait to offer him. Supervisor Weir, first time in discussion. I would disagree that the purpose of this meeting today is strictly to hear the public hearing. [05:08:15] It is for the consideration of the application, and part of the consideration of the application is asking questions and getting definitive answers to the extent possible to all questions we have. It's my district. I've got a lot of questions. A lot of board members have questions. [05:08:32] And to artificially constrain the questions that we're going to ask on a project of this magnitude, excuse me, projects of this magnitude, is irresponsible and not in the best interest of the public. I mean, if that was the issue, strictly a time consideration, then we never should have scheduled three applications of this magnitude back to back to back. [05:08:57] And I've got a lot of questions that need to be answered. I've got a lot of questions that my constituents deserve to have answered, and I'll leave it at that. Supervisor Lawson. Thank you. Supervisor Vega, thank you for your offer. [05:09:16] I'm guessing that because a lot of our colleagues have used the word yield, Maybe that's what made you think of it when you offered that. I definitely support your motion because I think it's important that we show deference to the supervisor of record. [05:09:37] And obviously, Supervisor Weir has made it clear that he has a lot of questions. If this project, especially as big and controversial as it is, was in Supervisor Bode's district, I would make it very clear that he, rightfully so, deserves the time and attention that it would deserve. [05:10:00] So I will absolutely support your motion. I will be very mindful of the 10 minutes. I'm just asking, and maybe we can discuss this after the motion fails or denies, but I appreciate that we're going around in 10-minute circles, but I'm also curious what the expectation is of how long that will last because I do think, as Supervisor Weir said, it's important that there's an opportunity to get a lot of Q&A. [05:10:34] I've asked a question related to cultural resources. I spoke to my historical commissioner last night. She's not here, but I absolutely wanted to ask questions and get some clarity. So it is important to hear from the public, but it's also important that we get our Q&A out. [05:10:51] Thank you. Supervisor Franklin. Sure. So at the beginning of our term, I did ask about yielding time to others, and the chair also told me that, you know, that probably wasn't the best use of board time. [05:11:07] So I'm going to oppose this in an effort to just be consistent. But I also want to apologize to Supervisor Weir for my outburst earlier. You and I actually have a pretty good relationship, so I probably could have done a little bit better there. And we both wore jeans today, so thank you. Supervisor Bailey. [05:11:24] Yeah, I'm trying to establish an even better relationship with Supervisor Weir. He keeps fussing at me, and Bob, stop growling. But I understand it is in your district, respectfully, so not trying to squelch or squeeze your time at all. [05:11:42] But I am trying, again, trying to be very pointed and professional about how we do things. and not have the public see us point fingers at each other and be mean to each other for no reason. So that's my whole point in doing so, and respectfully so it is in your district. [05:11:58] I understand that. I've had the same feeling. So I just wanted to be clear in terms of that we have a good relationship, too, on the camera. We just don't show it. Supervisor Bodie. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just as a clarifying question, we approve going around 10 minutes each, but I assume that we'll be able to then go around again and listen to the last time we'll have questions, right? [05:12:20] Well, at some point, we do need to cut off questioning, and we can have questioning after the public hearing, but we do need to start the public hearing at some point, given that it was advertised for 10 a.m. I understand that. I just, I had some more questions, and I just want to make sure. And your 10 minutes is coming up. Madam Chair. Supervisor Vega. I'll withdraw my motion if, in fact, supervisors will have another opportunity after the public hearing to ask their questions. [05:12:43] Is it that mean one more round, two more rounds? Well, you guys went ahead and approved 10 minutes. So if it's 10 minutes, whatever that looks like, it's fine. But I will withdraw my motion if that's your intent. So my intent was to, do you have questions now? I do. But I, again, was going to yield my time to the district supervisor. [05:13:02] So my intent was to go around another third time. But after that, just stop. And that's fine. It doesn't have to be back to back. He just had his 10 minutes. Supervisor Franklin can go next. I'm skipped. And then he would take up my 10 minutes. No, I'm still not... That's fine, but we've wasted more than 10 minutes, so we should have probably just gone with my motion. [05:13:20] So there's a motion on the floor? Did you withdraw it? If your intent is to allow for another round of questions after the public hearing. Yes, okay, I'll withdraw my motion, Madam Chair. Thank you. Did you mean after the public hearing? Because that's Supervisor Bailey's purpose, right, is she wants to hear from the public. [05:13:36] So after we're done hearing from the public, because typically after we hear from the public, we go into discussion, no questions. But if your intent is to allow for more questions after we heal from our lovely public, I'm okay with withdrawing my motion. Yes, but I will point out that while staff will be here after the public hearing, Novick and Dominion will not. I'm just saying, and so I'm just giving the people a heads up. They are not staying for the hours of public hearing. Staff will stay and be available for questions after the public hearing, as will the applicant, but Novick and Dominion will not be. Correct. So do you have any questions right now? [05:14:15] I'll pass, but I'm withdrawing my motion with the idea that we're going to be allowed to ask questions after the public hearing. But I'm sure I will limit it after the public hearing, too, because it'll be late in the morning. Fine, so long as the option is there. Madam Chair, I would simply note on one more point of order that this is essentially the equivalent of a motion to limit debate, which requires a two-thirds majority. [05:14:40] We have a motion on the floor. Did you just withdraw it? Okay, she withdrew it. Thank you. But the parliamentary question remains, does the vote in the affirmative to limit debate fail on a procedural ground for not having two-thirds? [05:14:57] Supervisor Vega, do you have any questions right now? I have one quick question that I'm going to ask of staff. Okay. And it has to do with the, let's see here. I'm not taking 10 minutes, Madam Chair. You don't even have to. um in regards to the uh occoquan have we done any studies or do we know what the impacts is going to be with so many millions of square feet of relatively pristine land being transferred into in previous surfaces thank you supervisor uh vega clay morris from watershed is [05:15:34] is here to answer that okay good afternoon everyone i'm clay morris princewim county environmental management there is currently a watershed study being undertaken but it is a long way out in terms of completion thank you supervisor franklin sure mostly for dominion sir if you wouldn't mind just want to go back to the discussion around the electrical lines so you've [05:16:14] made a couple of comments that you know you would be willing to work with staff and to determine kind of the best location obviously with applicants as well sure and so just want to kind of get some clarity on if this is solely a discussion between utility companies and the applicants or if staff has to be involved in this because again I want to go back to the staff recommendation largely based on not knowing where the electrical lines would go and obviously this being really a large discussion for Dominion and Novec but it sounds like staff would need to be involved in that [05:16:51] discussion as well. I don't see any reason why staff couldn't be involved in that discussion. Well, and I guess my question is more so, what is the level of requirement, I think, for staff to be involved? Because I think you said several times that, you know, you all would work in conjunction with staff with wherever they would be comfortable. [05:17:13] And so I think the point that I'm trying to get at is it sounds to me, Mr. Perez, I'm looking at you specifically, that it would make sense for all three entities to be involved in this discussion rather than just the applicant itself trying to figure out where the electrical line should go? [05:17:29] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, from our perspective, our customer in this situation is NOVAC, right? So we have to work with NOVAC, whose customers are the applicants. So as we've done on other projects here in the county, we've worked with staff, with applicants, with NOVAC, to look at transmission line routing, what may work, what may not work. [05:17:55] is, you know, what should we avoid, what may be possible. And again, trying to minimize impacts to the extent possible. And then I want to talk about the limits of disturbance highlighted by, I forget our county staffer's name, but she obviously spoke about the importance of it would be nice to know where the applicants would not put the electrical lines. [05:18:21] And I guess would love to hear your thoughts on that specifically, because the way I read into this discussion is it would be hard for the applicant to determine where or where not the lines would go without cooperation and discussion from Dominion. [05:18:42] Sure. And I think that that's the point is we need to work together to figure out what the best and most effective transmission line routing solution is. To be able to say a line has to go here or can't go here, we know, for example, we can't put a line above a building, above a permanent structure, right? [05:19:06] But to say a line, you know, can't go here or has to go here, I think that from a company perspective, we need to have that flexibility to be able to perform our studies, cultural, historical, archaeological, environmental, permitting to be able to definitively say whether or not it is constructible in a certain area. [05:19:32] And you all would prefer to only have that discussion if this application were to go forward. If the application goes forward. And let me just say, not to suggest that we should only move it forward for that purpose, but it sounds like a standard practice for you all is to not get involved in that assessment unless any type of application were approved. [05:19:52] That's correct. In order to bring all the resources that we need to the table to perform that level of study, we typically start. And so I guess, Mr. Perez, if you would like to come to the mic, please. So I guess with the assessment that part of the weaknesses for this application is because, again, not knowing where the electrical lines would go, and then, of course, the discussion around limits of disturbance, and Dominion clearly saying right now that, again, [05:20:26] that's also part of an assessment that they will complete only after the application is approved. Again, how do you justify kind of that as a weakness on the applicant's part? Working with NOVEC, we were told and discussed, numerous folks in this panel were involved in that meeting, that is encouraged, highly encouraged, to plan for these electrical corridors at the rezoning stage. To not do that and to push it off to the site plan is what they've been dealing [05:21:02] with, but they do not encourage that. What's required, it's not required at the rezoning. We get that, but we're pushing for it. We're encouraging it based on the level of intensity that these utility quarters are going to have. Again, we've based our recommendations based on conversations with Novec, not Dominion. But if Novec relies on Dominion for this discussion, then do you see where I have a challenge? No. You don't see where I have a challenge? No. Okay, you may want to think about that a little bit more. I'm going to give you some time to think about that. Okay. The other thing I will say is, I guess the other piece is putting the onus on [05:21:41] the applicant, where Dominion is clearly saying that they will not have that discussion, you don't see where the disconnect is. I think there's a, if I can jump in here, there's a distinction between what's required and what's encouraged. And I think that's where we're disagreeing here. And we acknowledge that it's not required i think we've said that numerous times and we understand that in order to do what we're encouraging would take a significant upfront investment from the applicant [05:22:14] that's what we're asking for understood yeah and and i guess again i go back to how are they supposed to do that without discussions with dominion and novec they are encouraged to have those discussions now that's what we're trying to say but they've had those discussions and dominion has said, we're not comfortable making that assessment unless this application is actually approved. I think it boils down to the location of, as Dominion just said, they can't put power [05:22:50] lines over top of buildings. And so if we knew not only where the buildings could go, but where the power lines could go within the limits of disturbance, then we would know that there's some accommodation some room some space in these land bays in the developable areas of them for the the power lines thank you no no no i was going to ask a question no go really quick um just for dominion [05:23:26] real quick you know um something that supervisor weir talked about parallel lines you know i saw a map recently that showed you know i think it was pjm or somebody had put out saying oh this Maybe it was even an environmental group saying, oh, you know, we don't know exactly where the lines are going to go, but based on the verbiage from PJM, you know, we think. [05:23:48] And they showed parallel lines to the 500 and the 260 KVA lines in this corridor, and there are no easements there to my knowledge. Isn't it more likely that you'll upgrade? You may have to bring in new routes, but aren't a lot of the upgrades that we're talking about on the existing transmission corridors? [05:24:08] The route in the existing transmission corridor, yes. Right, okay. It's a rebuild of that transmission corridor to add another 500 line within the confines of that transition corridor. Because I think sometimes people get confused, and I saw something that was really erroneous put out that somebody was saying it was like, you know, 500 feet to the left going up, you know, through Heritage Hunt or whatever. [05:24:34] So I just think people need to understand that a lot of this is just upgrading of existing corridors. So with that, I will turn it over to Supervisor Bailey. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have three questions, three minutes apiece, three and a half, and I'm going to go fast. So the first question I have, one of the things that was in the presentation for the applicant said reforestation, and that was in both pieces, and that is a part of something that we talked about during the budget cycle. [05:25:02] It's a futuristic kind of thing that has never been instituted before. Why reforestation with this project, and does it coincide with the ComPlan? A couple of comments on that. One, there's actually existing reforestation within each of the companies, each of the applicants' assemblages, where somebody in prior years went in and reforested a portion of the land, specifically along the western boundary of both the QTS and Compass properties in the northern area above Thornton Drive. [05:25:40] So there's actually reforestation existing in those areas. You have standards in your zoning ordinance and DCSM with respect to when you do reforestation, the density of the plantings, the type of plantings, that sort of thing, all of which we are following in connection with that. [05:26:00] What we are doing is proffering to a minimum amount of acreage that would be reforested in connection with all of this. And that's a minimum amount. It's not necessarily reflective of the ultimate amount because, as I said earlier, one, if we disturb a tree that was intended to be preserved, we have to replant that on a one-to-one basis if it's outside of the RPA. [05:26:27] Two, if Dominion removes more trees and putting in the transmission lines than we anticipated, we'd have to go back and replant those as well. So the reforestation, my point is the reforestation concept is already baked into various county documents. [05:26:43] I can't tell you whether this is the largest reforestation project in the county, but it's very significant in terms of the commitments to reforestation overall. Is this an element of preservation as well? It is in terms of preserving cultural resources or in terms of preserving environment? [05:27:07] I'll say it could be in the right locations. I mean, we've certainly, you're creating more buffers around things. I mean, a lot of this area has already been farmed. So, for example, around cemeteries, it might have already been farmed. And so by coming in and doing some additional buffers and replanting around those areas, we're further protecting some of those elements along the way. [05:27:29] I don't think it's the primary purpose, but it's a benefit. But it is a benefit. Correct. So don't go, don't go. So with that, I'm leaning into the cultural preservation piece as well. In our conversations and the questions that I had for you prior to now, we talked about Thornton, the Thornton School, and the legacy of Jenny Dean. [05:27:49] We talked about that extensively. We also talked about, which you didn't mention today, I'm a little disappointed you didn't mention it, but I'm going to give it to you. Okay. We talked about the Patti Center Cemetery, which has a legacy in my district as well. So I encourage you, and I'm saying this to say, is there any reason why, not to revisit, but is there any reason why you focused on something like the Patti Burial Cemetery as opposed to what Supervisor Lawson was mentioning about the Marble Hill? [05:28:20] Because I think it's all encompassing. So two answers to that. One is that the Patti Cemetery is part of the Compass Assemblage. And so therefore, it is within the geographic boundaries of the application. It's within the geographic boundaries of what we would be preserving and enhancing as part of this process. [05:28:40] The second thing that we did is to actually go out and delineate the boundaries of that cemetery by going out and identifying essentially a ring around the known burial sites based on headstones or whatever is there. and then expand the circle out to be able to make sure that we capture the full extent of that cemetery. [05:28:59] And then we will fence it off. We will put up signage. We will provide public access and parking to be able to get to the cemetery. And there are actually three of those known cemeteries within the Compass Assemblage that will be protected and enhanced in terms of the buffers and protections as part of this process. [05:29:19] But clearly the Patti Cemetery is one of those. The other one I'll note, there's a Hayslip Cemetery that the Hayslip family, as I understand it, had enslaved people generations back. And so we think there's a possibility that formerly enslaved people could be buried in that cemetery as well. [05:29:41] And so that's another benefit of protecting that particular cemetery. So, okay, I appreciate your answer. And I would also say that in that preservation, and really you talked about a museum or of some sort, a commemorative site also, that's very important in Prince William County because we have, as Supervisor Lawson has said, some interesting conversations and decisions to make about cemeteries. [05:30:11] So you will know that commemorative piece is extraordinarily important. Yes, ma'am. And then lastly, David. Hello. Real quick, I've got four minutes. You mentioned about having to hire an outside consultant to certify all the findings and the information that we have with the project. [05:30:35] Am I saying that the wrong way? In particular to the noise. Is it to the noise or is it to look at the entire project? No, no. For the noise portion of it, the expertise, we don't have the expertise in-house to evaluate noise studies so we would um look for a consultant to help us with uh that review with that review okay thank you that's all i have supervisor bode thank you madam chair um thanks for uh you know rolling through the punches with us staff and everyone else um my questions are going to go [05:31:10] back to julie and the planning staff talk to me about natural open space versus protected open space i know that staff actually has some recommendations on how to address some of the deltas uh between uh the natural open space that the applicant is proposing versus what you all said i think also you may have inadvertently showed me that you guys had another presentation that that that talked a little about the wildlife corridors could you talk about that some please yes sir um just because it's been a while since i've been up here at julie flanagan the county [05:31:41] arbors in the department of public works um can we pull up that presentation i'll just while she's doing, I'll just say there's been a lot of discussion about open space, and so I think it's important to distinguish between the different kinds of open space that have been talked about. [05:32:05] So, in our comprehensive plan amendment, there is a specific green infrastructure policy for providing 30% natural open space. It also talks about providing protected open space, which is a combination of restored open space, which would be the reforestation that Supervisor Bailey was talking about earlier, plus the natural open space. The only standard, so to speak, that is in the comp plan is for natural open space, and that's a 30% across the entire study area for natural open space. [05:32:41] So this slide, which I think is what you're referring to, shows the three different rezoning cases my cursor will come up here we have compass the first column digital gateway north digital gateway south then we've got the total of all the rezoning areas combined the out parcels which total 378 acres and then the total study area so we were concerned in our discussions with [05:33:16] the applicant over time over how reasonable was it to hit that 30 percent target so in our own analysis internally we determined that there was about cumulatively overall study area there's about 34.4 percent land that qualifies as natural open space and with the target of 30 that could make it a little bit difficult to hit the 30 percent target overall it would be important for most of these areas to fall in areas that would be naturally protected and wouldn't be in the center of a land bay where you're most likely to put a building so that was that element of it and [05:33:52] then we also have that number for each of the three rezoning cases that Compass has 35 percent existing qualifying natural open space, Digital Gateway North 25, and South 34. Then there's what there's proposed by each of the three applicants. And you can see that even though, for example, Compass has 35 percent qualifying natural open space and the target is 30, they're only proposing 16.9%. And in fact, all three rezoning cases are significantly below that targeted 30%. [05:34:27] So what we're concerned about is that this natural open space is intended to preserve existing forested land of high quality, good quality forested areas that we will not get back. I think during the PC meeting, Mr. Looney said something like today's reforestation is tomorrow's forest. Well, today's reforestation is tomorrow's six foot tall tree that was just planted. [05:34:50] It's going to take 80 to 100 years for us to get to the point where we're actually getting back. At a minimum, we're getting back to what we would be losing by having those natural open space areas cleared. In addition, from a sustainability standpoint, the existing forest cover is doing a far better job of sequestering carbon than any new plantings will be doing for decades to come. [05:35:14] So that's why the comprehensive plan emphasizes the preservation of existing forest cover over the replanting of that same forest cover. So what staff has done, this is just a graphic that kind of puts that less numbers, more pictures. [05:35:32] The blue represents what each applicant is proposing, and there are different percentages. And the orange is what staff has recommended now in a few rezoning, a few iterations of the applications. a few submissions, I should say, that we have asked them to add, that we have looked at each of these areas. We've looked at what forest would qualify as natural open space that's not in the middle of everything, that would be already connecting to natural open space that they're already proposing, that would enable them to increase the amount, get closer to that 30% [05:36:07] goal. We don't think they're going to hit that 30% goal, but we think they're under-representing it strongly. And we want them to get to that 30% as close as they can. So we identified in the orange areas acreages, and these are percentages right here that would be converted to acreages when you look at the total acreage of each rezoning case. So 6.8% additional natural open space for compass, 5.7% for north, and 3.5% for south. I think I've covered what you were asking for. [05:36:36] You did. Yeah, you sort of showed your hand a little bit when you showed this earlier when you getting to the wildlife corridors but i wanted to give you that time to show this um so i'm going to turn then thank you miss flanagan wanted to turn to the applicants to get your response to this and to ask if you guys can sharpen your pencils to work with staff to achieve what they're asking for here so supervisor bode um i think you put your your finger on it with respect to the compass application and specifically the wildlife corridor um frankly i i mean this these [05:37:13] are percentages, these are not acreages, right? If it was 6.8 acres on 900 acres, it would be a different conversation. 7% on an overall acreage of 900 acres is a lot. And it really speaks to the issue that I was describing to you earlier, which is the ability to execute on the other parts of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment in prioritizing this issue above others. [05:37:44] And what we've tried to do is balance appropriately throughout this the preservation of existing trees and where we could not feasibly do it because, again, a lot of the developable area in terms of acreage is in the middle of the area between Thornton Drive on the top and Artemis Road on the bottom. [05:38:06] and I've got reversed, Artemis Drive and Thornton Road. Consequently, I don't know where specifically Ms. Flanagan is talking about putting the almost 7% back. I don't think that's been shared with us in terms of where she'd like for it to go. But there's no way if we're starting with 33, 34% of the corridor being treed today, that you can implement the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and get back to something approaching 30% at the conclusion of development [05:38:43] in terms of preserved tree cover within the corridor. And that's really what we're talking about. We went round and round back in the spring with staff over whether stream corridors where there had been erosion that impacted trees could be considered natural open space. [05:39:01] And effectively, the word that we got back was if it doesn't have a tree on it, it doesn't qualify as natural open space in these calculations. The other thing I'll say is, in the context of all of this, none of what is being described as natural open space currently meets the definition in the zoning ordinance, because the definition in the zoning ordinance requires that it be subject to a covenant or owned by an association. [05:39:29] The reason that there's lacking tree cover today, or you've only got 33%, 34% tree cover in the corridor today, is because the property owners over time took down the trees to farm to do whatever they were going to do. The benefit of going through this is all of that existing vegetation that is to be preserved is going to be put into conservation easements or covenants or conveyed to associations so that it is in fact permanently protected going forward. There's frankly just no way to achieve [05:40:04] and implement the comprehensive plan amendment without the ability to do what we have proposed to do. We've squeezed, back to Supervisor Bailey's comment, we've squeezed the envelope as close as we can to try to limit those impacts. But it's unavoidable, is my point. Sure, I understand your perspective on that. I guess just my concern that I want to just pose to you in response to That is what she just said in regards to one-to-one. [05:40:34] I know Mr. Calabrese also talked about one-to-one replacing what you have to get rid of. There's a big difference between a mature 100-year-old tree versus seedling that you plant today that even at final build-out will only be 15, 20 years old, and its ability to sequester the carbon, its ability to help shore up the watershed. [05:40:51] All those issues are something that I want to make sure I vocalize to you vis-à-vis what staff said. Understood. Supervisor Lawson. Thank you. So back to the comprehensive plan amendment and the one, the amendment that Mr. Looney and Mr. Calvary's worked very closely on endorsing the natural open space at 30 percent. [05:41:12] And to piggyback on Supervisor Weir, I'm sorry, Supervisor Bode, to help achieve those goals and to help reduce the carbon footprint, because as the county arborist said, I mean, we're interested in doing that today. [05:41:29] not 100 years from now when your seedlings are a forest and we're long gone. Julie, Mr. Looney said that you have not identified areas or you or other staff of where they can connect with existing natural open space. [05:41:49] It was spelled out in the staff report a few times. Can you or Chris or Emily talk about that? Because that would be very surprising to me if you had not communicated that. Our comments, staff's comments on adding additional natural open space have been in the last few submissions. [05:42:10] It's nothing new in terms of the acreage that we've been asking for. I will say that because of the rapid pace by which things have been moving right before the Planning Commission to this point, we have not actually met with the applicant, but we have talked about places that they can be providing additional natural open space. [05:42:31] So, you know, we'd be happy to show those areas, to show their connectivity. Thank you. You're good. Mr. Looney, Ms. Flanagan just corrected the record. So I think what she said was that they've not pointed out specific locations within the assemblage as to where they would suggest the additional natural open space. [05:42:56] She is correct that the request for maintenance of additional existing tree cover has been throughout the process, but the specifics of where that would go, we've not discussed at all. The other thing I'll note is, I mean, I have limited time. I'm going to remind you, you helped craft that comp plan amendment that has 30% natural open space. So we're not going [05:43:32] a debate protected restored open you help craft that says 30 natural open space and it's very clearly defined supervisor lawson hang on i'm on i'm on limited time it's very clearly defined what natural open space means and that means existing tree cover and wetlands and it's all spelled out in all of our county documents whether it's comp plan zoning ordinance or whatever so we can't continue to just move the goalposts to fit your narrative. And I think that's what you're doing [05:44:03] in Mr. Calvary's as well. Let's talk about the power lines since Dominion and Novec aren't going to be here later. And let's talk about the proffers because you're right. It is about, you know, competing interests, competing priorities. And you're understandably, you're representing your client and their priority is to build as much as they can on on you know their their land my priority is to make sure to protect as much interest of the county as a whole as i can [05:44:42] so whether we're talking about community design environment the environmental plan or or other pieces of this project i'm going to do all i can to protect the county as a whole and i can't just tip the scale to the economic development side like you can. I can't look at it just as a bunch of flexibility for your client for the next 20 years. That's what your priority is, but I represent the Linton Hall Corridor, and I guarantee you when Braymar was master planned or Potomac Shores [05:45:19] in the east end of the county over 15, 20 years, they have come back with proper amendments, and I would expect the very same thing with a project of this magnitude. So I don't think it's fair to say that we should just give you flexibility for the next 20 years and never expect for you to come back to this board chamber for tweaks, proffer amendments, whatever. I don't buy that. So perimeter landscape buffers, limits of disturbance. Staff has made it very clear [05:45:54] that that a lot of your proffers we can't enforce or undo other things uh they contradict so what can you do because i think supervisor bode also uh mentioned alluded to it earlier what can you do to improve your proffers on these perimeters on whether it's perimeter buffers or limits of disturbance so that the the scc and dominion know what areas they're going to be less likely to [05:46:33] well dominion is going to apply for a route they have to apply for a preferred route and alternate routes and they're going to use the landscape of this 2100 acres to help guide whatever they apply to the SCC for. So what can you do to help protect the perimeter, whether it's through those proffers or the limits of disturbance? Because nobody can deny that this project would absolutely require new transmission lines. A widening of existing? Possibly, but I think it's fair to say [05:47:12] and it's honest to say that it's going to also require new lines. Supervisor Lawson, let me address a couple of points. One, I want to make sure that we're clear about whose lines are whose in the context of this, because it was represented earlier that Dominion's sole role in this is the existing north-south 230 and 500 kV lines, and that's not accurate. As I mentioned, what will happen is that there will be at least two tap points into those lines where the power will be [05:47:51] pulled down into either a switching station or into a substation. That connection from the existing lines into the switching station or the substation is a Dominion line. It's not a NOVEC line. The lines that link substation to substation are Dominion's lines. They're not NOVEC's lines. [05:48:10] Once the power comes into the substation and it is distributed out to the individual data center buildings, the distribution lines are NOVEC's lines. They are not Dominion's lines. Correct. So when we talk about how do we link up the substations, we're not talking about decisions Novec makes. [05:48:29] We're talking about decisions that Dominion, the State Corporation Commission, make in terms of where those lines are going to go. I'll submit to you the same thing is true with respect to other utilities beyond electricity, right? [05:48:44] That's sort of gotten lost in the noise. Right. We have to run water and sewer. We have to run fiber optic cable. We have to run all sorts of things into this area. And I understand Ms. Flanagan's point about trying to minimize the disruption. But those lines, whether it's a gas line, electric line, water and sewer, the county service authority has a role in the routing of the water and sewer lines. [05:49:07] You know, we don't have complete dominion and control over where those lines go and where they are run. So what we have committed to in our proffers, to get to your point, is to do what we can. And I'm going to point you to Proffer 28. I believe it's page 18 of the Compass Proffers. [05:49:26] Okay, hold on here. And there are three elements to Proffer 28. And I'll pause and let you get there. Okay, go ahead. So jump down. So Part A says limits of disturbance. We can encroach upon the limits of disturbance to remove existing homes and driveways in order to facilitate the development. [05:49:46] The second one deals with encroachments on the limits of disturbance outside of the RPA areas. And if you skip down to about two-thirds of the way through the paragraph on the left-hand side, it says the applicant shall make a good-faith effort to coordinate with and encourage all applicable utility providers, with a parenthetical to Dominion, Novec, Washington Gas, et cetera, to, one, locate dry utility connections, electric transmission lines, and electric distribution lines running to and from the transmission lines and substations [05:50:21] outside of protected open spaces, meaning those areas that aren't covenanted or conveyed to an association as protected, perimeter buffers, and the wildlife corridor, and this is where it gets important, except for minimal perpendicular crossings. [05:50:38] So we're already on the hook to minimize the crossings to perpendicular crossings as best as we can. Two, and again, this is important, to co-locate such utility connections to minimize disruption of land disturbances outside of the limits of disturbance. [05:50:54] And three, to avoid electric transmission lines crossing over top of delineated cemeteries. And we have the same language in subparagraph C, which deals with encroachments inside of the resource protection areas. [05:51:10] And it's at the top of page 19. again, the applicant will use good faith efforts to coordinate. The idea is that we don't want to disrupt these areas any more than Ms. Flanagan does. And we're taking every step within our power to do exactly what she is asking to do. But the decisions on where the transmission lines go, the decisions on where the water and sewer lines go, the decisions on how whoever the fiber provider is that that puts fiber in the corridor yeah they have to be consulted as part of this [05:51:45] process as well yeah well first of all uh is this all in the mzp emily is this in the mzp i'm sorry so i didn't realize your time was up okay yeah i actually i didn't either but um the transmission lines are not in shown in them no everything that he's referring to and the proffers that so i'm sorry say that again emily the transmission lines are not shown on the mzp right yeah not [05:52:19] Well, I know because a lot of it is unknown, but I tell you what, my time is up, but what I'm going to do is read through because there's a lot of suggestions, requests that staff would like you to improve on that proper, and we'll talk about it in my next round. [05:52:36] And we'll do one last round. Supervisor Weir, 10 minutes. Don't sit down, Mr. Looney. First question is for you. Okay. Earlier, you asserted that at present you've done everything that's been requested by staff. [05:52:54] No, sir. I have not. I did not. That's what I... Okay. Have you complied with most everything they've asked for? I believe we have complied with, however you describe most, I would say the bulk of, yes, sir. [05:53:11] A bulk of them, principally in submissions five, six, and seven? I would say even earlier than that. But yes, particularly as we've narrowed it down. Why did it take until at least the fifth submission to substantially conform with their requests 15 months after filing? [05:53:31] There's a couple of answers to that. One, these processes are always iterative. The way I look at my job as the applicant's representative, and I believe the way that the staff looks at their job as the county's representative, is that our job is to work together collaboratively to present you with the best product that we can, And then you make a policy decision on whether to approve it or not. [05:54:00] I think because, frankly, of the visibility of these applications, and I'll just speak to the Compass application, the visibility of this application, that collaboration has been strained. It is unlike any process I've ever been through because FOIA requests were coming into your staff every day seeking, did you talk to Mark Looney? [05:54:23] Of course, their job is to talk to Mark Looney. Their job is to talk to compass data centers. The result of that is it took us a while to get to the point where we could understand where each other's position was coming from and we could appropriately address it. [05:54:42] Next question is for both you and Mr. Calabrese. Do either or both of you have in your possession today a set of the extant proffers as of this morning or as of yesterday signed by all parties? [05:55:07] We have proffers that we have, the short answer is yes. We submitted proffers. I'm sorry, the question is whether we have signed proffers. Do you have a set of proffers that are part of this submission as it stood at 10 a.m. this morning? [05:55:32] Do you have a set of proffers that are signed by all parties? Yes, sir. Okay. Next question is for staff. I guess this is both for Emily and for Mr. Perez. It's become relatively clear that a number of things were not submitted last year in the initial phase of the application. [05:56:01] I mean, I can point to the phase one archaeological study as a perfect example. That didn't arrive until after the January comments. The question is this. Why was an application accepted, reviewed, staff time expended, county resources expended, when it was clearly deficient, and when the notice went out that it was clearly deficient missing some several key components as required by the zoning ordinance phase one archaeological report in many instances required why was the review [05:56:41] clock not restarted as the ordinance provides for so mr. again David McGettigan from the Planning Office the the app when the application is received and accepted and that is when the clock starts and there's as far as I know not reset provision in the state code that says we can reset mr. McGettig and the zoning ordinance quite clearly has several sections or several provisions [05:57:20] regarding significant changes resetting the clock or the clock being told while awaiting responses to significant questions why did neither occur I don't have an answer for you all right I'll switch things up there's mr. Hugh or [05:57:45] mandy spina in the room either one mr hugh is here good morning good afternoon got a couple of questions for you um it's been discussed at some length um how there aren't a lot of details [05:58:18] with respect to substantial conformance do you have a plan in place to review its site plan um good afternoon members of the board wade hugh deputy county executive uh when the plans come in at that point in time we'll coordinate with the zoning administrator and the proffer administrator um to take that review and to see whether they deem it's in substantial conformance okay on a more practical note um i see the i see the provisions for noise monitoring and that sort of thing but the county also has to be proactive to some degree um due to the criminal versus civil [05:58:57] nature of the county ordinances when it comes to noise violations if they're above the accepted limit if they're above the provided for decibel limit how does your office intend to enforce that given how the ordinance how the noise ordinance is currently written and how are you going to determine which one or several of the buildings are actually responsible for the potential [05:59:35] violation of the standard i mean do we have the equipment or is this simply something that we cannot enforce? Well, as far as do we have the equipment, as the ordinance stands today, it's based on decibels. So we do have the equipment. When there's an alleged violation, the police enforce the violation. They go out, they'll take the readings. Then they'll issue the violation to whoever's on site at the time that's responsible. So if there's a manager on site, whoever's there. So we have a process today. I will say to you, it does, and working with the data center ordinance advisory group, it does get complicated when you have multiple [06:00:12] buildings to your point how do you assess which of the buildings but to that point we're also working to look to revise the noise ordinance so a lot of it's going to be timing to take into account just what you just what you stated another question for staff typically do you consider workforce strategies and do you believe that workforce strategies are an appropriate topic for consideration and what is essentially a land use application and are they enforceable as a [06:00:44] proffer. I can speak to what the county's attorney's office has advised us. They've advised that that... Madam Chair, members of the board, I would ask that the board's confidential attorney-client privilege not be disclosed in public. Okay. Well, I'm not quite sure how to answer that question then. Yeah. Do you believe that it is enforceable? [06:01:18] I'll just leave it at that. Or is that part of the opinion? There's several policies in the cpa uh specific to economic development that um call out uh things like workforce strategies and so from a cpa perspective from a policy perspective we would like to see those whether or not they're enforceable again i'm not quite sure how to ask that question given the attorney client privilege okay one more question for staff since i got a minute left um the fifth suspension [06:01:55] by qta significantly increases the potential far in one of the land bays i'm assuming that that is the most sensitive land bay in terms of view shed is that correct i think you're referring to digital gateway south is that correct i'm going to have chris answer that so digital gateway south in land bay c was bumped up to a 0.36 far it was never specifically called out as 0.36 in any of the [06:02:31] submittal that I noticed. Rather, it was always a .25. However, staff did comment on in the Planning Commission report that we wanted some type of target maximum transfer rate to kind of prevent this from happening. I had done some previous calculations where if we went to zero on every land bay but one, we could potentially be at a one point something for one of the land bays. That is not the intent of the CPA. Rather, it was that they would all be at the lower end of the target density. So in the fifth submittal, they went ahead and put a 0.36 FAR cap for [06:03:08] land-based sea, and I immediately raised the flag on that as being in conflict with the CPA based on my opinion of the region. So it's short. It's above – the highest FAR is in the area where you would potentially want to have the lowest due to proximity to the battlefield. [06:03:27] It is directly adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park, and it is a priority area to be at the lower target density area does the applicant want to say something really quickly because we're going to move on to supervisor angry i absolutely do i discussed this at length during my presentation we did not increase that density by one square foot over the course of the last 10 months the staff asked us to delineate what the far would be there if we had simply removed the label of label d just that was a logical reflection of it and by the way Okay, land bay D is to the east of the power lines and is more proximate to the park than is land bay C. [06:04:06] Had we simply called that one land bay instead of two, we'd be at a 0.22 FAR, lower than the lowest level. Thank you. Supervisor Angry, got nothing. Supervisor Vega, Supervisor Franklin. I wanted to go back to the discussion around the electrical lines, but I'll just say that I'm not pleased with what I've heard from staff, particularly Mr. Perez, But I'll address that during discussion. [06:04:31] Thank you. I have no questions. Supervisor Bailey. Just one question, Madam Chair. I just wanted to make sure we've talked about inappropriate questions, Supervisor Weir, about the planning and the time frames, because we talked about that extensively also. [06:04:50] In collaboration, and I'd like a response from the client, and please, do you think that the collaboration, the time frame in preparing for this project, given, you know, the parameters, do you think that the collaboration from staff, the interchange was good? [06:05:10] I'm trying to get a feel for the purpose of the diet and what's obvious. Right. Supervisor Bailey, I'll answer it this way, which is, and I alluded to this earlier. I'm sympathetic to your county staff, given the number of eyeballs that are on the Compass application, specifically on my part in all three of these applications collectively. [06:05:41] I also said it's been unlike other applications. I've been doing this work for 25 years. It's unlike other applications on which I've worked in terms of, I'll say, the level of access that we had to staff on an informal basis to be able to make sure that we understood each other's positions appropriately and to be able to deliver the best product that we could. I think we got there. I know we got there in the end, but it was not as smooth as [06:06:17] it could have been. And I'll give you an example. We submitted our revised application after the CPA in February of 2023. We got comments back, or no, the end of January of 2023. We got comments back the end of March. We resubmitted the end of April. We didn't get comments back until the second week in August. We turned that submission around in two weeks. We got the staff report on October 27th, and we turned around what was deemed to be the fifth submission four days later over a weekend. [06:06:54] So we have done, we have tried to be as responsive as we possibly could have been to what we heard from the staff and to move as quickly as we could once we knew their issues to try to address them. And so the level of collaboration in terms of the process to get to where we are, I think we are satisfied with that. [06:07:18] I think if I could do it all over again, I think the more informal process earlier in the conversation, I think, would have gotten us to where we ended up a little bit sooner. You just heard fiery Italian Calabrese, so let me go to more politic. [06:07:43] You have a great staff. They are overworked. They are understaffed. They are under the microscope in ways that I have never seen. He's only been practicing 25 years. I'll say it. I've been practicing 10 years longer than he has. there are definitely ways to improve on the process that would be good for the good staff good for the applicants good for the planning commission and the board of supervisors i know mr shorter and mr you are contemplating ways to make it a more we've used the term a lot collaborative process this one has been unique we knew it was going to be unique we knew it was going to be uniquely scrutinized so even when we agree to disagree we do so with civility and [06:08:22] respect for these good people but there are definitely better ways to handle applications to this magnitude and we would very much like to participate with the next board your new staff directors and the good folks in this room to try and make it an even better process thank you ma'am chair if i may please i just want to uh acknowledge uh and just say real quick uh thank you uh david and team because that was the conversation that we had when we had our answering questions and david and alex you kept me abreast of things that were going on consistently to address questions that I had. Didn't have a lot of interaction with Emily nor Chris, [06:09:02] but you did do so. So I agree with what was said. You've been working at a disadvantage in terms of there's a lot of transformation in planning. And we all know that. It's no big deal. So I just wanted to say that. Thank you, Madam Chair, not to prolong. Supervisor Bode. Thank you, Madam Chair. [06:09:18] Just a couple final ones for me. To go along the similar conversation that Supervisor Bailey just started, I know the applicant just sort of cited they had some concerns and and bumpy road in terms of access to staff staff would you like to at all talk about that when last time you met with the applicants were you know how often you did that how was your experience with that sure so we had weekly meetings with the applicants we haven't had weekly meetings with them for about a month given the preparation needed for both the Planning Commission [06:09:55] and the Board of County supervisors frankly I feel like we've been very open and transparent and generous with our time this is a considerable amount of work I understand the need for collaboration I get it but there's also certain things that we need to do in terms of coordinating with our staff it's not just the planning office in a vacuum it's other agencies and so you know the over-the-shoulder review while appropriate for a smaller project we felt like wasn't appropriate at all times in this project so I'll leave it at that [06:10:29] and then Chris if you want to expand yeah I mean this project moved around pretty fast I mean it's been in our office for one year and two months I've seen Dunkin Donuts last longer in the process than this this is a huge project and we've been reviewing this I'm thinking six times now sometimes with two-week turnarounds on reviews writing staff reports between the Planning Commission and the board I feel like we've been working really well with the applicants it's just the time frame of one year and two months to get a project of this magnitude [06:11:06] across the finish line with so many changes happening so often it's been challenging but they have been responsive and we have been moving this along and we have a staff report that's based on the fifth submission but it doesn't go without all the staff really working hard not just emily and Chris or Alex, but Watershed, DOT, VDOT, Fire and Rescue, all these folks have been dropping everything to take this thing across the line. Emily and I both, we had the luxury of having all of our cases reassigned for the last, I think, three months so we could get the fourth and fifth [06:11:44] submission reviewed and to write the Planning Commission and board staff reports so quick. I'm really impressed at how well these staff reports came together, but again, all these various departments really dropped everything and helped us out sometimes to the sacrifice of other projects but we're here today and that's all I got to say it takes a village and I appreciate that so my last question go in completely different directions Mr. Luna I think you said it a couple times that one of the next steps here if the board were to approve this and managing especially the open space that we've been talking about is conveyance to either an association I assume [06:12:21] that would be like an office park association you see with other industrial commercial businesses or a conservation trust through an easement. Can you talk about that a little bit more? Yeah, there's a specific proffer, and I'll try to flip to it as I'm describing it. [06:12:36] But the short answer is yes, Supervisor Bode. The intent is that for those areas that we've designated as protected open space, be it existing vegetation or reforestation, would be permanently protected through utilization of covenants or conveyance to third parties to manage that open space permanently so that it's effectively off-limits to any kind of disturbance thereafter. [06:13:04] And just follow up. And have you been in contact with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust about that? I don't know that we've been in contact with them specifically about it. I know they are one of the groups that representatives of ours has talked to. [06:13:20] We've not discussed that particular aspect of it. I don't believe, in terms of whether they would be the beneficiary of the easement or somebody else would. But certainly they're one of the groups that's identified, I believe, in the CPA as one of the potential implementers of that. [06:13:39] I would just ask, sort of pointedly, if the board were to approve this, that you definitely collaborate with them. Thank you, Madam Chair. Understood. Supervisor Lawson. Thank you. Before I get back to my questions on the electrical utility service plan, Chris or Emily, does Phase 2, after rezoning, require preservation in place? [06:14:05] Do we have requirements for Phase 2 post-rezoning? Justin Patton's been allowed since I've been here, County Archaeologists. Can you repeat the question again? [06:14:22] Well, like, are the proffers solid that we will have preservation in place in Phase 2 post-rezoning? Each of the proffers for Digital Gateway South, Compass, and Digital Gateway North, preservation in place is an option if after a Phase 2 a resource is determined significantly. [06:14:53] Okay. But it's an option? That's correct. It's an option? Yes. [06:15:00] There is some language, so in Digital Gateway North, that's nice, they proffer phase two [06:15:37] evaluations, and then under mitigation, they proffer archaeology, to initiate mitigation of the archaeology site through section 106, if required by law, or if 106 is not required by law, they'll prepare a mitigation plan with approval of the director that does, or [06:16:06] the director of planning. So, Justin, I'm sorry. For the sake of time, if there are improvements to be made in the proffers regarding preservation in place, please point them out to me so I can pay closer attention to those. And you can even tell me after. [06:16:32] Thanks. That's what I was looking for. Thank you. So, in COMPAS's proffers, they have, Based on the recommendations of the Phase II study conducted, as necessary or appropriate, the applicant shall either pursue preservation in place and or conduct archaeological data recovery. [06:16:57] But who's making those subjective decisions, like as necessary, and I forgot what the other term was, but those are really left in the hands of the applicant, by the terms, right? They're left in the hands of the applicant's consultant with approval by staff. [06:17:15] Okay. With approval by staff, that's clear in there? Does staff get to approve this? The way that I interpret this proffer is that I'm reviewing and approving the Phase 2 report. [06:17:31] Okay. All right. I'll pay closer attention to it when I don't have the microphone. Okay. So regarding the utility conversation against, Supervisor Franklin earlier was referring to, you know, some proffers as the best method of assurance. [06:17:56] But frankly, if they're not enforceable, then they're by and large meaningless. And that's the big concern is that we have a lot of proffers that are not enforceable or they need to be strengthened. [06:18:13] And one of the things that I recall from years ago was regarding the Haymarket line, was regarding, you know, the community was upset because of this new 230 KV line that was going to be potentially strung through many neighborhoods and including some business areas. [06:18:35] And what we learned from that is what became from that is the overlay, for one. And then secondly, that if we are going to continue to invite data centers as a targeted industry, we are absolutely going to have to expect new transmission lines because, the obvious, they're dependent on electricity. [06:18:58] That's one of the reasons why staff does a systematic job of asking each applicant about their power source and everything that you can do to identify where the power will be coming from. [06:19:13] In these particular cases, Chris and Emily, what specific proffers would you like to strengthen our ability to protect our natural open space, protect RPAs, everything related to community design and the environmental plans, cultural resources? [06:19:40] is what can we ask the applicant to strengthen so that we do not, you know, have to come, well, never mind, I'll let you answer. So Julie had alluded to this earlier with a question from Supervisor Bode, which is an attachment H in proffers and deficiencies. [06:20:03] There's several comments by staff, one of which is Julie's comments on the limits of disturbance, which has language in there that we feel would strengthen the protection of natural resources in relation to the utility crossings. [06:20:19] Yeah, thank you. And I think that's what Supervisor Bode was speaking of earlier. And, you know, full disclosure, there's a lot of changes to this, a lot of strikeouts and suggestions. Have the applicants, this is a public document, So have the applicants responded to this latest round prior to 5 p.m. yesterday? [06:20:50] They've revised the proffers, not specific to our suggestions on the limits of disturbance, that they've made minor changes to our suggestions. Okay. So not regarding limits of disturbance? Correct. Or? I could speak just for Compass. I don't want to speak. Yeah, that's fine. [06:21:06] And Chris can answer for Digital Gateway. Right. I mean, for QTS. Right. So in attachment H, Watershed did provide some substantial recommendations, encouragement with strikethroughs on how to strengthen that language. [06:21:23] So that document is in the staff report. We did not receive any revisions to address those specific encouragements from Watershed. Okay. Okay. So that would be regarding north and south or north? That would be for north and south with regards to utility conversations. [06:21:41] Okay. They did do a strike-through from a master landscape plan to get rid of the auto-approval after 120 days of review. That was something Watershed encouraged. They did strike that, so it's not auto-approved now. [06:21:57] Good. But with regards to utilities and LODs, that was not addressed in any revisions that I've seen. Okay. Yeah, those are obviously some serious concerns. And then the last thing I want to ask you is the master zoning plan. [06:22:15] You both highlighted multiple times in your reports the importance of the Master Zoning Plan. It's part of the zoning ordinance. The Master Corridor Plan, while appreciated, is illustrative. [06:22:33] Can you explain the distinction and the importance of the MCP? So the MCP, up until the MCP, Master Corridor Plan, up until this fifth submission, was essentially an illustrative. [06:22:57] In the fifth submission, they changed the proffers to have that be something that we were going to substantially conform to. However, upon receiving that fifth submission and sending it out for review, we sent it to the site plan folks who would be enforcing this. They raised the flag right off the bat saying that this is going to be really hard to enforce based on unknowns of any engineering that might have happened, being that it wasn't illustrative. [06:23:21] Now it's being substantial conformance. Can I ask real quick, do you mean like when you say illustrative, explain to me and to the public, I know what you mean, but for the public's sake. A generality of where they would potentially go. [06:23:38] However, in order for that stuff to truly be able to be substantially conformance to, it's encouraged that it be provided on the MZP, the master zoning plan. Because that's what the site planners are going to refer to, correct? Exactly. [06:23:54] And when you said earlier, you said there, you're referring to the site planners, not the applicants. Yes, the site planners. We set this out for their review to kind of get their gauge, you know, is this enforceable? Does the MCP cut it? Substantial conformance to this. Can we make it happen when it comes to site plan? [06:24:11] And the answer was pretty much a definitive, this is going to be problematic. Their advice was provided on the MCP or if the board's purview is to approve this as currently proposed, to change the proffer language to general accord, not substantial accord, because it's going to be real hard to get these specific locations on an illustrative once it goes out to site plan. [06:24:33] And that's really clearly articulated in the staff report for both Emily's and my applications. Thank you very much. We'll now move on to we are to the third round. I wasn't going to go around a third time. [06:24:49] Supervisor Weir, I think you're probably the only one who has third round. stuff. I don't know. I'll ask a couple and just reserve the right to ask more after the public hearing and before we consider the question. I'll start with staff. Given the post-construction circumstances at Village Place, there's been a lot made of the viewshed studies from the battlefield. Has there been any consideration given to the viewshed from Pitt Harpin Valley [06:25:21] estates oak valley lawn vale etc and have the implications of the view shed being measured or not measured from there been given any consideration for the residents um the answer to that question is no but the cpa did not encourage it or require it the cpa was really focused on the battlefields as well as conway robinson state park as well as public right-of-ways so no it was not done or considered to my knowledge or anything we reviewed. So there's been no consideration of the [06:26:00] neighboring residents impacts from a viewshed standpoint. Just be clear. Heritage Hunt was one of those. But I was to argue that some of those other neighborhoods are much closer. Is Mr. Patton still here? I'm going to be jumping around. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that there are several sites within the rezoning or within the CPA boundary that are [06:26:39] either eligible for listing on the Historic Register, part of the Historic Register, applications have been made. Is that correct? Yes. There are several sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. And those locations are outside of the boundaries of the park? They are outside the boundaries of Manassas National Battlefield Park as they currently are. Go ahead. Okay. They are within land-based [06:27:16] Digital Gateway South, land bays A and B. If that's the case, why were there not viewshed analyses done on those locations similar to those done for the battlefield? [06:27:35] The internal viewsheds in between land bays A and B? From one land bay to the other, from one rezoning application to the other. Was there any consideration of the viewshed impacts on those historic areas? I don't see how that would provide information that would be helpful to understand the impacts. [06:27:59] I'm just curious what the impacts on those historic areas would be. I mean, I understand if there's no consideration, there's no consideration. That's fine. I just want to know if there was any consideration. That was considered, yes, sir. Okay. Mr. Looney, you're going to test my memory again, or maybe I'll test yours. [06:28:27] Several hours ago, I think, you made an assertion with respect to the average annual hours a generator would run on its test cycles for a data center. [06:28:46] I believe you said it was 16 and a half hours annually. I'm going to presume that's for each generator and not for the generator complex as a whole. I mean, it's an important distinction. Bear with me one second. So the answer is a little bit complicated. It's 16 and a half hours total, but the campus is smaller in relative terms. The way I would think of it is, as a land bay here is probably the equivalent of their campus, depending on which land bay we're talking about, equivalent to their [06:29:24] campus in Loudoun. So the number of buildings changes that calculation. But in terms of the number of hours annually relative to, I'll call it a particular building, it's going to be similar. So what I'm assuming then is that all generators for a particular building run for 16 1⁄2 hours? [06:29:43] Not necessarily. It could be one runs a little longer. It could be one that one runs a little bit shorter. But cumulatively they totaled 16 1⁄2? Cumulatively they totaled 16 1⁄2 hours, yes. All right. More recently, within the last 15 minutes, you said, and I quote, you submitted the revised application in February of 23. [06:30:12] Is that correct? Yes, sir. Per the ordinance, per the zoning ordinance, would that not change the date from which the one-year review policy tolls by your own admission as a resubmission? I don't believe it does, Supervisor Weir, because if that's the definition, you would never get to the finish line on any zoning application. [06:30:37] with every subsequent submission, if that restarts the clock, in your four-year term, you wouldn't hear a single application because that's the whole point of the review process is to revise and resubmit to address staff comments and comments from the public and comments from supervisors' offices. [06:30:59] That also presumes that every revision would require significant time to re-review. I would argue that this particular application is different than an application for a car wash, and that in this particular circumstance, staff has made clear that the initial application was so deficient in required materials that your submission in February, at the very least, as a baseline, should have been considered, [06:31:31] at least per the ordinance as it's written, the date at which the new complete application was submitted. I guess I'll disagree with that assertion. And the reason is, or part of the reason is, that the February 28th submission, or excuse me, January 28th submission was to update the application to address some of the specifics that were set forth in the CPA that was adopted [06:32:03] in November of 2022. And so some of the additional information that was included in the January 2023 submission was directly related to the CPA policies from November. And so we were, I'll just leave it at that. Well, I would argue that that actually buttresses my position and that the original rejection was issued, I believe, in August of 2022. And now you're saying that you substantially revised it to comport with a CPA that wasn't adopted until November, making it a significantly different application and thus restarting the clock. And I'll just leave it at [06:32:40] that. We can agree to disagree, but I would suggest that from within the framework of the ordinance and what would be standard or good zoning practice, that's probably how it should have occurred, in which case we wouldn't be here today because we'd still be within, at least in my view the original review window and at that I will hold the rest of the questions until after the public hearing and before the motion and Supervisor [06:33:15] Lawson well go ahead and finish your thought to him no I was gonna say we are gonna have questioning after the public hearing but it at some point won't go on for hours just so you your expectations management supervisor we're Supervisor Lawson I know that no one here has any questions do you have more questions before we begin the public hearing I do my first question actually is regarding the I forgot what the number was but the view should analysis packet that was [06:33:48] part of the board agenda what was there a plan to have a presentation on that or well I don't I'm sorry is that question directed to me I don't the view shed announces this man can you start the timer for 10 minutes please no this is this is just regarding the agenda yeah what's the agenda item it was part one two or three this was there a plan to have a presentation on it no I don't [06:34:27] believe so are you familiar when you show that to them there was a view shed analysis attached to the staff report no no this is a separate it was part one two or three of the Digital Gateway South. [06:34:42] Right. So essentially it was broken up into three different sections based on the size of the documents. That's the only reason it was broken up into three. Staff was not planning on discussing the viewshed analyses in any specific capacity that it was already done in the staff presentation. [06:35:00] If anybody did want to look at the documents, they were attached to the staff report. However, I provided general findings that visibility for north was moot and south were mitigated when they were visible. Okay, I just thank you. [06:35:16] I appreciate the clarification. I didn't know what had been done at the Planning Commission regarding that. So let's talk about the viewshed analysis and the battlefield. And I agree with Supervisor Weir that the battlefield viewshed is incredibly important as well as heritage hunt but there are several other communities or even homes that are in the in the view shed that probably weren't fully analyzed or sounds like they weren't at all [06:35:50] um oak valley being one of them um so regarding the the back to the mzp and and mcp i can't help but think of an analogy. Mr. Looney and Mr. Calbreeze want to take the county out to a really nice dinner and they promise that we're going to have a great meal. We go into the restaurant and we open the menu and all it says is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No idea what we're getting. [06:36:27] The menu doesn't have details. I can't help but think that that's a bit of an analogy here because the MZP is so inadequate with details and commitments that obviously we're depending on for assurances in this project. [06:36:46] Is there anything that Emily or Chris would like to say before I ask them regarding it? Chris, have you weighed in on the MZP earlier? Yes, I did. [06:37:01] Okay. Emily might want to. Tony and Mark, it's a huge piece of the staff recommendation to deny your project. Ms. Lawson, for the record, I have dinner with you anytime you want. [06:37:19] I don't know if Ms. May. No, no, no. I said the county, not just me. Oh, I'm sorry. All right. Well, then I withdraw the offer. Let me go back to my visuals. [06:37:43] Mr. Morris. Because it's important. If it'll open. Go. Be clear. [06:38:01] The zoning ordinance does not require building footprints on an MZP. Let me say it again. It may be desirable. You may want it. Staff may ask for it. The zoning ordinance does not require building footprints on an MZP. Well, Mr. Calbreeze, you actually disagreed with me on exactly what a zoning ordinance said earlier today at the very beginning of this hearing. [06:38:23] So, frankly, I'm going to disagree with you because I trust what staff is going to tell me and then my own reading of the zoning ordinance. You're an attorney who I'm sure can debate, but it is crystal clear that the zoning ordinance requires what staff is telling me on the MZP. [06:38:46] So what we have done is this, and this discussion started, I don't know, probably about a year ago. Mr. Looney talked about the ability to plan and fully engineer 1,700, 1,800 acres for a 10-plus year project is limited. [06:39:05] Having said that, we came up with what I would respectfully submit is a very easily understood, seamlessly administered – I'm going to use my slides here – very typical long-term master plan community development process that relied on a combination of a lot of engineering that's associated with the MCP, but not quite enough engineering to know the exact parameters of every single footprint. [06:39:33] Let me be clear, the MCP pages, for example, the one that you see here in the upper right, is proper. That is specifically proper. There's a scale, there's an engineering scale, a legend, on the MCP. It's not shown here, but it's there. So I get Mr. Perez's comment, the site plan reviewers may or may not be accustomed to this. [06:39:54] I would respectfully submit to this board that you do not want me to go back to general conformance. You want me at a higher standard. You want me at substantial conformance. I can't and won't do strict conformance because that means I have zero flexibility to do anything with these buildings, which makes no sense. [06:40:11] Then we would be back with case after case after case. Okay, thank you. I'm not done. Well, you know what? I have a time, and I'm done with your answer, so thank you very much. All right. But stay right there. So staff and the National Park Service have repeatedly asked you for a report, a cultural report versus cultural inventory. [06:40:41] And right now I'm looking for the superintendent's letter. A cultural landscape report versus an inventory. The National Park has even asked that, not Chris and Emily. And this is for Mr. Looney as well. [06:41:00] You tout that you want to be great neighbors and your companies, corporations want to give back to the community and do all these great things for Prince William County. The Manassas National Battlefield is an economic engine for our tourism industry. [06:41:20] The National Park Service has made it very clear over multiple superintendents of the concerns that they have regarding Digital Gateway. Why have you it's one it's one thing if you, you know, go back and forth with staff on all their multiple requests regarding the layers of this project. [06:41:43] But why have you refused a cultural landscape report from the NPS? We've agreed to do it. It's in the proffers that are before the board this afternoon. Well, they've been asking for it prior to today. This isn't this isn't something new. [06:42:01] no good deed should go punished. It's in the proffers before you today. We have agreed to do the CLRs for both the South and even for the North. Well, what I'm faced with them, with all due respect, is proffers that don't give me a lot of assurances. Proffers that have required staff to ask us because you've been very evasive or difficult on responding to [06:42:33] repeated requests so now i have attachment h for each of the cases because you and mr looney have just uh refused to cooperate and and do things that the staff are doing their job to protect the interests of the county and this is post rezoning when a lot of this should have been taken care of well before today so no no deed goes unpunished but sir you've had well you've We've been talking about this project for two and a half years. [06:43:08] Yes, we have. Two and a half years. We have incredibly robust, incredibly responsive proffers that address legitimately every single staff request made of us. This graphic is a perfect example of what you started asking me about a couple of minutes ago. [06:43:27] This reflects exactly how this process is done throughout Northern Virginia. Is that the cultural one? I mean, the corridor plan? This is not the corridor plan. This shows how substantial conformity, which is the underpinning of a lot of the staff reservations, has absolutely been demonstrated. [06:43:44] Which one is that if it's not the corridor plan? This is the southwestern land bay that reflects everything that you see on the right in terms of proper commitment. So you're saying that's on the MZP? ability to ensure that the building footprints that are the impetus for a lot of the staff concerns are assured and have to be resolved during the site plan review and approval process i'm sorry tony so to clarify is that the m whatever you have up there right now okay i see it here to the left okay the master concept plan which again has a scale [06:44:19] and has certainty to it you'll remember this exhibit from five hours ago substantial conformance substantial conformance not substantial conformance okay not substantial conformance this is how this process is done throughout northern virginia for jurisdictions like yours of sophistication well and sizable project well this is the first big project that you've had in prince william county so i think it may be no it's not but go ahead uh i've been on the board nine years and other than the qts next to my office i'm sorry in prince william for a while No, I'm just saying I'm not familiar with your work except for the QTS next to my office. [06:44:57] But maybe in defense of staff, it's because they're not acutely familiar with projects of this magnitude that have a corridor plan such as this. Thank you, Supervisor Lawson. We are now going to move on to opening our public hearing. [06:45:17] We do have, I will tell you, that we currently have 105 people signed up. And the way this is going to work is that we are going, everyone has been handed numbers. It is your official number. People can't switch numbers. [06:45:34] We are going to call the numbers up five at a time. At some point after a couple of sheets, I'm going to switch back and forth with Vice Chair Bodie in order to do that, in order to get a respite. And I'm going to let the room clear and then we will start the public hearing. [06:45:53] We're not taking a break. [06:46:09] we're waiting the applicant and staff to clear the room and then we will start the public hearing [06:46:13] immediately. I assume there are people sitting out in the atrium so we're going to lay a couple [06:47:09] of ground rules before our public hearing starts. Each speaker when getting up I will call the first five numbers one through five. Please try to line up in that general order if you have a number try not to be out of order so we know who's speaking. Please state your name and generally where you live or your magisterial district at the beginning of your remarks please also tell us whether you're speaking to which rezoning you're speaking to you are welcome to speak to all three two of the three or one of the three so you would get up and say i'm speaking to rezoning 2022-36 33 and 32 and you [06:47:47] will be allotted nine minutes to speak if you get up and say i'm only speaking to one public hearing you will be allotted three minutes to speak you cannot come back later on and speak to those other two public hearings. So when you get up, let us know how many public hearings you're speaking to, and if you can say the numbers, that's great. In addition, if you are requesting to represent a official organization that's either an official HOA, it's a civic organization, or a 501c3, please ask that at the beginning of your remarks, and I will ask everybody whether you're a civic, [06:48:23] doesn't, I don't want to upset anybody, I know people get upset about this, but I will ask you whether it's an HOA, a civic organization, or a 501 , and whether you are officially here to represent that organization. There were some issues during the Planning Commission where multiple people were speaking to represent organizations, and so we're making sure that there's one official representative who's going to take the long amount of time for those organizations, and so you should be, just not because you're part of an HOA, if you request 15 minutes, you should be, and we're not going to check this, but you should be officially representing that organization, and we'll take it on faith that you [06:49:00] are. I will also mention during the Planning Commission hearing, there was about 14 hours of public testimony, so this will be a long time. I will point out that of that public testimony, that was 14 hours, and I do this really for, you know, it was never really reported too much in the media, but of those 14 hours, two of that was people who were supporting the project, taking a relatively short amount of time and being brief and succinct and not repetitive as our rules. [06:49:30] I ask you not to be repetitive. Of the 12, of the 14 were people who were opposed to the project, making sure they took up the maximum nine minutes. Now, you're welcome to take the maximum nine minutes by the court of law. Everyone's allowed to do that. [06:49:45] But do recognize that if you're going to complain about how long we're sitting here, It might be because someone is reading the telephone book instead of speaking to issues that they feel like the problem. Madam Chair, that's really inappropriate. I really wish you would stop ascribing that type of behavior to the residents. [06:50:04] Supervisor Weir, if you want to be recognized, you need to ask to be recognized. Why don't you start acting civil first, and then I won't have to ask to be recognized? Supervisor Weir, you know, your demeanor and it is really, it's not appropriate, And you can either be part of this board and ask to be recognized and have a comment. [06:50:22] But at this point, we're just going to move on. I'm simply stating that your behavior isn't appropriate either. So that's just for people out there who are curious about how long this is going to go. So it may go a long time. And, yes, thank you. Whether you disagree or agree with Supervisor Weir or any of the speakers, we ask that you refrain from comments, positive or negative or outbursts of expressions of emotion. [06:50:49] and i will say that also includes the outer the outer atrium if you understand the the atrium outside is a an extension of the board chamber so uh we're we're not going to tolerate people cheering when people walk out the door it's an extension of chambers and people in the atrium but i believe there are signs up to that effect need to keep decorum also so with that let's get started our first five speakers are one through five and we'll see how this goes ready hello i'm I'm Roger Yackel from Gainesville, and I'm going to address all three. [06:51:28] I have a few points. First, this meeting is illegal and should be adjourned immediately, if you listened to Chap Peterson yesterday. Two, every Pageland landowner speaking in favor of PW Digital Gateway should be required to say they will benefit financially if the proposal passes. [06:51:49] Three, I represent Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth of 501c3, so I request 15 minutes. Four, I would like to yield my time to Supervisor Weir. Oh, maybe not. Sorry. Okay. [06:52:05] Now, I'm a little tired today because of a bad dream last night. There was Chair Wheeler floating overhead with a crude smile looking down on Prince William County and in all directions seeing data centers. All the trees on Paisland Lane were clear-cut, mowed down, a few saplings were planted. [06:52:26] Remember when I showed you a photograph of trees? Different from what some of the residents on Paisland were saying, right, Kenny? No parks or nature trails on Paisland Lane. Surprise, Vic. All the long-eared bats, dead and gone. [06:52:44] They couldn't locate food because of the data center noise. Did you hear that, Andrea? No memorials to Jenny Dean, as were promised, right, Supervisor Margaret Franklin? No visitors for weeks to the Manassas National Battlefield. [06:53:00] Why? The views, the noise, the diesel exhaust. Why did you ignore the last few superintendents pleading for help to stop PW Digital Gateway? People in the surrounding communities were all wearing masks to help filter out the soot from the data center diesel generators and earplugs to block out the noise. [06:53:21] This is the area you wanted to protect, a great place for families, as you said in June, Chair Wheeler. Many loud trucks traveling up the bi-county park-wide allowed, and funny how Ann Wheeler, Andrea Bailey, and Pete Canlan agreed that this wouldn't happen. [06:53:38] I think it was in a private meeting. Prince William County residents look very unhappy as their electricity bills have more than doubled, and their property taxes keep going up. Of course, Ann Wheeler and the Pagelanders don't care because they will move far away after selling their property. [06:53:58] Prince William County recently opened up a mountain bike trail on a new mountain of data center e-waste. I think it is being called Compass Hill. Had you only been warned, oh, yes, you had, and you did no planning. Victor Angry and Andrea Bailey are passing out bottled water to residents who can't drink from the Occoquan Reservoir. [06:54:21] Too salty, and there's diesel from the diesel-spilled truck spills with no containment. If only the supervisors had been warned of the tipping point and the risk. Oh, you were. Or were you out of the room, Supervisor Bailey? [06:54:41] Let's talk to the expert on water, Chair Ann Wheeler. You act, at least, like you are one with all the answers. As you said to me back on November 2, 2021, about the Occoquan Reservoir, I talked to one person in the DEQ, and he said, everything is okay. [06:55:01] Interesting. One person. Really? What about March 28, 2022, Ann? When I again brought up some organization questioning gateway, they said, don't build data centers on Page of the Lane. It's a terrible idea. Do a study first before any data center approvals. [06:55:18] You heard it, but you were quick to push back against every organization. the Sierra Club, Fairfax Water, Prince William County Watershed Management, and you know there were many, many other groups. You were not listening nor interested in hearing anything about Prince William Digital Gateway, and you should have attended the Committee of 100 meeting in April with four real experts. Kenny, you should have been there too. You would have learned a lot from the experts. You may ask, but who can I trust? Who is telling the truth? Do you believe the data center companies and their developers? Have they been open and sharing facts? Of course [06:55:58] not. Hiding behind NDAs? The planning office still says there is much missing. Hiding issues from the public? The reforestation comment? So weak and misleading. Thanks, Kenny, for helping to clarify that. Do you believe the Paisland landowners? Will they share facts? I would ask the guy who spoke about the golf balls in Little Bull Run. Do you remember that? Maybe not him. What about the guy who said the data centers were just two floors. Of course, you didn't say that they were each 35 feet and there was air handling equipment on top. Misleading, right? Do you believe the [06:56:36] planning office? Kenny, you said two years ago that you would wait for the report before your decision. Do you remember? Your decision on how to vote should be easy. I believe then you said something like you would wait for the recommendation and if it's denial, you would follow would, something like that. How about residents like Dr. John Liver, Ali Stoger, Bill Wright, Kathy Kulik, who did a lot of research and talked to real experts? You may say Bill Wright was too mean, right, Margaret? Actually, Bill has been trying to do the right thing for two years. He [06:57:14] has been questioning your decision-making with the campaign contributions still coming in. Do you believe real experts? Any good leader finds experts, and I mean real experts, not the hired guns from QTS. What have experts said on water? Dr. Stanley Grant, we could be reaching a tipping point with the Ucaquan because of salt content. Director Tom Smith, salt content is going up every year since 1980. Do you remember this letter in November of 2022? Greg Perlowitz of Fairfax [06:57:50] water. We need the land around Pageland Lane to remain as is because it's good pervious soil for controlling stormwater flow. Please don't believe the BS around the size of the developed area in the overlay district being good pervious land. It is not the same as it is paved over. Obvious conclusion. I will also add that two of us went on the Occoquan Reservoir in a boat taking water samples. We made the effort to understand the process and talk to the experts. How many of you have done that. Thanks, Supervisor Lawson. You have. One last fact. Tell us about the impact of [06:58:30] in Virginia caused by the drought we have been experiencing. How has the drought impacted the water level in Lake Manassas, the Rappahannock River, and of course the water table of the aquifers and water conductivity? Oh, you don't know? Have you posed the question to anyone, does this risk matter to any of you? I can share the 250-page report that was just issued by the Virginia DEQ if you like. I can also ask a retired hydrogeologist expert to share her thoughts if you're interested in any facts, or of course you could ask your own sustainability commission. [06:59:06] There is risk. You should be positively addressing this and not hiding because of campaign contributions. There are so many issues with Prince William Digital Gateway. There's so many unanswered questions. You heard them, Mr. Shorter, and the rest of you have too. This project should be killed, put data centers where they belong, not on Paisland Lane. Keep them in the [06:59:32] overlay district. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Elizabeth Eight, and next February, I'll be a 29-year resident of Paisland Lane, District 10. I fully support the three rezonings for Digital Gateway. I ask that you vote yes for the three rezonings, please. This area [07:00:04] ceased to be a rural area when cross-country transmission towers darkened then the pastoral landscape of Pagedon Lane or corridor. To add insult to injury, the electrical company came back and set a second row of transmission towers threatening us, the home and landowners, of eminent domain if we did not like the idea. We had no choice in the matter. Furthermore, Pagedon Lane became, on which we live, became a shortcut thoroughfare for a lot of residents of Gainesville [07:00:42] and surrounding areas. I do not even drive anymore because to make a left-hand turn from my driveway, I live my life in the hands of many cut-through drivers and their vehicles on Page and Lane. There are morning and evening rush hour times when traffic backs up almost all the way to our driveway, and we are basically in the middle of the driveway, of Page and Lane, There is also a traffic sign for no through-traffic trucks. [07:01:13] They regularly ignore it and travel through Pageland at high speeds. Because of Pageland Lane being located between Route 29 and Route 234 and offering easy access to Loudoun County from Prince William, it has become a very busy major road at any time of the day. [07:01:34] People regularly drive 10 miles plus over the speed limit, and often will ride one's bumper if he or she drives the speed limit. I've experienced it many times. Even my husband, who has an excellent driving record, was involved in an accident on the 31st of October 2018 on his way to work, trying to make a left-hand turn onto Pajden Lane from our driveway. [07:02:02] His pickup was totaled. On a positive note, Prince William Digital Gateway would bring a lot of new jobs, and tax revenue would benefit everybody. We need new teachers for our schools, and with that, an ability to pay competitive salaries. [07:02:21] Whereas the neighboring county of Loudoun, now known as one of the richest in this country, has many reasons, and one of them being the data centers, was projected to have $146 million in surplus by the end of fiscal year 2023, according to Loudoun Times Mirror article from May 13, 2023. Contrast that fact to this. The students of Prince William County often meet in trailers because the classrooms are [07:02:53] full. The trailers were only meant to temporarily facilitate the learning environment. I want to add that trailer craftsmen have been in use since my now 40-year-old daughter was in high school, and there is no foreseeable fix in sight apart from the revenue generated by Prism William Digital Gateway. Might I remind us all that those trailers tend to be breeding grounds for mold and other toxins, toxic fumes, and this is where we subject our children and their teachers to these [07:03:30] poisonous elements for sometimes hours at a time. We need more first responders, especially since crime in our county skyrocketed based on these statistics. Tax revenue from Prince William Digital Gateway would benefit our public health care, public transportation, provide for watershed improvements, enable an average residential flat tax bill for residents each year. In other words, benefit all, all residents of Prince William County, not just a few. Also, Prince William [07:04:04] Digital Gateway has been the most studied project in the history of our county. As you know, dear board members, I thank you very much for your courage in the face of opposition and doing the right thing, which has the whole county in mind. I fully support the project, and I do reject the dirty tactics. Please vote yes on these three rezonings in favor of the gateway. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. And just as a reminder, if you can state how many of the [07:04:42] rezonings you're speaking on so we know how many minutes to allot you. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Gary Van Horn. I'm from Gainesville. I'll generally speak to all three rezoning requests. Thank you, Madam Chair and board members, for your diligence and competence regarding these projects, despite absurd allegations and personal attacks that you have endured. I think it's important for all of us to recognize that we, as a community and neighbors, are far more than being [07:05:16] defined as either for or against the Prince William Digital Gateway. We may have a disagreement over the direction and future of our county, but we, for the most part, want what is best. This is such an important issue, and I think our collective anxiety or concerns reflect that. I'm taking the most objective possible view I can in looking at all the facts and information that has been disseminated over two and a half years, and I can honestly say it strikes me that voting yes [07:05:54] for rezoning and the Prince William Digital Gateway is in the best interest of our county now and for our collective future. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Ken Nard, Gainesville District. I'm going to speak to all three generally. This board has pursued bold initiatives to transform our commercial tax base since day one and should be commended for doing so. These rezonings are fundamentally about and represent the largest economic development project [07:06:31] in the history of our county. We're talking about two major companies willing to invest more than $30 billion in our neighborhoods. I truly believe these rezonings will create the commercial economic engine that will drive our county's prosperity for several decades. At the end of the day, however, each of you, as our elected representatives, simply have to decide, will these rezonings help your constituents? Have the issues been adequately addressed? Have risks been mitigated? [07:07:03] And finally, will the county prosper as a result of this significant capital investment? I respect respectfully request you support all three rezonings. Thank you. And before our next speaker, if number six through ten would like to line up in the back, that would be fine. Please proceed. [07:07:22] Good evening. My name is Dave Seri. I've been a resident of Gainesville for 24 years, and I support the Digital Gateway. I'd like to preface my remarks by thanking everyone on the board for all your hard work. How you sit up there in the bright lights, fielding questions, occasionally having insults and accusations hurled at you, maintaining your poise and composure, rarely fighting among yourselves, rarely grandstanding. [07:07:54] Most of you rarely grandstanding. I don't know how you do it. You're not getting paid enough. That's all I know. The Digital Gateway is the most asymmetric opportunity this county is ever going to see. [07:08:13] $460 million of revenue every year. That's the better part of half a billion dollars a year. Half a billion. I can't say it like Carl Sagan does, but it's a big number. [07:08:31] This project will propel this county into a position of much greater financial strength and leadership in the region and the nation in fields which are rapidly becoming the industries which are going to form our future. [07:08:58] Someone is going to seize this opportunity. Hopefully it's us. On the issue of noise levels, which keeps cropping up, which I find very funny, we have data centers at my work. They're old data centers. You stand outside the building, it sounds just like the other buildings. [07:09:18] They don't make any noise. And the newer ones presumably have newer technology and will be even quieter. On the subject of watershed, the studies have been done and show these concerns to be blown out of proportion. [07:09:35] And let's not forget that Supervisors Weir and Lawson approved a data center site 10 miles closer to the Occoquan than the proposed digital gateway in the Paisland area. On the subject of burial sites, I too agree it's important to preserve the memory of our forebearers. [07:09:59] We wouldn't be here without them. My mom and dad are gone, as are my grandparents. But if they could speak here, I'm certain they would be the first to admit that they are dead. [07:10:16] And there are, in the county, half a million people living a life today who need services. They need first responder care. Their kids need education. Let's not forget about them. [07:10:34] Thank you again for everything you do. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Madam Chair, I'd like to request 15 minutes and speak for all three applications. [07:10:50] I represent Trappers Ridge Homeowners Association. So it's an HOA, and you're officially representing them. That is correct. Very good. And I'd also like to use the slide. Is Madden Elmo. Did you say your name? [07:11:11] Mike Grossman. Okay. Good evening, Madam Chair and Supervisors. My name is Mike Grossman, and I live in the Gainesville District. I've been a resident of Prince William County for 45 years. [07:11:28] It has been almost two and a half years since the Democrat-led board recognized the potential of the PW Digital Gateway and initiated the CPA. And since then, this land use case has become the most studied and debated land use case probably in the history of Prince William County. I think it's important to remember that these public hearings are not to determine if data centers should be built in the Pajon Lane Corridor. [07:11:50] That question was answered with the adoption of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and the approval of the PW Digital Gateway CPA. The question before this board tonight is if the rezoning applications abide by the intent of the approved CPA. I believe that the applicant's earlier presentations and remarks overwhelmingly demonstrate that these rezoning applications support the CPA's intent and satisfy its requirements. [07:12:15] I hope the majority of the board draws the same conclusion. Over the past two and a half years, it has been the Democrats on this board who have impartially asked the difficult questions and demanded answers. You have challenged yourselves and you have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and wisdom along the way. [07:12:32] You have shown strong leadership and dogged persistence, and for this, you should be commended, not ridiculed or vilified as corrupt politicians with unsubstantiated allegations. Sadly, you have been threatened, you have been bullied, you have been subject to a massive amount of misinformation and fear-mongering. [07:12:51] But through it all, you have persevered and continued to do your job and do it well. And because of all of this, you, as the majority of the board, are the ones best suited to make the final determination on these rezoning applications. Over the past two, what is the PW Digital Gateway? [07:13:15] Sure, it's a technology corridor which allows for the development of data center campuses. But more than that, fundamentally, the PW Digital Gateway represents a key for unlocking a door. Behind this door is what is needed to help Prince William County achieve its full potential and ensure collective welfare for all of its citizens. [07:13:34] What's behind the store is a massive amount of commercial tax base, which we all know this county is in short supply. The PW Digital Gateway would encompass over 2,100 acres. 1,300 of these acres would be allowed for data centers, and the other 800 acres, currently privately owned land, would be set aside for parks, historic interpretive sites, and protected open space. [07:13:58] The 1,300 acre portion equals to a little bit more of one half of 1% of all the land in Prince William County. And this land has the potential to generate an enormous amount of commercial tax base. The Prince William County Finance Department projects the amount of taxes generated on this sliver of land tucked away near Loudoun County, not near any dense residential neighborhoods, and over a mile away from the closest school, this sliver of land will generate almost 13% the entire 2024 budget at full build-out. [07:14:29] But not only that, we don't have to wait 15 years, 10 years, or even two years to start reaping the financial benefits. In the very first year, while this land is waiting to be developed, tens of millions of dollars of additional tax base would come into the county's coffers just on the raw land's new assessment values alone. [07:14:54] As I alluded to a minute ago, our county has a commercial tax base crisis. I say crisis because it is a crisis. Our commercial tax base stands at a paltry 18%. It needs to be 35% or more to be considered healthy. And because of this crisis, we have to rely on our residents to carry most of the tax burden and provide $0.82 of every dollar, 82% of the taxes needed to allow our county to function. [07:15:20] Fortunately, the Democrats on this board have identified a solution to remedy this crisis. And this solution centers around embracing and encouraging the formation of our most promising target in industry, data centers. When I say a solution, I really mean the solution. [07:15:35] Because what is the alternative? The Republicans on this board all acknowledge we have a huge commercial tax-based problem, but when you ask them what their solutions are to remedy this, you get pathetic responses. Supervisor Lawson's primary solution, more agro-tourism. [07:15:51] That is pander talk for, I don't have a solution. Supervisor Lawson also talks about spending on reduced cutting spending on essential programs and initiatives. Supervisor Lawson, how do we ever expect to be able to compete with Loudoun and Fairfax if we don't solve our commercial tax-based crisis? [07:16:07] and at the same time we cut spending. We are losing some of our best and brightest teachers to our neighbors, as well as police officers and other talent. The Fairfax County police officer's starting pay is 6% higher than what Prince William County offers. Prince William County is currently offering a $10,000 signing bonus. Fairfax County is currently offering a $15,000 signing bonus. Our schools need more resources. We have a significant public transit mobility issue. [07:16:36] our mental health resources are underfunded parks and recreation projects sit in the abyss and not to mention the 800 pound gorilla in the room the lack of affordable housing and workforce housing especially on the western end of the county it is extremely unfortunate too many of our first responders and teachers can't afford to live in the county where they work and supervisor lawson keeping 52 percent of our county without sewer and water so you can say things like this proposed affordable housing development is incompatible with the surrounding area of the western end of the county, in addition to cutting spending on essential programs, are not part of the solutions [07:17:12] we need as a county. And Supervisor Weir, I know he understands that our county needs to diversify and grow its commercial tax base, because I heard him say so. But when you ask him for a solution, the only thing he can come up with is to provide additional support for our small businesses, which again is another way of saying, I don't have an answer. The right answer, and this is to the benefit of the Republicans sitting on the dais, because I know the Democrats already know the answer. The correct answer in addressing our commercial tax-based crisis is to address and retain our targeted industries, attract and retain our targeted industries. However, we know there is [07:17:48] only one targeted industry at this moment in time which has the propensity to make a material dent in our commercial tax-based crisis, and this is the data center industry. This is a solution we need to embrace, and this Democrat-led board has shown that they have the courage or their convictions to embrace this opportunity in a material way and make a difference. But we need to finish the job, and that means bringing home the PW Digital Gateway. As I said earlier, this [07:18:22] opportunity is behind a locked door, and the Democrat-led majority has the key. But what I didn't say is that this door will not always be there, just like all opportunities. We have studied this project for two and a half years, and it's time to make the decision for approval, because if this decision is postponed or denied today, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the PW Digital Gateway, as envisioned, will be lost forever. Sure, at some point, there likely will be some hodgepodge data center development mixed with dense residential housing throughout the Pajan corridor, but in the end, what we will get will resemble nothing close to what you see on [07:19:01] the screen, which is a great project for all of Prince William County. For too long, our county has been a second-rate citizen in Northern Virginia. That time needs to end. This is our time, And you, the Democrat majority, hold a powerful key to unlocking the door to our county's potential. [07:19:19] I ask you not to let this opportunity go by the wayside. I ask you to maintain your vision, be steadfast on your courage and conviction, and finish the job. I ask you to seize the day. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [07:19:37] Hi, I'm speaking to all three applications. My name is Heather Grossman, and I lived in Prince William County for 27 years. Just make sure you speak into the microphone. I am better. Thank you. I come here today to ask you to approve the PW Digital Gateway, which will not only serve as a technological hub, but also as an engine for economic growth. [07:20:00] Our county has a unique opportunity to welcome these data centers, which will generate significant commercial tax revenue, contributing to the financial stability and development of our community. The rezonings before you today represent an opportunity to combine economic growth with social responsibility. [07:20:18] These zonings align with the vision of a thriving, inclusive community and will bring them innovation, job creation, and economic diversification. The commercial tax revenue generated will serve as a vital resource to fund essential public services, education, and infrastructure projects that will benefit all the residents, regardless of background or location within the county. [07:20:42] As we navigate through the delicate balance of principles, it's crucial to recognize that the decisions made by this board impact the entire county. The responsibility lies not only in representing a specific area or a group of people, but in ensuring the collective welfare of all Prince William County residents. [07:21:02] By embracing the potential of data centers, we can cultivate an environment that fosters growth, inclusivity, and a brighter future for everyone. I want to commend the five Democratic supervisors for navigating the delicate balance required to represent the diverse values of our community. [07:21:20] The five of you have demonstrated exemplary leadership by balancing the intricacies between conservative pro-business principles and liberal social principles. Balancing the interests of conservatives and liberals is no small feat. [07:21:35] Yet the five of you have demonstrated a commitment to the greater good by fostering an environment where economic prosperity and social responsibility coexist. You have set an example for effective governance. It is commendable that you have chosen to represent all of the people within the county transcending the geographical and demographic boundaries. [07:21:57] Let us seize this opportunity to enhance our economic landscape, provide new opportunities for our residents, and build a foundation for a thriving community. May your decision reflect a commitment to the holistic well-being of all citizens. Thank you. [07:22:13] Next speaker, please. Good evening, Supervisors. I am Lila Bartraff from the Gainesville District, and I'll be speaking on all three applications, and I support the Digital Gateway. As a county, we need to pay our workers more. My husband is a teacher for Prince William County, and he chooses to work here because we live here. [07:22:35] Our kids go to school here, and we want to support and make this community better. But we live minutes away from two different counties that would pay him more to go work there. Every year, we have to reevaluate if he should continue to work for Prince William County schools or if he should switch districts. [07:22:55] Does my job make enough more to cover the difference in pay, or does he need to switch districts? Most teachers in Prince William County have to make this same decision. Because of this, our schools are still not fully staffed. [07:23:11] Our teachers are overworked, and our students are suffering for it. Without higher pay, we can't fully staff our schools, and our kids will continue to pay the price. Our firefighters, police, and county staff are facing the same challenges and dilemmas. [07:23:28] If we continue to pay our county workers less than our surrounding counties, we will continue to lose our staff. And if we raise their pay without a strong commercial base to help us pay for it, we will lose residence, as the people who currently live here cannot afford such a high tax increase. [07:23:48] To be relevant, competitive, world-class, we have to raise salaries without raising our property taxes. And to do that, we need commercial revenue. The Digital Gateway is the perfect opportunity for our county's future. [07:24:04] It's been pointed out on more than one occasion by county staff that if not the digital gateway, then something else will be developed on Pageland. But no other development would be better for Pageland and the county than this. What this project brings to the community is more than just money. [07:24:24] It also includes parks and paths for the community. It respects the area's history by offering access to spaces and educating the public on our past. It's because of the size that they can offer us buffers and open space. [07:24:40] If we reject this proposal, Pageland will still be developed, but piece by piece with no cohesive vision. We will lose all the parts about this project that make it something worth building. We need the income, but we shouldn't have to settle for a patchwork of developments as each farm on Pageland sells one by one. [07:25:02] we can choose a better vision for our community, one in which we get the income we need and also the public space we want. I believe that the Digital Gateway is a world-class example of how counties and businesses can work together to build a future while protecting the past. [07:25:23] Please vote yes on all three applications today. Support the Digital Gateway. Thank you. thank you next speaker please chair Wheeler vice chair and members of the board good evening my name is Beverly Parsons and this is my amazing father Bev Davis I'll be speaking for a few minutes on all three cases gateway south north and compass my dad is absolutely phenomenal but not one for public speaking so he asked me to help him here today I say these words for him [07:25:57] for my three uncles and two aunts who range in age 62 to 81 who all grew up on our 35 acres which is right in the middle of this project this property has been in our family since 1876 I can't tell you how surprised and disappointed we have been with the people from the PEC in Heritage Hunt coming in and having the bat faith to tell you what we can do with our family's generational land. The thousands of heritage hunt homes, their country clubs, and big golf courts all used to be a beautiful farm. My family did not object when they bulldozed over the farm and [07:26:34] built thousands of heritage hunt homes that come right to the property line with no setbacks at all. Those who are here tell you how that doesn't matter, but why it is important to stop this project should be embarrassed. Do you know these opponents? These opponents who call my father and my aunts and uncles, arrogant, greedy, and selfish, have been specifically instructed to spend every second of their 9 to 15 minutes to delay this for as long as possible in order to exhaust you. [07:27:02] There are people here today who have been practicing and scheming about how to spend so much time that you guys can't take it anymore and just give up the, throw in the towel. I know chair, vice chair, and members of this board, you are stronger and smarter than that. Bill Wright, Mr. LaVere, and their little data center community. [07:27:19] Matt Caddow, the big PEC money people living off their trust funds and their million-dollar mansions in Falk here. People like Elena, who live 10 miles away, busy blogging every minute of the day, FaceTiming every day, posting lies and cartoons and misleading otherwise good people to get all worked up so they can march in here all righteous and tell you what to do with my family's property. [07:27:42] Those arrogant people working with paid lobbyists of the PEC and the battlefield, and they call my father arrogant and greedy. My dad, standing right here, does he look arrogant or greedy to you? You should fill his hands, how they are hard and rough from actually working for a living, not lecturing others on how they should live their lives. [07:28:02] These folks just love reading their own editorials and love seeing their names in the newspaper and hoping to get interviewed on the local news. They come here all high and mighty to tell you how stupid you are. They have shown you such utter disrespect for the last two years. They throw you obscene hand gestures to you, good, thoughtful Chair Wheeler, Vice Chair, Mr. Angry, Ms. Franklin, Ms. Bailey, you good, strong leaders taking all of this nonsense and abuse every single day. [07:28:31] Thank you so much for standing tall and strong and trying to do the right thing for everyone in this county, not just the rich ones who already got theirs. These opponents claim they represent all of Prince William. There are 450,000 people in our counties, and they stirred up 100 and claimed they represent us all. [07:28:50] For the record, they do not. My ancestors toiled and farmed this land for decades to try to provide for their children and their grandchildren like me. They wanted a better life. My dad worked hard just to pay Prince William County taxes so he would not lose our land, while lots of wealthy people put their big farms out west on open space easements so they could get a tax break. [07:29:12] Let's not forget that Dominion put these 130-foot-tall poles right through our farm, right through the middle. And then we have the battlefield and the National Park Service, who have never once visited my family or our land, march in here and say no, that battlefield famous for the Confederacy, not for our United States, and over two miles away from my family home. [07:29:34] There are people from the battlefield getting right here today trying to lecture you to leave my dad's land just as it is under those 135 foot tall Dominion power towers. Leave that land right as it is in order to protect our battlefield's sacred views from two miles away. Are you kidding me? I hope they're listening right now. Just like the 20-hour planning commission, they're going to stand right here and embarrass themselves. They should be humiliated to get up here before you and give their same tired know-it-all lectures and these same people are going to get up here with a straight face and tell you that there are hundreds of bodies buried all over these farms in [07:30:13] my family's land. Seriously do they think the board is stupid? All these lands including my families have been farmed for decades for generations. You think we'd find those bodies by now don't you? Shame on these know-it-alls trying to lecture you on what we should do with our family's land. I don't care if you're black, white, green, or purple. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat. Please don't listen to the toxic words from these entitled people who moved even closer to the battlefield than our land or lived 10 miles away telling you, hey, it's perfectly okay for us to have our homes, our golf course, country club, and parties, [07:30:51] our swimming pools, and tax breaks, but nothing for you Davis people. You all have an important job to do think about who is lecturing you please be fair and impartial my father and i and our whole family and our ancestors thank you thank you guys i'm sorry i really have to say we can't let anybody do any kind of of outbursts thank you next speaker please um with that before our next [07:31:19] speaker i'll call up numbers 11 through 15 you can do that 11 through 15 please um hello is it tilt up yeah just the area and before Mr. Stiles starts if we could just do the people who are 11 through 15 um in the back and if you're not 11 through 15 I would ask everybody to sit only even if you know that you're like the next one because of the no standing signs because of the fire [07:31:57] people please proceed all right thank you my name is Colin Stiles I'm a Gainesville district resident I will speak on all three applications this evening although I will not take all of that time you know I would ask the board here there's been a lot of difficult questions and I appreciate all the work that has gone into the applications from staff do not lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of young hard-working families in this county do not have the privilege to be here to drop everything in their life and be here but they desperately need the services that the [07:32:33] county provides and quite frankly it's just not good enough this application provides a vehicle to bring Prince William County and all of our residents and our children forward into the future. We have adopted a comp plan, and now it's time to have the courage to implement that plan. [07:32:51] There's been a lot of hard work by the applicants and staff on the complex applications, but I must say that I am deeply troubled by the behavior of some staff members. Clearly taking sides, continuing to move the goalposts, creating development standards that are not consistent with the zoning process, not consistent with any development standard in Northern Virginia or Prince William County. This is not the way that we move Prince William County forward into the future. Please support the digital gateway applications. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Stiles. [07:33:20] Next speaker, please. My name is Stephen Ward. I'm speaking as VP of my HOA, the Paddocks at Dutton Downs Gainesville District. I'm requesting 15 minutes for all three. Sure, which HOA is that by the way, sir? In the 1970s, I was an economist at the U.S. Sir, which HOA are you representing? [07:33:42] Paddocks at Dutton Downs. All right, thank you. In the 1970s, I was an economist at the U.S. EPA advising on major hazardous waste regulations later I worked as an investment manager at Charles Schwab from which I retired where we managed over 160 billion dollars of client money for reference that's more than twice the assessed value of the whole county so it's a lot of money we used to make two two and three billion dollar investment decisions but we would never ever make such commitments without all the necessary information and all the required due diligence the scale of these submissions is massive there has [07:34:18] never been a submission like this with so many implications and yet missing most of the normal essential details you've heard about those scale should not be a grant not grant exemption for mandatory details it should increase your concern about more being missed only a few weeks ago hundreds of pages of documents were delivered to the county pages that cannot have been carefully reviewed it is reckless to blindly approve such massive change on a trust me basis there will be inevitably innocent victims of this haste and that will be on you. What are the problems with [07:34:53] this submission? Structures. Pitch to be park-like and low impact. We've all seen the photos of what these monster boxes actually look like when they sprout up effectively in people's backyards. Don't kid yourselves. These are massive permanent changes. I've lived in New Jersey and I've lived in Pittsburgh and I know what it is like to see endless vistas of obsolete decaying remains of past industry decades after jobs and tax money have gone and there will be 100 foot tall power lines everywhere across all manner of property on land seized by unstoppable imminent domain. [07:35:28] Water. In 2018, Virginia state law was amended to require that the comprehensive plan assure the availability, quality, and sustainability of surface water and groundwater. Data centers do use water, and they do create water problems. The water they use for cooling creates concentrations of salinity in the remaining water that is a problem when the water flows downstream into the Aquacron Reservoir. Fairfax Water has asked for water studies, but there have been no water studies. [07:35:55] No water studies. The direct implication is that eventually remediation of too much salt in the reservoir and increased sediment will require billions of dollars for remediation. Do the water study. [07:36:13] The Occoquan is already the most urbanized watershed in America, serving half of two different counties, and we're going to roll the dice with this extraordinary treasure. Runoff and flooding. When as little as 5% of the surfaces in an area become impermeable from development and roads, flash flooding begins to occur. [07:36:33] It's not the water on the parking lot here, it's where it ends up at the other end of the county. The water has nowhere to go in overwhelmed storm drains, flooding roads, and low-lying areas. The flooding that we have all seen in Alexandria, Virginia, and Ellicott City in Maryland is not from climate change. It is from development. [07:36:50] Data centers and related parking roads and surfaces, other surfaces planned, will overwhelm the storm system, leading to flash flooding far away downstream. Groundwater. When runoff occurs, the water that would have gone into permeable ground or run gradually into streams feeding ponds and our reservoir is not available to recharge the groundwater. [07:37:14] The rural crescent is completely dependent on groundwater. There is no other water, no river, no ocean, no bay, nothing. Failure to recharge groundwater condemns communities to the higher cost of deeper wells at first and then to extinction when it fails. This is happening now at places all over the world and is the epitaph of many lost cities and nations in history. [07:37:34] These submissions do not forbid data centers from drying water or don't even require reporting to anyone what they might be doing. Today in all the rural crescent, there is only one USGS monitoring well, and it is showing steadily declining groundwater levels. [07:37:51] Is that how we assure availability, quality, and sustainability of groundwater? No. The grid. The grid is now in trouble. The county is committed to going green, but you've heard about the problems and limitations with renewables in Texas and elsewhere around the world. We have no credible plan to go green. [07:38:08] The PJM grid, Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland, has told Dominion Energy that they are on notice. They will not be able to draw from the PJM grid because they don't contribute. Their margin's too tight. But when it comes to grid planning, PJM is calling the shots. PJM is now planning for future demand and has already planned including a possible massive power line going straight through the middle of an established neighborhood. [07:38:28] I should know. It's mine. I've seen the map. PJM does know where they're looking to put the power lines, but they're not sharing, and it's ugly. The whole process is flawed. In this process, first development decisions are made, and then after the fact, we find out the impact when the utilities must adapt and provide the additional power capacity, and routes are determined for additional power lines. [07:38:51] Only then, when it is too late, will we begin to measure and regret our lack of foresight. Your decision today will cause a cascade of land-taking that can no longer be controlled or stopped, but we could ask beforehand where that power is coming from, because we don't know, they know. [07:39:09] This is a real show game. Novak, Dominion, everybody talks about the process, but nobody can answer the question. They need to be brought into the process and answer it before we make commitments to energy that may not be there, may not be reliable, or might even be coal from West Virginia. The real plan is unspeakable and must remain hidden to win approval. [07:39:29] It isn't green, and it will trample homes and RPAs. This process here is the velvet glove asking permission. Right behind it is the iron fist of eminent domain for taking power lines, land for power lines. This proposal, apparently the world's largest data center project, will require at least 3 gigawatts of power, Enough to power at least 500,000 homes, more than triple the number of homes now in the entire county. [07:39:58] For further comparison, the largest wind farm ever approved for Virginia, the coastal Virginia offshore wind farm, is only 2.6 gigawatts. We are exceeding that huge project in one stroke with one data center park trifecta and racing further away from 100% renewables. We are already on notice from PGM and already have no credible path to renewable energy. [07:40:18] Innovation is now working against us. AI chips on the way will require as much as 10 times the power of current chips. This virtually guarantees a further massive increase in power demand that is not even addressed here. There is no explanation of where this power is coming from. Our grid is on the edge now, and grid stability is at risk. [07:40:39] Air quality. These data centers are being proposed with diesel power backup in case of power outage. Diesel is the dirtiest fossil fuel. These data centers will be close to homes, schools, and the battlefield. When the normal power is out, they will all be running at once, creating a concentrated risk to people in ways now prohibited. [07:40:57] Why is this risk to us okay from an industry well able to afford safer choices? What will happen when the grid becomes even more unreliable, more prone to interruption, and the backups are running more and more often? This is not planning. This is not safe. Economic cost benefit. [07:41:13] John Liver, PhD, presented a present value analysis of the overall costs and benefits of the county, something any business or thoughtful organization would do before making large and irreversible decisions, but completely lacking from the county. The analysis showed modest tax revenue benefits relative to other people getting paid by data centers largely offset by upfront costs and impacts from things such as road construction and financing costs for decades. The bottom line is the money we think we're getting is mostly lost when other costs and impacts are carefully measured. We don't actually come out ahead from this economically. This analysis did not even include the impacts on water, the Occoquan, [07:41:51] or on additional power costs. When more generators are added to the grid and we share that cost across the data centers, and it costs more than what we have, everybody's costs go up. We're getting less tax revenue at lower rates than Loudoun and Fairfax, where we are becoming the greatest data center area on earth, disrupting the county and incurring uncompensated costs on a massive scale. [07:42:16] Northern Virginia has had wildly explosive data center growth like nowhere on earth. They get the compounded benefits of location near each other. We incur the rising marginal cost of new green energy and on our water. [07:42:39] We think we're getting rich, but we're really just a loser at the poker table getting taken. They don't respect us. Why would they? The board denies itself time for a proper review. We don't listen to our own planning experts or anyone else. To summarize, we have not received all the information normally necessary for proper review of submission. [07:43:03] There is no information about the actual designs and features of each property as would normally be required. so trust me. Large amounts of documents were submitted in the last minute without proper time for review. County staff is recommended against proposals. The Planning Commission is recommended against the proposals. The Park Service is against the proposals. The Historical Commission is against the proposals. The proposals will drastically overstress the existing grid and massively expand future power demands and risk grid failures. We already have no credible plan for green energy. Even the county's own Sustainability Commission admits that. This is the same board [07:43:38] that voted for net zero and will now give these projects a blank check, not knowing where the power is coming from. The proposals will cause cascading demand for power lines from afar, possibly coal from West Virginia, and cause related land seizures and impacts on neighborhoods and resource protected areas. [07:43:56] You heard the people, they say, when we're looking to place these lines, we would avoid that if we could, when they already know they can't. They're going to impact all kinds of things, and this is not going to stop as we keep adding centers, keep needing to switch to green, which won't be reliable. [07:44:12] The proposals put the Occoquan Reservoir at risk for salinity and billions in remediation costs. Proposals do not forbid groundwater use, require no reporting of groundwater taken at any time frame, do not prohibit water from being put possibly back into the underground supply, leading to permanent contamination. They increase flash flooding consequences, increase runoff, reduce groundwater recharge in rural areas, completely dependent on groundwater. [07:44:35] They create structures that ruin viewsheds and will persist for decades and lifetimes. They disrespect hallowed ground that is visited by people from all over the world and the country to better understand the tragic extremes of our national struggle to be one nation. [07:44:54] The park was originally formed when union officers asked for it to be formed. The proposals bring in relatively modest and yet still unpredictable amounts of revenue, with what are large and upfront costs unlikely to be recovered for years. We're not clearly coming out ahead on this economically. [07:45:12] This is not class warfare. No one suffers more from an unstable grid. Healthy people have generators. No one suffers more when the water goes bad. Some of those people are in the Roaring Crescent with currently clean groundwater, hopefully we can keep it that way. They're not dependent on water from the Occoquan. [07:45:29] They don't get caught in flash floods. Who does? Faith in the process is basically gone. You can't hide from the grid and power line impacts this decision will cause. It was said at the Planning Commission meeting that it is unfair to expect a submitter to know what the power companies will do. [07:45:45] It is entirely fair for the public to expect you to know what the power companies will do because you have the power to demand answers before approval. You have final say in what happens and only you. You must know first. This is your only chance to know what dominion of others will do and what harm follows. You can't hide from the threats to the groundwater and the Occoquan and all the rest because you didn't demand answers when you had that duty legally and morally to protect our water. The public knows it. It's not too late to say no or at least at a minimum call a timeout and demand far more answers and limitations [07:46:23] on these projects. When you have all the normal answers, when you realize there is no credible power plan that doesn't seriously cross every red line of concern, especially reliability and harm the grid of the county and the state, you will know this is both a foreseeable and unforgivable disaster on every level with your names on it forever. It's clear that this meeting was set up to meet an artificial deadline. All submissions at once, board meeting and hearings together, chaos, all to avoid proper review and discussion. Shame on you. [07:46:59] legislative malpractice. The board should not approve these submissions. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Jacqueline Stiles. [07:47:17] I'm from the Gainesville district, and I'm speaking on all three applications. It is my personal opinion that this project will benefit the county and its residents. The truth is progress is happening all around us, whether we like it or not. Please vote yes. Thank you, supervisors, for your time. Thank you. Next speaker, please. J.P. Rafflow, Gainesville, Virginia. All three applications. I won't use all nine minutes. It's interesting to listen to what we have questions about. What do we have questions about? Viewshed now for Heritage Hunt, Viewshed for the battlefield. [07:47:54] Don't recall anybody asking Viewshed questions about where I live when the power lines went into the battlefield. You weren't an office yet, thank God. Secondarily, Loudoun County is the blueprint. There is no question. This isn't an experiment. $633 million to them says it works. [07:48:17] And what power lines do they use? The ones that run right down my street. So they get rich and we sit in here and fight. Why is that? Where do we want to be? You don't want to be the richest county in America. You don't want one of the 20 best public school systems in the country. You don't want to pay your firefighters because that's the position three of you were taking. You talk about Jenny Dean? Nine years you've been on the board. Where were you? Now that there's a project that's anywhere near where Jenny Dean was, you show up. But you want to sell it like you had everybody's [07:48:54] historical stuff in the top of your mind. Ridiculous. Ridiculous. By the way, been in the game a little while. I've never seen Republicans that were so against an economic project that's a half a billion dollars. You guys should be ashamed. My mother-in-law, 84 years old, she's like, this can't be. But there you sit. I absolutely look at you five Democrats and go, boy, you are pushing the needle. You're doing things that nobody thought you would do. You had a vision. And what's the vision? Good schools, pay your people, and maybe even put the board and the [07:49:33] county in a better place financially. What is y'all's risk for being at a commercial tax base of 18%? You think housing values are going to never go down? They can. And what happens to the bank account then. See, this is a big project. This is not little kid stuff. This is the real deal. [07:49:52] Do you want to play on the big stage and be a real player in Northern Virginia at the very least? It is our natural resource. Make this county special. Stop trying to get in the way of progress that can change the game for the whole county. And everybody talks about, well, who won't like this and who will like this? Let me tell you who's going to like it. Taxpayers. Taxpayers. All of us. You want to keep paying high real estate taxes forever in perpetuity? No? Then do something about it. Get real. $462 million, and that's just on the tax rates for next year. What's it going to be when [07:50:30] you guys raise taxes for real? Which you should. The numbers are astounding. And by the way, the gentleman that just left, as far as the road that's getting built, data center companies are paying for that. It's a fact. It's a couple hundred million dollars. All this about Rod Liver, I mean, good Lord, Rod should run for office himself. He knows everything. There is a point that this has got to be we have to finish this once and for all once and for all and it's time for you guys to do that tonight please take uh the time and say yes to all three applications and thank you for all [07:51:06] your time over the last couple years thank you next speaker please yeah uh i want to first thank the board for their time today and hearing these applications uh can you give us your name and generally where you live and which applications you want to speak to okay uh it's my name is jose Ramos I live in the Gainesville district and I'm going to briefly speak on all three thank you uh okay I want to first thank you I want to secondly thank you uh thank the board for their time today and hearing these applications um and uh the people of Prince William County because [07:51:40] wow people can really just say anything up here um I support the BW gateway uh and just like the many many many people you will hear from today I also ask that you the board of supervisors support the PW Digital Gateway and these applications. I can't imagine anything I will say is going to sway you in one direction or the other. There have been enough words that have been spoken today already about these applications, but I ask that you please take into account the real on-paper facts of these applications when making your decision and how this project will [07:52:15] greatly benefit all of Prince William County over the duration of the project. We can't allow ourselves to be left behind simply because a small group of citizens don't like progress. You have an opportunity to do something great today for our county, and I would think it's your obligation and your duty to ensure the future and growth of our county. [07:52:35] Please support these applications and the PW Digital Gateway. Thank you. Thank you. And before our next speaker, who is, assume, speaker number 15, if number 16 through 20 want to line up in the back of the room while he speaks, that would be great, too. [07:52:52] please proceed. All right, Chris Winters, Gainesville District. I'll speak on all three applications and hopefully start a trend. I don't think I can state anything you haven't heard today, so I support the Prince William Digital Gateway for all the reasons I've heard for the last eight hours. So I ask you to do the same and vote yes on three applications. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. Abby Winters, Gainesville District. I support all three rezoning applications and i ask that you please vote yes tonight thank you next speaker please [07:53:32] hi there stewart stanton gainesville district i'm speaking briefly on all three applications i support the prince william digital gateway and i encourage the board to vote in favor of all three as i see it there are really four states to consider for the land in question today there was a rural crescent there is gainesville crossing and high power transmission lines a stone's throw from both the state forest and the national park. There could be a robust economy and commercial tax revenue for teachers and schools, social services, affordable housing, police officers, or there would be probably cluster developments of high density housing creating [07:54:11] more challenges for the county without commercial taxes to shoulder the load. My concern is that in the discussion comparisons are often drawn against what Page of Land Lane was and not what it is and certainly not what it would be. In my opinion, if we're not measuring what could be against what would be, then we're probably not asking the right questions. So when we think about impacts to traffic, to schools, to infrastructure, to public safety, to tax revenue and county expenditures, I ask that you keep in mind the inherited burdens if you don't approve the gateway. The digital gateway increases the commercial tax base and is the best way to meet and exceed the needs of this [07:54:47] growing county. I thank the board for your courage and vision in propelling Prince William County into a prosperous future thank you for faithfully serving the entirety of the county and for leaving an incredible legacy positively impacting your constituents for decades to come thank you thank you next speaker please good evening madam chair members of the board my name is Darren Coppock I live in the Gainesville district my wife and I and our two daughters two horses 16 chickens and a couple of dogs or one dog and two cats and we live in the we're in the compass [07:55:22] campus, but I will speak briefly on all three applications tonight. First of all, thank you for your endurance and your patience in living through this process and the endurance that you're going to experience later tonight as you listen to the rest of the testimony, but we appreciate your diligence and your willingness to listen to the constituents. As you've heard from many speakers before, Prince William County needs more commercial tax base. You saw the comparison between our numbers and Loudoun County's numbers this morning, and those are real numbers. If we set up a development screen that is so tight and keep moving the goalposts, the developers that want [07:55:59] to build projects like this will take those opportunities and go elsewhere. And we will not have that opportunity anymore. This is a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity for a commercial tax base for the good of the entire county, and I encourage you to take advantage of it. If we don't do it, we'll watch Loudon continue to grow while our commercial base stagnates. [07:56:21] There have been concerns raised on a number of issues from prior applications, mostly around noise and around setbacks. As we've heard from the applicants this morning, those issues are being addressed in these proposals. But even with these accommodations, we still hear the opponents of this project continue to throw anything and everything against the wall to see what sticks and get it stopped. Now, this land is zoned agricultural today, and if this application is turned down, it would still be agricultural. Does that mean that we could then consolidate that land and build a hog feedlot there or plow it up and start growing corn? I suspect that the residents [07:56:57] who oppose this project will also oppose that project. And so that leads me to the conclusion that it's really not about just data centers. It's about property owners who want to preserve view sheds into pristine areas from their property by placing restrictions on land that they do not own. That's not fair. And it's not how our laws and our system of property rights is supposed to work. So this board has a ticket to a significant opportunity for commercial tax base. You have willing sellers you have developers that are bending over backwards to try to accommodate [07:57:33] the needs of the county it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I encourage you to seize it thank you thank you next speaker please good evening my name is Clayton Kilrain and I live in the Gainesville district and I'll be speaking very briefly on all three I asked the board to approve all three rezoning applications I believe the digital gateway will be a positive force for the future of Prince William County I'm particularly hopeful for the improvements in our schools and first responders that the gateway gateway will bring. Thank you for your dedication to the [07:58:13] citizens of the county. Thank you and before our next speaker I invite speakers 21 through 25 to line up in the back of the room. Please proceed. Good afternoon my name is Nikki Bland. I live on Pageland Lane. I'm in the Gainesville district and I would like to briefly speak on all three applications. I listened to a lot today as we all have and I just wanted to comment on a couple of things that didn't really come out in some of the discussion and questions today that I think are [07:58:50] important for people to realize. We have talked about tax revenue a lot, and there are a lot of accusations that the estimates of the commercial tax revenue that we would earn from this project as a county are overinflated. What I would say is even if it's only half of the low end of the estimate, that's still more than two and a half times the current commercial tax base. [07:59:18] That's, as somebody said earlier, a lot of money. Why is that not good enough? I personally believe it's probably somewhere between the low and the high end. Time will tell, but we have actual data to determine that and have done so. We also have heard mentioned the data center overlay. [07:59:38] Everybody says, let's put all of the data centers in the data center overlay. There's a lot of facts around some of the differences between putting data centers along pageland and putting them in the overlay. All of the things that everybody complains about are actually worse in the overlay than they are in the gateway in terms of proximity to schools, neighborhoods, increased traffic to the battlefield, impact to the battlefield viewshed, any sort of road improvements, the list goes on. [08:00:14] Likewise, the overlay is pretty full, from what I understand, from the data that I've seen. There's really not enough acreage left in the overlay to really support a significant number of additional data centers. [08:00:30] Where else are they going to go? This is where it makes sense to put them. Last I heard earlier, data centers are still a targeted industry. So if the overlay is full, are we just going to remove this industry as an opportunity for commercial development here? [08:00:48] There's also always a lot of talk about jobs. Oh, there's like five people that work in a data center. Well, first of all, I worked in a data center for nine years. My husband, who's following me, is currently a data center manager in Loudoun County. [08:01:05] there's more than five people there. There are 12,000 jobs in the data centers in Loudoun County today. That's a lot of jobs for a lot of people to be able to work where they live. We also hear a lot about data center obsolescence. Well, as technology advances and gets smaller and more powerful, it does so to meet the increases in data usage and amounts and speeds. [08:01:36] As I said, I used to work in a data center. I actually got my first corporate job at AOL in 1999. And I worked in the headquarters in Sterling that was just torn down. You know what's still there? The data center from way before I got there. [08:01:54] I was not one of the first employees at AOL despite 1999 being a very long time ago. While I worked at AOL, I actually worked in leasing services. I helped put the financing together for the data center that they built on Linton Hall Road. [08:02:12] I'm not sure who's there now, but that building is still there. So this idea that we're going to have these monstrosities just sitting there empty, you know, presumably with oil drums full of toxic sludge, according to some people, is just not true. [08:02:31] You know, a lot of people have talked about how acrimonious this whole process has been. Everybody's very passionate about their position on this issue. I think we can agree to disagree without demonizing one another, whether it's the members of the board, the data center companies, or the landowners. [08:02:52] They talk a lot about how you all have received political donations from Pageland landowners. I was just accused of whining and dining. You know, one of you sitting up there who happens to be a friend of a mutual friend. [08:03:10] And first of all, we were celebrating an anniversary. Second of all, I don't know if Bill Wright just, I know Bill Wright just moved to Heritage Hunt a few years ago, but I don't think he just moved to America. And what you do is you donate to politicians who you support. [08:03:29] There's nothing new or interesting about it. Another benefit of the gateway that has not been discussed is how the county could support non-profits. There are some amazing organizations in our county who are doing things to address housing. [08:03:47] I happen to be the chair on a board of a non-profit that provides housing to homeless pregnant women. I support several other organizations that also address housing. first of all the county had resources to award grants to non-profits they would be able to meet those needs but better than that if we had the resources to offer jobs and affordable housing maybe there would be a need for fewer of these non-profits and lastly you know I always laugh [08:04:22] when I see some of the emails from the coalition to protect what is it the coalition to protect something with their little Lorax quote in the signature. And I can't help but think of another Dr. Seuss story, Yertle the Turtle, who sits up on his little mountain of turtles, looking down, claiming to own all that he sees. And someone, just a few people before me talked about it, how the people that are opposing, many who are opposing what we're doing, don't want to look [08:04:56] down from their view on Bull Run Mountain towards the battlefield and see data centers. They want this open, pristine space. It's not their space. And it is personal, privately owned property that we are allowed to advocate for a rezoning such as this to be able to do what we want. [08:05:17] That does not make us greedy landowners or monsters. Frankly, it just makes us capitalists everybody else so there's no reason why we should be demonized simply for trying to do something that yeah we're gonna make money so is everybody else in Prince William County through the benefits that this opportunity will afford thank you thank you next speaker please well madam chair vice chair supervisors my name is Kenny Bland and I'll be briefly speaking towards all three of the zoning applications I've lived in [08:05:56] Prince William County for 23 years and my family and I currently live in the Gainesville district specifically on Gaten on a page in the lane we've been strong supporters of this board's hard work and dedication to put this county in the best position not only to survive the coming years but to thrive for generations my family is part of the digital gateway assemblage we are also avid advocates for social justice and supporters of underprivileged and want to help foster an equitable future for all who live in this amazing and diverse county we believe the good that will come from the Prince William Digital gateway will help bolster an equitable landscape for so many families in this minority majority [08:06:35] county and it must come to fruition i'm sure as you're keenly aware there's a small but vocal group of privileged citizens who mostly live around the gainesville district as well as some members of this board that strongly oppose this project and frankly from what i've seen oppose anything resembling a positive change for this county it really seems like they want to keep us all but the most privileged of this county locked into an unfair and inequitable past, and this must change. [08:07:07] Loudoun County is the wealthiest county in this country, and that is specifically due to the data center industry. Prince William County now has the means to easily secure its future for generations to come by seizing this unprecedented opportunity and taking advantage of the proven financial benefits this industry brings to its hosts. [08:07:27] I strongly believe these two applicants have gone to great lengths to thoughtfully consider the impacts of the business they're trying to bring to this county and are designing this project with the most impact-mitigating accommodations available to limit any possible disturbances to the battlefield and its surrounding neighbors. [08:07:44] I've been in the Northern Virginia data center industry for the last 21 years, as my wife had alluded to, and have never seen this level of attention and accommodation applied to a construction project. The building of this project is estimated to last 20 years, and in that estimated 20 years, the noise mitigation and environmental sustainability practices will undoubtedly improve because of the continuously evolving technological advancements of this industry and the lessons learned from current best practices. [08:08:16] This is the right place, and this is the right time for this project. I implore you to remain focused on your goal to ensure the bright future of all who live across this amazing county and I graciously ask this board to approve all three of these zoning applications and bring this outstanding project to life in its entirety for all citizens of Prince William County. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Laura Harders, Gainesville District. I'll be speaking [08:08:49] on all three rezoning applications. So planning staff has recommended denial. That's on all three applications. There are separate reasons for each one. I wanted to first cover rezoning REZ 2022-00036, community design, cultural resources, environment, electrical utilities, services, and sustainability, okay? The CPA encourages the master zoning plans to include the LODs and the site layouts, and that's not there. So we're talking about rezoning 884 acres [08:09:29] from A1 and SR5. There is no planning for the transmission corridors, and really what is at risk. The reason you have so many citizens lining up to talk about this, and by the way, I applaud the Blands for recognizing, yes, they are selling their land. Not everybody here acknowledged that. [08:09:50] I live in Sedley Springs, so I'm actually very close to where this is proposed. And I don't appreciate some of the comments made that we are all pretentious and privileged. Everyone has a voice. And I've been a county resident since 2006. And I'm proud to come here and speak to you and share my opinion because I think it's important. I do not stand to benefit monetarily from this. [08:10:24] Do I judge other people who have said they're going to benefit? I understand why your reason is, but on the same side, you fought with people in the community against the industrialization and the Bi-County Parkway. It's you all that have flipped. So that's why the frustration is from other people. Not that you would necessarily understand it, but I'm just voicing that. But so this board, you have to recognize that the Planning Commission recommended denial. [08:10:58] We've heard all the other commissions have recommended denial. I'm sure you know about the cultural resources weaknesses and no phase two cultural analysis and the archaeological sites somehow weren't numbered. So that is something that would need to be tightened up. [08:11:15] But the waiver of the SUP to permit data centers outside of the data center overlay district is also very important. Moving on to rezoning 2022-00033, Digital Gateway South. [08:11:33] Staff recommends denial. And once again, these are 11 different reasons from the prior application. So lack of building footprints in site layout, building elevations as proffered, waiver of SUP to permit data centers outside the data center over Opportunity Zone overlay district. Uncertainty in viewshed impacts upon final build out. These are all things that have been discussed. And each application, the natural open space, does not equal 30% [08:12:05] as encouraged and recommended by the CPA. So 16.9% does not equal 30%. 21% it does not equal 30%. So once again, this is why your own planning staff are recommending denial for the ability to make changes, the flexibility in the landscaping, electric infrastructure, the inconsistencies with the comprehensive plan. These are all very, very big holes. These are not something that if staff is willing to work with the applicants that we can all come together and [08:12:44] make it work. You know, these are issues at this point you must deny. For Digital Gateway North, rezoning 2022-0032. Once again, there's nine different reasons. The last one had 11, this one had nine. But some of the issues with the application are still coming up of lack of building footprints and site layout. So how are we going to know where these transmission corridors [08:13:17] are going to be put how is it going to impact the natural open space all the the reason that you all last November voted and had these all-night marathon meetings to discuss the CPA and to approve it and pass it you set those guardrails but now you're not going to even follow them so it's it's for citizens it is very concerning and so that's why many of us are coming here to speak [08:13:48] but i'm really concerned about the proffer issues and the deficiencies this is the application this is the land that's closer to where i reside to my neighbors and the sudley mountain estates community i tried to encourage many of them i know many of them emailed you all but unfortunately there's this sense among the community that the board doesn't listen and so I've tried to [08:14:24] encourage people and they think okay you go to all the board meetings that's kind of crazy and especially go so late so anyway I do want to say that the the posting notice from my understanding thank you Supervisor Weir for bringing this up that it did not the printed notice for the public hearing did not meet Virginia State law by the time frame in which it was announced so that is a huge issue and yet we're still having this meeting so I [08:14:56] do appreciate people offering their perspective from both sides but over generalizing the impact of this huge industrial development in regards to the environment, the cultural and natural and historical resources is, I just can't understand how this can be approved and is not being talked about in the 2024 year. [08:15:28] And to finish off my time, I'm going to do something a little bit different. They pay paradise, put up data centers, concrete monstrosities, transmission lines, diesel generators. [08:15:57] Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? They pave paradise, put up data centers. Stop, stop, stop, stop, ooh, stop, stop, stop, stop, civil war burial, encampment, camp party, page land farm, family cemeteries, sure data centers can do no harm. [08:16:22] Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? They pave paradise, put up data centers Ooh, stop, stop, stop, stop Inconsistent with the CPA, unenforceable proffers Questionable campaign donations Money possibly in someone's coffers Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got till it's gone Pave paradise, put up data centers [08:16:57] Noise wildlife, Occoquan watershed Natural open space citizens' concerns have come to a head. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? [08:17:18] Pave paradise, put up data centers. Don't it always seem to go this lame duck board will vote along party lines? You'll pave paradise, put up data centers. [08:17:35] Don't it always seem to go Pave paradise, put up data centers And I hope that made some of you smile Because this has become quite a show Thank you I'll remind the people in the atrium That if they can't keep decorum with the rest If the people in the atrium can't keep decorum We will take a recess If the people in the atrium can't keep decorum [08:18:15] We will take a recess And I will keep taking recesses Until people are able to control themselves out in the atrium I suspect we should take a five minute recess We are back after a five-minute recess. [08:18:38] Hopefully the people in the atrium can be more respectful of other people's time and act appropriately. With that, we are on speakers number 23, 24, and 25. Please proceed. [08:18:56] Good evening. My name is Hector Ferrufino from Gainesville District. I'm going to talk about the three rezoning applications tonight. And as many of the speakers described before me, I strongly believe that the advantage of the Prince William digital getaway offset the disadvantage. I've been living in this county for almost ten years now. [08:19:22] I had the opportunity to raise two daughters and I know the struggle that our school district has knowing that my daughter gonna share classrooms whenever their teacher call off or the worries that my my wife and I have whenever the bus get delayed. I strongly believe that the benefits and the revenue that this project will bring to the county is going to be beneficial to all of us. Please don't let this opportunity pass [08:19:57] and approve the resounding of the Prince William Digital Getaway. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Gurini, my name is Ronaldo Vargas, and I am from the Gainesville. I support the three application and support the data center thank you thank you and before our next speaker i'll call numbers 26 through 30 please 26 through 30 can line up and feel free to take [08:20:35] take the microphone down if you okay is it okay okay so my name is jamie owen i live in the gainesville residence i am speaking on all three applications thank you for your time to be heard and the hard work and i support all three applications thank you next speaker please good evening my name is mike owen i'm in the gainesville district and speaking on all three applications first i'd like to thank each of the board members for the determination to do what's right for the future of our our county it's been a little bit disheartening to see how some of the [08:21:12] people who oppose the proposals have treated people staff you guys and i wish that they would be a little bit more neighborly it's been hard to watch i support all three of these applications because no other venture can fund this county on such a macro level bringing in revenues not just from small businesses within the county but also through the state the country and the world it's a great opportunity as a long-term planner for one of the world's largest organizations [08:21:48] I'm impressed to stress to you that it is essential for long-term planning to give appropriate guardrails but allow for future technology and consumer needs. Staff denial recommendations are for execution year and building time. [08:22:06] It looks like they're looking at permits versus zoning, so I hope that you stick with the reality of planning in your zoning. You have policies in place that set these guidelines that are appropriate and can allow for flexibility and long-term planning. [08:22:23] Budgeting and planning takes foresight and understanding of economics, and you leaders voting for the Digital Gateway see and understand that. Thank you for your time and your grit to get to the right decision of yes. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [08:22:39] Hello, my name is Valerie Archer. I live in the Gainesville District, and I support all three zonings. Thank you very much for your time, and have a great night. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [08:22:58] Hi, good evening. My name is Tom Archer. I want to speak about all three applications. First off, I do support and appreciate the work that all of you have done. I know this has not been easy on any of us over the last few years. [08:23:18] And I want to let you all know that we do support the PW Digital Gateway, and we think it's a great path forward for all of us. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Yes, good evening. My name is John Bloxton. First, I want to thank everybody that you all. This has been a very, very wonderful experience. We'll see what all the outcome is. Again, my name is John [08:23:53] Bloxton. I've been a resident in the Prince William County area since May of 1980, lived in Cat Harpen since fall of 1982, born in Washington, D.C., lived in the Northern Virginia area all my life. We have four generations on our farm and love it here. Cat Harpin was always meant to be the farming community, rural and pristine, gas and grocery at Alvey's store, and the post office was all we ever wanted. I remember back when Disney came and we beat them. I remember fighting the parkway and the power lines. Each time it was an outside force coming into our community, [08:24:30] wanting to drastically change the landscape without the support of the people who lived here. We won twice and lost once, the power lines. And now because of those power lines, we're presented with a proposition of data centers. Yes, it will be a broad sweeping change for the area, but this time there's a big difference. [08:24:50] This time the residents are welcoming that change. Sweeping changes that Prince William County wanted to avoid with the Rural Crescent designations happened anyway. a housing development here, a shopping center there, and nobody minded those upgrades because they were in Gainesville or Haymarket. I remember when Toll Brothers built old Route 15 into a four-lane divided highway, thousands of homes being built in Heritage Hunt, and they were the new kids on the block. The Royal Crescent was always meant to be a temporary injunction on residential and commercial development. Growth in Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William [08:25:30] counties has been tremendous. All locations drastically grew the residential footprint. They attracted businesses to provide tax revenues and use that money to build the infrastructure to support the population. Meanwhile, Prince William County reaffirmed the rural crescent policy to maintain the farming community. The new homes in Cat Harpen are million dollar houses setting on a required minimum 10 acre lot and the owners play the land use game with the county to reduce their taxes. The truth is this stopped being a rural farm community some time ago and [08:26:06] became a bedroom community for commuters. It's not a question of building thousands of homes that will further increase our traffic problems, and it's not a situation where an outside entity is trying to exploit the residents of Pageland. This is an initiative started by us, people who have lived here 30, 40, or 50 years to leave this area, which has grown up around us over time. [08:26:32] Benefits of job creations, tax revenue, landowner support will make this an easy win for everyone. And in closing, I want to thank everybody that has supported the Digital Gateway, and we look forward to the solution coming to us soon. Thank you. [08:26:48] Thank you. And before our next speaker, I invite numbers 31 through 35 to line up. [08:27:08] - Hi there, so glad we could get together again so soon. My name is Ken Bloxton, I live in the Gainesville District. First, we don't need more studies. This is already the most studied land use case in Prince William County history. [08:27:25] And from what I saw, it looks really good. Second, the data center buildings that are being proposed are the most green tech, water recycling, environmentally friendly data centers that have ever been built anywhere. [08:27:42] And third, to all the people that enjoy looking at the farms along Pageland, I don't see any of you out there in the heat or the cold fixing fences or shoveling stalls in the barns. A while back, I shared an article about the top 25 high schools in Virginia. [08:28:01] I'll summarize the result and save the time, okay? There are 134 counties or equivalent municipalities in the state of Virginia. Northern Virginia counties, right here where we live, make up the top 25 list 16 times. Prince William County made that list zero times. [08:28:19] 20 years ago, Prince William County had the number one high school in the United States. Our neighboring counties built commercial tax bases, and that's what we're talking about. So let me change gears and talk about benefits to Prince William County. [08:28:35] This is a $40 billion infrastructure investment from big tech companies that are going to bring countless number of high-paying jobs while also unclogging a highly traveled cut-through road. The tax revenues from this data center deal are actually going to help us solve some problems in Prince William County. And how, you ask? Well, the testimony from earlier tonight. Every dollar that it costs to support a data center with county services, the county makes [08:29:09] 13 dollars and 44 cents on the back end that cannot be ignored we should have stopped this whole discussion right there and voted yes but since we didn't here's some thoughts on tonight's applications qts consolidating buildings together to a tighter footprint and farther away from the battlefield is a good idea that sounds great yeah let's do that uh qts marble hill cemetery exploration. Okay, cool, good idea. Just keep in mind that Dominion already plowed a KV500 power [08:29:49] line through there, so oops. In general, also about history, if digging 19,000 holes didn't turn up anything historically significant, it's probably not there. And just in general, about all the applications. The power lines, Dominion has agreed to minimize clearing and building, and the developers have agreed to plant all the trees back that get cleared. That's a win for Prince [08:30:21] William County. Additionally, the new Pageland Lane, that road plan looks fantastic. Good luck explaining it to the deer. Sustainability concerns, it's in the data center's best interest and ours to let them be flexible in what they build and take advantage of future innovations. [08:30:48] In closing, thank you everyone. It has been very interesting to be a part of this process for the last couple of years and this is the biggest opportunity that Prince William County has ever had for economic expansion, being paid for with other people's money to generate cash flow for us and started as a grassroots movement so please approve these three applications immediately [08:31:15] thank you next speaker please good evening honorable board members my name is ruth underwood williamson and i am live in the gainesville district i'd like to say that i'm a third generation property owner on Pageland Lane. My parents, my grandparents bought the property [08:31:46] in 1946. At that time, my father moved there and he lived on the farm until he passed in August of this year. The farm has been a part of my life since 1965 when I left the hospital. [08:32:05] When I was born and left the hospital, I moved on to that farm. This decision is not an easy one for my family, but I will say it has been a thoughtful decision that we have made when we ask you to support the Digital Gateway. [08:32:25] We are asking you as a family today to vote yes for the Digital Gateway. I realize that this has been two years of work and commitment on your part as a board, and it has not been easy. [08:32:45] But this change will be a positive improvement for our county. It will bring in tax dollars and development to our community that will benefit our schools, our firefighters, our police officers, and all the fine people that work in this building that we've seen today. [08:33:06] Extensive studies have been completed regarding this plan, and the experts are in support of the zoning approval. I thank you for your vote of yes for the Prince William Digital Gateway. Thank you. [08:33:22] Thank you, Ms. Underwood-Williamson. Next speaker, please. Good evening. I'm Thomas George Underwood, Jr. That's my beautiful sister leaving the room. She touches my heart. These folks around you, they're my neighbors. [08:33:40] And we're third-generation farmers, but we don't have Mr. Davis beat. He's been here a really long time, but I see the Snyders down here and the Harrovers and Ms. Thompson and Ms. Marianne Gadban up here. We support all three of the proposals before the council members today. [08:34:00] There's really no bond stronger than parent and child, husband and wife, and a farmer and his land. When we look around Page Land, we see the land we love, but it's not farmland anymore. [08:34:20] Page is not out driving the tractor. I'm not. My dad passed away a few months ago. He couldn't do it anymore. The rest of our neighbors are aging out. There will be a change coming to this community, and Ms. Gadban, with the assistance of her, has brought a superstar buyer to the table, a buyer that benefits the sellers, but a buyer that benefits our community. The entire county will benefit from a 21st century business coming [08:34:57] in and being the primary leader of employment and opportunity and tax revenue for all of us. I see Paige and our sister. We love our farms. It breaks our heart, but it's time to move on. [08:35:20] And we move on in the 21st century with something that's good for all of us. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Underwood. As a reminder, as you introduce yourself, please indicate how many of the applications you're talking about. Next speaker, please. Hello, my name is Julie Brumley, and I live in the Gainesville District. I am asking you guys to support all three of the zoning applications. [08:35:47] I believe we need more tax revenue to pay our teachers, to modernize our outdated schools, to increase affordable housing, to hire more police officers and build more parks. But the thing that really matters to me the most is the mental health system, our social services. [08:36:03] That's what I do for a living. That's what matters to me. And this revenue would really help that system that really needs it right now with many people who can't get services. So for me, that's what matters because the PW Digital Gateway is projected to generate $400 million in new annual tax revenue and almost $20 million in the first year alone. [08:36:22] And that can be used for social services. Thank you so much, and thank you for all you guys do. Thank you, Ms. Brumley. Next speaker, please. My name is Caroline Chipman, and I live in the Gainesville District. I'm speaking to all three applications. [08:36:40] Firstly, I would like to thank the board and staff for the work they have done on this project. I know some of you suffered personal attacks for believing in the project. The Digital Gateway will provide the funds to improve the lives of Prince William County residents, and this board will be remembered for that. [08:36:57] I'm in full support of the Digital Gateway. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chipman. And before the next speaker goes, I will call up 36 through 40. Good evening. My name is Scott Chipman. I live in the Gainesville District, and I'm speaking on all three of the permits for the data centers. This has been a very exciting day for me and very exhausting, and I'm sure it's, I don't know how you folks can stand it up there without being [08:37:36] stressed out but anyway uh thank you very much for your your service and for uh taking us to this point um i'd simply like to say look after your constituents and please vote yes for the digital gateway thank you thank you mr chipman next speaker please stevens lascus gainesville district um i don't really need to go into depth on everything i think enough good things have been said about this project to support it. So I ask you all to support this project. There won't be [08:38:15] another opportunity like this. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zaloskas. Next speaker, please. My name is Brian Zaloskas. I'm Gainesville District, and I support the PW Gateway. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Zaloskas, as well. Next speaker, please. John Brower, Haymarket. I want to thank all the supervisors for all the hard work last three years. I had a song to sing, but I left my sheet music in the car please uh i support all three projects and i hope you vote yes on all three [08:38:54] thank you very much thank you mr brower next speaker please asim saftar um ginswell i'm i would like to speak for all three rezonings thank you the board for hearing the application despite the ridiculous delay tactics schemes and politics going around i'm absolutely encouraged by the plan compass and qds presented i think that there are a few other plans in the history of the county that takes into consideration such massive project [08:39:30] which has committed this much open space, wildlife corridors, and preservations of graves and cultural areas. Additionally, it will bring over $500 million of revenue to the county. This plan has been studied long enough. This is the time to make our move and improve this project. [08:39:48] Lastly, I would like to thank you for putting up with unnecessary insults and name-calling. Thank you for thinking of the county and putting Prince William County on the map of progress. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Safdar. But for our next speaker, I would like to call up numbers 41 through 45. [08:40:13] Assas-Aftar, Gainesville District. I am speaking for all three applications. Honorable Chair and the Board, at first I would like to salute Chair Wheeler, Supervisor Franklin, Bailey, Bordy, and Angry. You have faced threats, personal attacks, insults, and yet you stood strong. [08:40:36] You stood strong because you were determined to work for Prince William County to bring in such a project which would financially help the people of the county for generations. Prince William County, sorry, Prince William Digital Gateway has the ability to provide hundreds of millions of dollars every year to support our schools, firefighters, teachers, police, you name it. [08:41:03] The voters of Prince William County have chosen Democrats again to lead the county because they know that unlike Republicans who kept this county in a status quo for a very long time, do not have the capacity to understand and act according to the needs of the day. [08:41:25] They do not understand that we cannot survive keeping things as is while counties around us are becoming more and more resourceful. Chair Wheeler, people always admire the leaders who stand up against the forces of status quo, no matter how uphill the task is and how much sacrifice it demands. [08:41:52] Finally, I request the board, please approve all three applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Safdar. Next speaker, please. So again, we're on 41 through 45. So Mohit Singh, we have Mohit Singh, Nadia Stewart, Paul Kadehi, Don Slayman, and Jennifer Worth. [08:42:15] Good evening. My name is Paul Cudahy. My wife and I live in Gainesville. I'm addressing all three applications. First off, I'd like to thank you, Supervisor Lawson, for your loyal service to Prince William County over the years and for your staunch opposition to the Prince William Digital Gateway. I wish you all the best in the future. I also want to thank you, Supervisors [08:42:47] Vega and Ware, for standing firmly against the Prince William Digital Gateway. For more than two years, I and many of my neighbors in Prince William County have been imploring you Democrats to stop data center development near homes, schools, and parks. To date, our efforts have not succeeded. We have appealed to you intellectually and emotionally, all to no avail. [08:43:26] So this evening, I will appeal to you spiritually. I will read a short scripture and say a brief prayer. Chapter 2, verse 2 of Proverbs states, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding, and I pray. Father God, I humbly ask you to change the hearts and minds of Chair Wheeler and Supervisors Bailey, Franklin, Angry, and Bodie. Please give them wisdom to fully [08:44:06] understand the negative impact that the Prince William Digital Gateway will have on the people of western Prince William County and please give them courage to vote no on these three zoning applications. I praise you and I thank you. Amen. Thank you Mr. Cudahy. Ma'am I think you're Jennifer Worth. As she gets ready to speak I'm going to call forward 46 through 50. Please proceed ma'am. [08:44:40] My name is Jennifer Worth. I'm speaker number 45. Was there anyone before me? They aren't here. perfect um first of all um good evening madam chairperson distinguished board members thank you for your service and your tireless ears as you've heard uh so many times i believe this is my fourth time speaking with you so thank you for your service um i appreciate all the work of the staff and um the time and hundreds of thousands of hours spent i'm sure um as i said my name is Jenny Worth. I'm a 20-year resident of Gainesville District. I'm speaking this evening in favor of [08:45:19] all three zoning applications. I do not envy the decision before you this evening. As I consider the possibility, there really is no wrong answer. I know that's shocking. It just depends what question you're asking. Are you asking the question, what best serves me, a landowner in pageland? No, that's not the question. Are you answering the question, what best suits my neighbors who are hurting right now? No, that's not the question. The question is, whom do you serve? [08:45:57] You serve all the residents of Prince William County. You serve those that don't have time to take off work and spend 24 hours with you because they have families that they cannot sacrifice. They can't miss a paycheck. They can't miss a day. You represent all of us. So with that, I trust your wisdom to honor the districts that you serve, and God bless you. [08:46:25] Thank you, Ms. Worth. Next speaker, please. I'm Patricia Leone from Gainesville, and I support all three of the rezoning applications. The Digital Gateway is our unique opportunity not only to research and study cultural and historic resources, but also to bring them to the public. [08:46:55] And how is this possible? Because our county and planning staff have placed mandates on the project, mandates that would be moot, were the land to remain in private ownership. [08:47:10] Without these mandates, there would be no requirement to submit Archaeological Phase 1, 2, and 3 studies to the county for documentation and resource preservation. [08:47:27] There would be no post-Civil War African-American local community study or Thornton School Memorial Park open to the public. There would be no cemetery or grave research and preservation for public access. [08:47:45] There would be no 9 to 10 acre conveyance of land by landowners to the National Park Service, which is the maximum lawful park expansion limit within the digital gateway planning area. [08:48:01] And finally, there would be no landowner donation to the county of the extended Cat Harpen Greenway Park, which contains Native American settlement areas and includes the unfinished railroad and trailhead, which are currently held in public private hands. [08:48:22] Thanks to our county staff's prudent oversight, these rezonings will facilitate the study and preservation of Native American pre-Civil War, Civil War, and African American post-Civil War life. [08:48:40] Contrary to the opponent's claims, they do not pave over history. Instead, they preserve and enhance history. Moreover, the rezonings will establish a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to preserve and make cultural resources accessible to the public. [08:49:05] Given the absence of county, state, and federal funding to cover it, this is the only viable method to preserve the history of Prince William. So I urge you to vote in favor of the three rezoning applications. [08:49:21] Thank you for your service. Thank you, Ms. Leone. Next speaker, please. Hello, I'm Paige Snyder. I live on Pageland Farm, and we're now in our fifth generation there, and I've lived there for my entire life, 73 years. [08:49:43] I hope this is the last time I have to ever speak on this project, And since I think it is the last time, I have a confession I'd like to make. I'm a polluter. I've been polluting about 188 acres of page land farm for decades now. [08:50:09] Every year we either use insecticides, herbicides, weed killers, or fertilizer. They all go into Cat Harbin Creek and the Little Bull Run. when our septic field went bad several years ago. [08:50:26] We didn't know it for a long time because our septic field is so far away from our house. Polluted there, too. And as long as I have a farm to run, I'll continue to pollute. And I hate to out everybody else on Pageland Lane, especially the farmers, but they're polluters, too. [08:50:46] We do a lot of polluting. I would like to address something that Chair Wheeler brought up and that I think a couple other people have spoken to too, and that is she asked, you know, what kind of proof or evidence does anyone have about cemeteries or anything else on my farm? [08:51:07] We've been farming this for decades, plowing up land, just not plowing land now. We've been moving earth. We've been building embankments. We've been doing all kinds of stuff. And in the 1960s, my father dug a pond right at the edge of Pageland Lane and directly across from Barnard Farm. [08:51:32] We have never found any artifacts, and we certainly have not ever found any graves or bodies or anything, any bones, any fragments of anything. It just don't exist. And I know you hear from the county, oh, what's he called? [08:51:53] Justin Patton, yeah. That there's suggestions that these things are there, but the important thing is it's a suggestion. And there's never been any evidence found of anything like that on my farm. I would also like to just quickly mention something about the National Park Service. [08:52:14] They're hypocrites. They have never cared about any of the surrounding property. Heck, they didn't even want Bronner Farm to be included in the park. When we thought to have that included, they would quote it as saying, it's too much work, we don't want it. [08:52:32] And a lot of them opposed it. And then they're hypocrites because they're the ones who agreed to put the power lines through Bronner Farm. And on Bronner Farm is where a battle was actually fought. And people fell and died and were buried where they fell, on Bronner Farm. [08:52:53] So who knows what kind of intrusion the power lines have caused on those deceased people. They also, behind our backs, not ever telling us this, wanted to put a four-lane divided highway through Pageland Farm. [08:53:16] And now they're saying there's something valuable about it. Now we're hearing that it's historically significant. Come on, really. They're just hypocrites. And they always had been. They never cared anything about Prince William County. I do want to say the thank you very much to the Democratic board members, like many other people have said. [08:53:37] For realizing that times have changed, and times will continue to change, and they'll change rapidly, and for recognizing that and looking at the bigger picture and looking to be visionary and do what's best for the county, thank you very much for that, and thank you for not trying to maintain the status quo as the Republicans have for a long, long time. [08:54:02] Thanks. Thank you, Ms. Snyder. Next speaker, please. Chair Wheeler, members of the board, my name is Ashley Studholm. I am the executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance. I will be speaking on all three rezonings and request 15 minutes. [08:54:20] Absolutely. Go for it, Ms. Studholm. With a 21-year history in this county, we have dedicated ourselves, as the Prince William Conservation Alliance, dedicated ourselves to establishing equitable, sustainable communities, promote environmental stewardship, and creating opportunities for residents to engage in decisions that affect the quality of their lives in the future of our communities. [08:54:46] I understand that many of you have already formed your opinions on the rezonings we are discussing today. The allure of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue is undeniable. I also acknowledge that this has been a very long day and will continue to be long. [08:55:03] And it's a challenge to ask anyone to remain engaged for such an extended period. Yet, I implore you to pause for a moment. This is not just a process to be endured simply to cast a vote at the end. There is wisdom in this process, and there is wisdom in the voices speaking for environmental sustainability and historic preservation. [08:55:29] Let's not forget that even with the approval of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, these proposals are not inevitable. Fairfax County, for example, took a decisive step by downzoning, not just replanning, but downzoning 41,000 acres in order to protect the Occoquan Reservoir, a decision that was upheld by the courts. [08:55:51] Here in Prince William County, our primary strategy to protect the drinking water that the eastern end relies on, me included, has been to maintain the rural area that reduces development pressures on the reservoir. Now, we have heard that there are data centers within the Occoquan Reservoir watershed as justification for this proposal. [08:56:11] But what we're talking about here is expanding development further. We are witnessing a slow death by a thousand cuts, and if we do not hold the line, who will? Are we willing to put our drinking water online before conducting a study, as Fairfax Water suggests? [08:56:32] It is no secret that we, along with many other environmental and historic preservation organizations speaking tonight, have been against developing the Pageland Corridor for data centers from the beginning. But what we're seeing here goes well beyond citing issues. [08:56:48] These proposals fall short of even the minimum requirements promised in the Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Staff outlined these shortcomings in their presentations, and I would like now to take a moment to expand on what had been noted in addition to several discrepancies in the process. [08:57:07] From the beginning, this process has valued potential economic gains over consideration for environmental consequences. In reviewing the fifth submission, I was alarmed by the applicant's statement, quote, to expect substantially greater detail at this stage of the development process ignores the size and scope of the design, engineering, and market influences that come with developing over 11 million square feet of non-residential development over 15 to 20 year time period, end quote. [08:57:38] This is a reason why they haven't met these standards. And I would say that it is because of its size and scope that we need more information in order to adequately assess the impacts to our water supplies, the grid, and the surrounding area. [08:57:56] This massive proposal would be the largest data center complex in the world. And in an era marked by climate change, mass extinction, and numerous other environmental challenges, the traditional paradigm of placing economic development above all else is no longer tenable and hasn't been for a long time. [08:58:14] As custodians of this county, you are tasked with a profound responsibility to pioneer a more progressive, sustainable approach that not only propels economic development, but also protects our environment and health to our residents. By adapting a more progressive approach, we can position our county as a beacon for sustainable development, attracting businesses and investments that align with our commitment to environmental sustainability. [08:58:41] This is not just an idealistic aspiration. It is a strategic imperative in face of a changing climate and a global push towards sustainability. I don't see how you can champion sustainability and support these rezonings. These proposals are simply business as usual. [08:58:59] It's not innovative, it's just bigger, and they have more money behind it. If there is so much to be gained, why not encourage more investment in our community in the ecological and historical preservation from the outset? From what I have seen, all three applicants submit revision after revision to find the lowest common denominator. [08:59:20] What's the least they can do to get this through? And after the staff report recommended denial, they again submit a letter pleading to the county to approve this project, claiming that they do not intend to develop the southern ends and claim that a portion will potentially claim that one potential theme for a Freedom Park. [08:59:42] Again, this is not proffered. There are no guarantees, and especially with weak words like intend and potential, Prince William County, the land, the residents, and wildlife deserve more than just crumbs and development leftovers. [08:59:59] The fluid nature of these proposals, characterized by last-minute submissions and revisions, make it challenging for the public to thoroughly review. This hurried pace has demanded so much from the staff, and it jeopardizes the proper evaluation of legal requirements and compliance with the comprehensive plan, undermining the transparency and due diligence essential to this decision-making process. [09:00:23] Staff has repeatedly made clear to all three applicants that they are required to submit a waiver request to the Board of Supervisors due to their refusal to provide the location of all buildings and their structures on their master zoning plans. [09:00:41] As of December 7th, staff report, none of the applicants have submitted a waiver request, and to the best of our knowledge, this is still the case, despite the county's code clear requirement and despite county staff's clear instruction to do so. [09:00:59] The applicant's proffers fall short of the county code's strict accordance requirement, potentially allowing for deviations. The applicant may claim that they want to have freedom to implement cutting-edge technology and sustainability measures, but if their commitment to sustainability were genuine, we would have seen stronger proffers for natural open space, wildlife corridors, utility crossings, renewable energy, air and closed-loop cooling systems, and stormwater mitigation. [09:01:32] We have not seen that. The deliberate choice of strict accordance in the county code is crucial, as lower standards like substantial conformance or accordance provide too much flexibility for applicants complicating proper enforcement of the county or for the county. The proposed open space allocation is significantly below the 30 percent, which we have heard several times tonight, and protecting these spaces is important. It's not mere token gestures of planting a tree [09:02:06] elsewhere this is insufficient it to diminish it to one tree here for one tree there fails to understand the rich equal ecology of these wooded areas and the length of time it's required to establish and offer all the environmental services they provide including clean air clean water and carbon sequestration and more and we see this very plainly in the misalignment of the wildlife corridor and the compass rezoning. Rather than connecting Conway-Robison to the green space to [09:02:40] the north, it dumps wildlife on Pageland Road. And where it was proposed in the CPA, there's an intact wooded area that would serve as a much stronger corridor for wildlife and serves the purpose that it was intended to do. During the Planning Commission public hearing, the applicants along with the utility representative argued that it is customary practice involves planning the location of electric transmission lines after the submission of the final site plan. [09:03:12] However, county staff has emphasized that the planning of these transmission corridors is not only possible, but also highly encouraged at the rezoning stage of development. Given the immense scale and scope of these proposals, insisting on this planning up front could proactively address and mitigate foreseeable issues. [09:03:32] The Virginia Mercury reported today that the state corporation commission utility regulator recommends rejecting Dominion Energy's recent long-term plan. This plan includes new natural gas plants in response to the projected increase in power demand from data centers in northern Virginia. [09:03:53] Given these rezoning's massive scale, we're looking at the power equivalent of adding 500,000 homes which is three times more than the homes currently in Prince William County and this raises concerns. Simple energy saving measures the applicants are proposing as part of their sustainability effort won't offset this demand. Further information should be required to understand the impact on the grid in Virginia's resident and Virginia residents rates on their electric bill. Projected rate increases indicate a potential 100 percent rise by 2030 and this [09:04:32] doesn't even touch on the diesel generators, which I'm sure my other fellow environmental organizations will touch on more thoroughly. In closing, these proposed rezonings fall woefully short of the minimum standards set by the Comprehensive Plan Amendment. They not only deepen our reliance on fossil fuels, they also threaten the destruction of rural lands, crucial to our drinking water watershed. It's essential to recognize that the cleaner the water going into the reservoir, the more efficiently we can provide clean drinking water. If these proposals are [09:05:09] approved, they establish a concerning precedent for further development. While much emphasis has been placed on the potential revenue, we must weigh this against the broader impact on the grid, necessitating more transmission lines, substations, and new natural gas plants. [09:05:26] And what about the water supply? As we expand, the risks of salinity and sedimentation accumulate, pushing our reservoir towards a dangerous tipping point. The cost to rectify such a scenario is a question we cannot ignore. [09:05:43] I implore each of you to reflect on the long-term implications of this decision. This is an opportunity to set a higher bar for sustainability and environmental and historic preservation. Given the scale and scope of this project, it's critical now more than ever to uphold the county code to the highest standard. [09:06:03] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Studholm. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Mayor Jo Howarth in Brentsville. I am not paid, and I'm not a Pageland resident. I am not making money on this deal. I don't live in a million-dollar mansion or live on a trust fund like a speaker before accused people of doing. However, I am a concerned resident of [09:06:38] Prince William County. You must deny, I'm speaking on all three zonings, the three digital gateway zoning applications. Your actions will not only directly impact thousands of residents, except the ones who will be leaving Prince William because they'll be paid to, who will live in proximity to the digital gateway, harming not only their quality of life, but the quality of life of your constituents throughout Prince William County. [09:07:14] If you approve the digital gateway, you are risking the integrity of a regional drinking water supply in a national and a state park. Both the Planning Commission and the planning staff have recommended denial and have expressed numerous reasons why. [09:07:31] So please use the four-letter word, deny. This is the only responsible choice in front of you. And one last comment, not only are people moving out of Prince William, and I know if you keep up with it, you'll see how many people are leaving, but people who are looking to come to Virginia are seriously being told, not Prince William, move south or to the west, [09:08:06] but not Prince William, because Prince William is becoming synonymous with overload of data centers. And that's going to be your legacy, data centers. And I have to address the teacher shortage. Being an educator since the early 70s until I retired, I have seen the ups and downs of teacher jobs. When I first, before I started college, there were numerous, you opened up our [09:08:42] paper and it was listing all the jobs all over. I finished in three years, went out for interviews, 10 of us to interview for one job. There were too many teachers at the time. Now we're going to come down where there's not enough teachers because they're not going to school to be teachers, educators. Why? There's many reasons why. And that needs to be looked at instead of just saying [09:09:15] it's salaries. I hope you're paying attention because I don't see all eyes on me and I'm using my teacher knowledge. Oh, Supervisor Bodie, I have to ask you, did you enjoy your dinner at Field of Maine? Is it worth driving down to Marshall to have dinner than to have dinner and support a restaurant in Prince William County. Thank you, and good night. Thank you, Ms. Howarth. [09:09:47] Before our next speaker, I'm going to call forward 51 through 55. Good evening. I'm Tom Howarth. I live in the Brentsville District. I oppose the three rezoning applications presented here this evening. I would label these rezoning requests insanity. There's a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. And yet, here we are again, imploring you to deny the three rezonings constituting the Prince William Gateway. These rezonings do not improve our quality of life, constitute harmonious land use, or preserve the county's open spaces, all stated goals of your 2040 plan for Prince [09:10:26] William County. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines insanity as something utterly foolish or unreasonable. It's insanity to replace thousands of acres of green space with millions of square feet of concrete. County Planning Office has recommended that these rezonings be denied. [09:10:43] The proffers in these rezoning applications are full of vague language that provide the developers maximum flexibility in their building design and placement and make it impossible for you to know what the final impact will be. It's insanity to surround existing neighborhoods, schools, and historic landmarks with massive big box data centers. This land use may look appealing to bureaucrats deciding our fate, but to the residents of Prince William County, all we see are huge, concrete buildings. Nobody wants to visit an industrial zone. To think that industrial zones near homes, historic sites, and sensitive environmental areas is harmonious land use [09:11:20] is insane. Keep data centers in the already approved data center overlay. Your constituents are not insane. We are hopeful, hopeful that you hear our plea to deny these rezonings. Your vote tonight will determine what Prince William County is known for. Do you want your name forever associated with the world's largest concrete wasteland. Please deny these rezoning requests. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Howarth. Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is Robert Aide. I'm a [09:11:52] resident of Pageland Lane for 29 years, and I'm asking you to please say yes to the applications, and I appreciate your hard work. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Aide. Next speaker, please. [09:12:07] Can I use the... My name is Margarita Moylan, and I live in the Gainesville District. I'm speaking in memory of someone I suspect would certainly be in the fight against this rezoning if she were [09:12:39] still alive. Annie Snyder, 80, was the mother of six who raised strawberries and black Angus cattle on her 180-acre farm in Gainesville before becoming a legendary leader of groups seeking to preserve rural and historic land in northern Virginia. Snyder, a 53-year resident of Prince William County, led battles against great odds and powerful foes. In the 1950s, she successfully fought federal highway engineers to reroute roads, threatening the Manassas battlefield. [09:13:16] In the early 1970s, she was a leader in the defeat of Marriott Corporation when it announced plans to build a Great America-themed park nearby. Later, she all but routed Walt Disney Company when it sought to build a history and amusement park. [09:13:35] But most famously, she successfully took on powerful lawyer and land developer Till Hazel when he tried to build a vast shopping mall near the Manassas battlefield. If men in suits representing corporate America thought they could steamroll a simple do-gooder and farmer, they did not really know Snyder. [09:13:58] She was a pioneering and lifelong Prince William Republican. becoming a leader in the Grand Old Party in the 1950s, when it was a voice of integration and racial justice in the Virginia ruled by the Democratic Party's powerful and conservative bird machine. She fought for civil rights and for better schools before these issues became fashionable. It has been written that she became an active in land use disputes because of her [09:14:33] growing attachment to her farm, through which flows a small stream known to history as Little Bull Run. But the woman on the land near the Manassas battlefield was not really a farm wife. Her husband was a commercial airline pilot, and she was a farmer running the business side and doing much of the physical labor. Unlike other reformers who had been routed by developers, she had experienced a life before civic activism that prepared her for battle. [09:15:07] The Pennsylvania native had attended law school and had served in the Marine Corps during World War II. But regardless of her background, her skills, her energy, and her convictions, even she thought she could not stop Hazel when he and his company announced they were going to develop land near the battlefield. [09:15:27] As a young lawyer, Hazel was involved in securing land to build the Capitol Beltway. As a land developer, he had almost invented Northern Virginia as a commercial power, turning bucolic farmland into vast swaths of glass and steel office buildings, corporate parks, housing developments, and shopping malls. [09:15:50] In 1986, the Hazel developers wowed Prince William County supervisors and civic and business groups with promises of a tree-filled complex of office buildings for 600 acres next to the Banassas National Battlefield Park. [09:16:07] The plan was to bring thousands of upscale corporate workers to the area, expanding the county's tax base while blending with the environment. Then after buying the land and securing zoning for the development, Hazel announced in 1988 that his company had decided to replace the office buildings with a massive shopping mall. [09:16:30] Officials and residents pointed out that this was not what was promised, that a mall would clog area roads and hardly blend with the hush of nearby battlefield. Hazel pointed out that the law was on his side of his development and vowed to build it. [09:16:47] A citizens group was formed, but could raise only about $5,000 for a legal battle. Observers thought it was no contest, but observers had not counted on Snyder, who with her motto of never, never, never give up, took command of the preservationists to save the battlefield coalition in what became known as the Third Battle of Bull Run. [09:17:15] The developers unleashed a public relations campaign to sell their case, which many observers found a very good one to the Prince William community and to the public at large. While the public relations blitz was going on, construction crews near the battlefield worked round the clock. Suddenly, it began to go horribly wrong for the developers. [09:17:39] Under Snyder's leadership, the preservationists secured the support of historians and national political figures in a quest to have the federal government buy the land and preserve it as a Civil War Memorial. [09:17:54] Prestigious national preservation organizations, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park and Conservation Association, took up the cause. In a Congressional Committee hearing, Jody Powell, who had served as President Jimmy Carter's Press Secretary, led the preservation charge, making an impassioned plea to preserve land that included the burial ground of thousands of soldiers from North and South. [09:18:23] And while Powell was speaking on that little hill, Mr. Chairman, history is palpable today. You can see it and feel it. Television's cameras caught the face of a seemingly stricken Snyder. Film of her eyes welling with tears was seen by viewers around the world. [09:18:42] Along with video from the hearing were images of bulldozers leveling the earth where heroes slept. Congress did not seem to have the money to buy the land. But that changed when Senator Dale Bumpers, Democrat of Arkansas, who chaired the National Parks and Forest Subcommittee, made a speech to the Senate that was a heartfelt, as it was effective, in support of the federal government taking the land. [09:19:08] Using Civil War maps, he explained the military actions that had taken place on the disputed 600 acres, summoning iconic names like Lee Longstreet and Jackson. In spite of predictions that the preservationists would lose the Senate vote, bumpers carried the day, 50 to 25. [09:19:29] After a series of maneuvers, the preservationists won the war. When President Ronald Reagan signed the legislation securing funds to save the land from development, Elizabeth Ann Delp was born in Pittsburgh and graduated at age 19 from Allegheny College with a degree in English and history. [09:19:49] She dropped out of the University of Pittsburgh Law School in 1943 to enter the Marines, becoming one of the first female officers. She did recruiting work and then held quartermaster posts at Quantico. She also became a model for the original Molly Marine statue in New Orleans. [09:20:10] Snyder settled in Northern Virginia after the war. She often wore Marine Corps emblems on clothing, and she maintained a Semper Fi attitude towards civic involvement until the end. In 1995, she told Washington Post columnists, I have kept up on everything that goes on in this county. [09:20:32] I have 50 cardboard boxes of files in the house and another 70 in the barn, and I also have 24 metal file drawers. I probably have more records of what's going on in the county than anyone. She continued as an activist who was a hero to many and a noxious pest to others. [09:20:53] Few were indifferent to her, and she seemed to relish combat. She once told a Post reporter, I bet I'm the only woman you know who's going to have a bouncer at my funeral. I've already arranged to keep my enemies out who are going to want to come and dance on my grave, she added with a chuckle. [09:21:14] You know, friends come and go, but enemies are forever. Annie Snyder helped stop a mall, a highway, Disney, and Marriott-themed parks. If she were still alive, this project would never have seen the light of day. [09:21:31] Please honor her legacy and don't destroy the land she fought to preserve. Thank you, Ms. Moreland. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Olga Crown, and I lived in Prince William County for about 30 years. [09:21:52] I think it's a great place to live and raise a family. The only issue I see this county is running out of money. To support the wonderful school teachers and schools we have here and provide a better quality education to support our first responders, we need more funding. [09:22:15] The taxpayers have a big burden to pay. Just read next door post website on how many people are complaining about high personal and real estate taxes. [09:22:32] And they are going up exponentially every year. Digital Gateway is the answer to this issue. We need more tax revenue to pay our wonderful teachers, more money to modernize our outdated schools, pay for social services programs, increase affordable housing. [09:22:59] Prince Wilson Digital Gateway is projected to generate over $400 million in a new annual tax revenue and almost $20 million in the first year alone. I would like to ask the board to approve all three applications for Digital Gateway. [09:23:21] And I thank you, this board, for their hard work. And God bless you all. Thank you, Ms. Crown. Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is John Crown from the Gainesville District. [09:23:37] I support all three applications for the PW Digital Gateway. Now, prior speakers, you've heard them say that the planning board has been unfairly moving the goalpost, and they're asking for things like building elevations and such, you know, at the end of the last hour. [09:23:59] I just don't understand why couldn't they do that, you know, in the first round. Those are some basic things that they could have asked for. But they've been understaffed and leaderless. They're hardworking, dedicated staff that you have. [09:24:15] But this project is way too large for this board to handle or the planning commission to handle. And they should have outsourced these engineers from the beginning to another county to bring in some help because this is a truly large project for this commission to handle. [09:24:37] But before I finish, I just wanted to say I have a gesture for the data centers and the supervisor, Bodai, who asked for some on-site solar. Fortunately, my land has been designated Parks and Open Space. [09:24:54] So on that property, I built a large 21-kilowatt solar array that I'll be happy to donate if this project goes through. And in three years, I've generated over 120 megawatt hours, which is not too bad. I figured, you know, that power generated can actually power all the lighting for one data center. [09:25:16] It's not much, but it's free, and it's a good start for sustainability. I want to thank this board for doing what is a good balance for Prince William County growth. Wildlife are finally able to pass across Pajon Lane, and such visitors can come to the park and see land that they've never seen before. [09:25:39] So this is the best planned, most sustainable plan. data center in U.S. history. Vote yes on this game-changing project for our county. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Crown. Before Mr. Wright speaks, I'm going to call forth 56 through 60. [09:25:55] Hi, I'm speaking on all three projects, and I'd like the overhead, please. They're working on it. [09:26:25] Hi, I'm Bill Wright. I live in Gainesville. I oppose the Prince William Digital Gateway, which is like a monster that refuses to die. Hundreds of citizens have written, spoken out, and demonstrated against this destructive project for over two years, but it defies all logical arguments against it. It reminds me of the Frankenstein movies I used to watch in my youth. [09:26:46] Every sequel would begin with an explanation of why the monster really didn't die in the last movie. In the original 1931 Frankenstein, the monster seems to perish in a burning windmill. But in 1935's The Bride of Frankenstein, he apparently only fell into the basement where he was saved from the flames. At the end of The Bride of Frankenstein, it really looks like the end for the monster as the entire castle is destroyed by a tremendous explosion. But in 1939's The Son of Frankenstein, the monster is seen emerging from the rubble only slightly worse for wear. At the end of that movie, the monster really seems to be done in by being knocked into a pit of molten [09:27:23] sulfur. But don't write him off yet. In 1942's The Ghost of Frankenstein, the monster springs back to life when explosions set by the townspeople to destroy the son's castle free the monster from his sulfuric tomb. The monster is further revived when he is struck by a bolt of lightning, but after some predictable neighborhood terrorizing, again he is burned up in a flaming laboratory. What has all this got to do with the Prince William Digital Gateway? More than you might think. Angry citizens have devoted countless hours trying to burn it down, blow it up, or throw it into a vat of molten [09:28:00] sulfur. And it still keeps coming back at us because the mad scientists on the dais continue to resuscitate it with donor-funded bolts of lightning. The planning office has declared that the Prince William Digital Gateway deserves to die, and the planning commission agreed it is a bad movie that is not sequel-worthy. So what warped rationale will you conjure up to justify jolting this monster back to life? We've heard and debunked it all before. We don't believe your inflated revenue estimates. You haven't bothered to estimate costs. You'll get around to assessing the power requirements later, you'll have a noise ordinance ready after everything's been approved, [09:28:39] and you're still working on that water study. This is clearly a reckless proposal, and those promoting it are not to be trusted. Like Dr. Frankenstein, you have implanted a criminal brain in a gargantuan monster, and are ready to irresponsibly turn it loose on our communities. If you do, we will all come to rue the unintended consequences of your creation. [09:29:08] Frankenstein's monster is not the only fiend that repeatedly defies death. Don't forget Count Dracula and his reign of terror. Again, what has this got to do with the Prince William Digital Gateway? Again, more than you might think. What do we know about vampires, their powers, and their vulnerabilities? First, we know that vampires live by sucking the blood out of things. So do oversized data center campuses that drain their host communities of land, water, power, and peace of mind. We know that vampires can't bear sunlight. Count Dracula would have loved non-disclosure agreements that could have bound his victims to secrecy and obscured his evil intent. But it took [09:29:48] blood-sucking corporate predators to come up with that idea and shady government officials to embrace it. Vampires are masters of deception, sometimes turning themselves into bats or wolves for the advantages of stealth and evasion. This facility came in handy when promising studies that never materialized and elusive parks that were more sizzle than steak. Vampires can't stand mirrors. [09:30:12] How many of Dracula's sympathizers on the dais can bear to take a good look at themselves? Some of you would be well advised to avoid the unflattering reflection of your misdeeds as you promoted this betrayal of your constituents. As we all know, Dracula can only be killed by a wooden stake driven through his heart. [09:30:30] The planning office delivered a well-placed stake with its trio of scathing staff reports on October 27th. The planning commission pounded another one in for good measure on November 9th. Then the planning office drove another one home on December 7th. But removing these stakes allows the vampire to rise again from the grave. [09:30:51] QTS and Compass have been feverishly trying to revive Dracula with smoke mirrors and thousands of pages of gothic mumbo-jumbo. But it will require the mystic powers of an immoral board of county supervisors to pull out the stakes. Is it your intention to breathe new life into this moribund vampire so it can rise from the grave and embark on its evil blood-sucking mission? [09:31:12] It can only be done by five of you disregarding the reason of your professional staff and the outcry of those you are sworn to serve. Keep Dracula in his coffin and reject the Prince William Digital Gateway. The horror movie that best represents the relentless onslaught of the Prince William Digital Gateway is 1968's Night of the Living Dead. [09:31:40] It is the most famous zombie film of all time and obviously had an influential effect on the applicants. The movie poser foretold the film's principal premise, they won't stay dead. This theme has been recurrent throughout the CPA and rezoning process as ghoulish corporate fiends repeatedly became reanimated despite multiple devastating blows to their proposal that should have been fatal. [09:32:04] But zombies are notoriously hard to kill. They are completely devoid of emotion and empathy and insensitive to pain, but they have ravenous appetites. Those who seek to advance the mission of data center zombies QTS and Compass will be unleashing a terrifying new sequel entitled Era of the Living Dead. [09:32:24] It will tell the story of a strained Faustian bargain where the souls of living innocents are sacrificed for the enrichment of evil strangers. The chilling outcome will be an epic of desolation, a plague on the land that will last for years. Who is it that will bring this fate upon us? [09:32:41] It is not some foreign invader, but five traitors among us. Why would those entrusted with our welfare wish such a horrible fate upon us? We've been trying to get a satisfactory answer to that question for two years. We are not fooled by your false advocacy. Prescribing this miserable destiny does not make you forward-thinking visionaries, but selfish and indifferent rogues. [09:33:04] If, after all the evidence you have tried to ignore, you still insist on approving these dreadful applications, you are either fools or scoundrels. There is no third explanation. And where will your irresponsibility leave our communities? You will have surrendered our very sovereignty to corporate marauders who care not a whit for our families or our futures and will squeeze us like a lemon until everything useful has been drained. [09:33:29] You will have opened the gate wide for further exploitation and destruction as other aspirants will claim everything's already ruined. The Prince William Digital Gateway didn't just happen. Scheming opportunists created it. The culpability for this disaster will be squarely attributed to each of you. [09:33:49] Zombies never die, but people do. Someday you will be called to account for the decisions you made and the path you followed. I'd love to see you try to talk your way out of this one. Save your souls and reject the Prince William Digital Gateway. And since I still have a minute left, I'd like to offer a parting gift to our chair. [09:34:12] It's a self-help book. It's called How to Win Friends and Influence People. On the very cover, it has three things that I think you might find useful. Number one, what are the six ways of making people like you? Two, what are the 12 ways of winning people to your way of thinking? [09:34:29] Three, what are the nine ways to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment? I hope that Chair Wheeler can use this in her future endeavors. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Wright. Next speaker, please. I didn't bring any books to give to you. [09:34:53] My name is James Peoples, and I live in the Gainesville District, speaking to all three. Supervisors, I urge you to approve rezoning for the Prince William Digital Gateway. This initiative embodies progress, fostering technological advancements crucial for our community's growth. [09:35:13] By embracing this change, we signal our commitment to innovation, attracting businesses and opportunities that will propel our county forward. I'm grateful for your dedication to enhancing this community, and approving rezoning will undoubtedly contribute to a brighter future for Prince William County. [09:35:36] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Peoples. Next speaker, please. Hello there. I'm Amy Peoples from the Gainesville District, and I'm speaking to all three rezoning proposals. I wholeheartedly support the Prince William Digital Gateway, and I'm here to ask you all to vote to approve these applications. [09:35:56] Thank you, Supervisors, for your diligence and tireless work over years of considering and researching these projects. Thank you, Ms. Peoples. Next speaker, please. Hello, hello. Hi, my name is Matt. I've lived in Gainesville for 20 years, and I ask you to vote yes for all three applications. [09:36:16] We've all been at this for over two years now, and we appreciate the Board of Supervisors, the planning staff, and everybody that's worked really hard. You've been objective, logical, and have resisted the attacks and the tactics from the few but loud opposition. [09:36:35] Supervisors, please stay strong and see this through. The benefits of this program, this project, far, far, far outweigh the so-claimed drawbacks. The digital gateway is smart. [09:36:52] The tax revenue is substantial, and it will benefit residents of the entire county. It's a well-planned, consolidated tech corridor along existing transmission lines. That is the best use of that land, which is no longer and will never again be rural. [09:37:12] It is not scattered all over the place. It is not near to, visible to, heard by, or affecting neighborhoods, schools, or churches, or traffic, unlike the other overlay district items, projects. [09:37:30] Follow the science. People from Heritage Hunt, Oak Valley, Cat Harp and Valley will not see it. They will not hear it. They will not be affected by traffic. However, they will benefit from the tax revenue, the parks, the trails, and the road improvements. [09:37:50] Miscellaneous points are that site plans and elevations are typically done during the development phase, not the planning and zoning phase. And in summary, this is a good plan for the county, and please vote yes for all three. [09:38:09] Thank you, Mr. Wirth. Next speaker, please. And after this one, we're still looking for number 60, and then back to you. Hi, my name's Colin Wirth. I've been a lifetime resident of Gainesville District. Please vote yes for all three. Thank you. [09:38:26] Thank you. I'm speaking for Kim, who just got called away on a family emergency. she asks you to support all three applications can you please state your name and generally where you live have you spoken before i am speaking sorry you're not allowed to do that i'm speaking for kim foley i'm sorry you're not allowed to do that sir you can only speak for yourself all [09:38:52] three applications thank you very much our next five speakers will be 61 through 65 please proceed elizabeth martirana gainesville prince william county resident for 47 years i will be speaking on all three rezonings. Many months ago, I heard a rumor about the Prince William Digital Gateway. [09:39:31] Is it true? Do you know? Hmm. Well, back in the 1970s, the name of Private James Thornwell was in the news. This African-American man had been voted the most likely to succeed in his high school class, but while in the military in France, he had been accused of stealing highly classified documents. For three months, this young man was kept in a small, windowless, unlit isolation chamber where he was deprived of sleep and toilet facilities. He was interrogated for as long as 70 hours at a time. During interrogation, he was physically abused, terrified with threats [09:40:11] of death, and degraded by a steady stream of verbal abuse. The interrogation ended when a special team of Army officers arrived on the scene as part of Operation Third Chance and gave Private Thornwell LSD without his knowledge to test as an aid in interrogation under extreme physical and mental stress. [09:40:32] After being given LSD, Private Thornwell developed epilepsy, started hallucinating, and had reacted so severely to the LSD that Army psychiatrists classified him as extremely paranoid and he was discharged. Thornwell suffered incapacitating symptoms from the after effects of LSD. He couldn't hold down a job. He was twice divorced. His attempts at obtaining proper health care through the military after discharge were in vain. It was happenstance that Private Thornwell sought out a lawyer in California where he lived at the time who proceeded to file a FOIA [09:41:12] for Thornwell's medical records. You all are very aware of FOIAs, I know. It took many months, but the records started flowing into his attorney. For 16 months, this man suffered greatly, but he never knew why. After learning the circumstances of his 16-year-long misery, Private Thornwell thereafter filed a $10 million lawsuit in 1978 against the United States government and others. [09:41:39] Only after 60 minutes dedicated an episode to Thornwell's plight did Congress offer Thornwell $625,000 and the lawsuit was dropped. Private James Thornwell died six years later in 1984 at the age of 46, apparently from drowning in his apartment complex swimming pool. [09:42:00] Or did a seizure contribute to his drowning? The movie Thornwell streams online. Why do I remember this story so well? Because I was at a law firm in Washington, D.C., in the outer office of senior partner Terry Lenzner, former chief investigator for the Senate Watergate Committee, when the 60-minute crew walked past me into Mr. Lenzner's office to interview him. [09:42:28] Private James R. Thornwell was used as a human guinea pig by our military, our U.S. government, without his consent, without his signature on the dotted line. Also in the late 70s, the news was filled with the story of the infamous Love Canal near Niagara Falls, New York. [09:42:45] Hooker Chemical dumped over 20,000 tons of chemical waste, including carcinogens in that canal, from 1943 to 1953. Hooker then covered the canal with rock and clay and sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1 and wrote into the deed a disclaimer of responsibility for future damages due to the presence of buried chemicals. [09:43:09] A year later, construction started on an elementary school on that $1 property surrounded by new residential homes. In 1968, Hooker Chemical was purchased by the present-day, multi-billion-dollar company Occidental Petroleum. [09:43:26] But people had already been complaining for 20 years of odors and substances surfacing in their yards and on the school playground. So in 1978, Lois Gibbs, a young mom with a sickly child, founded the Love Canal Parents Movement after discovering that her entire neighborhood of Love Canal had been built on a toxic waste dump. [09:43:48] A 1979 study the next year found increases in miscarriages, stillbirths, crib deaths, nervous breakdowns, hyperactivity, epilepsy, and urinary tract disorders. For four previous years, 56% of the children in that neighborhood were born with a birth defect, including three ears, a double row of teeth, and mental retardation. [09:44:12] State health authorities quickly dismissed the study. After three long years, Lois Gibbs' organization finally succeeded in getting help against strong opposition by local, state, and federal agencies and by Occidental Petroleum. [09:44:29] President Carter issued an emergency declaration in October 1980, ordering Love Canal be cleaned up, and that's how the EPA's Superfund sites came into being. Homemaker Lois Gibbs is often referred to as the mother of Superfund. [09:44:45] These men, women, and children did not ask to live on the nation's largest Superfund site. They didn't sign on the dotted line for this. These people were accidental guinea pigs dismissed by our government and corporate America for far too long because no one wanted to accept blame for such a horrendous health and environmental disaster. [09:45:08] 1,050 families were evacuated from Lubb Canal. The cleanup took 21 years. Occidental Petroleum paid $129 million of the $400 million spent by the U.S. government for cleanup. Why is this story so ingrained in my memory? [09:45:23] Well, I traveled with the paralegals to Hooker Chemical offices in Niagara Falls during the discovery process for the lawsuit. Day after day, we searched through files, and suddenly, I was holding that $1 deed transferring the contaminated Love Canal from Hooker Chemical to the Niagara Falls Board of Education that the elementary school had been built upon. [09:45:46] It quickly caught my eye, not because of the $1 amount, because it was dated less than a month before I was born. So is the rumor true that I heard many months ago? Is the Prince William Digital Gateway being built by the federal government for the military or just for corporate America? [09:46:05] I really don't care who it's being built for. Let me be clear. I will not be a willing guinea pig next door to the biggest environmental atrocity in the world. I have not and will not sign on that dotted line. [09:46:22] I don't believe any of my 3,500 neighbors in my senior community of Heritage Hunt want to be guinea pigs either. If this project proceeds, it will be the biggest example of elder abuse ever thrust upon seniors in the United States, and it will be added as a new category of elder abuse in future textbooks. [09:46:42] You have received thousands of pages of documents explaining everything wrong with this project. You know it's wrong. But have you, majority, been promised a pot of gold at the end of your dark rainbow? The $200,000, $300,000 in your campaign coffers really won't last long. [09:47:02] I don't suppose that pot of gold is really a safety deposit box, is it? Have you been promised a key to it after this vote? Or after all 102 homeowners signed on the dotted lines of Compass and QTS? Would there entail a long trip to use that key? [09:47:18] I don't suppose that key would fit a box in Switzerland, would it? Like the old adage says, money does not buy happiness, especially with the environmental destruction of your hands that you will have to live with if you vote in favor of this project. Virginia Code Section 15.2-1405 discusses immunity of members of local government entities. [09:47:44] But the exception states, quote, However, the immunity granted by this section shall not apply to conduct constituting intentional or willful misconduct or gross negligence, unquote. [09:47:59] Please remember those words as you vote today. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi. Hi. My name is Faye Abulhasan, and I've lived in Haymarket for over 40 years. [09:48:18] And for the record, I'd like to state I'm completely against this whole project. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Vita Carol Brentsville. I'm going to be speaking on all three rezonings. [09:48:40] And I don't live anywhere near any of these rezonings, nor do I have any type of financial investment with these rezonings. First of all, I want to thank staff for the past two and a half years of work on this and other projects that have been pushed through and just the timeline has been so condensed. [09:49:06] They've been under so much stress, so much pressure, and then they get attacked by members of this board, which is absurd. The eight of you sitting up there know what I think of the Digital Gateway Project, but to reiterate my past over two years of comments to this board, I completely reject all three of these rezonings. [09:49:27] Absolutely clear from discussions in chambers earlier and clear from the staff report that there are way more questions than answers when it comes to this project. This isn't misinformation, rumors, gossip, innuendos. This is just fact in written staff reports that are county record, county product. [09:49:45] The fifth submission did not address many of the questions and concerns asked by both the planning commission and the staff. There are numerous legal concerns. I know you all can't talk about those legal concerns, but I can talk about those legal concerns. This public hearing was not properly advertised, period. [09:50:02] This public hearing violates both state code and county ordinance, period. It is fine that the applicant is willing to gamble on a lawsuit, But as a taxpaying voting resident of this county, you can bet I have a problem with my elected officials breaking the law. [09:50:20] Ms. Wheeler, you represent me. You represent every single citizen in this county. And once again, you are acting as though you are above the law. You have been under a state investigation for over a year due to your conflict of interest. Your board has been in a legal battle due to the violation of the Freedom of Information Act. [09:50:38] And yet tonight now you are recklessly once again leading this board headlong into breaking the law, breaking state code, breaking county ordinance. And this is why I'm still here and why I'm at every one of these hearings. You know, you may say, why are you even here? This doesn't impact you. [09:50:54] This does impact me. OK, I am at these hearings because I am I believe in fair and transparent government and call me naive. But I still believe in honesty in politics, especially, particularly and especially at the local level. I don't think that's unreasonable. [09:51:11] I know it's not unreasonable because we do have some honest politicians left in this county. What is unreasonable is the demands that these three rezonings will place on the local community and the larger community. There has been so much said by applicants today about how this is not going to impact viewshed, water, the environment. [09:51:31] I want to rewind to two and a half years ago, to Village Tech Park, the data center campus in Haymarket. I'm going to show you a picture of what the applicant presented to you that night in 2021. I'm going to remind you of a quote that Supervisor Franklin said that night. [09:51:50] Those buffers were, quote, some of the best you've ever seen. And then I'm going to show you a picture of what we actually got. Okay, so let me just pull that up. Here's the picture of what they presented. Trying to use the Elmo. [09:52:12] Hello. [09:52:12] it's 2023 guys what's can the board stick those trees i know it's crappy but you get the point [09:52:52] just drive over drive over to our side of the county for once and see those trees see is this still the best buffer that you've ever seen so when we look at this rezoning in hand with the cpa it just doesn't add up parkland's gone wildlife quarter is gone okay they're going to replant a tree for every tree they cut down and then i see pictures of these trees like at village tech park It's not the same. [09:53:18] It doesn't add up. Don't try to tell me what I can see with my own eyes. It's ridiculous. The CPA should have happened in tandem with the rezoning. Over a year ago, July 2021, I emailed Mr. Bodie and said, Hey, the rezonings are in. [09:53:33] The CPA is on the docket. You can look at these and see that the parkland in the CPA is not in the stinking rezonings. No reply. Send it all to the entire board November 1. It's in your email, November 1, the night of the vote. I sent those maps to the board again. [09:53:51] Mr. Bodhi did reply, your attachments are not submitted. I re-sent them. Crappy Wi-Fi here. But the point is, is this rezoning should have been looked at in tandem with the CPA because it does not match the CPA. We knew that back when you approved the CPA, and we know it even more today, which is why you should deny these rezonings and say, go back and make this align with the CPA. [09:54:11] Or better yet, the CPA was a mistake. Why do we continue to give preferential treatment to these developers and we see the mistakes we made in the past with Village Tech Park and we continue to make these mistakes today? What is it going to take for you to say, hey, this is not adding up. [09:54:27] This is not right. We refuse to do this to constituents again. This viewshed study, okay, but this picture of all these trees and a burn and height, like look at Village Tech Park. It has a burn. It has height. It has buffers. And the building is right there outside their window. [09:54:45] It's ridiculous. I want to talk about legacy. What will be all of our legacy in our own lives, in our own family, our legacy in the communities, our legacy in our church, our homes, the legacy of this board. The legacy of this board, Ms. Wheeler's board, is a county torn apart for the benefit of a select few. Two weeks ago, during the Devlin Tech Park hearing, I stood here and heard from people I've never even met, never heard from, probably will never see again, begging you wall to just listen to them, to actually look them in the eye and listen to them instead of [09:55:22] shuffling papers on their desk. You know, if you have a problem with us speaking here for nine minutes, for hours and hours, maybe you should have switched these rezonings out to take less, stagger them out. Or maybe you should have consolidated the CPA and the rezoning together. This is a mess you all created. So you sit through and look me in the eye when I am speaking. [09:55:44] Excuse me. This is the month our Lord and Savior is born. So I take offense to using his name when I am speaking in a degradatory manner. You have ripped this county apart. Social divide, political divide, families ripped apart, friends ripped apart for what? For money? [09:56:02] That is the legacy of all of you sitting up here. It's ridiculous. It's pathetic. I am ashamed to live here. I'm ashamed to live under all of you. You should just deny these rezonings. It's ridiculous. The only people speaking in favor are unions and landholders. You all know that. I know you're all going to go through. You're going to pass it. We're going to sue your asses. [09:56:19] I hope we win. I hope this is all over. I hope all you landholders, you know, own it. Just own it. Don't try to tell me that you want to sell out because you want to solve racism. Don't try to tell me that you want to sell out because you want more better paid teachers. Just freaking sell your house and say, yeah, I'm afraid of living next to a data center and I want money. Mr. Canlon said it in July 2021 when he expanded the CPA study area to include his home. He said, how is this fair to people who don't want to live next to data centers with a freaking smile on his face while he widened the cpa study area to [09:56:54] include his home mr canlon i know you're watching it's pathetic it's a shame it's a damn shame what you all have allowed to happen to this county you know this is an illegal hearing good luck to you guys i know again i know the applicant's willing to take a bet on a lawsuit but i do have serious problem with my elected officials using my tax dollars for an unnecessary lawsuit for a widely unpopular highly controversial land use deal that only benefits the select few in this county [09:57:27] pathetic do better i'm glad the next time i'm in this room i won't have to see you miss wheeler it's been a long four years i'm excited i'm looking forward to the future thank you next speaker please christopher carroll brentsville district and i will be using the elmo in a minute So not many people know this about me, but I used to be a teacher at the collegiate level. [09:58:06] And so I decided today, you know, let's go back to school. I'll dumb it down a little bit for us today. Maybe we'll go back to elementary school, look over some subjects. And, you know, I'm surprised we didn't go to recess, everyone's favorite topic right now. I thought that was going to be next up. But let me start with literacy. [09:58:24] So I just want to read some words, some definitions. First, oxymoron. That's a figure of speech in which apparently contradicting terms appear in conjunction, a.k.a. dominion and public engagement. Two, pushy, excessively or unpleasantly self-assertive or ambitious. [09:58:45] Supervisor Franklin, we get it. You're trying to get those big luptorian dominion dollars for your congressional run. That does not give you any excuse to badge your staff talking about dominion. Inexcusable and uncalled for. Three, bribe, persuade someone to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonesty, by a gift of money or other inducement. [09:59:11] And, you know, I don't even think I need to speak about this. I'm glad Ms. Robel came back. Because yesterday QTS mailed the board an email talking about a park that's not in the proffer, spoke all about it this morning. That goes strictly against county ordinance, as I'm sure Ms. Robel knows and hopefully advised you. [09:59:29] that's illegal. Here we are again. But enough literacy, let's move on to math. Zero, the tax reduction this project promises us and proffers. I don't see any tax reducement tonight. Zero, apparently the number of hours of the Planning Commission hearing that Chair Wheeler watched, and yet she has all the statistics to tell us. And just for the record, you know, they only spoke two hours because there is not much to talk about in terms of benefits. People against it spoke hours and hours because there are that many concerns. So I thank you for illustrating our [10:00:09] point. One, the number of data center companies that the chair had invested in while this project was in formation. And I appreciate you divested from that stock and your Koya opinion from Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth that protects Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth. Three, the number of county officials past and present who have been under criminal investigations over the past year as this project has been ongoing to the number of county officials past and present that are still under open criminal investigations according to FOIA I love FOIA but let's be real [10:00:47] today you guys literally do not care what any of us have to say you're here to check a box a box that was illegally scheduled and due to your arrogance here we are um let's not be mean let's move on to science class, sustainability, the environment, and let's talk about QTS first if we're going to keep track. The board, not me, and any agenda I set, set forth goals to be among other things 50% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2035. A few facts on those numbers. Over the 10 years prior, our emissions actually [10:01:23] increased by 19%. The commercial energy sector made up 30% of the county's greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 and 35% in 2020. We're growing, and to put that in perspective, rough estimates from the Sustainability Commission show that the Prince William Digital Gateway, when built out, will use 16 times as much energy as all the county's commercial buildings from 2018. [10:01:49] So if we are using 30% commercially and are increasing that by 16 times, how are we expected to meet our goals? Today, the applicants can meet their sustainability goals from their proffers by using LED lights inside, LED lights outside, adding EV chargers, recycling. That's it. There's no need for renewable energy, no need for e-waste, no need for not using diesel generators. And how many diesel generators are we even going to have at full build-out? 1,000? 2,000? The world-class requirements of the CPA fall way short. And I also appreciate the conversation on the grid. To be clear, there's no power. Read Dominion's IRP, read PJM's forecast for transmission line projects. [10:02:26] we have no power. Heck, even Dominion's almost $6 billion offshore wind farm investment will not even put out enough power to power the totality of what you guys are voting on tonight. And I'm a little confused by QTS's attorney's statement today that the data centers are paying for that and QTS is paying for that. I'd like some clarification on that. And just to reiterate, if QTS is saying they're already doing these things from their ESG report that they told you guys to look at today, let's take a look at that ESG report, because they aren't doing it in [10:03:01] Prince William County. Not LEED certified, no renewable power, no on-site solar, no EV charging stations. So yeah, taking their word for it, when their word is for our steel at best, as you can see, they told you to look at it. They're not doing it. Do better. Moving on to PE, and really, you know, we'll combine physical education and ethics course, and continually talk about people that should not be taken at their word qts's commitments to parks and open space it's well documented they are not following what the cpa proposed i want to share with you an email again [10:03:37] foia love it and this is an email from qts's attorney and you know just to read some of it that they are saying it is not realistic or reasonable that they should have to purchase the land for the parks if they're not able to develop east of the power lines. And so the county, we said, sure, that's fine. And mind you, this email is from October 22 over a year ago. [10:04:11] And so we agreed to that. And what does QTS do? They're not building any parks. It's not in the proffers. So yeah, they can keep saying they are coming. They are coming. They are coming. We promise they're coming. Where are they? What is the cost of the county? They have them under the contract. Why are we not talking about them tonight? And honestly, in the presentations today, those parks are still on all the application documents from the hearing today and the presentations. And as you know, Prince William County Ordinance Section 32-700.44 might want to take a look at it. Those parks are not proffered. They should not be displayed as a bargaining chip [10:04:47] as they were in the CPA. So to close out my tour around the school, I'd like to take you to music next. Unfortunately, we can't hear anything because of the construction and the data center noise. I'd like to take you to history, but we don't have those phase two studies yet, so I don't know how we're going to learn about what we need to learn about. And really, two weeks ago at Devlin, we had a park, and it was removed for being an unenforceable proffer. So all these cultural resources, is that nexus related to a data center, or is that all going to magically snap and disappear [10:05:23] again tonight? I'd like to go to the outdoors too, but those wildlife corridors are paved over. For the sake of compass, heaven forbid they can't build where the wildlife are. Geography. I'd love to show a map of all the data centers in the county. [10:05:39] I think everyone would want to see that. It's too bad we don't have it, can't share it. Driver's ed. Not risking my life on the Bi-County Parkway. Finance and economics. Not until we know the expenses for the project. Do we? I don't think the county shared those numbers with us. [10:05:55] Politics. I'll leave that one to Mr. Pete Canlon, who traded his public service career for a payday, leaving his county he was elected to serve in the dust. So, you know, that's all I've got tonight. The bell is ringing. We're going home for the day. But just like school, no, this is not the end. [10:06:13] You know, for these Pageland residents that are moving out of town, it's the end for them, and that's fine. But we're still going to be here day after day, you know, meeting after meeting, until you guys can wake up and start making decisions that actually the county supports. [10:06:28] Thank you. Next speaker, please. And while the next speaker is speaking, the next five are welcome to line up, 66 through 70. My name is Andy Corey. [10:06:44] I'm in eighth grade Alboro Middle School, and I live in the Gainesville District. I oppose all three rezonings. In my civics class, we're learning about the principles of democracy and representative government. My parents have always told me that in a democracy, every voice matters. That's why I've always been attending these meetings to express my views and concerns. [10:07:05] But it often seems our voices, especially younger folks, aren't being heard. This doesn't feel right in a representative government. Now let's consider the PW Digital Gateway Project. This project proposes a vast development of 37 data centers spread over 1,760 acres, right next to sensitive areas like the Manassas Battlefields Park. [10:07:28] This raises serious environmental concerns. For instances, the sheer scale of the project, encompassing over 23 million square feet, could significantly impact our natural surroundings and local ecosystems. What worries me more is how this development could affect children living near the proposed site. [10:07:46] We have the fundamental right to breathe clean air, but I fear this could be compromised by pollutants from the data centers, including emissions from diesel generators. Clean air is not just an environmental issue, it's a health issue to them. Moreover, the constant noise from the operation of these dedi centers could disrupt our daily lives. [10:08:05] Imagine replacing the peaceful sounds of nature, like birds chirping, with a continuous whirling of machinery. Isn't the serenity of the environment worth preserving? Another primary concern is water pollution. With such a large-scale development, contaminating our water source is risky. [10:08:21] We all deserve access to clean and safe drinking water, and we must protect our water resources for everyone, especially our funeral generation. My close friend lives next to the Village Place Development, where data centers are directly across from her house. She tells me how she used to watch the sunset, a simple joy now taken from her. [10:08:40] No child should have to lose these small yet significant pleasures in life. I want to emphasize that we, the children of the community, don't want this to happen to other kids. We deserve to grow up in an environment where health and well-being are prioritized and our natural and historic heritage is preserved. [10:08:58] I urge you, as our representatives, to continue the long-term impacts of the P.W. Digital Gateway Project. It's not just about the economic benefits or growth, which, by the way, is questionable at best. It's about the kind of community we want to live in and the environment we want to grow up in. We deserve better. Please make decisions that reflect the best interests of all your constituents, including the youngest among us. You guys know what's right. Just do it. [10:09:23] Thank you. Next speaker, please. We should be on number 66. Good evening. My name is Kara Kloss. I live in the Gainesville District, and I will be speaking in opposition to all three rezoning applications tonight. [10:09:39] Before I even begin, I want to thank staff. Bravery, commitment to professionalism, and complete courage in the face of tremendous pressure. So I think that we all should be tremendously grateful to our staff. I've been here speaking with my children for the last year and a half, and so many have come before me. [10:10:02] I don't want to reiterate this. The staff has done an excellent job of laying out all the deficiencies in these plans. But there are a couple of things that I think are worth correcting. Recently, Supervisor Bodie, you said that there was what you perceived to be a general consensus, even in the West, where these data centers are being built next to our houses, that we're somehow in support of it. [10:10:23] Let me tell you, sir, no one is in support of this. There's not a general consensus that these are somehow in the best interest of our community. You need only look at our last elections, obviously with DeShundra's primary and our most recent elections in November. Anybody that was even running for office in our neck of the woods was opposed to this, not just the winners. [10:10:43] All of it, whether it was chair, Brentsville District, Gainesville District, and Danica's race. And Danica has even come out and said that she opposes any new data centers in Prince William County. So no, sir, there is not a consensus. Nobody wants to live next to a data center. [10:11:00] What's really important to point out here, and again, not getting into any of the nitty-gritty of this, there's so, so many reasons to reject this proposal, but just like with the Devlin proposal, I think it's a much simpler analysis. The question is, does this threaten the health, safety, and well-being of our community? [10:11:17] Does it threaten our environmental and cultural and historical lands? Yes, it does. That's pretty much a hard stop right there, or as my kids would say, hard pass, as in Brussels sprouts for dinner, hard pass, Mom. We don't even need to get any further. that. And as my son addressed, that was my son that spoke before me, there are certain fundamental rights that our children have. What can be more fundamental than being able to play in your backyard, to breathe clean air, to hear birds chirping, to see a sunrise, to think that somehow corporate interests can be placed above fundamental rights of the children in this community is [10:11:52] appalling. This isn't occurring in a vacuum. You can't simply say that this impacts the folks in the West, so we don't care. It isn't happening in a a vacuum. That Occoquan River is so symbolic of the interconnectedness of the east and west portions of this county, and of course down into Fairfax. Your drinking water starts where I live. [10:12:18] Think about that for a minute. How will your constituents feel that a decision that you made to desecrate the land where I live will impact their clean drinking water? And you know what else will connect east and west? A spider web of electrical transmission lines. And we don't know exactly where they're going to be coming from, but to get the amount of power that they need for the digital gateway, they're going to be coming from every direction. So how will your constituents in the east feel when they have transmission lines running through their communities, when land is possibly taken through eminent domain for those transmission lines? Again, [10:12:57] I have begged this board to stop this east-west division. It has been manufactured artificially for political gain, and it is destroying the community. Please do not continue to perpetuate this. Nothing good can come of it, because you have to place the community at the forefront of your efforts here, whether it's in this vote or anything else. And I will tell you, I canvassed in the eastern side this summer for this primary, and I met so many great people who were just as appalled as I am that there have been, as I said, these divisions manufactured only for political [10:13:33] purposes. You are on the precipice of a Faustian bargain, and I promise you it is of unimaginable consequence. Mark my words. And it's Christmas time, so I don't know if this was a rather cathartic, creative activity that I decided to engage in, but I have taken the liberty to put a little of my own twist on Twas the Night Before Christmas. Twas the night before the vote, when all through western pwc we tossed and we turned fraught with worry our stockings weren't hung by the chimney [10:14:10] with care because we weren't hopeful we know this vote wouldn't be fair our children were nestled innocently in their beds but for us visions of destruction and pollution danced in our heads we warned you this vote is illegal with strong words from chap but no you would not put this away for a long winter's nap. Today we sprang from our beds and came to the board, carefully preparing our words, hoping to strike a chord. In the board's courtyard, First Nation groups gather to pray. May their ancestors rest in peace where they lay. Like a ray of light on the new [10:14:50] fallen snow, the planning staff spotlighted the truth for all to know. A denial, they said, is what should appear because these applications contain too much to fear. But behind closed doors, there had been quite the chatter. Corporate interests poured in big money to secure this matter. [10:15:09] They are a relentless driver, so cunning and quick. The community or big business, you must take your pick. QTS encompassed how they whistled and called the dumb supervisors by name. Oh wait, no need. They all vote the same. Do our bidding. Push this vote through. Don't let integrity and the citizens get to you. Let's get to baking this pie. When you meet with an obstacle, turn a blind eye. So up to the days, the gang of five flew, ready to serve a sleigh of goodies to QTS and compass too. The eye rolling and tilts of the head soon gave us to know we had everything to dread. [10:15:47] The posturing began and they went straight to their work, winking at the developers and treating staff like a jerk, just biding their time as the hours rolled by, tuning out the citizens chorus of outcry but there's still time to give a merry christmas to pwc reject these applications with integrity for all to see but should you approve toasting yourself with a holiday port let me be [10:16:17] very clear we'll see you in court next speaker please yeah bill mackis uh gainesville district i'll be speaking about all three of the proposals before you uh tonight i didn't come here this evening to call anybody names uh to get rowdy uh to argue or be confrontational i just wanted to actually say thank you to all eight of you no matter which side of the coin you land on thank you over the last two and a half years for your guidance and your leadership [10:16:51] we we appreciate uh you coming here time after time and hearing uh everybody speak before you i do support the prince william digital gateway and i would ask that you vote yes this evening or tomorrow morning, whenever we get to it, and lead the county into a new era. [10:17:11] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. And a reminder, if you're not in line for speaking, please stay seated because of the code on the wall and no standing. Thank you. Alicia Gloss-Coles, I'll be speaking to all three applications. [10:17:31] Hundreds of beautiful acres of rural Virginia are going to be turned into a concrete industrial nightmare, the largest data center campus in the world. It's truly sad. The planning department has recommended denial for the Digital Gateway application for Compass Digital Gateway South and North. [10:17:47] So why are we even at this point? Money. Data center stock ownership for members on this board and pressure from donors to members of this board. Donors include data center companies, developers, landowners, and unions. [10:18:05] And definitely to Supervisor Franklin's congressional campaign for sure. Supervisor Franklin is apparently making her yes vote contingent on union jobs, being required to build out the digital gateway. And stated earlier, she now wants unions to be working on projects to be part of the discussion in all land use cases going forward. [10:18:29] Hmm, I wonder why. I don't think that's legal, Supervisor Franklin. If the public can't tell this process is a sham after the chair limited the district supervisor this project is affecting, to 10 minutes for questions you are not paying attention this was not so the public could speak quicker as supervisor bailey stated but to silence the questions because the dim majority has already made up their minds and want to get to public comment time and get it over to get their vote done quicker why do we have a data center overlay district question especially if you're going to [10:19:07] continue to approve projects outside of it why do we have a planning department if you aren't going to listen to the recommendations as they are the experts in their field and are working on behalf of the county to protect it from standards and compliance not being adhered to by the applicants. [10:19:25] Why do we have them do countless hours of work just to vote in opposition of their professional opinion? Why have special use permit process if you aren't going to require applicants to apply for SUP, which is the current county's policy when an applicant seeks approval for a project outside of an approved overlay district additional transmission lines will need will be needed for a project of this magnitude and this applicant can't even give a general location where they're going to be located baloney they could have addressed this at any time in the application process over [10:20:01] the last two and a half years but don't want to give that information because they know there will be significant issues with installing transmission lines and they will interfere with a nice sounding proffers of protecting open space and buffers. This applicant knows that they are not going to preserve existing natural open space as the CPA requires. The open space will not be as promised, I mean proffered, and buffers will be diminished and not be able to be enforced by the county. [10:20:32] So that's the reason the planning department was pushing so hard for the general location of the transmission lines. Supervisor Franklin, you're welcome. The planning staff didn't deserve the treatment you gave them either for trying to do their due diligence. Who's going to pay for that required additional power for the data centers? We are the customer, the citizens. Citizens should be concerned with noise pollution as it's near residential and Heritage Hunt is one of the communities. Our Great Oaks community here in Prince William County is experiencing noise pollution right now. And recently an article in Loudoun County referencing Loudoun County is experiencing [10:21:11] it with the data center alley. They described the noise sounding like a propeller, a loud drone hovering above 24-7, a big fan, a construction site, a low frequency sound, an airplane engine, a helicopter, a freight train, a leaf blower, and a lawnmower. That's not what we want for our residents of Prince William County. The applicant has stated there would not be a bi-county Parkway, but states they are going to have to widen the road. So people are going to lose property by eminent domain because this project is going to require a four-lane highway addition with roundabouts [10:21:48] for the project. So yes, it's going to become the Bi-County Parkway. Those in opposition to the Gateway have been called privileged by a landowner earlier this evening, and they're selling their land to the applicant. QTS and Compass stand to gain billions in profits, and the 108 landowners stand to gain millions for selling their land to them. That sounds pretty privileged to me. [10:22:19] But our community stands to take a substantial loss of quality of life and damage to the environment. The county considers a conflict of interest when someone makes $5,000 or more on a project they are involved in. Why are the landowners not required to disclose that they own land when speaking in favor before this board and stand to gain a million dollars per acre. Again, that sounds pretty privileged to me. Why are supervisors on this board not required to recuse themselves for taking more than $5,000 from these applicants and landowners? The applicant stated the burden of [10:22:55] proof for approval on this application is on the applicant. I couldn't agree with him more. After five, yes, five revisions for approval, this applicant has not met the burden of proof with their application. This applicant has given themselves maximum flexibility. How convenient for them. The nice pics and pretty illustrations don't meet the standard of a lack of building footprint and site layout, among many details and information lacking by this applicant. [10:23:24] The planning department can't operate on good faith and commitments. There are many reasons for denial supervisor franklin since you continuously attacked and berated the planning staff regarding transmission lines so i'll give you many many more environmental impacts to wildlife our water supply impacts to soil and storm water to runoff view shed and noise impacts on cultural and historical resources two of our national parks one being the manassas national battlefield changing designated agricultural land industrial additional studies requested but not conducted by the applicant. Noise pollution, no substantial conformance, lack of building footprint and site [10:24:02] layout, building elevation proffers, proffer issues and deficiencies, no enforceable proffers, no SUP submittal, which is required since it's outside of the overlay district. Parts of the application don't even comply with the CPA. Long-term viability of data center technology, the need for additional transmission lines, increased traffic and energy sustainability and consumption. You can't say you're for sustainability and vote for this project. I hope you all are hearing me up there. I would like to thank the planning department staff who have worked tirelessly and professionally and have been abused by members on this board, Supervisor [10:24:40] Franklin and Planning Commission. I want to thank them for all their hard work and their very long hours. They have had to work in doing their due diligence to protect the planning process and making sure it is followed as that is how the county is protected. If anyone in the planning department gets blowback or retribution sought against them from higher ups or supervisors on this board, you have options. And please feel free to reach out to me or my husband. I promise you I will put those individuals on blast. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I feel like that is what some of [10:25:15] you on this board choose to selectively hear from us. You have dismissed the citizens of this county, continually. This process has been abysmal, unprofessional, and embarrassing, and should be litigated if approved. This chair is mostly to blame because she's been hell-bent on ramming this through, and you on this board that have went along with her share the blame for not doing the right thing and following proper policy and allowing this abysmal process to have continued. Even though I know how the bought and paid vote will go, I hope, that's why I'm speaking tonight, that one of you [10:25:52] just one in the majority would do the right thing and vote no on the digital gateway. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Ms. Pesos, I'm going to need the overhead, please. While I was powering up Allen Gloss, Coles District, I'll be speaking to all three applications. Folks, what's the rush? [10:26:29] Why are you scheduling a hearing about this digital gateway now? I've literally never seen a time when changes were added in the middle of the night prior to a public hearing regarding a major land use case. It's not in the public's best interest to have so many changes and not allow the planning and various other departments to weigh in on these changes. It's not good governance. [10:26:49] I suspect the reason we have to rush it now, though, is because the incoming chair has said she does not support this project. And the amount of money these applicants and other special interests put into your campaign coffers require you to act in the applicant's best interests and not in the best interest of the county. The best interest of the applicant is to push through this through now before DeShundra takes the chair. The data center industry has dropped so much money into these campaigns that even after running a contested race for the Woodbridge District, Ms. Margaret Franklin still has so much extra money in her coffers, she's already launched her [10:27:25] campaign for Congress. I can't wait to see who is funding it, but I suspect they are already in this room today. In fact, every time Ms. Franklin speaks, there should be a disclaimer as to who is paying for her message that day this message is brought to you brought to you by from supervisor franklin by insert data center folks here i mean if that's a requirement for tv or social media it should be a requirement here too no while we're talking about supervisor franklin i want to point out again that your conduct with staff who do not agree with your donors is simply reprehensible [10:28:00] madam a couple weeks ago it was emily wilson now today it's mr chris perez miss franklin these staff members are subject matter experts hired by the county to give you their professional opinion as it relates to the applications in front of you so that you can make an informed decision on the application. They are not here to help you justify the outcome you've already decided because your donors bought and paid for it. If you only want opinions to help you justify your vote, then why not just let planning staff go and replace them with QTS or Compass Lobbyists? It won't be in the [10:28:38] best interest of the county, sure, but it'll save some money on payroll. When people ask why we have such high turnover in the planning office, this right here, what you did today, madam, is the reason why it happens. You think their role is to justify your vote, and those that have integrity in the planning office won't do that. You attack and berate and talk down to them. Justifying your vote is your job, not theirs. We all know you are bought and paid for. At least be intellectually [10:29:11] honest and admit it and stop harassing staff that refuse to sacrifice their integrity to make your donors happy. To quote Ms. Franklin earlier today, I'm going to give you some time to think about that. Mr. Shorter, if I can get your attention away from your text real quick, you have a duty to ensure that people that work under you are given the leeway to provide their professional opinions without being targeted for not falling in line. As an outsider looking in and someone who pays very close to attention to what happens in this building. It appears to me that Ms. Franklin [10:29:49] thinks that she can target and publicly ridicule your employees, sir, and you've not set up any lanes in the road to prevent her from doing such things. There is a chain command for a reason, and one of your duties is to protect your staff from attacks by these politicians. [10:30:05] I know it is in your best interest to buddy up to these politicians, but it's not in the county's best interest to have feckless leaders sir please get some leadership skills i'm shocked this board is going to repeat the sins of the past you all did not learn from the thoroughfare fiasco where this very board every one of you sitting on this up there right now minus supervisor weir allowed the bulldozing of cemeteries belonging to the post-civil war community of former slaves in thoroughfare these people in front of you right there did that our mostly minority board approved [10:30:40] the desecration of graves of former slaves. And here we are again talking about developing land that we already know had civil war and soldier encampments on it before we even do any comprehensive study. The argument is that 162 years later, how can we find more graves? Well, the National Park Service just did it five years ago in 2018. They found two graves in the Manassas battlefield, which obviously has been very well searched. You can't tell me that this land that has had no surveys done, we're not going to find any bodies. We absolutely are. As these applicants [10:31:17] begin bulldozing those sites, these sites that have never been looked at in the past 160 years, we are going to find bodies. What then? Will we see the type of acting, the consternation, and the gnashing of teeth we saw from this board after it was revealed that you all allowed for the desecration of graves and thoroughfare? Today I heard Emily Wolfson say it. The illustrative examples the applicants provide of what this will look like will not be what the finished product will look like. And if I can draw your attention right here. Earlier today, one of the applicants [10:31:54] said that the Pageland Lane expansion is not going to be the Bicarni Parkway. Well, right there is some county-owned land, which is about 150 feet of turning into the Bicarni Parkway. You think that going forward that you guys are not going to develop that 150 feet to make a clear path between I-95 and the Dulles Airport? I think not. That is the Bi-County Parkway, and as soon as that road is expanded, it's going to be the Bi-County Parkway, and we're going to have trucks, trucks full of freight going up and down the Prince William County Parkway to get to the Dulles [10:32:32] Airport and the industry around it. Look, folks, we know that how this vote is going to go tonight, five to three. That's how every vote in these chambers over the last four years have gone. At some point, people of this county are going to realize that our representative democracy doesn't mean that these politicians represent the people at all. [10:32:57] They represent the first, first and foremost, the people that put them here and who will fund their next political venture, as we can see Margaret Franklin is doing. As voters, we've become so tribalized that we'll vote blue no matter who, or red until we're dead, and we don't realize that that voting strategy is just as bad, if not worse, than not voting at all. [10:33:20] If you all think that your county supervisor's position on federal or state issues like abortion, capital punishment, or the war in Gaza is more important than their commitment to issues in this county, your vote for them is solidly flawed. Those issues cannot be changed or infected by any way by these people up here. [10:33:40] but they sure can affect your quality of life by putting a data center in your backyard or digging up your loved one's graves. It's nice to see so many of you in these chambers all day long today. I just wish you all would put just as much time into researching and voting for candidates that are focused on our community and not their future political aspirations. Not that it will affect the 5-3 vote, but for those counting, I am absolutely against all three of these projects, and if it wasn't already in the bag, I'd ask you all to vote no, but we already know it's going to be five to [10:34:14] three. Next speaker, please. And before the next speaker starts, I will call up number 71 through 75. Thank you. Feel free to line up in the back, 71 through 75. Thank you. My name is Matt Caddo. [10:34:32] I'm the president of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association. I'd like to speak to all three of these applications and request the five minutes for each, please. Yes, sir. The Oak Valley community is 254 homes off of Cat Harpin Road in western Prince William County. When I moved there in 2002, we confronted almost immediately a problem in our community because the developer had not done what they were supposed to do, and so I was drafted into a position to become the HOA president, and I've held that position for the last 22 years, a position that ought to be court-ordered work [10:35:09] release, by the way. But one thing about our community that has always been the same is that we are committed to being good neighbors, and we've lived by that. There have been times when we've been asked to rally on behalf of others in our general community, and we've done that. We've supported projects that we believed in that improved and protected the quality of our homes and our community and our neighborhoods. I remember the occasion of fighting hard, shoulder to shoulder with Paige Snyder and Marianne Gadban against the Bi-County Parkway. [10:35:42] I sat in Marianne's kitchen and we strategized and folded flyers that we were mailing to people because we knew that was a bad project for the county. I have heard many of you say, well, there ought to be an option, a solution. If you don't like the PW Digital Gateway, then what's the alternative? Well, it's tough for Oak Valley because we don't have the ability to fund a half dozen lawyers at $1,350 an hour. We just can't afford that. There are multi-billion dollar international corporations that can afford that, and they're a formidable foe. There's no [10:36:16] question about that. We also can't afford to pay a multi-million dollar PR campaign, ad campaign, that's run every day, and it pumps the community full of disinformation about this project. Some of it's legitimate, most of it's not, but it's all to hype this project. And all of us are influenced by it. We simply can't afford that. All we can do is raise our voices. And in the interest of, and I think Supervisor Bodie, you made the point, and I think it resonated with me, what's the solution? If you don't like this project, if you don't want this project, what is the alternative? [10:36:53] So we're ready to take one for the team. Oak Valley will contract with Disney America, and we will bring the Disney America project back. Now think about that, because Disney America in the mid-90s constituted about 162 acres. It, in today's dollars, would be about $1.5 billion in economic impact. It would bring lots of jobs. It would bring lots of revenue, tax revenue, to the county. [10:37:19] You would be able to fund lots of county programs. You'd build lots of schools, and you'd be able to do lots of things. And we're willing to sell out in our community, our 300 and some acres. We'll sell out to Disney America. Now, for those that want to make this partisan, I know you really don't, but it's sort of a shot, a finger in the eye of Governor DeSantis, because then you would have a community that treats Disney fairly, and you can bring it on. I think it'd be a wonderful thing for our community, wouldn't it? And you probably wouldn't have the same impact, because it's only about 300 acres, not 2,000 acres, and you wouldn't have any of the problems that you're currently having to deal with. But I guarantee you, if you accepted that alternative, if you said, okay, [10:37:59] that's not a bad idea. The people that would be standing at this microphone would be the people on Pageland Lane, because they would say, wait a minute, that would impact our water quality because of all the impervious surfaces that are created by an amusement park. They would say that you're going to create noise, including people screaming as the various rides go by. Lots of noise would come by it. They would say, well, wait a minute, you're also going to create lots of traffic because people will be coming to this park and that kind of thing. But it's a great solution, isn't it? They would be standing here, all of them, and the only difference would be [10:38:36] is that the Oak Valley neighborhood families would be making the million dollars plus an acre, not them. And I guarantee you that that would be their argument. We don't know today, and you don't, I don't, and I know none of us do, what the true impacts will be from the PW Digital Gateway. [10:38:54] You're betting that, oh, all of the proffers and the promises that are made by the applicants, they'll do right by the community. They'll do it the way they should do it. None of that is ever proven to be true. We know that we have to unwind all kinds of problems with projects that are minuscule by comparison if we give them too much latitude in the planning process. [10:39:17] You have a planning commission staff who is hired for their professional expertise, And they've told you in their best estimate, despite their best efforts to work with this applicant, they can't recommend approval for a variety of very good reasons, mostly because this applicant has refused to provide you or the community with the information that's necessary to make an informed judgment. [10:39:42] So what's the rush to judgment? We see that last minute proffers are made. You got one yesterday. So let's go into next year and let's let the applicant keep adding to the number of proffers they'll add. And maybe someday we'll get to a reasonable proposal that really lets us, with certainty, say this is a good project and we should move forward. [10:40:04] But if they can't, and if they expect us to just, and expect you to just bet on the come and say, hey, we'll do it, trust us, that doesn't happen. I saw this board do something that was magnificent several months ago with one applicant who came for a small housing development, and for 25 minutes, this board engaged in a negotiation with the home developer because one homeowner was concerned about the encroachment of this housing expansion for a development this developer wanted to have because of the site lines, because it removed a tree buffer, and because of privacy concerns, and she wanted a fence [10:40:41] put up by the developer developer for 25 minutes from the dais you negotiated with that developer and that homeowner and you came to a solution you don't see that here it's a one-way street today everything is a concession to the applicant here and we beg you we stand before you and you have you have hundreds of people who tell you that we oppose these projects for good reasons and we need information we want answers and the answers aren't there we're going to do a water study but we don't know what the impacts are going to be we'll trust the applicant to do what's right we're going to [10:41:18] look at the encroachment on slave and and soldier grave sites trust us we'll do the job we look at the manassas national battlefield park opposing this project and they're called hypocrites because they do it they weren't called hypocrites when they were opposing disney america but they're hypocrites today because of the self-serving interest by those people that are on Page and Lane. [10:41:42] And let me tell you something. I don't begrudge them doing it. If I were in that situation and someone came and offered me a million plus an acre for my home, I probably would go along too because everyone else was doing it. But I'm telling you, that's not a good reason for a land use decision just because you reward them. But I don't begrudge that. I don't even care about the data centers. They're essential to our way of life. They don't have to be placed where the data center companies want them to be placed for their convenience and their economic advantage because there's only one group that's left only one entity that can protect us and that's you [10:42:18] this board should be the ones who are the skeptics not the cheerleaders for the data center industry you should be ones with the ones making the tough questions answer all of these questions don't leave it to chance and don't accept this idea we'll perfect it down the road because that's what they're telling you. Trust us and we'll fix things later. What track record is there for that when you can't hold those applicants accountable for any of the things that they're proffering? Look at what the General Assembly has done. It has refused to hold those kinds of applicants accountable for future because there is an economic disadvantage that accrues to them of having to perform for [10:42:57] something that they never committed to in the first place. And unless you hold them accountable, They won't do it. Now, you can, by the way. You could fix this. It would require a little more work. It would require you to properly publish notice for the next meeting and actually convene a meeting legally and then have a sit down and negotiate from that dais, like you did with that lady that wanted a fence and a tree buffer, negotiate with them and come to a solution that's good for this county, good for everyone. Now, there are always going to be people unhappy, but you can look for a consensus. Today, there's no consensus. You have that group of 100-plus homeowners on Page and Lane and their family members. Again, don't begrudge them wanting this. [10:43:37] You have the applicant who wants it, but you don't have much else. You have some union workers. And by the way, I'm going to take care of them with our Disney America rejuvenation project. They'll be able to have all their jobs they want. No one is entitled in this county to a job because they get a land use planning decision made by an applicant who just wants to railroad this approval through. And we all know that's what's happening here. It doesn't have to, but it is. So what is the rush? Does anybody know? Why does it have to be done now? If you have a defect in the notice, [10:44:13] and I think the county attorney has told you that there is, I think the facts show that there is, it might have just been an innocent mistake, but the law is the law. And innocent mistakes don't get waved over because you have to meet the public notice requirement that requires the public to be protected you know there's a defect here so why take the risk step back and say let's just go to the next meeting let's publish it properly let's hold this meeting have a more reasonable discussion allow the applicant to work with the county staff more come up with a better solution we all know why that's not going to work because because the applicant wants this now and you've [10:44:50] all heard the argument they have a right the applicant to have this project reviewed by this board within one year. That's what we're told. That's ridiculous because that requires a fully vetted application be submitted that is complete. Then the one-year timetable triggers, and we know that that was in November. That's when the fully complete or at least reasonably complete application was provided. There is no excuse, none, to allow this applicant to be able to invoke that standard when you know it doesn't apply because the staff couldn't figure it out. I'll tell you something [10:45:30] that's true. If I came to the county planning office and wanted to build a shed in my backyard and I told them I don't want to tell you where the shed's going to be with respect to my property line, I don't want to tell you what the dimensions of the shed are, I don't want to tell you what the color of the shed would be or the shingle color on the roof, I don't even want to tell you very much at all about where there'll be windows in the shed. I don't want to say any of that but I want you to approve it. You would laugh me out of the room. We're held as individual citizens to a standard to meet the requirements of the county code with respect to structures on our property. [10:46:06] You're not holding them to that standard. They tell you, oh, don't worry about it. We'll take care of it later. We'll fix this later. That's not the case. There are serious issues at play here, very serious issues. I think I've told some of you before that I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I worked in the steel mills right out of high school. The steel mills were the biggest polluters known to man. The legacy of the pollution from the Pittsburgh steel mills, hundreds of thousands of lives, all downstream on the Monongahalea and Allegheny Rivers, the confluence into the Ohio River, and you see the health impacts even today from that. [10:46:40] But Pittsburgh didn't learn its lesson until last year. There was a steel mill that was continuing to operate in an area where the asthma rate among children was three times greater than the national average, and they finally shut that plant down last year. [10:46:56] And when the local officials were asked, why did you allow that to continue, Their answer was, because of the revenue. They purchased the health of those children with three times the national average of asthma. [10:47:12] And what are we about to do here? We're going to allow for these data centers that we all know are going to have to be backed up by diesel generators. There's been no evaluation of what the pollution impacts will be. We know that the grid management group that looks at all this has said they can't sustain this development of data centers. [10:47:33] And the first groups that get shut off when you have too much heat that can't sustain the grid or they're too cold are data centers. Why? Because they have backup generators. So you have 60 to 80 generators fired up for whatever length of time it takes for the grid to recover. [10:47:50] And in sustained, we know about climate change, right? We know a sustained shutdown will create a need for all those generators to operate. Do you know, right now, what that impact will be on the pollution in Prince William County and what impact it will have on children? [10:48:07] No, you don't, because no one's told you. The applicant says, "Trust me." You don't know what the impact will be on the downstream water in the Occoquan watershed for all the children in the eastern part of the county, because trust me, our kids don't drink it. That water that's going to be polluted from this development is going to be downstream, and you're going to be answering to your constituents. [10:48:29] Does anybody know where those high-powered transmission lines are going to come from? You don't know. They're coming from the eastern part of the county, right up from I-95, because that's the only reasonable way to do it, and then you will be answering your constituents who like to say, oh, this is the western part of the county, and we're just making them pay up for all their past sins. [10:48:48] By the way, not my past sins. There may have been decisions made by the Board of County Supervisors in the past that weren't well thought out. That's possible. But to penalize those who live in the western part of the county as though we're responsible for that sin is absurd. And yet, I hear some of you say that. I think the times come for us to fix this problem. And you fix it by being more reasonable, taking more time, pump the brakes, and let's actually evaluate what the potential impacts are. There is no harm to doing that, none, except for the data center operators that are chomping at the bit to take a shovel and put it into the dirt and irrevocably stop us from ever fixing the problem and allowing for a host [10:49:27] of problems to spew forth from those developments we can stop it you can stop it tonight I know people are predicting us five to three you have a chance to say no I'm going to wait and make sure that we get this right or as right as we can I hope that you'll do that I hope that you'll support the families in Oak Valley I hope that you'll actually take the time to evaluate this decision thank you thank you next speaker please hello my name is Dan Hutchinson I'm a Gainesville resident I'm here to talk about all three proctors. [10:50:07] I'm here to support all three proctors. There's been lots of talk about environmental concerns and so forth. But in the pro-forest, they basically address this by recycling the water. They're not taking water out of the soil. [10:50:25] They're not dumping chemicals. I have a vineyard. Basically, I have to be like Snyder. I pollute more than the data centers. I spray vines with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides more than a data center will ever do to this land and to the Aquaguang watershed. [10:50:48] So again, my name is Dan Hutchison and I support the data center. I recommend you guys vote for your guests. - Thank you, next speaker please. [10:51:11] - Good evening, my name is Jessica Grove. I'm a member of the Gainesville District. I'm a lifelong resident of Cat Harpen and Gainesville. Um, simple solution to not polluting the area is to not do it, by the way. [10:51:31] You can stop using Roundup, which is killing everybody anyway. But Potter Stewart said, ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to do and what is right to do. Chair Wheeler, in your recent Wheeler report, you seemed eager to rearrange the facts about the November 8th Planning Commission meeting. [10:51:52] You said there were roughly 190 speakers during the public hearing. Of those, roughly 110 were in favor of the proposal and 80 were against. But I've watched the entire meeting twice. [10:52:11] And according to my count, there were 58 people who attended or were virtual who were in favor of it. And then there were 15 more who were on a video because they had to go home because they have jobs the next day. but there were 82 who were in person or virtual who were against the project. I'm not sure how you got those numbers so misconstrued. You also said the vast majority of opponents of the project chose to use up their entire allowed nine minutes for their remarks, amounting to approximately 12 [10:52:48] to 14 hours of public comment time. Do you understand why the residents used all of their time? Because they care and they have concerns. They care about the community, the wildlife, the water, the power, the noise, and their quality of life. They have something to say about it and you have not listened. The Virginia Clean Economy Act signed into law in 2020 requires Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to move to 100 percent carbon-free energy production by 2045 to 2050. It's a set schedule for closing fossil fuel power plants. In Prince William County and [10:53:27] other NOVA localities, data center rezonings and plans are being approved all along the existing power grid with no evidence that they will not impact the power supplier's ability to comply with this law. Until the time the SEC and affecting power companies can affirm that approval of any given data center land use decision and or plan approval will not affect their ability to comply with this law, there should be an immediate moratorium on local jurisdictions approving any land use that has power demands in excess of normal residential [10:54:01] or commercial demands. If a county action causes a huge power supplier to violate a state law and incur penalties, will it be possible for those power companies to sue the county? Kenny, at the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity seminar in October 26, 2023, you said, I would be in support of the digital gateway only and only if it abides by the CPA that we passed a year ago. The CPA comprehensive plan amendment that we passed set the policy guidelines for which they should be [10:54:36] developing. The rezonings are coming probably in December, and they have to live up to that in order for me to accept it. You also said, if we do this right, it would be a transformative project, but only if they live up to the CPA. But the rezoning plans also remain inconsistent with at least four components of the comprehensive plan amendment that supervisors approval in late 2022 to lay out their vision for the development. [10:55:03] The developer's plan does not match the supervisor's intended community design, cultural resources, environment, and electric service plan, though they now do comport with the county's transportation plan. So how can you vote this through when you know the planning staff, the Sustainability Commission, and the Historical Commission have all said that this plan should be denied? [10:55:28] I would like to note also that we have had data centers in the county for 10 years, and our taxes have not gone down. In fact, we've added a meals tax that punishes small business owners and local residents. I think that the PR firm that works with the Pageland crew has given a script, thanking the board and pointing out the same few lines about land not being rural any longer and the tax dollars tried. [10:55:57] The planning staff and commission has recommended denial. There's a lack of information about site layout, building footprints, and building elevations. The applicants want flexibility with a plan of 37 data centers, but a new home or a shed needs exact measurements. [10:56:19] The planners have said that without specific depiction of buildings, there could be no trust in the viewshed studies that they tried to predict. The plans also do not show locations of high-powered transmission lines that will be needed, but also don't leave any space for them to likely fit in. Therefore, it can be assumed it will have to fit in somewhere on the wildlife corridors or the hiking trails. [10:56:42] We also know that proffers are promises that are just made to be broken. Also, why do these applicants not have to provide an SUP? It's required for data centers outside the data center opportunity zone. The applicant is hoping they can change building heights from 90 to 100 feet in some locations. [10:57:00] Do you realize that the Sudley Tower in Manassas is 109 feet tall? How many trees can you plant and grow to cover that up? I realize data centers are necessary for the future, but why has it become okay to put them anywhere, especially since you have so many residents who have shown we don't want this. [10:57:18] We are here tonight, again, away from our children and families to tell you that this is not okay. This is not okay for the neighbors on Southerly Mountain, Tullamore, or Heritage Hunt, Lawnvale, Linvoil. This is not okay for wildlife, birds, bats, deer, fox, and bear. [10:57:35] This is not okay with 30 recognized conservation groups who oppose this. The only people who do support this is the landholders, unions, and some of this board. This decision will affect all of Prince William County, but even more, it will affect all of Virginia. Virginia will feel this in their electric bill rate hikes. [10:57:53] Please defer or do not approve these rezonings. Thank you. Next speaker, please. I'd like to use the overhead, please. [10:58:15] This is Chris Grove. I'm from Gainesville District. I'm requesting 15 minutes to speak on behalf of the Law and Bill Estates HOA. And that's the Digital Gateway North, and that's the edge of our neighborhood. [10:58:44] This hearing should be suspended immediately because notification was not properly issued to the public via state requirements. That said, first off, I'd like to thank the staff for the professionalism and the diligence they have paid to these applications, including the thorough evaluation and recommendations made to the board. [10:59:02] At the Lawnville Estates annual HOA meeting last spring, homeowners were united in their opposition to the Prince William Digital Gateway. Because of our opposition to this project, we have been labeled by the PWDG proponents as old school, anti-growth, NIMBY, racist, and more. Juanville Estates is a community where most of the homes were built in the late 70s and early 80s. [10:59:23] We don't have a community pool. We don't have a golf course. But we do have amazing neighbors, abundant wildlife, and a rural feel as we are nestled in the recently erased rural crescent. With our large open lots bordering considerable wooded areas and RPAs, we enjoy regularly seeing deer, foxes, groundhogs, possums, skunks, hawks, barn owls, and the occasional bear, coyote, bald eagle, and family of turkeys. [10:59:49] This is not an urban area, despite what folks along Paisland might have you believe. We are lucky to have an incredible view of the night sky devoid of major light pollution. The inception of the Digital Gateway will ruin what so many of us bought into and the reason we chose Lawnvale to raise our families. [11:00:06] The closest part of our neighborhood is located about a quarter mile from the project, and the entirety of the neighborhood is well within the three-mile mark that has been reported as having noise complaints from Compass's data center in Loudoun County. Where are the noise studies? [11:00:21] and the appropriate ordinances that will limit the cumulative sound of 35-plus data centers sucking down power in the required cooling systems necessary to keep them operating. Our neighborhood's concern is the BOCS passing these applications when staff has so many concerns and has recommended denial. [11:00:41] No other project in PwC has ever been given such carte blanche treatment such as the BOCS would be giving to QTS and Compass if these applications are approved at the end of this evening. It sets a precedence that might prove to be very costly to PwC and the residents of our neighborhood. [11:01:01] Quality of life for the existing residents is a very valid concern of this board. A very valid concern this board has been blatantly ignoring of ours. I would like to offer that Lawnvale Estates HOA submits their opposition to this project along with 94 other similar organizations and people, and I think they need to be noted. [11:01:27] Amberley Station HOA, American Battlefield Trust, Audubon Naturalist Society, Audubon Society of the North of Virginia, Belmont Bay HOA, Bull Run Civil War Roundtable, Cat Harpin Valley Estates HOA. Chair-elect of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, DeShundra Jefferson, Chesapeake Conservancy, Chesapeake Legal Alliance, Chimneys West HOA, Citizens for Fort Monroe National Park, Civil War Roundtable of Fredericksburg, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Coalition to Protect Prince William County, Coalition to Save Historic Thoroughfare, [11:02:01] Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, Crossman Creek HOA, Delegate Dan Helmer, Delegate-Elect Josh Thomas, Delegate-Elect Ian Lovejoy, Dominion Valley Estates Homeowners Association, Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations, Fairfax County Water Authority, Faith Alliance for the Climate Solutions, Friends of Dyke March, Friends of North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth, former Gainesville Supervisor John Stirrup, Gainesville Gates Mill HOA, Great Oak HOA, Heritage Hunt HOA, [11:02:38] HOA Roundtable of Northern Virginia, Independent Homeowners Alliance, Inside Nova Editorial Staff, Inside Nova Opinion Columnist Al Bourne, Journey Through the Hallowed Ground National Heritage Areas, award-winning filmmaker and historian Ken Burns, Lake Manassas Homeowners Association, Lake Ridge, Occoquan, Kohl's Civic Association, Landview Estates Civic Association, Lewinsville Faith and Action, Manassas Battlefield Trust, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Meadows at Morris Farm Community Associations, Mid-County Civic Association of Prince William County, Montclair Property Owners Association, Mount Vernon Council of Citizens Association, [11:03:18] National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Oak Valley HOA, Piedmont Environmental Council, Piedmont HOA, Potomac River Keepers Preservation Virginia, Prince William Conservation Alliance, Prince William County Historical Commission, Prince William County Republican Committee, Prince William County Watershed Management Branch, Prince William Wildflower Society, Richmond Civil War Roundtable, Riverbend Estates HOA, Saratoga Hunt HOA, Say No to Devlin Tech Park, Scenic Virginia, Senator-Elect Danica Roam, Shelter Lakes HOA, [11:03:51] Sierra Club, Silver Leaf Estates HOA, Sons of Union Veterans, South County Federation of Fairfax County, Southeastern Rural Community Assistance Project, Sully District Council of Citizens Associations, Supervisor Janine Lawson, Supervisor Yesley Vega, Supervisor Bob Weir, thank you, Thunder Oak HOA, Tree Fredericksburg, United Tribes of the Shenandoah, Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia Department of Forestry to Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Virginia Native Plant Society, Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association, Virginia Run HOA, [11:04:25] Water Keepers of Chesapeake, Western Fairfax County Citizens Association, Wetlands Watch, Wild Virginia, Woodbridge, Potomac Communities Civic Association. The Lawnville Estates HOA asks that you please follow the recommendations of your professional staff and committees and deny these rezoning applications this evening. [11:04:44] Moving on, as I thought about writing this, my words for today, I figured I should revisit some terms that are relevant to the debate of this argument for the three rezoning applications. I had the fortune of participating in the prayer vigil outside earlier. Grandma Sheila opened the vigil by talking about integrity, how we should maintain it, respect it, and demonstrate it throughout this process. [11:05:07] I would like to read some terms or definitions according to Google and how they relate to this process. Integrity, it's a noun, the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness, or the state of being whole and undivided, the condition of being unified, unimpaired, and sound in construction, or the internal consistency or lack of corruption. [11:05:28] I request that this board treat these applications and remaining decisions with the integrity that this process should have had from the very beginning. I would like to point out, integrity is not demonstrating by failing to abide by the board's own policies and procedures. Integrity is not demonstrated by failing to abide by county law. [11:05:46] Integrity is not demonstrated by failing to abide by state law. Integrity is not demonstrated by dismissing the pleas of your constituents, us citizens, at the behest of the multibillion-dollar corporations, developers, and a few landowners expecting to cash in on their lottery tickets. Ad hominem. [11:06:04] It is of an argument or reaction directed at a person rather than a position they are maintaining. It's basically attacking the person instead of the issue. While I believe we need to speak to the facts in the rezoning cases and their impact to the county, the citizens, the environment, the watershed, and more, we can also not disassociate all of this from the process of these zoning requests have followed. [11:06:24] The process is directly related to the stance and tactics this board has taken, demonstrating direct opposition and dare say contempt to the citizens who are demanding transparency and the caution with the reckless approval of the largest data center complex on earth. Supervisors Angry, Bailey, Bodie, Franklin, and Wheeler, I feel that I must admit I have an ad hominem argument due to the fact that you directly defied state law voting not to delay this vote. [11:06:51] Your wants and disregard for the law undermines any commitment to due process for these rezonings, and it shows your preference towards the applicant and your donors, and or to your donors. Supervisor Bodie, the argument you wrote to the public on 12-1 after the Devlin Tech Park vote, which I quote, The board was faced with leaving the existing devalent zoning in place, allowing for a new housing surrounded by intense data center use, or, which you chose, adjusting the zoning to allow for less intensive data center use. [11:07:23] You and the board majority chose to put new data centers next to existing housing over putting new housing next to existing and planned data centers. This clearly indicates your preference to commercial development in future citizens of Prince William County over the current citizens of Prince William County. I think this preference has been displayed in this whole process as well. [11:07:42] Chair Wheatler, your contempt to the due diligence that the Honorable Supervisors Lawson, Vega, and Weir are paying to this process and the expected impact it will unleash on the Gainesville District and this county is reprehensible. The purpose of this public hearing is to consider all of the facts related to these applications which afford supervisors a chance to ask questions, for the staff and applicant to answer the questions and highlighting the concerns and risks and hopefully mitigating any of these concerns or risks. [11:08:07] enough for the public to be assured this is a good plan for the county. Then you, as an elected leader of your district or the county at large, are expected to vote in the best interest of your constituency, which is the general public, not the applicant. Placing limitations on discovery of all facts of this case for political expediency is wrong and not in the interests of the public or of the Gainesville district, of which this case directly impacts. [11:08:33] Trust, a noun, firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability and strength of someone or something. There is an inherent lack of trust in these projects. The assurance is made by the applicants and in the zoning request and by the willingness of this board to allow for proper consideration of all pieces of the puzzle. The Planning Commission's denial of these rezoning requests shows that. Strawman argument. It's an intentionally misrepresenting proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument. So the argument that our opposition to the PWG is an affront to the individual land use [11:09:09] rights of individual owners is a straw man argument. We are not opposed to individual landowners selling their parcels for profit or for development for other purposes as long as they go through the proper accounting processes and procedures for approval. Absent of any of your currently binding contracts to make millions, you are free to sell your land. [11:09:26] Our opposition of the Prince William Digital Gateway is the fact that an assemblage of over 1,700 acres is requesting rezoning of all of this land to industrial zoning, which is incompatible with the other agricultural and residential zoning and the national and state parks which are adjacent to these properties. The fact that this will be the single largest series of data center campuses on earth is evidence enough that this land use is incompatible with its neighbors. [11:09:51] Hyperbole. There's a lot of, it's a noun, exaggerated statements or claims that are not meant to be taken literally. There was a lot of hyperbole being thrown around out there and I'll admit from both sides. Because of the power lines, this land is not rural. The definition of rural can be debated, but common definitions qualify rural as being non-urban and or rural areas are consistent of open countryside with population densities of less than 500 people per square mile and places with fewer than 2,500 people. Most rural areas were electrified 80 to 100 years ago and bringing power to them did not make them not rural anymore. Are the power lines an eyesore? I [11:10:29] agree with you. Yes, they are, but approving yet more data centers outside the data center overlay zone only exacerbates the power demands that will necessitate the existing power lines, infrastructure, and right-of-ways to be upgraded and expanded in an exponential manner. The citizens of this county and the state are going to be greatly surprised about the power infrastructure needs of this project and all of the other pending ones in Prince William County, Loudoun, Falkyra, and across the state and the stress it's going to put on the grid. [11:10:57] This is going to go from a NIMBY issue to a NIBBY issue, not in everyone's backyard. Please follow the recommendations of your professional staff and committees and deny these rezoning applications this evening or tomorrow morning. Thank you. Thank you. [11:11:13] Next speaker, please. Number 73. Ms. Grove, are you going to go? You were next. Thank you. Of course, I'm after someone very tall. [11:11:34] Hi, my name is Christina Zerlini. I live in Noakesville, and mine should be pretty quick. How powerless the residents of Prince William County are, that they had no voting opportunity on a development so large that it will impact the quality of living of the residents closest to the site. [11:11:58] But just like a stone thrown into a pond, it will ripple out to the residents further out throughout Prince William County. And I, along with all of my fellow Prince William County inhabitants, will be directly or inadvertently affected by changes due to the watershed, noise pollution, property values, wildlife migrations, which will affect hunting, increased air pollution, construction traffic, causing locals to seek alternate routes and wear and tear on existing roads from the heavy-duty construction vehicles needed for the build, [11:12:34] and increased utility bills for the current Prince William County residents for the increase to the current infrastructure. I don't remember seeing the question at the voting polls that asked the Northern Virginia residents if they wanted to be a part of the data center capital of the world. [11:12:52] Property owners were never sent a letter stating that the land abutting theirs was on the chopping block to be rezoned as a data center opportunity zone overlay district. Data centers belong in the industrial zone areas, not agricultural rezoned as business. How many of the residents came to speak today because their farm property is being bought by this data center project? Money talks. [11:13:21] I'm betting of those speakers who didn't sell out don't know that the list of, don't know of the list of tax breaks that can continue for 5, 10, 20 plus years to follow gifted by the state of Virginia. Why do you think the companies came here in the first place? Because of all the incentives and www.vedp.org lists them. I'm here as an Oaksville resident. I have no monetary gain [11:13:55] from selling my house and property to the data center projects like many of the speakers today have. I moved here from Pennsylvania in 1994 when Hoadley Road was the old Hoadley and not Token Valley Road. I like where I live so far, but as the county fills up with more and more data centers, more and more people will sell out and more and more people will move away from the sky-high buildings and audible humming high voltage power lines as the data centers keep encroaching on our properties we call home. I wonder sometimes if that's what the big picture [11:14:35] plan is. Coming from a state that was booming with revenue and citizens do the coal mining, cities were full of businesses, but what happens when it comes to an end? You're left with building carcasses from businesses closing and moving away. Cities collapse and turn into ghost towns. [11:14:57] What happens when the data centers become obsolete, as all technology does? Throwing up Massive chunks of stone and glass on top of black asphalt over how many thousands of square feet? The runoff will be massive. One woman said herself that they pollute with pesticides and poison, and all of that will overwhelm the waterways, making it easier and in larger quantities without the trees and grass absorbing much of it. [11:15:28] I appreciate the members of the board for their patience and for listening to the words I have to say. Our four founders wrote property rules and proffer laws for a reason, not to be taken in vain and not to be altered when you see fit. [11:15:50] Please do what the right thing is. You don't want your conscience haunting you. It's as easy as following the law. Thank you. Next speaker, please. And before you start, I will call number 76 through 80, please. [11:16:07] 76 through 80 can line up in the back. Please proceed. Can I have the overhead, please? Thank you. Good evening, Kathy Kulik, Vice Chair, HOA Roundtable, 501C4. [11:16:28] Fifteen minutes, please. Sure. Thank you. So here we are again. Long day, long night, maybe another long day. Why does it keep happening this way? Particularly for this particular project. [11:16:49] it's because this location is the worst possible location for the world's largest data center industrial zone. And one clue is that despite a CPA that you all designed to accommodate this in this location, your professional staff, the one that is exercising impeccable professional ethics and have been allowed to exercise those according to those standards have provided a [11:17:27] completely objective set of denials, not once, but twice. And that the Planning Commission also advanced this to you on a recommendation of denial. It was not on a lark. It was done because this project is wrong for this area. And it's not because people get up here and they don't want data centers or they don't want any development. We hear that a lot. This place has not been wrong [11:18:02] this year or last year or the year before. It's been wrong for this in heavy. It's heavy industrial. Anybody who says it's light doesn't get the fact that data centers today have 30 to 40 massive diesel generators, incredible amounts of diesel fuel that can cause all sorts of environmental problems. They have giant cooling systems on the top, the biggest systems ever made, and they have 100 to 140 of them on the roof, and that's not overstating it. That's probably a medium-sized [11:18:35] data center. Just look at the rooftops of Amazon's Tanner Way facility next to Great Oak. They've got great pictures. They took them themselves, okay? So with all that said, this is heavy industrial, and this project will put it in one of the worst, most sensitive environmentally and historically sensitive areas in this region, probably in this nation. And what we hear from our friends on Pageland who want to sell, got it, good money, since it's been decades now. Every time they fought [11:19:15] the Bi-County Parkway or anything else, Tri-County, whatever it was, back to Annie Snyder, Margaret Moylan did a wonderful job of reading the story of the incredible courage and resolve of Annie Snyder. The community has rallied around the residents of Pageland to support them every single time. And now that they've decided that the money's good and they're going to get out, they're upset at the community because we won't fall in line. Why is that? Why wouldn't [11:19:50] we support them now? We've supported them forever. It's because it's that bad, that wrong. Think about why. Your staff has been telling you for months, listen, please do not take them to task when that is the wrong thing to do. They have given you their objective opinion and they have worked hard month after month after month. It seems to me their executive boss, Mr. Shorter, recognizes that because he relieved them of every other task they had to do so they could focus on [11:20:26] this centrally, focus on this. Don't tell them that they did something wrong or they didn't do it well. It's all they've been doing. So I'd love to put this map up because I've heard from Mr. Looney that there are no homes proximate to the digital gateway. Well, look at that. Well, the glare because it's a terrible place for this overhead because it's right under a recessed light. I wonder who figured that out. All around. Heritage Hunts on the left side, on the bottom. [11:20:58] But there are homes all around. To the west. My area. I know I've been living here a long time. I don't know exactly how many homes. You never hear anything from any of the developers about all the other homes around it. Not a word. Nothing about viewshed study. [11:21:14] Nothing about the noise. Nothing about the complete industrialization of the neighborhood we live next to. Never discussed. Get your money and get out, but we have something to say about what we're left with. It's not because we have palatial homes and we have golf courses and we want to protect all that. [11:21:34] That's a fairy tale, thank you very much. There seem to be a lot of those, but that's the fact. And oh, by the way, let's talk about some other fairy tales. This master corridor plan, this is a real good one. [11:21:58] Horseback riding, trails you can hike on, stormwater management ponds you can fish in. Oh, we've got another page. You know what we don't see in those wonderful artist renderings? [11:22:13] Because QTS and Compass do have wonderful artists. I don't see a data center there. Oh, wait a minute. If I wanted to go to the back, I could see some renderings, some pictures of data centers they have somewhere. My question, and I want them to answer this before this hearing is over, is show us a picture of a massive data center in an area like this next to a national park. [11:22:36] Show us one picture where this works somewhere else. We've got to be the test case next to a national park. oh we're hearing it's because there's a power line oh that's it right i keep forgetting about the power line do you know how many national parks have a power line running near them so what are they all those power lines weren't put there with the thought that industrial data center zones were going to be plopped down there that was not even in the consideration and i guarantee you the one that runs through pageland now the park had no idea that was coming none whatsoever but now it's the excuse that we got to have this these are fairy tales it's not going [11:23:15] to look like this. Hey, when you're riding your horse, I trained horses. I was a judge for more than 45 years. That is going to be the last place anybody's going to want to ride their horse. They won't want to ride their horse, okay? That's just not happening. So don't try to pass the fairy tales off on us on that continuous lie. So this is what it looks like. You've seen this before. [11:23:44] QTS and Compass didn't want to put all their land bay diagrams from this wonderful master corridor plan into one big map, but there it is. Look how different that looks from the park to the east and even the housing to the west and to the north. That's what's happening. A total industrialization of the area, it's going to go north up Sanders Lane when you set this precedent and then up to Data Center Alley. If you pass this and it survives the core challenges, it will be the cause for the [11:24:15] total industrialization and it'll go south too. But perhaps the worst aspect of this location is the destruction of our historic sites. And what we hear so many times for people who kind of run out of reasons why we can preserve cultural resources while we're bulldozing for massive buildings that are the size of two and three football fields is, oh, well, you know, is it really important? [11:24:44] You know, it's Confederates. I mean, do we really need to preserve the history of the Confederates? That's really not what we want to do. We'd rather tear down those statues and forget that ever happened. These are people who are lazy and intellectually lazy who don't understand the history. [11:25:00] The history made at Manassas was so much more than the two victories by the Confederacy that happened there. You don't just take a memorial or a national park away because there's something that happened there that bothers your sensibility. [11:25:17] Anyone who sees Manassas simply as the place of two Confederate victories misses the greatest significance of the events. the story and tangible elements now preserved in large part by our national park and also by the environs known as the Manassas Battlefield Historic District. First listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the National Preservation Act in 1966 and enlarged in 2006 to include nearly the entirety of what is proposed in the Digital Gateway South rezoning. [11:25:52] Much of this same history occurred in the areas of the compass rezoning, which also saw significant post-war African-American freed slave communities that restored the battle-devastated farmland to agrarian health. The area encompassed by the Digital Gateway North included prominent historic features of the lives led by slave families such as that of Jenny Dean and her incredible accomplishments as a formerly enslaved African-American woman in a post-Civil War world. [11:26:22] The critical history made at Manassas was not just the opening of the Civil War with the first major land battle and the reality that this was to be a long and bloody conflict, but it more than any other place in the nation at that time also marked the beginning of the end of the Confederacy. [11:26:42] Preservation of the tangible assets of the history made in 1862 coming out of the Battle of Second Manassas is not a memorial or a shrine to the Confederacy. It was the decisive turn of events leading to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the defeat of the Confederacy and what defined us as a nation. [11:27:08] After the Battle of Second Manassas, President Lincoln's attempt to issue the Emancipation Proclamation appeared complicated, and the timing was directly related to the events at Manassas. Lee was emboldened from his home field advantage when to turn north across the Potomac, engaging the Union at a place called Antietam, the single bloodiest day in American history. [11:27:36] Lincoln knew he needed a Union show of military resolve and strength to avoid political defeat of the proclamation after the Confederate victory, and he did so within five days of the Union showing just exactly that at Antietam. [11:27:53] Even though the victory was not strongly decisive, it would not have happened without the events at Manassas. For it was a mere 22 days after the second battle of Manassas and what history records as the actual turning point of the war. That is the importance to ascribe to the national park in our county. This is not a sitting duck for industrial development. What this should be is the highlight, the shining beacon in Prince William County and in our region [11:28:29] of historic tourism. And if you turn it into an industrial zone, you will take away that very targeted historic tourism industry for Prince William County, for the generations that follow, for that posterity, for their children, and for the future. That is a very, very important thing to consider when you do this. It will be gone. So the last thing I want to know, and I'd love to hear from our friends at QTS and Compass, is you really want this project? Really? Really? You want [11:29:06] to build this project and for the next 20 years be the poster child of the destruction, of a national park, the destruction of the environs of that park, the history of not just the Civil War and the importance of the event that I just read to you. [11:29:28] You want to have that pasted to your foreheads for the next 20 years. You want QTS and Compass to be known as the destructor of the tangible elements of our shared heritage and our history in this very area, because you will wear it. [11:29:47] You think this is done? You think when you get through the court challenges, This thing is done every day and every year when you roll those bulldozers and you dig up anything and find anything and you will find them. There will be every historic preservation organization, every organization that cares about our national parks will follow you and that will be your legacy. [11:30:11] So you wear it and we'll see you. Thanks. Next speaker, please. Timon de Jong, Gainesville. [11:30:29] I'll be talking about all three of the applications. Dear supervisors, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak today and thank you to all eight of you for the important work that you are doing. My name is Simon de Jong. My family owns 23 acres of land on PageNet Lane and Lee Highway. [11:30:50] We've owned this land for almost 40 years, four decades. Our property is not part of the three rezoning applications in front of you today. We do, however, support the approval of all of these applications. We bought the property four decades ago, and we did so in part because we love these rural surroundings. [11:31:14] If we fast forward to today, as we've heard many times before today, we have 100 feet tall electrical towers to the east of us. We have the 130-acre Gainesville Crossing data center to the south of us. We have the massive 750-acre Development of Heritage Hunt to our west. [11:31:33] Traffic has gone from bad to worse. I think it's fair to say that the area has changed. And in some ways that's okay, because this is what progress looks like. People need a place to live, people need a place to work, and communities need infrastructure in order to thrive. [11:31:51] What really frustrates me, though, is that certain groups and certain individuals are now telling us, the property owners of Baseland Lane, that we are not allowed to participate in the growth happening all around us, that some of our rights are to be ignored. [11:32:08] The argument most often heard, and we heard the previous speaker talk about it in length, is that our properties are of historic significance. No one is denying the fact that historical events took place in the area. [11:32:25] That is why the Manassas battlefield is a protected area. But as far as our land and the land of our neighbors is concerned, in the four decades that we have owned it, no one has ever shown any interest whatsoever in preserving its historic integrity. [11:32:43] Not when the land across the street from us was torn apart to build Gainesville Crossing. Not when our own land was being bulldozed to dig trenches for local utility upgrades. Not when 750 acres of rural land was destroyed to build Heritage Hunt. [11:33:04] No one cared. Manasseh's Battlefield Trust has never shown an ounce of interest in surveying our land. Neither has the Prince William Historical Commission or any of the other organizations who are now trying to halt development in the area. [11:33:22] As a matter of fact, the first and only people who have come knocking on our door asking for permission to search and catalog our land for history worth preserving have been the representatives of these applicants. I applaud the efforts by the applicants to catalog and preserve history. [11:33:44] They are making a greater effort than anyone speaking today to not only preserve, but to open to the public areas of historic importance on privately owned land. I also applaud their commitment to preserve green spaces, to create public accessible trails, walkways and parks. [11:34:07] To those who think that blocking the digital gateway will somehow mean that Paisland Lane will remain unchanged, they are very much misinformed. This area is going to be developed one way or another. These are privately owned land, privately owned lands. [11:34:25] They are going to be developed. So it's not so much about if, but about how this land gets developed. I would argue that the digital gateway with over 400 million in built out annual tax revenues, its promise of tax based diversification, the creation of up to 30,000 six figure construction jobs, numerous long-term technology jobs, and a relatively limited demand on local roads and services is easily, easily the most sensible way forward. Please vote to approve all three [11:35:02] applications. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Elizabeth Babazare, Gainesville, all three applicants. Why don't you bend that down? Thank you. Okay. I'll be quick, and I won't talk about vampires I want to thank all of you for all your hard work [11:35:28] Supervisor Franklin I wanted to give a call out to you as a lot of people have I hope I'm not yelling a lot of people have called you out for talking to your staff and asking questions but I [11:36:00] think like me you heard some things that were needed some commenting on when they were denying the applications based on facts that were not necessary not requirements I think that needed to be addressed and I appreciate you addressing them to all of you please support all three thank you very much thank you next speaker please [11:36:31] good evening board my name is Ruth Ann Pizaris I'm from the Gainesville district and I'm in favor of this board approving all three rezoning applications QTS and compass have a major commitment and presence in Prince William County their reputation will be under continuous scrutiny the entire time these developments are going forward their willingness to look at the historical elements that they've offered to elevate are currently on private property without these offers these sites would mainly be lost private [11:37:10] ownership unless the county wants to cough up all the funds for private property and the historical elements that some are there, but, you know, I lived on Thornton for some time now, and this is the first I'd heard of the Thornton School. So all of a sudden, there's this massive historical presence that wasn't looked at before now. And as far as the electrical needs, these gigantic power lines up Pageland Lane have very well fed the data centers in Loudoun County for a number of years now. [11:37:46] And I cannot imagine that with the 10 to 15-year window, the build-out for the electrical companies along with the builders will be met. The regulations for the county, the state, and national are essential for else these people will be out of business. [11:38:03] In the election in November, the four Democrats were voted back in and Ms. Jefferson was voted in. It was interesting, when we went to the debate between Ms. Lawson and Ms. Jefferson, she ran on providing programs that would require extraordinary funds, funds that are only available from data center development in the most timely and efficient manner, investment that provides around $13 for every dollar invested. [11:38:35] I like that. So at this point, we've got Prince William County people who have voted and want to continue with the forward-thinking economic growth. Within a decade, Prince William County can begin to compete with the neighbor counties. [11:38:50] This board has provided the positive, economically effective leadership necessary to continue to bring this county into the 21st century. This in the face of lies, slander, exaggerations, and fear-mongering by the above-mentioned minuscule number of individuals whose perseverative comments and perspective border on obsession. [11:39:14] I'm very grateful for the efforts to continue the progress by the majority of this board. The grace and poise that Chair Wheeler has provided in her leadership has allowed for the important work of the board to continue. The commitment of the majority of this board is appreciated in all walks of business that continue to serve all Prince William County residents. [11:39:34] Vote yes. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Terry Giffray, and I'm in the Gainesville District, and I'm talking to all three applications. [11:39:52] I have lived in Haymarket for over 40 years. I'm a retired teacher, still in the school system. My two daughters went to Gainesville Elementary, and my granddaughters, they are in Prince William County Schools. One of the major concerns for the school system is overcrowding and class size. [11:40:11] It has tried to be addressed for several years, many, probably decades. So approving the Prince William County Digital Gateway would possibly even help with the funding of class size, which would be beneficial to our youth. [11:40:28] So for that reason, I support the Digital Gateway along with what people before me have said as far as positive impact for all citizens of Prince William County, and I thank you for your service. Thank you. Next speaker, please. And before the next speaker goes, seeing no one having come to the back, I will call number 81 through 85, please, if you're here. Madam Chairman, members of the board, I'm hoping this is the last time we have to come to you with this issue. I am here to speak on all three issues [11:41:06] too because... Can you give us your name and where you live? Tony Giffray. I live in downtown Haymarket in one of the oldest houses in Haymarket, and I love it. So I like history. I've enjoyed that battlefield for horseback riding for many years. And I also believe that this particular rezoning is the best outcome you can get for that area. This rezoning is going to, when it's complete, will protect the battlefield, unlike what people are saying in destroying it. It will actually [11:41:40] protect the battlefield. It will protect Conway Robinson Park. Most of the people that are opposed to this from where I can determine where they might live. Once this project's in place, nobody's going to know it's there because nobody uses Page Land Lane except for those people who work in Loudoun County. It's a commuter route. It's restricted to that. Most people won't even know it's there, but yet they will benefit from the revenues that the taxpayers will get out of that particular rezoning. I just want to make one comment. One of the speakers mentioned that [11:42:20] three of our board members were against this rezoning. Now, this is a public hearing, in my view, and I used to, some of you know, I used to be on the board of supervisors. This is a time for the public to present your views and try to persuade you to do what the public wants. And when I hear that supervisors have already made up their minds, then I ask myself why am I here why are these hundreds of people come out here to present positions for [11:42:55] this particular rezoning when the decision's already made I find that to be kind of unethical it's not it's not wise so I do appreciate those who have not made comments in the in the press pro or against this I think that's smart to do but for those who've already made their decisions public months ago maybe that's kind of offensive to the public and i just don't like that so i thank you i want to wish you all a merry christmas and happy holidays and a happy new year for some of [11:43:30] you who will not have to put up with this anymore thank you next speaker please good evening my name is chris butcher i'm the superintendent of manassas national battlefield park chair wheeler members of the board i'm speaking about all three applications i want to start by thanking the incredible staff that worked tirelessly to help get us to this point. [11:44:03] And I want to thank everyone today working behind the scenes to make this all work and function and give us the opportunity to participate in this process. The Organic Act of 1916 created the National Park Service and gave us our mission, which is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historical objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. [11:44:34] For more than 80 years, Manassas National Battlefield Park, its employees, volunteers, countless advocates and stakeholders have worked tirelessly to preserve and protect the more than 5,000 acres, 21 buildings, 44 miles of trails, and the resources associated with the first and second battles where 4,000 men gave their lives in 1861 and 1862 to foster understanding and appreciation of the battles and their significance by providing opportunities for interpretation, education, enjoyment, and inspiration. [11:45:09] In total, these three proposals account for 2,100 acres, 10 of which are within the legislative boundary of the park. In regard to the possibility of graves being located in any of these sites, I want to point out to something that happened within the park not too long ago. [11:45:32] In 2015, we located the limb pit, which was noteworthy in many ways because it was the first documented intact example of such a feature within a National Park Service site. [11:45:49] And we wouldn't have found it had we just dug on the other side of a line that already existed. We had documented the area, we had done all the compliance and all the documentation, but it was by sheer luck we chose to replace a line on this side instead of this side that we found it. [11:46:07] And to be clear, I'm not in any way questioning the quality, the quantity of the work, the sincerity of the effort that's been done up to this point. I applaud that work. I just want to point out that we have firsthand experience of how difficult sites like these can be to identify fully. [11:46:30] The National Park Service has determined the proposed project will likely adversely affect Manassas National Battlefield Park and directly affect numerous other historic resources associated with the Battles of Manassas and the park itself. Due to the need of additional research to identify other likely present resources, there are potentially additional resources that will be adversely affected. [11:46:53] Archaeology of wartime camps, African-American communities, not just unmarked graves. This proposed project will adversely affect the battlefield and the historic resources outside as well and does not provide sufficient modifications to mitigate those impacts. [11:47:12] In addition, the National Park Service believes that the full extent of the impacts are unclear and haven't been determined fully. Because the National Battlefield Park isn't just one landscape, we're not just one story, we're not just one point on a field. We're managers of numerous irreplaceable natural and cultural landscapes and resources. [11:47:33] and were the stewards of countless stories. The submissions have changed little regarding the project design and potential impacts of the landscape and stories we know about and the many more that we are still uncovering. The existing high-voltage lines are inadequate to serve these projects and future development along the corridor. [11:47:57] We know we're required adding additional capacity to the existing infrastructure, which also has the potential to significantly impact the landscape of the park. In 2010, the last time high voltage lines going through the park were expanded. At the time, Dominion was issued a right-of-way permit by the park. [11:48:16] The terms of that park were violated, and a bulldozer was driven through a portion of the unfinished railroad, destroying it. Again, I give this as an example, not to assign blame in any way, but to highlight that even with everyone's best efforts and intentions, With a project this large and complex, the likelihood of irreparable resource damage or loss is extremely high. [11:48:42] The park economic impact could also be significantly affected. The park serves as an economic driver and anchor. We stand as a vital part of this community's culture, economy, and we want to be great neighbors of Prince William County. [11:48:58] In 2022, more than half a million visitors spent an estimated $35 million in the local gateway regions while visiting the park. These expenditures supported 428 jobs, almost $20 million in labor income, $32 million in added value, and over $50 million in economic output in the local economies. [11:49:21] Visitor spending included an estimated $10 million in lodging, $3 million in recreational industries, and $8 million in restaurants. There's a steady increase in park economic output over the last several years. [11:49:37] The total output contributed to the Manassas Gateway economies has risen from $42 million in 2019 to $51 million in 2022, while visitor spending has risen from $30 million to $35 million in that same time. [11:49:55] Intrusions of the historic character view sheds and natural character can negatively impact the numbers of visitors and their economic contributions to the gateway communities. I want to thank you for the opportunity to address the board and participate in this process. [11:50:11] whether we agree or disagree i want to thank you for your service your unenviable task before you we're committed at manassas national battlefield park and the national park service to participate and be partners in this process and i also look forward to seeing you all in the park very soon thank you very much thank you very much next speaker please good evening madam chair members of the board my name is ryan bartruff i'm a resident of the gainesville district and i'll [11:50:51] be speaking on all three applications firstly thank you all for your work and diligence over the last couple years this project has brought you and county staff added scrutiny increased public ire and many long nights and mornings i appreciate your dedication to your constituents and your commitment to your goals of a better prince william county each of you have established priorities that every one of us can support lower taxes funding for police fire and education an [11:51:25] increased tax base affordable housing resident safety the voters of your districts share your vision and want to see it achieved. The Prince William Digital Gateway represents an unprecedented opportunity to make that vision a reality. When the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan was proposed over two years ago, it was with a vision of what the land along Pageland Lane could become. [11:51:50] It recognized that the properties were no longer productive farms and that the lane was just a cut-through for twice the number of cars that it was designed to support. It acknowledged that the already approved development of data centers a mere quarter mile away and pre-existing high voltage power lines that have long stood between the lane and the national battlefield. What you saw back then was that this area is uniquely suited to support the data center industry at a scale not yet imagined in the Commonwealth. It's a bold and ambitious vision that will bring [11:52:26] more to this county than any other project in our history. The scope of these proposals is unprecedented, but that's not a deterrent. It's what makes everything possible. No other project can include the proffers, buffers, and safeguards that are part of these applications. What's even better is that they represent a comprehensive vision for the entire area. The campuses are designed to minimize their visual impact. New parks are going to be accessible to the public. [11:52:53] Traffic congestion will be eased. Nowhere else will you find a proposal that will add hundreds of millions of dollars to our tax revenue, while also working with us to establish environmental controls and protections for over 2,100 contiguous acres. The Digital Gateway is an example of what tech industries and local municipalities can accomplish if they work together, creating a bold and ambitious project that benefits everyone. It's an opportunity to show everyone this is how you do it. It's our opportunity for Prince William County to be a leader on a global stage. But this [11:53:30] vision is fleeting. Pageland Lane will be changing no matter what. Its future widening is a mathematical certainty. And the comprehensive plan now allows for increased by-right development opportunities. The properties along Pageland are fair game for other businesses and developers to pick apart. It'll be every applicant for themselves with no unified direction and no willingness or ability to give so much back to the county in return. Your vision for the future will die with every self-storage, auto part, warehouse, or other commercial development jammed piecemeal along into the corridor. [11:54:08] Or there will be continued residential development that will crowd our understaffed schools and require infrastructure that we'll have to pay for. Either way, you'll end up with more environmental impacts, more traffic, and less revenue. [11:54:23] The Digital Gateway allows the county to shape the development of this area in a unified, deliberate way. It represents a unique opportunity for our county to address our needs while creating a bold vision for the future. It's how you provide economic relief to your residents and attract and retain good teachers with well-funded schools. It gives you the resources for mental health services, pedestrian walkways, and countless other projects that improve the quality of life for every citizen in this county. That is a worthy vision for Prince William County. Let's make it real. Please support [11:55:02] all three of these applications. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is Joy McCauley and I live in the Gainesville District. [11:55:22] I'm speaking tonight in regard to all three proposals for the Digital Gateway. Thank you for your service. It's been a long couple years, and I just ask that you vote yes and support all three Digital Gateway proposals. [11:55:39] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is Lance McCauley. I'm from the Gainesville District, and I'm speaking to all three applicants, And I support all three, and I hope that you guys vote likewise. [11:56:00] Thank you. Thank you. And before our next speaker starts, I will call up numbers 86 through 90 if you want to line up in the back of the room. 86 through 90. Please proceed. Ali Imam, Gainesville District. [11:56:18] Thank you, Chair Wheeler and board members. It's been a while, long ride for the last three years or so. Thank you for your hard work. So I'll be speaking in support of PW Digital Gateway, and please vote yes for all three zoning applications. [11:56:39] And you know that as the second largest county in the Commonwealth, it's no secret that our county needs money for better schools, roads, park, to support our police services, affordable housing, and many others. [11:56:57] And the PW Digital Gateway will enable you and other county leaders to make the necessary investments through a diversified tax base that will reduce the burden on residents while providing sustainability and predictability. [11:57:18] If I can share a slide that I got from NBC. It was aired on November 30th. Let's see. This is the data center data points of Loudoun County. [11:57:47] You can see that in 2016, they had $147 million of revenue from data centers, and $1.145 was the tax rate for houses. And in six years, they made $663 million from data centers, and tax rate went down to $0.89. [11:58:11] So it proves everything. PW Digital Gateway is projected to generate $450 plus million, and you can do the math. Thank you. Vote yes for all three zoning applications. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [11:58:34] Good evening. I will be speaking on the three applications. My name is Francisco, and I am a resident of Prince William County, where I have lived for over 20 years. I strongly support the Digital Gateway, and I am respectfully asking the board to approve this important project. [11:58:53] The reason why I support the Digital Gateway is both because it will provide good jobs for our community and because the tax revenue will allow the county to improve its schools and public services. I am a member of the Carpenters Union and this project will provide good paying jobs for our hundreds of members who live in Prince William County. The project will also allow our union to offer apprenticeship opportunities for other local residents from underserved communities so they will have a middle-class career. [11:59:28] I know from my own experience that being a skilled union craftsman is life-changing. QTS and Compass has agreed to require strict labor standards in order to avoid wage theft, misclassification, and labor trafficking. [11:59:45] We appreciate the company's desire to partner with the union to prevent the abuse of immigrant workers. I hope that you will seize this historic opportunity to provide great jobs with excellent pay and benefits to our county's residents. [12:00:03] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Wendy Ault, and I'm a retired physician in the community, and I've lived here for almost 40 years in the Gainesville District. [12:00:23] This evening is becoming somewhat of a recurring nightmare for those of us who do live in the rural crescent, as it used to be existing, and feed animals two or three times a day and do lots of rural tasks. But it's important to be here. [12:00:40] I'm speaking against all three of the rezoning proposals for the Digital Gateway Project. Despite the tweaking, this is no better a project now than it was when it was first conceived. And the planning staff recommended denial not once, but twice. [12:00:56] The transient construction and union jobs, which are important, are only that, transient jobs. and they will be part of a truly ugly industrial wasteland that are not enough to justify the destruction of previously bucolic rural lands next to Prince William County's major tourist attraction, which is, of course, the Manassas Battlefield Park. [12:01:25] The environs of the park are part of its undiscovered or at least as yet undocumented fully historical environs as well. [12:01:38] I'd like to thank the Planning Commission and the staff for the courage to stand up in the face of adversity and disagreement perhaps from some of you to insist on adequate studies prior to putting or plopping down the largest industrial complex and biggest industrialization in this county, this state, this region, and possibly the East Coast. [12:02:07] A thorough study is a baseline minimum for this, and they would want us to adequately focus on the issues that are going to impact this resource. [12:02:24] I'd also like to thank the gentleman from the Oak Valley HOA who said everything that I would have liked to have said more articulately, along with Kathy Kulik and our park superintendent. The concept of the Rural Crescent, which was low-density housing and agricultural lands over and above the Occoquan Reservoir, protected the Occoquan watershed. [12:02:56] It's not dead. It's been declared dead. It just needs a little resuscitation. To simply declare the Rural Crescent non-existent is offensive to those of us who live in it and still live a rural lifestyle. [12:03:13] To bury the baseline water study, as requested by our neighbors in Fairfax and many of us, eliminates the possibility of studying what's in the water already and therefore holding accountable those who are further adding to it, chemicals that we don't know about yet, to any kind of accountability. [12:03:37] So you make doing any kind of science impossible, and you make plausible deniability of your responsibility to it quite clearly profitable. This, of course, is deadly for all the beings, human and non-human, living in this area. [12:03:59] And I can safely conclude that it was intentional not to do the water studies. No amount of beige paint is going to hide these behemoths from anybody visiting the park. They're ugly, and it's absurd to even discuss viewshed protection for park visitors. [12:04:18] It's rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Narrow buffers, really any buffers at all, and increase are not going to hide the increase in paved areas, paved surfaces. It's just simply not mitigatable. [12:04:34] So tweaking it, well, it's tweaking. In fact, it's really absurd to consider placement of an industrial campus on the edge of a national park. To suggest that the proposal contains as a proffer a park is simply painful. [12:04:56] The national park is everyone's backyard. This ought to be a NIMBY issue. It's not a local NIMBY issue, however. It's a national NIMBY issue, a county NIMBY issue, a state NIMBY issue, and it should be an inflammatory NIMBY issue for everyone who's a citizen or an aspiring citizen of this nation. [12:05:21] This development is so inappropriately cited that we really should not be here discussing it at all. Reason hasn't worked, humor hasn't worked, emotional appeals haven't worked, scientific arguments regarding the water, air, and climate change and sustainability haven't worked. [12:05:45] Since we've heard from one of our applicants this morning that it's not maybe the 400 million that they were bandying around before, but maybe 100 million or some hundreds of millions. And really what they used as a plot line was a generic data center model. [12:06:07] Really, even a viable, truly useful dollars and cents argument hasn't worked. It hasn't been done. So to appeal to purely aesthetic issue, like the beauty of the National Park, as opposed to the sheer ugliness of data centers anywhere they are, or even to appeal to the proven mental, physical, and yes, spiritual health benefits of natural open space in quantity might be lost on you as well. [12:06:48] You must not allow a project of this magnitude to be built outside the data center opportunity zone. It's that simple. That's where it belongs, not in the rural crescent, and you should vote to deny these applications. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [12:07:13] Shamim Ismail, Gainesville District. Thank you, board members, for your hard work for the past four years. I support PW Digital Gateway. Please vote yes to the three zoning applications. Thank you. [12:07:33] We're on 86 through 90, and seeing our next speaker before our next speaker starts, I will call up 91 through 95. 91 through 95. Please proceed. Hi, I'm Daniel Crown. I've lived in the Gainesville District for 19 years. [12:07:49] I fully support all three rezoning applications for these reasons. There are too many opinions floating around this room. All the stories many of you have said have nothing to do with the fact that have been proved. Many of the people fighting this rezoning live in a community. What do you think your community was before it was developed? [12:08:05] Raw land? That horse farm being developed into Heritage Hunt was the destruction of hundreds of acres. Their golf course uses 350,000 gallons of water per day and 250 million during the peak summer months over the course of a year. Data centers use zero, just like how the coolant flows through the engine of your car, it only has to be flushed every 10 years and is 100% natural. [12:08:28] Development is progression. Just like many of you upgrade your phones every year, you can't stop it from happening. Many of you scroll through your phones and comment all over the Internet about this, but what you don't know is that a data center is the fuel of the Internet, allowing you to comment and post the fake news. When you take that picture of your grandkids on Christmas, where do you think it is going to be stored? [12:08:48] A data center. you may ask, why can't you just put them somewhere else? We need the close proximity to Loudon so that they can communicate as a mesh to the highest efficiency possible. Every landowner has the choice what to do with their land, especially if it's being put to good use to strengthen our community like these data centers would do in the long run. [12:09:07] We have ordinances for noise, power usage, water usage, and environmental impacts. For the individuals talking about diesel generators, you must drive a Prius. Diesel generators have very strict emission systems that are actually cleaner than what comes out of the tailpipe of your Prius. The soot that many of these trucks produce on the road are older than 2010, which is when the EPA started to enforce DEF usage, which stands for diesel exhaust fluid. [12:09:32] These post-2010 vehicles, newer ones, and generators have diesel exhaust fluid and break down the soot into a different chemical composition that is 95% cleaner than without it. To top it off, these generators are only operated when the power goes out. [12:09:49] Loudoun only had them running 16 hours total last year, so in reality, nearly never. These are very strict regulations that will not be broken. Our tax base will suffer if this does not get approved. We can barely pay teachers enough to break up fights in high schools, let alone teach them the right way with their minimal salary for how they positively impact and grow the community. [12:10:13] The commute to Gainesville from Manassas takes 35 minutes when it should take 15. We are struggling to pay for our police officers a decent salary and some high schools don't even have these heroes protecting them. Our community is going to be broadly impacted without this approval. If it is not going to be data centers, it is going to be developed most likely into a community. [12:10:33] Let me ask Heritage Hunt residents. If they want to have the noise, music, sirens, smell, traffic of another community right behind their neighborhood, this is going to happen without data centers taking their land. Think about that for a second. Voting for the data centers will permanently seize the opportunity for a housing developer to take over this land. [12:10:51] Instead, we will have noiseless, waterless, and harmless boxes that will do absolutely nothing, just exist. If you are still disappointed about development, I would highly suggest you move to West Virginia. There are 15 million acres of open space for you to start over with a dial-up phone and a clothesline. [12:11:09] Nobody is stopping you. I'll take the development over being primitive. Loudoun County has data centers nearly everywhere. Has their quality of life decreased? Absolutely not. In fact, they have more parks, more recreation, more trails, better schools and facilities, and the best roads in the nation. [12:11:26] Prince William, it's time to second that. Next speaker, please. Thank you, sir. Hi, I'm Dori Berner, Gainesville District. [12:11:41] I will be speaking in favor of all three projects. Please accept my thanks to the board and the planning committee at Prince William for all your time and efforts on this project. It's been a very long road to get to tonight, and it's clear this has its fair share of detractors. [12:12:05] We've listened to impassioned speeches for those in favor and against this project for the last two years. It is always difficult to listen to personal attacks on you, our elected officials, new county business partners, and, of course, my neighbors. [12:12:23] I feel like if you want to blame somebody, you should blame me because I've lost my child and basically nothing else hurts me anymore. Mary Ann put together the first 800 acres. I put together the rest on Pageland. [12:12:41] And we did so because I think we're all tired of fighting. I've been fighting since I bought that property 15 years ago. And it's an eventuality that it's going to be developed. [12:12:57] And I think that this meets the needs of the county in the long term. And when I met Chris at Compass and learned about his knowledge in building in environmentally sensitive areas, like he did in Goose Creek and Loudoun, and his green building practices and recycling of water and not putting water into the ground, not sucking water like the old data centers do. [12:13:27] And his just truthfulness and integrity and honorable nature, he was a perfect fit for Pageland because every single person on Pageland is honorable. [12:13:45] I'm someone who always tries to put myself in others' shoes, and in order to understand their position, I've driven and mapped the distance from Pageland to Heritage Hunt and to Oak Valley. It's 1.7 miles from Pageland to Oak Valley, and it's over two miles to Heritage Hunt. [12:14:04] both on a map or by driving it. My neighbors and I have fought Disney in the past by County Parkway. We're not greedy, we are tired, and we are not getting a million in acre too, by the way. Pageland residents are not selling any of our neighbors out in Oak Valley or in Heritage Hunt. [12:14:27] We had choices taken away from us. There are data centers now on Pageland. We have transmission lines which will only be stacked with more power lines going through our properties and our farms. I'm sure it would be easier if we were taken for eminent domain for a bi-county parkway rather than see people have some money, but that's what happened. And I'm always happy when other people are successful, always. And it's the holiday time [12:15:04] and we should have, show each other more goodwill. This board unanimously voted to approve Gainesville crossing, and we have data centers on Pageland. We have the battlefield sold off part of their land for an extension to Prince William Parkway. Now the county gets their parkway to Loudon, which will relieve traffic. I think all of you have done a great service to this county, and that includes you, Jeannie, and you, Bob. Just because we don't have the same opinion doesn't mean I don't value [12:15:40] yours or respect you for yours. And Ann, I think you are a class act. You're very smart. And I hope you decide to run for office in the future. I will vote for you. We've lived on Pajon for 15 years. [12:16:00] And the only thing I found after digging on that tractor on 5.68 acres is a horseshoe, a large horseshoe. And I never had like draft horses. So it could be civil war. I've heard stories of people finding stuff here and there but I know my neighbors and any of us who have tractors dig up our properties and we haven't found any skeletons but I did hear an interesting story that might be of use to you and I'm happy to share the information of who it is if you want it but I sat with one of my elderly neighbors when I first moved to Pageland maybe 10 years ago who told me a story that she heard when she was young sitting on the porch of a neighbor with a [12:16:39] great-grandmother there, who said she was there the day the wagons came and picked up the dead bodies from the soldiers and carted them off to be sent home for burial. I think they meant home of record. So I doubt you're going to find more than animal bones there, but you may. Who knows? [12:16:59] On the polo field, we may not agree. We may argue and fight, but we shake hands every single time afterward, and we thank the umpire, and we leave it on the field. I wish all of you a happy holiday. [12:17:15] Thank you for listening to me, and thank you for hearing this. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [12:17:32] My name is Alexander Pizaritz. I'm in the Gainesville District, and I strongly support the Digital Gateway, and I strongly urge you to vote yes for all three proposals for rezoning. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please. Hi, John Harris at Gainesville District. [12:17:56] I'm speaking on all three proposals. First, I'd like to thank the board and all the county staff working in the background. They're making it possible for all of us to speak tonight and for over the past two years. I'll keep my comments short, as I know you're probably all exhausted as I am at this point. I fully support the Prince William Digital Gateway. [12:18:15] In addition to the obvious tax revenue it will generate, I believe the current application takes into account and addresses all of the legitimate concerns that have been expressed by the opposition while adding to the beautiful green spaces and parks in the county. One of my family's favorite part of our land is the meadow that the Lick Branch wraps around. [12:18:33] We love to take our llamas down there, we hike, and we have bonfires. It also happens to be where the proposed trail system will run. So anyone who says that these trails will not be used is speaking out of ignorance, and it's not their fault, as up until now this has all been private land. [12:18:49] They haven't had the opportunity to go back there. They've never seen the topography of the area. There's no way with the woods and embankment that anyone going through our section of the proposed trail will see a data center, period. It will just be a beautiful trail along a babbling stream. [12:19:06] Thank you again for taking the time to listen to all of us tonight, and I look forward to hearing your vote. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please. I'm here for all three projects. [12:19:23] Okay, Threesome Inns, Potomac District. It's really disgusting, a lot of things I've had to listen to. They keep talking about, oh, respect, respect, respect. Let me tell you what this Democrat board did when they first came in. [12:19:42] They had an illegal meeting, and the Republicans were excluded. They accidentally, yes, it happened. And yes, so there was an illegal meeting. [12:19:58] The three Republicans were excluded, but that's okay. As long as the Democrats are doing it, it doesn't matter. Okay, and mental health. All the aggravation I've seen this gang of five create, you don't care about mental health. [12:20:20] It's a lie. You're buying buildings just to take our tax dollars. We're nothing but a money tree to the Democrat Five. Okay, oh, forgot. I want to thank, I want to thank law enforcement and first responders for all they do for us. [12:20:39] And I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Okay, one of the other things that the Democrat board did. They gave themselves a 74% pay raise. Yes, they gave themselves that. [12:20:56] And I know of another situation where somebody's getting $300. It has nothing to do with this county, or at least here. Getting $300 a month, and they want to jerk up their money to $650 a month. [12:21:18] Yes, yes, we can count on people to enrich themselves. And Supervisor Ware, I am so sorry you went through all the harassment and disrespect that you've been going through. Queen Anne definitely does not respect the fact that you represent Rentsville. [12:21:41] I'm sorry about that. You have a standing here. You have an intelligence and a knowledge that the rest of these people don't. Give me all your dirty looks you want. I don't care. I usually make people mad anyway, because most people are very dishonest. [12:22:00] You were not respected. I just can't say enough, Supervisor Ware. It was disgusting. I want to thank the three Republicans that have had to stand against the Gang of Five. If you paid attention, look at me all you want. [12:22:18] Every time there's a vote here, they vote together. They never vote separately. Now, they did have one that was different. You don't want to know what I thought about that vote. No. And Wheeler didn't disclaim the fact that she was on the board for several years with Novak. [12:22:42] I think she should have told us about that. And when it comes, someone mentioned Ellicott City, okay, how they've had problems with land issues. Yes, they did some develop, this is in Maryland, and what happened is they created a big flood, and you should have seen how it tore up Ellicott City. I could go on. And George Soros, he's alive and well in the Democrat Party. Yes, I know I may [12:23:16] be all over the board, but I don't care. Oh, and I want you to know the planning staff did an excellent job and they were disrespected. And yes, Franklin did respect, disrespect these people. [12:23:34] And I'm sick and tired of listening to you certain people that come here and say, oh, Franklin, she does such a great job. She really asked the questions. But yet, God help us if Vega, Lawson, or where? Ask a question. Oh no, they are out of line. They are out of line. And I'm going to tell you, the eastern part of Prince William County, you have betrayed the western end because you keep [12:24:08] pick, you keep voting for these people. I really don't think you got voted in because you got the 45 days of early voting and to me that is nothing but cheating okay there's no honor in 45 days oh and that's another thing happened black lives were here okay you people need to go back and you need to look at all those meetings then black lives was here they wanted to get rid of the police they wanted to take everything away from them and these new board members the gang of five [12:24:47] they just let them go on and on. And I want you all to know this. Supervisor Vega was majorly disrespected because she didn't cater to the Latino crowd. How dare her be a Republican? [12:25:07] How dare her? How dare her have her own way of thinking? Because Black Lives Matter, which is nothing but a Marxist group which Supervisor Bode supports because he does the fist action and they love him when he's around. Yeah, I'll call it out because you've shown disrespect to Supervisor Ware and you've shown disrespect to all these people who have come. They've done their research on these data centers on the water and all this other stuff and you disrespected them [12:25:44] because I'll tell you why, because you guys are getting kickbacks, yeah, and when Franklin, God help us if she gets into Congress, because she will be with the other terrorists that are in the Democrat Congress, yes, terrorists, I said it, and I call Black Lives Matter terrorists too, because that's all they are, they were here harassing and insulting everything, so, and please don't forget George Soros. He owns the Democrat Party. Yes. Oh, and let me tell you what really gets me. You talk about, that's the first thing that Bailey did when she got here. [12:26:24] She talked about being disrespected because she's black. One day you and I are going to talk about, hey, you disrespected me, but you don't remember, do you? I didn't disrespect you. But it's sad When you've got Beijing Biden, who is the biggest racist walk-in, and you talk about white supremacy, it's the Democrat Party. [12:26:51] It is Beijing Biden. It is Senator Warner, Senator Kaine. Senator Kaine's son belongs to Antifa. Go ahead, give him a call. Do whatever. I really don't care. I love America. [12:27:07] And you know what? anyone who can get out of Prince William County, if you can find, Virginia actually, if you can find a better place to live, please let me know. Because let the Democrats have it. Let them play their race card. Let them play their disrespect. I'm sorry. Oh, and that's another thing. I hope the Republicans are very happy they did not support John Gray and get him into that chair instead of having Wheeler. Yes, the Republicans own it. The Republicans have also betrayed us, and they know [12:27:44] how I think. Now listen, I don't make friends with anybody. Why? Because you've all sold your soul. Like I told you the other day, on your churches, you need to say the church of Satan. So needless to say, once again, for the three Republican supervisors, I'm sorry you went through what you went through. And Mr. Shorter, please protect your planning staff. They just did their job. [12:28:12] I was amazed how articulate and great they were. And you know what? It's sad that we couldn't hire somebody within Prince William that lived here. So you all take care. Thank you, Ms. Mintz. Next speaker, please. Hello, my name is Verndelle Robinson, and I am a resident of the Potomac District. I am here to speak against the digital gateway for all three applications. My statement first begins with addressing the proposal given by Compass and QTS. Compass said that their [12:28:47] proposal should not have more, should not have more detail. They use the analogy to the housing industry. Being a broker, one thing I know is this. When building a house, there are several elevations of a home submitted to the county prior. At no time in new construction can a developer just change their minds about those elevations that were presented within the application without bringing those changes back to the county. If the developer is asking to be compared to the housing industry, then they should be held to the same standard of bringing back any changes before the board prior to making additional changes. There is little flexibility [12:29:25] given with elevations in housing, and that standard should be upheld here. Both Compass and QTS kept reiterating that in all their time within the industry, they never encountered such scrutiny. The truth is that this is the largest debtor center ever proposed. [12:29:44] The size is monumentous and almost four times the size of the Pentagon. And if you do your homework, you will know that the Chesapeake Watershed has the largest land to water ratio, which is 14 to 1, which is the largest of any coastal body in the world. So as a Ph.D. maritime law candidate, I truly understand the impact of this decision. [12:30:06] As leaders, you look at effects within other counties of different things happening. In this instance, because of the size and land use ratio along the largest watershed in the world, this does not affect the 100-plus homeowners, thus scrutiny should be high, and it needs definite measures put in place to protect the residents that remain. [12:30:30] Right now, there is no study completed on the effects of the watershed, and that is unacceptable. Let's look at some data on the Chesapeake watershed. It spans 67,000 square miles over six states and the District of Columbia, and it serves 18 and a half million people. What does that mean to us? It means that the decisions that are made affect more than just Prince William County. It affects 18 and a half million people along the coastal waterway. It means due to the size of the waterway, we are the world's example of what should [12:31:04] or should not be done along a waterway, and the world is watching. Making a decision of that magnitude without studies being completed is completely irresponsible. And exactly what the staff is reiterating. Let's move to the next issue with this proposal. Compass indicated that there is a continual noise ordinance compliance going on as the buildings are being erected. However, my question is, are they talking about Compass alone or the data center building, including QTS? [12:31:37] I asked this question because when I went to the open house of QTS and asked about a point on their map that did not include a noise decibel test, I was told that it was in a spot that another data center's building there was named COMPASED. [12:31:53] So while they are doing a continuous noise test to make sure they stay within the ordinance, is the county requiring a collective noise test for zones where COMPASED and QTS intersect? From the map shown to the public at the open house, it seems we are being given noise decibels based upon each building and not as a collective. [12:32:15] The noise should be measured as a collective, especially since the applications are being presented together, and the residents will be enduring the noise as a collective. There is no different than a band playing. When one instrument is playing, it has a different sound than when all instruments are playing together. [12:32:34] Lastly, let's truly discuss the commercial tax base proposed here. Economic development didn't even make projections. They indicated they thought it would make a $100 million increase in revenue for the county. [12:32:50] If the projection wasn't completed, then how do they know? Also, with the industry moving so fast and IBM coming up with a chip to make data centers obsolete, what happens to that projected revenue? It goes out the window. And we, as the residents, are stuck with the bill of having put in the infrastructure needed to build those monstrosities. [12:33:12] Buildings aren't taxed until they are built. So them indicating that the value of the land increases so revenue is immediate is untrue. Let's go back to the house analogy they gave us. The amount of revenue of land with a building and that of land without is exponential. [12:33:30] So basically, they are paying pennies on the dollar for the land that it just rose in value until the buildings are built on them, which means they will be paying pennies for years before the county realizes that thought of projections and by the time it will be obsolete. [12:33:48] Also, as far as I understand the tax base, it is based upon square footage. What happens when the industry changes in the very near future and the square footage of those buildings is reduced? What happens to the tax base then? What happens to the dreams of grandeur as they go up in smoke and the county realizes it made a grave mistake and the residents have paid and our water and forest are decimated? [12:34:11] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Robinson. And before the next speaker, I'd like to call up 96 through 100. Hi, my name is Olivia Pizaritz, and I'm with the Gainesville District. I'm in favor of the board approving all three rezoning applications. And thank you, board members, for your staff basis. I can't even talk right now. It's been a long night. So I just want to thank you all for [12:34:49] all your time, because time is precious. And I feel like at this point, we are all wasting a lot of time talking and not taking action so hopefully after today we can start doing things instead of beating each other up and make progress to make this county better. I said the same thing last year where we all took a risk buying homes. Everyone takes a risk buying a home. It's a huge risk. You take a risk because you know you don't have there's not promised years later that the [12:35:25] surrounding area is going to continue to be the same it's never going to be the same forever so you take that risk without the promise of it continuing to be the same and if you're not happy with that and you want to you know have things differently then you know this is probably not the place and your season at this place is over so I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to listen to everybody and i hope that everyone can see that this is like [12:35:58] really long drawn out process so merry christmas happy holidays have a good night thank you next speaker please good evening john steinbach 76 15 lake drive i'm in uh in yorkshire in the coals district i want to thank the staff particularly for all the hard work they've done and the [12:36:35] supervisors for listening to the community. This morning, the United Tribes of the Shenandoah had a prayer ceremony and we were instructed. Number one was to stomp out and we all stomped out any anger that we have. So there should be no anger here today. We were also told to walk with integrity. So getting rid of the anger and acting with integrity are the operative words for today. [12:37:11] So I live on the Bull Run. My backyard is Fairfax County. I live maybe five miles downstream from the confluence of Little Bull Run and Bull Run, and maybe three miles from where Cub Run comes in. [12:37:32] And so I was listening to T.O.P. either today or yesterday, and there was a story that the municipalities in the DMV area had to come together. [12:37:49] it was an EPA thing, and it had to do with ensuring water sources. And it referenced climate change, and it talked a little bit about the current drought that we have. And my degree is environmental studies, and I've studied the issue of climate change for 50 years, and I've written about it quite a bit. And one of the characteristics of all of the models is that the one thing that's baked in is that the the weather and the climate is going to become more and more variable [12:38:27] a lot of the models show that the mid-atlantic is probably going to get drier and and the message in this uh radio program was that you know we need to to prepare for alternative sources of water and they made the point that you know the potomac uh is limited i mean as big as it is it's limited in terms of the ability to service all of the millions and millions of people in the [12:38:58] DMV. Here in Prince William County, overwhelmingly, we use the Occoquan Reservoir for our drinking source. Manassas City and maybe parts of the county use Lake Manassas. And that's basically all that we have. So when you vote today, I want you to be thinking in terms of what we know, but maybe more importantly, in terms of what we don't know. And what is the impact [12:39:32] of the Digital Gateway going to be in the long term on the Occoquan Reservoir? And so when you look at, and particularly I want to look at Bull Run, the Bull Run watershed. So with Broad Run, most, a lot of the watershed, most of the watershed actually is west of Bull Run Mountain. It's a lot of that water's coming from Falk Air County and they do a pretty good job of protecting water resources. And we on the southern end of the county generally have done a good job. You know, I would [12:40:08] say we have to be careful because the data center overlay district actually borders right on the Occoquan River. So we have to be careful. But we also have the benefit of Lake Occoquan, which operates as a big kind of a settling pond, if you will. So I'm not too worried about the Occoquan watershed, but I'm very, very worried about the Bull Run. Like I said, I live on the Bull Run. [12:40:37] I take kids out fishing on the bull run. When I built the house 33 years ago, I could go out there and catch smallmouth bass all day long. There aren't as many smallmouth bass in the river. [12:40:52] The water quality has clearly gone down, and there's a reason for that. It has to do with a lot of the development that's happened. The issue with the Bull Run watershed and the Bull Run in particular is the Bull Run from where Cub Run comes in at the Bull Run Park all the way down to the Occoquan River is basically a straight shot. [12:41:16] You've only got one area where you have kind of a sort of a semi-natural block, and that's where the railroad bridge is. Otherwise, it's just if you get sediment into the headwaters, it's going to come right straight down. [12:41:32] If we get, God forbid, that we have another Hurricane Agnes, something like that, then the results could be catastrophic if that were to happen in the middle of building the digital gateway. And the Digital Gateway is directly impacting right on top of the Little Bull Run, Cat Harpen Creek, Lick Run, where it comes in. [12:41:57] And then it's a straight shot into the Bull Run, into Cub Run, and then into the Occoquan Reservoir. So that's my really big concern is what we don't know. [12:42:15] And I've only lived here 40 years, but I would say that maybe except for Disney, this is the biggest decision that's ever been made in the county. So the weight of decision is very heavy because we're going to have to live with and hopefully to live with the consequences of this vote. [12:42:44] So just take this very, very seriously when you make your vote because it's possible that it may be difficult to reverse things if the wrong decision is made. So just want to, again, thank you for your time and thank you for listening. [12:43:02] Thank you, Mr. Steinbach. Next speaker, please. Can I get the overhead, please? [12:43:20] I'm Blaine Pearsall, Gainesville District Historical Commissioner. [12:43:32] He's speaking to all three. Can I see it? Is it upside down? Better? Yes? No? [12:43:56] There you go. Something a little bit different tonight. [12:44:12] Sattered within a marshland off the New Jersey Turnpike, only a few miles from New York City, lies all that remains of one of the largest, most expensive, and awe-inspiring buildings ever built. [12:44:36] These are the ruins of the once-grand Pennsylvania Rail Station. Artists, writers, and filmmakers, from J.D. Salinger to Alfred Hitchcock, were so inspired by the architecture that they designed entire scenes around the building just to include it in their works. [12:44:55] As the gateway into New York City, it symbolized all the prestige and grandeur of the city at the height of its acclaim. But then in 1963, in the name of progress, End Station was torn to the ground. Vincent Scully lamented over the loss. [12:45:12] Through it, one entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat. preservation movement existing at the time to defend it. Penn Station was quickly reduced to rubble, trucked out of the city, and dumped in a New Jersey landfill, but much of it remains to this day. The loss of Penn Station created an outcry across the country, the effects of which we still feel today. New Yorkers were so distraught over the loss that they immediately passed the landmarks preservation law, saving other historical buildings throughout New York. Maybe we had to [12:45:52] lose something as important as Penn Station, said Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for New York Magazine. I sometimes think of it as the building that died so that others might live. New York's landmark preservation law was a direct inspiration for the National Historic Preservation Act, which expanded those same protections on historical sites across the United States. [12:46:18] Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act charges the National Park Service with preserving and protecting America's story. Whenever the National Park Service has a project involving federal land or funding, Section 106 must be done. It also applies to any cultural resources listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The mission is to protect our history by ensuring that no historical structure or landscape will ever again be lost through lack of planning or foresight. While the impact of destroying a historic landmark like [12:46:54] Penn Station is obvious, many small and often well-intended projects in our parks could have similar unforeseen consequences. Digging a hole for a fence could accidentally cut through an ancient grave. A new comfort station situated in a battlefield could affect the viewshed. A new trail could lead to a sensitive resource such as an archaeological site. The grass you are maintaining never existed historically and could change the landscape. A new road adds shoulders and pullouts that could impact an archaeological resource. [12:47:28] Painting a historic building in new color or adding modern windows may change the historic character. The Section 106 compliance process helps us find solutions to balance the goals of historic preservation and park priorities and must be followed for every project. [12:47:44] It is for improvements as well as demolitions, for routine maintenance and upkeep, as well as new construction, for small projects as well as for big ones. Section 106 matters because our history matters. It protects structures like Penn Station from ever being lost again without first ensuring careful and thoughtful study. [12:48:04] Following the 106 process represents the respect we have for our resources and the guarantee that they will be protected for future generations. It is fundamental to how we, the National Park Service, fulfill a primary part of our mission to preserve unimpaired our cultural resources for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. [12:48:27] The reason I wanted to show this is it was brought up, Section 106, earlier in today's discussion. And it was brought to my attention sometime this week that it's likely that a 106 would not affect this project moving forward. [12:48:54] So why that's important is that if we don't have that extra barrier and we're about to advance this project through rezoning and we lose the ability to try to preserve some of these sites that we've been talking about that we've determined exist or just need to frame out those barriers, we can't do that post-rezoning. [12:49:19] We didn't get a completed phase one archaeological survey until October 27th of this year. It's less than a month and a half ago. So there wasn't enough time to thoroughly vet things Marble Hill. [12:49:39] Marble Hill is labeled as a slave cemetery. Nobody brought that up today. They're talking Marble Hill. There's two cemeteries at Marble Hill. It's Cushing Cemetery and the Marble Hill Slave Cemetery. That's the one that's right on the border that still hasn't been delineated. [12:49:55] Whether it sits on a footprint or not, that would qualify for a National Register Historic Place and meets that criteria. And the process that need to be put in place to protect sites like that can't be done after rezoning. [12:50:15] Follow Virginia state law. Virginia state law allows for reinterment of those types of sites. Not to say that that's what's going to happen, but it's happened in other places in Virginia as early as three years ago in Mecklenburg for a similar data center complex. [12:50:39] So these are things that I'm concerned about. I think the board should be concerned about. So I'm asking for a delay of all three. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Pearsall. And before the next speaker, I'd like to call up numbers 101 through 105. Good evening, Supervisors. [12:51:06] My name is Thomas Persing. I reside on Marble Hill Lane in Cat Harbor, Virginia. I'm here in support of the applicants. And in the interest of everyone's time, I'll try to keep this short. As others have said, I don't think there's a whole lot that can be said today that hasn't been said before. To be frank, this day has been a long time coming, and I do want to highlight the fact that representatives are supposed to represent their constituents, not their parties or the people they hope will become their constituents if they get into higher office or their personal interests or the interest of special interest groups. [12:51:37] And today, the constituents of primarily the Gainesville District are divided about the direction they want this development project to go. And that puts Supervisor Ware in a pretty tough position. No matter how he votes, some of his constituents are going to be unhappy with him today. In the years that I've been involved in this process, I have to admit how surprised, proud, and grateful that I've become to those on this board who recognized and supported a good idea without allowing partisan politics to get in the way of their constituents' interests. [12:52:07] An idea that was initially raised predominantly by people who were then Republican landowners in the Gainesville district. An idea that five different communities had, communities of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Asians, Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, and Mayflowers all came together on. [12:52:28] An idea which was unified and adopted by this board for the benefit of all constituents represented here that we now call the digital gateway. This is an idea now that in a zoning application, the board can approve in a legally binding manner to cement the benefits that it will produce for all of our community for years to come. [12:52:48] Tonight, it's going to take courage to publicly disagree with the planning office who seem to have their own plans for this county. It will take courage to make it clear who's in charge of Prince William County, who holds the power in Prince William County, and who makes things happen in Prince William County. For as long as Prince William County is a courageous democracy, that power is the board's power, your power. [12:53:09] Over the past couple of years, we've seen it's a power that can't be intimidated with lawsuits and baseless allegations of corruption. It can't be baited with the racist political cartoons or distorted historical facts, or easily manipulated with as many red herrings as could be put into the kitchen sink. [12:53:26] It's a power that's not going to defer the county's governance to Fairfax Water, or be delayed forever by stalling tactics in the hope it will go away. This isn't going away, because it's you, the board of supervisors, who are here to stay, who are here to demonstrate to your constituents in places like the Potomac District and the Occoquan District and the Nabisco Districts that you're the person who can get the job done, that you're looking out for your constituents' interests, and that you can be trusted to have the courage to do what is right rather than what is easy. It's time for you all to demonstrate that courage to the world, from those watching this meeting in places as far [12:54:03] away as NTT in Japan or Altus in Portugal, or to those who are as close to us as Iron Mountain 10 miles up the road that this board is who has the power and decides what happens in Prince William County and that no one else has that power no matter what method is tried to undermine you thank you all for your commitment your support your competence your tenacity your willingness [12:54:27] to serve and of course your courage thank you thank you next speaker please thank you for your [12:55:07] patience sorry about that my name is Stephanie Chartrand I live in the Gainesville district I've been in this district for 38 years. I'll be speaking to all three rezonings in general, please. So tonight, the applicants have shown us many beautiful concept photos. So what was missing from the applicants' images of the walking and bike paths and the proposed museum and cultural center for the post-Civil War Thornton community of freed blacks? What was missing? The data center [12:55:41] buildings. The myriad of industrial size backup power generators and high voltage overhead power lines were missing. A proper setting is critical to recreational and cultural interpretations. This is a photo of the Village Place Data Center campus on Route 55 near Cat Harpin Road in Gainesville under construction now. I need some imagination at this point of the day if you can help me out here. So please imagine that the homes that you see pictured here are the Thornton [12:56:16] Historic Community Cultural Center or walking or biking paths within the Digital Gateway campus. Imagine that there are high voltage overhead power lines and support towers. Imagine the noise and the exhaust from hundreds of backup diesel generators during monthly testing or, heaven forbid, being called into service to meet the operational requirements of the data centers when the grid is stressed. We're getting a feel for how interpretive and recreational setting [12:56:49] is impacted by dozens of concrete box buildings and overhead power lines. When did anyone ever say, hey, let's go take a walk or visit the new museum in the data center campus? As well, when did anyone ever say, let's take the horses for a ride through the concrete canyon. So this is a picture of the [12:57:25] Shirley Cemetery. This is a solution that the county came up with to preserve this historical cemetery in the Virginia Gateway shopping center at Linton Hall Road in 29. It's very nicely done here, very respectful. Again, it's a strip shopping center setting. Okay, this is the Shirley cemetery from another perspective facing toward the shopping center. And I'll need a little [12:57:59] imagination here as well if you would indulge that, please. The green roof that you see over there with the garage doors is an auto service center. So imagine that that car service center is an 80 foot tall building and that there are a few more like it near a historic cemetery. Just imagine [12:58:23] that. So this is the site of the I-6629 Tech Park in Gainesville, after tree removal, looking to the north, and adjacent to a historic and an operational cemetery at Route 55 and Cat Harpen Road. So this [12:58:59] is the same 6629 Tech Park site before tree removal, looking northwest. You see a greater view of the cemetery there. And I'd like you to please note there's a historic marker in the back there near to the left where the black silt fence is. So this photo's perspective is west-facing, and it's a close-up of that historic marker that I had pointed out in the last picture. [12:59:37] It was erected by the County Historic Commission in 2017. Immediately beyond the silt fence is more of the 6629 tech park yet to be developed. And I'd like you to note in the distance, the top left of this photo, note the data centers under construction across the street to the southwest. Historic and cultural interpretations, outdoor recreation require proper setting. Proper setting matters. [13:00:15] So what about some other unintended consequences of this industrial development to people and animals. The three proposed rezoning applications will continually require a couple of gigawatts of electricity at completion. This requirement is roughly equal to the electricity used by three times the current number of households in our county. The power required by the data center campus will be flowing continually to infrastructure in close proximity to each other. Unless I've miss something, I have not heard anything about the impacts from electromagnetic fields that the [13:00:54] continuous power flow will create. Consider the impacts to, one, persons with implanted medical devices who currently live close to the proposed data centers. Two, people walking or biking along the improved Pageland lane. Three, visitors to the proposed Thornton Freed Blacks Cultural Center. [13:01:18] Four, visitors to the Manassas National Battlefield. And five, horses, wild birds, and wild animals. So our county has not yet established thoughtful and proper design guides, noise ordinances, or public health policies to proper manage the negative impacts of data center industrial developments. [13:01:43] The cart is before the horse. It's nobody's fault. It's just how it is. The cart is before the horse. The Commonwealth of Virginia expects that localities will have the proper development tools and decision makers who will protect citizens, resources, and existing businesses. [13:02:03] The Commonwealth does not have sufficient regulations in place to properly protect people's health, natural and historic resources, and the power grid. Virginia is not ready to properly manage the data center industrialization sprawling across the Commonwealth and concentrated here in Prince William County. [13:02:27] Virginia is not ready for data center prime time. These rezoning applicants know it, and the landowners along Pageland Lane and speculators along Saunders Lane to the north and Carthapen Road to the west are very anxious to cash in from the data center development lottery. [13:02:50] Please listen to your professional planners and protect county residents, historic, cultural, and environmental resources. Please postpone, at a minimum, these three rezoning applications and do not accept any more rezoning applications for data centers until the updated county ordinances and design policies are in place. [13:03:15] I would prefer that you would deny this. I ask you to deny it. I'm not sure if you've got it in you to deny it, but that is my request. If you cannot deny, I ask you to postpone it. Please postpone or say no to the Gateway to Data Center sprawl. [13:03:36] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [13:03:49] I'm Patrick Harters with the Gainesville District. I want to talk about our history. A long time ago, a group of men were born into an evil and wicked world. They had a king or a dictator that owned the land, that decreed everything that would happen, and that allowed slavery to run rampant. [13:04:07] These men were inspired by people like John Locke and others that had them believing that they can make a better world, and they set out to do that. They challenged the greatest empire we had seen since the Roman Empire and defeated it. They then looked to see how they could coalesce a government, bring these states together from a confederacy into a union. [13:04:32] And when they did, they came out with a statement that said, we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union. The thing to keep in mind is they were forming. It's active. It wasn't a done deal. Establish justice, domestic tranquility, provide a common defense, and promote general welfare for the security and blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. [13:04:55] Do ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States of America. There are many out there that would say, these men don't deserve honor. They don't deserve respect because they did not solve all the issues of their day. They were born into an evil world where a lot of evil things happened. [13:05:11] And the worst thing that our country has ever done is slavery. And they did not solve that issue with the Constitution. They couldn't do it at that time. They felt that the union would fall apart. So they went out and they put a secret pill into the Constitution that they would not import any more indentured servants or slaves into this country, thinking that would bring the end to slavery. [13:05:33] Because prior to that, populations would decrease. when there's no hope. But Americans are different. It doesn't matter if Americans are facing a giant, if they're facing Germany, if they're in bondage and chains. Whatever the situation, Americans bring hope to the rest of the world because they're inspiring. They have a hope and an ability to overcome. And even an enslaved population, their numbers grew. And we did not get to a point to solve slavery until the 1860s. And the amazing thing is it happened here, here in Virginia, [13:06:10] right at the Stone Bridge on 29, at the Sudley Ford up north, and at Pageland. That's where the battle happened. And I've heard people even in this government say that they don't want to honor this place, they don't want to respect it, because they don't understand the history that happened. [13:06:26] Men came from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, and laid their lives down. Blood was shed right on that battlefield. And that battlefield expanded quite a distance. My son and I were out two weeks ago out in the rain just with the metal detector in our yard and we found old bullets three inches down. That blood happened right there. So early we heard a Pageland person say they found no artifacts on Pageland. That's crap. We all know that is because there's artifacts all over the place there. My son kicked one up in the driveway one day. There's bullets all over. There's bloodshed that happened all over there. This in itself would be enough for [13:07:05] us to say we shouldn't put this battlefield there. This is a place that should be honored. After all, this was the fulfillment. The Civil War may not have begun with the freeing of the slaves, but Abraham Lincoln took that opportunity to say this is where it ends. And this was the fulfillment of the Constitution where they wrote, we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This was the fulfillment of the dream of building the city on the hill, and this is an amazing spot. And if this story ended here, [13:07:40] that would be enough. That would be enough to say this is a terrible place for QTS to decide to build these industrial menacing buildings and an industrial warehouse and build superhighways all around. That would be enough. But some of you may be old enough to remember Paul Harvey, and he would say, and now the rest of the story. And the rest of the story is about a wonderful little girl who was born into slavery. And I don't care who you are here, nobody understands what this person went through. None of us have had that type of life. Nobody's been in chains. Nobody's been, [13:08:15] had this situation at all. I mean, nobody has been treated like cattle. She was. She came out of slavery into freedom, and as a young African-American girl in the 18, late 1860s, went on to get an education. And she did what was inspiring. She came back to her community and devoted her life to training up the next generation and the next generation and the next generation. And her family burial lot is right there. If anybody had any foresight, they would say, this is the most inspiring story, more inspiring than Gettysburg. This story of going [13:08:51] from where the battle began, where the demarcation of the end of slavery started, to the inspiring story of this young girl training up generations of people. We should continue this park and try and continue to draw people in from around the world so they can hear this story. [13:09:13] To the old saying, America always does the right thing after they've tried everything else. And we do. We make mistakes all over the place. But ultimately, Americans do the right thing. And we have to think of our posterity. How are people going to judge us? [13:09:29] You know, will my grandchildren say, or great-grandchildren say, why did you not fight harder to stop this? Or to others, why did you sell out? Is this how great-grandpa made his money? This is embarrassing. Or to people who passed this, or QTS who decides to build upon it, how embarrassing. [13:09:48] I do say there's a greater day coming. We will see unity again in this county. This has been such a divisive, terrible time in this county's history. These meetings are just obnoxious, up till people getting here at 6 in the morning, people don't sleep, away from kids, away from families, just trying to push things through. [13:10:12] I was just out in the hallway, and I was asked by something that's very hopeful. I was speaking with DeShundra Jefferson, and she asked me if I would read this in, to show a libertarian conservative and a Democrat coming together to say, the future is going to be bright if we do the right things now. [13:10:34] And she asked me to write, we affirm our opposition to the Prince William Digital Gateway, and we strongly urge the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to vote down the application supporting it. 33 environmental groups raised significant issues regarding the environmental impact of the proposal, and the Planning Office and the Planning Commission have both recommended this project not go forward due to concerns regarding energy usage, impact on the ecosystem, and the effect of the historical landmarks. [13:11:02] We also learned yesterday about the challenge to whether the county officials properly posted the public notice of these hearings in accordance with state law and state ordinance. When considering data center applications, the Board of County Supervisors needs to make sure these projects don't interfere with homes, schools, state, national parks, forests. [13:11:19] We urge the County Board of Supervisors to follow the planning staff and commission's recommendation for denial. That's our incoming chair. That was Danica who also said that. You have to vote this down. [13:11:35] We have to make sure this is done right. We can't continue to do illegal things. We need to make sure we act as a unified people. There aren't these great divides locally. Locally, we want what's best for our children, for our community, for our environment. [13:11:51] Yes, there's divisions nationally. But locally, I'm sitting in a room with 50-50 Democrats, Republicans, and we have a great time together. There is hope. We don't need to be divided like this. We can have a better tomorrow, but we need to make sure we do the right thing. [13:12:12] And after all, your children and your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, are going to be judging you. And if we are this harsh on a group of 20- and 30-year-olds, Jefferson and Hamilton and the rest of them, for not fixing all of the problems that they had, how are you going to be judged for creating the problems that are going to come about because of this decision? [13:12:33] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Harders. Next speaker, please. Hello. [13:12:51] My name is Luis Gonzalez. I live in Prince William for the past almost 20 years. I speak on behalf of the, you know, I'm favored with the Digital Gateway. My wife, she worked for the Prince William as a school, in the school system. [13:13:10] My daughter, she goes to the high school in Fort Sparks. I strongly support the Digital Gateway because it's offered thousands of good jobs for electricians. Other skilled class persons such as myself, I am, you know, electrician. [13:13:29] I am proud to be a member of IB Dialog26. The data center provides thousands of jobs, not only for the construction of the data centers, but also for the upgrade, monitoring, constantly the upgrade. [13:13:47] People do not realize the large numbers of the jobs that data centers take place. After they are built, this probably will be possible for the electrician and others Trace people who are closed from home to be closed for the families. [13:14:16] It will allow our union to recruit low-income minority residents to join our apprenticeship program. It will offer a boot to the living standard to the workers in the content of tax revenue to support our school. [13:14:42] In my opinion, as a resident of the county, the digital gateway is the best thing that could ever happen to the working class resident of Prince William. I respectfully ask you to vote in favor for digital getaway, and happy holiday to everyone. [13:15:03] God bless you. Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez. Next speaker, please. And before our next speaker starts, I'd like to call up 106 through 110 to line up in the back of the room, please. [13:15:18] 106 through 110. Please proceed. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. Ms. Franklin, I definitely appreciate you. You are one of my district of Woodbridge. Thank you. I would thank you a million times for bringing me back home, for giving me the chance of spending the time with my family. [13:15:44] I thank you, all the members who are voting for this rezoning. It's so funny, again, here it go again. Many people are blaming you guys for everything, right? Yeah. So nobody who lives across the street from this project asks themselves when they move into their home, Was that house built on top of a cemetery? [13:16:12] Was there a soldier body from the history there? Nobody asked themselves that. They just moved into that home, right? But now that something, a data center has popped up, now they want to blame the board. Let's preserve history. I'm for history. [13:16:30] Trust me. I come from a country who's been in the war all the time. I've seen dead bodies all over the place. I came here when I was 14. So this country has given me so much. So I'm in for the history, but we've got to stop blaming other people for our faults. [13:16:54] So many of us, like I say, they worry about the environmental, the water, and everything, right? But how many of you guys have in that house in the back of your yard? None. I bet you they have three bathrooms, maybe four, in their houses, right? [13:17:11] These data centers, the ones that I have worked, which is one of the big ones, only have three bathrooms. With max, maybe 25 people work in it, right? So it's easy to blame other people. [13:17:30] It's easy to talk about environmental, but we are part of that. We are making those decisions of wasting water, taking 25-minute showers, using toilets multiple times. [13:17:52] But we are doing that. But it's easy, like I say. I can come over here and blame you guys for what I do. but you know I thank you for many things you guys what you guys do for bringing the data centers because now I don't have to travel to Maryland I don't have to travel to DC I can come home in a half hour from Manassas from Ashburn and be and watch my son's seven-year-old practice soccer which I couldn't do before because guess what I might leave DC at 2 30 but I'm gonna get here [13:18:30] at five o'clock. So I thank you guys. Thank you so much because you're not only changing my life, but the life behind me. Those young guys who are going to go to a 602 school here in Manassas because we're thinking of them, because we want to give them an opportunity, because we want to give them a better life. And that's what you're giving to these kids by doing this, by approving [13:19:02] these data centers. You've given it to me in the last two years. And like I say, I cannot thank you enough for what you guys are doing. And like I say, it's easy to blame all the people, but we don't take our own blame. Because like I say, a lot of these homeowners got pools, got basements, but they're never asking themselves a question. What are we doing to preserve the environment? Did we ask the right question when we moved to hell? Guess what, where I don't live at. I don't live [13:19:41] where those battlefields are. I live here in Woodbridge because I know there was no battlefields. There's no guessing. So it's easy to accuse people, but take action. Take responsibility. Stop blaming other people for what you have cost. [13:19:59] And like I said last time, if you don't want a data center, then throw your phones away. Throw your computers away. And then you have less data centers. It's easy to say, oh, build them next neighbors, next house, next town. [13:20:16] Yeah, but you want to continue the luxury of using your phone, right? Out of expense to somebody else? No. If you want to continue to be responsible, then build it in the backyard of your house. And that's why I say don't blame you guys for that. [13:20:38] So I thank you, and I appreciate what you guys have done for my family, and I appreciate what you guys are going to do for hundreds of people like me, the low incomes who became a middle class for the benefit and to retire with dignity. And that's what data centers offer me and a lot of people here. Thank you and Merry Christmas. Thank you. Next [13:21:04] speaker, please. Hello, Kevin Parker, Neabsco District, three applications. When I first heard about the digital gateway, I thought it might be a good thing. Data centers have to go somewhere, why not here? But as I've learned more and more about it, I have become more skeptical. First of all, the claims about taxes seem too good to be true. And I've noticed when things seem too good [13:21:43] to be true, you know, I think we are mesmerized by this beguiling vision of increased taxes. Folks do like to think about what they would do if they had a bunch of money. If we get this tax money, we could do all these things. We could have roads, we could have schools, we could have parks and low personal property tax and police and fire and a giant multi-million dollar sports complex. [13:22:14] We could have everything. This is why people play the lottery, right? We love the entertainment of thinking about what we could do with a lot of money. People do this a lot. It's a big pastime. [13:22:30] This is likely what we're doing here. These developers are giving us the opportunity to dream. It might be real. We might get everything. But as fun and as entertaining as that is, It is not something that we should really base public policy on or land use policy on. [13:22:49] Besides, if, when, we don't get the taxes in 15 to 20 years, what are we going to do? Tell them to go away because it didn't work out? No, they will be here, and I'm sure they will have very good and persuasive reasons why the tax windfall didn't happen. [13:23:06] They will say, yes, that was the estimate, but it didn't turn out that way. It probably won't even be in the news. Do you even know what was promised by developers 15 years ago? If a company said there was going to be retail in their mixed development, but they only ever got it around to residential, is that a new story? [13:23:25] Would the headline that data centers pay hundreds of millions less than estimated even happen? Sometimes information about taxes is hidden, sometimes even with very public figures. The tech companies are not known to happily pay their taxes. [13:23:45] Recently, there was a headline about how IRS says Microsoft owes $29 billion in back taxes. I hear stories about how Apple and Amazon are avoiding taxes. Big companies are always, always trying to pay as little taxes as possible. They put considerable manpower and energy towards it. [13:24:03] Contrast that with your average resident at Prince William who does not have a team of accountants and lawyers always working to have them pay less taxes. The middle class person is busy, so they end up paying. So I'm skeptical that as the supporters repeat that the county will be getting millions of dollars in taxes in 15 to 20 years. [13:24:24] When a big industry comes into the community, they tend to wield a great deal of influence on the community. Instead of a balance between the industry working for its interests on one side and the representatives of the people working for the public's interests on the other side, what can happen is that the representatives of the people become beholden to the industry, then there's no real balance. [13:24:47] It becomes a show of balance, and really both the industry and the politicians work for the benefit of the shareholders. There are many cases where industry and government include to have profits go to companies while the costs go to the people. Examples where pollution makes people sick and the companies profit, or when the public pays for research and big pharma profits, or big banks, or oil and gas. [13:25:13] Like, every week, John Oliver has another one of these things that's an example. This looks like this could be another one of those situations. Most clearly with energy. Dominion has to provide power to anyone. So the big cost of the infrastructure go for power is falling on all the rate payers, data industry profits, but people's power bills will go up. [13:25:33] So in addition to taking into consideration the downsides presented by other commenters, please be properly skeptical of the upside. Don't be blinkered by promises about things that are in no way guaranteed. I think you can choose to go slow with this. [13:25:51] Don't be swayed by the old trick of limited time offer. You have to act now. Salespeople, marketing, create a false sense of urgency. No. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. I'm Dr. John Liver from Gainesville, and I'm requesting 15 minutes representing the American Legion Post 1799. [13:26:20] And this is their official position? Yes, ma'am. Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Do you need to see my ID card or anything like that? I'm so sorry. I was just asking you whether it was their official position. You said, yes, I trust you completely. Wow. Thank you. Need the overhead, please. [13:26:35] As some of you know, I'm retired from NASA. I launched rockets for 30 some years with the space agency. This was kind of the motto that we live to. If you don't have time to do the research, the design before the launch, what makes you think you're going to have time to do it right [13:27:10] the second time or even be able to fix it? Now, some of you are on your phones right now, Miss Bailey, and please put your phone down and listen. Thank you. But what is happening here is you haven't done your homework. The county has not been able to answer questions. I heard many, many open issues earlier today. We would never have launched back in my NASA days because you don't have your homework done yet. Let me go through a few examples here. This one is out of [13:27:49] the CPA, the ordinance that was signed, and you can see the sections in red that require a detailed acoustic test and studies done. It also requires, down in the lower part, a sound study to ensure compliance condition times for routine testing of generator equipment. First thing, Compass has never submitted a noise study. They are in direct violation of the upper paragraph. Direct violation. [13:28:19] This is an ordinance. Second thing is Compass has not submitted anything in their noise study that says anything about diesel generators again a direct violation of the ordinance that you folks wrote and yet they're pushing to continue so let's look a little bit at that at that qts sound study and this is in the fourth submission they showed noise levels were going to be 46 to 54 decibels [13:28:58] for all the data centers that are built however they only showed about 20 buildings that are in the QTS area. But when you look at the numbers and work the numbers backwards, they only counted for six buildings in their analysis. Is that a miscommunication? Is that a purposeful misdirection? [13:29:21] Or is it what we used to call a lie? You can answer that one. They say in there, it is going to be 125 decibels on the roof. That's page six, table 3.2. That's their number, not mine. And there is no attentive materials present. So they're not going to reduce the sound levels any. The distance, as you go down into the third check mark in the second part on page 10, [13:29:55] in 200 to 250 feet, their noise study is dropping from 125 decibels on the roof to 54 decibels at .NSR7. That's a drop of 70 decibels or a factor of 10 million, 10 million in the amount of energy in 200 feet. That's a drop of a decibel for every three feet. This is physically impossible. Physically impossible. Let me say it again. This is physically impossible. The planning [13:30:34] staff for this county hasn't got a clue what this means. They don't understand this chart, But what QTS is trying to sell you is physically impossible. All right, let me show you another thing that's not complete. The infrastructure analysis. [13:30:55] I stood here in this spot a little less than two years ago and asked Chair Wheeler directly, and then we swapped a couple emails, on the infrastructure analysis. Where was it going to be done? There still isn't any. [13:31:11] I was told it was impossible to do. It was impossible to come up with an infrastructure study. Well, there it is. I guess I've done the impossible. A two and a half, a two and a half billion dollar a year county can't do an infrastructure study. Mr. Shorter confirmed that for me this summer. Now, let's talk a little bit about what this study, they first claimed $700 million every year. Then it [13:31:44] dropped to 400. Well, what they did in that study, first they used the wrong year for tax rates. The year that they cited was 2021, not 2022. Misdirection, a confusion, or what we used to call a lie. I don't know. Their tax estimate, when they have several other errors, ends up to be 45% too high. 45% too high. The valuations, they did it completely wrong by your own county rules. [13:32:22] I guess this is why it's impossible is because the finance office physically cannot do their own job. So I said, well, let's match them against what the County Economic Development Office does. [13:32:38] County Economic Development Office claims a rate of about $9,700 a square foot for C&P and F&F taxes. In the study, they used about $700. [13:32:54] They're off by an order of magnitude. Not even close. and you wonder why they can't figure out what the heck's going on. Let me go back here to this infrastructure study. You start up at the blue lines at the top. [13:33:12] This is the county rate and the county numbers, and that's what they gave you. That's the $400 million, but they never came back and redid it for the rezoning size. The rezoning is asking for $22.5 million square feet instead of $27.5 million square feet. [13:33:28] So they're seeking, and Supervisor Wheeler's notes to the county in the Wheeler report claims 400 million dollars 400 million dollars 400 million dollars that's what she says over and over but that was for the wrong size project is that a misdirection is that a confusion on purpose or is it what we used to call a lie so you get down to the purple line there's no depreciation accounted for read the prince william county tax rules on depreciation not included and then you get down the green bread and brown the brown at the bottom is after you've taken the debt cost [13:34:06] the cost of the infrastructure, cost to hire new county employees, the cost of maintenance of the park lands. And there is what you see the real revenue is by a study that your county cannot do. And look there at year 20, the annual revenue, net revenue for this county is a loss of $3 million that year. This is a really good financial study. Now I know why the chair doesn't want this study [13:34:37] done. Okay, so let me summarize here before I continue on with my next point. Here are some of the big open action items. Let's see if we consider those as a group to be large items. [13:34:59] Infrastructure analysis. We don't know what this is costing the county. We don't know what other infrastructure we're going to need from the county. I read it in the CPA. Your county can't do that. I read it in the rezoning applications. Apparently the county can't do that. Thank you, Chair Wheeler, for stopping that. Tax revenue estimation. Misdirection. Confusion. 45% error starting with the wrong tax year. Is that fair? Is that proper information to the county residents? I [13:35:33] don't think so. Water study. June of a year and a half ago. Yeah, we're going to do a water study. Where is it? Has it been started yet? Where's the water study? That's the Occoquan water study. [13:35:51] The noise study. This county physically cannot do a noise study. They told me it was impossible. Well, I've done that one too. We also found out, Mr. Shorter, we found out in the data center ordinance advisory working group meeting, this county does not have the capability to measure DBZs. Yet it is now in county ordinances that we will measure DBZs. They physically don't even own in a meter. How are they going to do it? Economic study? Don't get me started on that [13:36:31] one. That doesn't exist either. Impact analysis of the environment, the habitat, the long-eared bat. I guess we're just going to write off the long-eared bat. Effects on the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Ah, let me stop on that one for a second. The noise levels at the visitor center of the Manassas National Battlefield Park will be high enough so that by the EPA's direction and how they calculate that, people will be able to understand roughly 10% of the information [13:37:05] presented when they show up in a group. Basically, the National Park is out of the business of outdoor education by the noise at the visitor center. The visitor center is a fairly good distance away from the data center buildings themselves. Historical items, I heard more missing historical items today. I mean, the whole business of looking for soldiers. How many are buried? Do you care? Do we worry about missing and destroying black history up along there? Do you [13:37:43] care? I don't know because it hasn't been done. Nobody seems to want to take the time to do this job right. It needs to be done right. And what about this SUP? Are we just going to ignore the fact that they haven't filed the proper paperwork? Are we going to ignore the fact that there is no study done on how much electricity is going to be required? What I heard earlier this afternoon was that Dominion saying, no, we don't have enough power to power 34 new buildings on Pageland Lane. [13:38:15] I heard him say, we don't have enough power. Where is the county's power study to ask, do we have enough electricity? Can those wires that run up along Pageland physically handle the load? The gentleman from Dominion said, no. Where are we going to get those energized electrons from? [13:38:37] We never heard from PJM, but in PJM study this summer, they said basically they're in trouble because they don't have the sources for it. So where's the homework? Does the county know what the noise levels are going to be on the battlefield? [13:39:01] Do they know what you're going to do to this sacred ground? The answer, haven't bothered. How will the noise affect the culture activities proposed in the area? Well, we haven't bothered with that one either. What's the public health issues that are going to be addressed? [13:39:20] I've tried to get a hold of the county public health office. They officially don't care about noise. That's their official position. So why are we adding more noise? What's the effect on the federally endangered long-eared bat? [13:39:37] Remember, a bat finds its food by sound. And what happens when you fill the air with sound? Guess what the bat can't do? It's called eat. And then the question at the bottom, how will the county enforce the noise levels from the data centers? [13:39:55] We are seeing right now Tanner Way data center is violating the noise ordinance again, and the county is totally powerless to do anything about it. According to state law, they can fine them $250. [13:40:12] State law 15.2-980. $250 for the $1.1 trillion company Amazon. But we're keep, you know, let's prove more data centers. [13:40:28] Let's do more of it. So let me go back to this last proverb here. have you done your homework? Do you know that you've done all the answers? Do you know that you have the questions? I've just listed enough questions to stop the whole thing right dead in its tracks. I think that some of this stopping has been done on purpose. I think that QTS doesn't care because they know that you will. The county doesn't care about the noise, the environmental, the economic, the tax structure. They lied. They will not review it. Mr. Shorter and [13:41:08] is that right? We met this summer and we talked about it. Nothing has been done. I got to assume that either you don't know how to do it or you officially don't care or you have been told not to care. I don't know which it is. Is it misdirection? Is it confusion on your part? Or is it what we used to call a lie? Frankly, I don't know which one it is. But you know, there's an awful lot of things undone. And if this was a NASA spacecraft we were trying to launch, you wouldn't [13:41:41] even made it past the first launch review because you haven't done your homework. You haven't done your homework. Do your homework. Look into this stuff. Do what's right. The residents of this county deserve it. Thank you. Next speaker, please. And you're welcome. And while the next speaker's going, the numbers, we're up to 110. 111 through 115 are invited to stand up in the [13:42:18] back of the room. 111 through 115. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Al Griebel. I live in the Oak Valley. Can you speak into the microphone? It's really difficult to hear you. And I'm opposed to rezoning all the applications. Can you speak into the microphone? Is that better? You can start over. It was very difficult to hear you. Good evening. My name is Al Grebel. I live in the Oak Valley community near Gainesville. I am opposed to all the rezoning applications. If this meeting [13:42:53] has accomplished anything, it has at least pointed out the vast disconnect between Planning Commission and the board. And that's a pretty sad statement in my mind. I don't think there's been enough emphasis on that issue. I find it incomprehensible that the Planning Commission's decision posing the rezoning carries no weight with the Board of Supervisors. The board and we citizens have to rely on the integrity of the planning commission. Ignoring their recommendations [13:43:30] puts us all at risk. Apparently, the planning commission has no real say in matters of substance. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the functioning of county government at this level if the board can disregard the judgment and advice of the unbiased commission with members appointed for their knowledge and expertise to do what's best for all concerned. I wouldn't be [13:44:05] surprised that I could easily have heard a motion to dismantle that commission today. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Approving the rezoning with all the answers to the multitude of questions that are still out there, I think would be a huge mistake. There's too much at stake here for all of us, and I would recommend voting no for all of these applications. Thank you. Thank you. [13:44:39] next speaker please good evening name is Eller Gainesville district I've thought of a lot of things that I would like to say while I've been here for the last 12 14 14 hours plus and I know you all have too but I'd first like to say thanks to all the board members that have supported this and worked hard on it and I'd also like to say that I'd like to ask that you support it and vote [13:45:17] for all three three zonings but I'd also all the drama that I'm hearing from mostly the opposition mainly everybody that I've seen here that's spoke out against this it's basically boils down to not in my backyard well where then I mean this is a golden opportunity for the county and there's not that many other places that it would work so you let it slip away and another county takes advantage of what could be everything's a risk I hear people stand up here saying that certain things in life or a risk, buying this, doing this, whatever. But you never know until you try, and then look at [13:45:56] what you may miss out on. So anyway, you know, I could walk in here too and say, hey, I'm a member of the American Legion too. I just had to listen to 15 minutes of, with all due respect to the gentleman, we don't even know if his studies are correct, where they came from, how he came up with any of it. I'm sure he's an intelligent individual working for NASA, but, you know, he didn't say nothing about his tie to the, how the American, how his, you know, he was representing the American Legion and how they felt about it. That was just a ploy, in my opinion, to get 15 minutes to stand [13:46:32] up here and talk about his opinion on the project. For all the drama that's come out of here tonight that I've heard, I'd say just take a deep breath because, I mean, it's just a lot of overreach and exaggeration of a lot of the facts. [13:46:54] And anyway, I just ask that you give it good thought, and I'm asking you to vote yes for these three zoning applications. Like I said, I'm seeing very little common sense opposition to this thing. [13:47:11] Basically, people are grasping at a lot of reasons to not want this, and it boils down to basically because it's too close to where I live. So with that, happy holidays to everybody. Merry Christmas. Thanks for hearing me. [13:47:27] Have a good evening. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is Mark Buescher. I'm in the Gainesville District. I am speaking on all three of the rezoning applications, and I'm hoping that you will vote yes on them tonight. [13:47:50] Heard a lot of stuff today. We've all heard it for the last two years. I'll try to be brief. One thing that I noticed is the people that tend to be against it have a lot of fear. They are afraid it's in their backyard. They're afraid it's going to be too loud. They're afraid it's not going to make any money. They have lots of fears. And I understand that. [13:48:09] But I thought if you would let me, I want to share my fear. I've owned my house since 95 and next to me is 140 acre farm. And my fear has been that public sewer and water was going to come and it was going to be quarter acre lots all along my fence line. Data centers don't scare me because they're going to have big offsets. The housing development business doesn't. And just look at how close Heritage Hunt is to Conway Robinson. There's no offsets. They're right there on the park. Well, that's what would happen if houses are built next to the battlefield. There's no reason [13:48:46] to not go right up to the battlefield. With regard to this rezoning applications, I thought it was comical that they're pointing to the view shed studies. And they're saying, look, look, we can almost see a little bit of the building way in the back. And I'm saying, I couldn't see it beyond the power lines. I mean, that was the most prevalent thing in the view. I guess there's a data center structure back there. It just didn't seem like it was a problem. And the final point I'll bring up with regard to certainty and clarity, I think that the rezoning applications [13:49:20] already have nailed down the most important thing. You guys have beat them down to a far of 0.3. This is half the industry standard. This is half the density. Loudoun County does 0.6 all the time. So what does that mean? That means a lot more open space. All the fear that they're going to knock down every single tree can't happen because they're limited. The fears about, well, we don't know precisely the elevation of the building, but they might put a gable in later. Who cares? [13:49:50] They can't make it but so big because they're limited by the far. They're limited by the offsets. The real things we care about are already baked into the cake. So I ask you to approve these three measures. Thanks very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [13:50:14] Marilyn and Tony Karp from Haymarket. So if you're wondering why I am wearing my Grinch outfit, I guess I have to tell you, I'm just an attention whore. And Anne, you don't have to worry. [13:50:32] I'm not going to give you a finger tonight. Don't pray for me. Pray for yourself. So tonight, I am going to talk about the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. [13:50:56] The country has just finished mourning the loss of Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court. Sadly, with all her good works, her legacy is the one vote that she took in 2000 and the disastrous effects that followed. [13:51:19] supervisors, your Sandra Day O'Connor moment has arrived. Tonight's vote may be the most important of your lives and what you will be remembered for. In the past, you've okayed the construction of two or three data centers at a time. Tonight, you will vote on 37 in one shot, and depending on how you vote, it may affect your political future. It's still not clear just how many data centers there will actually be or their size or where they will be located [13:51:58] or if there is enough electricity and water to feed them. The plans seem to change from day to day. The actual plan for the digital gateway is long from finished. Thousands of questions remain unanswered. The developers have asked for up to 22.3 million square feet of data center space in a tiny area, five times the size of the Pentagon, and about the same as all the data [13:52:36] centers in Loudoun County put together. Maybe someone from the Guinness Book of Records is here, Green-lighting 37 huge data centers at one time must be a record of some kind. [13:52:52] Certainly, someone from the data center magazines is here. Tonight may be a great victory for the data center industry. The Digital Gateway will be the largest concentration of data centers in the entire world. [13:53:11] a project with estimated value of close to $30 billion, all to be decided by a lame duck session. Just one thing. The county agencies tasked with evaluating plans before the supervisors vote on all of them have all recommended that the applications be denied in three separate recommendations. [13:53:46] the National Park Service, as well as other government, corporate, and environmental groups have called for a pause to get a better grip on things before rushing forward. [13:54:02] Everybody says no, and nobody supports you with a yes. If you proceed to Greenlight Digital Gateway, you do so at your own peril. Even a cursory glance at the idea of putting 37 data centers in a tiny, isolated rural area adjacent to a national park, a state park, and residential areas is a recipe for a disaster that will affect thousands. [13:54:39] With all of this in mind, it may pay to hit the pause button, or you can choose to proceed with so many questions remaining. And there's the legal aspect. [13:54:55] If the Board of Supervisors decides to override the county agencies that recommend denial, there may be legal liability for the county for things that happen as a result of tonight's decision. And by knowingly ignoring the recommendations, the members of the board who vote in favor may also face a legal liability themselves. [13:55:23] A former president is currently finding that not even he is immune. A word of advice. If you're thinking of voting in favor of the data center industry, you may want to start talking to a lawyer before proceeding. So, Board of Supervisors, are you ready for your close-up? Thank you. [13:55:48] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Can I have the overhead, please? So, to be here, I haven't been promised a soccer field or been paid any contributions or bribes to be here today. [13:56:28] Can you give us your name and generally where you live? I'm Tayshia King. I'm a Gainesville resident. Thank you. As I said, I haven't been promised a soccer field or been paid any contributions or bribes to be here today. Big surprise, I oppose all three rezonings. QTS and Compass have shown that they can't sell this project unless they bribe or pay people. [13:56:48] This speaks volumes. The opposition has brought up real concerns over water and energy usage, the noise, the lights that will emit off buildings, the money it will cost to taxpayers, but somehow the supervisors on the eastern side of the county couldn't care less about our concerns. [13:57:04] The majority of this current board is more concerned about the money being funneled through to them or their next political move that they don't even bother hearing us. After realizing that the eastern side of the board only cares about the people that have money to pay them off, I believe that the two sides of this board need to be separated instead of making cross-county decisions that will not affect them in the long run. [13:57:26] You have divided this county. Congratulations. You've been given expert opinions, including by your own staff, that has recommended denial. However, between the money and the climb to a higher political position, we know how you will all vote. [13:57:43] QT is encompassed. Keep your parks that we will need to pay for and keep your bribery. Some of us can't be bought. We do what is right just because it is the right thing to do. Vote no for permanent residents, not temporary positions. Thank you. [13:58:02] Next speaker, please. But I will now call up numbers 116 through 120, if they want to line up in the back. We're 113 through 120. Feel free to go. Thanks. Good morning. I'll only need about three minutes. [13:58:19] I'm Jim Burgess. I reside in Gainesville, the proposed digital gateway, not being far from my backyard. You can call me a NIMBY if you so desire. Unlike those who favor this rezonings, I will not profit financially from it, nor am I gullible enough to believe for one second these rezonings will lower my taxes or improve my quality of life. [13:58:45] I spoke before the Planning Commission. I don't have time to repeat all the reasons these rezonings are a travesty to historic resources, the environment, and our quality of life. I suspect those of you who voted for the CPA last year aren't likely to admit it was a mistake and will likely vote to approve this obscene rape of rural countryside despite the rejection of your planning office, historical commission, and the planning commission. [13:59:17] Zoning is supposed to protect residential neighborhoods from commercial and industrial sprawl. That process is broken here in Prince William when developers can dangle carrots of wealth among landowners and promise of tax revenue to the county and get comp plans and zoning changed at whim while associated infrastructure costs are ultimately leveled on the rest of us. [13:59:41] This invites a perception of corruption. The county seems more inclined to support development interests at the expense of serving and protecting the public. There is adequate room for data center development and added tax revenue in the existing overlay district without intruding upon rural neighborhoods. [14:00:00] You need to draw the line on greed for more tax dollars or this environmental atrocity will continue to spread like a cancer in what's left of the rural Prince William County. There are no substantial buffers between the proposed data centers and residential neighborhoods and parkland. [14:00:21] No one will want to live next to these environmental obscenities or the electromagnetic fields of the transmission lines feeding these monsters. Adjacent landowners will see their property values plummet. [14:00:37] Developers will be ready to buy up their lands for a song and push for more rezonings. Residents will flee the county as it becomes one vast digital wasteland. This is not smart growth. Do you want this ecological disaster to be your legacy? [14:00:54] If so, history will not be kind to you or the Democratic Party. If there is any integrity left in county government, these rezoning should be denied and this part of Gainesville can remain a nice place to live. Thank you. [14:01:10] Thank you. Next speaker, please. [14:01:21] Good evening slash morning. My name is Elizabeth Nelson and I live in the Gainesville District. I'm here to speak in favor of all three applications. I've been hearing for two years that you don't listen, but what I think they really mean is you don't agree with them. [14:01:40] We're into the 14th hour now and the next day thus far. so I do think you listen, and I thank you for listening. You've listened to so many ideas, thoughts, opinions, facts, and figures, and unfortunately, you've listened to snarkiness, ridicule, insults, and incivility. [14:01:57] And you've listened to songs, poems, movie reviews, and prayers, one with the audacity to claim to know how God would vote on a land-use project in Prince William County. Might it not be more likely, or at least just as likely, that this is his plan to bless the entire county and all of its residents, to provide a way to pay for health and human services, mental health services, first responders, teachers, and open up the now-closed private land to the residents of the county. [14:02:28] This project has been conflated with the other data projects, which don't apply to this one. Complaints of too close to schools, but there are no schools on Pageland, or too close to homes, but we all, as a community, have reluctantly volunteered to vacate our homes for the greater good of the county. [14:02:47] Believe me, I'd prefer it the way it was before, but thanks to transmission lines cut through commuter traffic and Gainesville Crossing, it never will be. This is what I was two weeks ago leaving my house and going down Pageland Lane, and there were 103 cars already waiting in line to turn on Route 234. [14:03:17] 103. It went all the way down to Thornton. Then I passed another 33 cars headed to get in line just as I traveled the length of Page Line, which is only three miles. If it doesn't become, if this area does not become this cohesive digital gateway, it will become something, housing and a mishmash of retail and office buildings with even more traffic, more demands on county services, and not much more tax base. [14:03:52] So yes, I do think you listen, and I thank you for listening. But now you need to decide, and you will decide for all residents who will benefit from the increased tax base, the open access to the now-closed private lands, and a safer page land greenway. [14:04:08] Please vote to provide for a more secure and prosperous future for our county. Please vote to approve all three applications. And thank you again for listening. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. [14:04:25] My name is Edward Raley. I live in the Gainesville District. I'm speaking on all three applications. I'm for them. Please approve them. For the last two years and two years plus, you've heard the same roughly 200 people, same ones, come in here and say the same stuff. [14:04:43] What they say is highly correlated with their address, which typically is in the Gainesville district. So for a second, just put that aside and think of the other half a million people in this county and think of how they will benefit from the incredible economic opportunity we have in front of us. [14:05:04] Firefighters, police, education, social services, infrastructure, all of it. Just think about them, not the 200 people that come up here and tell you about their agenda. For five of you, you can figure out who they are. [14:05:20] I'd like to say thank you for your incredible perseverance and for your long-suffering. And just good luck tonight. Thank you for all you do. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [14:05:40] Good morning, or hello. This is, I am Rosemary Wright, and I live in Gainesville. i am going to speak on the three applications this evening and i'm going to start off with the digital gateway north rezone in so i'm going to start off a little on the boring side so here it goes the staff of the planning office and this is from them has stated that this case quite plainly by recommended denial of rezone in rez 2022-00032 digital gateway north their rationale includes lack of building footprint and site layout to lack of proffered elevations to [14:06:16] inconsistencies with the comprehensive plan and the many unresolved issues with the following agencies transportation department VDOT watershed management parks I told you it was going to be a bit boring parks and recreation land development Manassas National Battlefield Park Conway Robinson State Park County archaeologists and cemetery preservation coordinator in the historical Commission. The proposed re-zoning is not favorably aligned with the county's strategic plan goals associated with sustainable growth and environmental conservation, and what about that [14:06:51] public feedback? If you've been listening to the public feedback, some of the concerns include the environmental impacts on the county's wildlife, water table, environmental resources, soils and stormwater, runoff to concerns about impacts on culture and historic resources. There's been a continual request for additional studies to be conducted to further evaluate the feasibility and potential impact of the proposed development. [14:07:19] Other concerns include impacts to adjacent uses, including view sheds, noise and pollution, concerns about energy and water consumption and sustainability, the need for additional transition lines, increased traffic. It seems that the lists are endless. [14:07:35] Please do not reject the sound and valid advice of our planning office. You must vote to deny the Digital Gateway North. And so at this point, I'm going to wrap up between Digital Gateway North, Digital Gateway South, and Compass Data Center. [14:07:50] It's all the same. So it's all together. So these are my thoughts. Since I've been coming to these meetings, it appears that there is one common theme, and it's called selective listening. And I'm going to illustrate this with Gary Lawson, who used to do the far side. [14:08:09] And if you remember him, one of my favorite cartoons he did, this guy would come home from work and he would look at his dog and he'd talk to the dog like, hey, Ginger, I'm home from work. We're going to go for a walk today and I'm going to give you a cookie and everything's going to be good. [14:08:25] This is what Ginger heard, blah, blah, blah, cookie, blah, blah, blah, Ginger. That's what he heard. And when I come here, I feel the same thing from five of you, and we all know which ones you are, and you're selective, goes like this, blah, blah, blah, money, blah, blah, blah. So we need to be careful about being selective on what we listen to. So when I think why we are here tonight, the biggest elephant of the room is because, Chair Wheeler, you're leaving. You've got two plus weeks left. This is [14:09:04] a vote that's important to you and for others to get approved. That's why we're here. The applicant requested it. You could have said no, but you chose not to. That's why we're here this evening. [14:09:21] We're doing your bidding. So it must be a desperate time for you. It is for me. So when I moved to Prince William County, it was like living in a garden. That was the rural crescent. You know, there's another famous garden, the Garden of Eden. Man and woman were in there. What happened? [14:09:44] The devil disguised at a serpent came in and he put greed in front of them. What happened then? it was ruined. And this is how I look at this area, which is such a beautiful place and how we're about to ruin it. Any similarities? So I'm going to wrap up now. But what happened in wrapping up these three rezoning applications, what each of them have in common is that the vast majority of citizens who will not make $1 off of the sale are pleading with you to vote no. It is very akin to [14:10:20] watching a train wreck. If we can see the future of Prince William County, why can't each of you? It is time for you to get off the tracks before you wreck everything we love about our county. However, after the fiasco on 28 November, what a bad night, by the five Democrats on this board, by approving that Devlon technology pot, I'm not feeling very hopeful. [14:10:46] Your lack of compassion, your lack of knowledge, your lack of moral judgment, that day illustrated your lack of caring for the citizens of this county. Shame on each of you that you would sell out the rest of us. Redeem yourselves. Vote no. [14:11:03] This is not the right time. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Thank you, Chairman and Supervisors, for taking time to hear everyone's thoughts on this matter. [14:11:22] My name is Tom Whitmore from Manassas. I rise to support all three rezoning applications, Digital Gateway North, Digital Gateway South, and encompass data centers. And I apologize for my voice tonight. I got attacked by some black-shirted vampire out there. [14:11:38] You mistook me for a zombie. I have no financial interest in these projects other than the prospect of making Prince William County a better place to live and lower taxes. From the zoning and utilities perspective, the Digital Gateway is an ideal location. Many of the complaints are minor in nature and can be ignored or addressed in a permitting process. [14:11:59] The approval of these zoning applications needs to be viewed through the lens of what is in the best interest of all Prince William County residents. One example, for instance, is the sound thing we just went through. Everybody wants sound studies. You know, the state doesn't do a sound study on my 57 Chevy Hot Rod. [14:12:18] They don't care how much noise I can make. I'll tell you right now, it sounds like a damn rocket ship. But all they care about is when I get on that highway, I have a sound attenuation device attached to it. It's called a muffler. We have rules, we have ordinances, we have sound ordinances, and it's upon the people that are building these data centers to adhere to that, to install sound attenuation devices on their generators and their equipment that they have. [14:12:43] And it's not anything you can study now, it's something that you enforce later. I've been a resident for 49 years, and like many others, we moved here for good values in housing and lower taxes. We also thought Prince William County would grow exponentially over the years, and purchasing a home here would be a sound investment. [14:13:01] Within a few years, we began having doubts. The county was exploding with new residences, but not with business or employment opportunities. Over time, real estate tax rates started going up. The county did make an effort to bring in more business and jobs with the purchase of the innovation site, but it soon petered out. [14:13:19] First thing you know, we had our own road building department, and the residential home building boom really kicked in, but still no big business, no jobs. Soon, three-quarters of the workforce was commuting, adding to the need for more roads. Some referred to the Prince William County Road Building Department as the advanced guard for the home builder and development community. [14:13:38] Many of the homes built were below the tax break-even point. Yep, we were subsidizing builders and the homes they built. The we being every taxpayer in Prince William County. Previous boards promised more businesses, more jobs, lower taxes, but failed to deliver. The real estate tax rate, including fire and rescue, languished around $1.20 for several years, up until 2020. [14:14:00] For many years, we had the highest county tax rates in Virginia. I would hardly call that living in paradise. Since this board added data centers to the targeted industries list in August of 2020, new tax revenue has allowed the board to lower the overall tax rates significantly, all the way down to $1.04. [14:14:21] We need to stay on this positive trajectory and continue bringing jobs and tax relief to hardworking Prince William County taxpayers. The data centers represent a fast-track alternative to getting the county's residential to business tax-based ratio from an unhealthy 85% to 15%, whereas it has been stuck for years, to a healthier 70% to 30% or even 65% to 35% and eased the tax burden on residential taxpayers, while creating the cushion needed to add to other services and even be able to build more affordable housing, which by nature has to be subsidized tax-wise. [14:14:57] The folks opposed to the data centers have cited environmental and pollution concerns. Data centers are a clean business, eminently cleaner than a gas station or a shopping center, and there are plenty of those being built and no one's complaining about them. Data centers are a catalyst, a magnet, for other clean and high-tech businesses to locate here. [14:15:17] Opponents cite the need for vast amounts of electricity and fiber lines. Digital gateway site is situated beside a high-powered transmission line, and a fiber cable is present also. There's a lot of consternation about 40 to 50 foot high data centers, and what's being proposed to be 70 to 100 feet high. [14:15:35] Large homes in this area are typically 35 feet to the roof midline and 40 feet to the ridge line. Barns are typically 40 to 65 feet tall, and their silos can be 60 to 100 feet tall. There are many huge apartment and condo buildings here already, and more going up in the county that are 50 to 70 feet tall and higher. [14:15:55] Indeed, there's one going up right now just a quarter mile from here on the parkway. In the surrounding counties, there are hundreds of commercial buildings, 100-foot-plus tall, and many that are upwards of 300 to 400 feet tall. Just think how much help a few of those would be for the tax base here. [14:16:13] For the folks who think data centers are unsightly, they can be masked by judicious planting of trees and shrubs and the use of berms, something that is not typically done for large apartments, condos, barns, silos, and the like, some of which can be pretty ugly on their own. As for views from the battlefield, even 100-foot data centers could be effectively masked from view with tree plantings, while I-66 and the structures beyond and the tall electrical transmission lines aren't hidden at all. [14:16:40] You see them from most points on the battlefield. Data center opponents quite often cite preserving the Rural Crescent, but the Rural Crescent, by its very nature, is an elitist-type program where a small oligarchy tells everyone else what they can do with their land, Keeping the land rural looking is the state of goal of the rural Crescent Overlay District by blocking development rights in over 80,000 acres. [14:17:02] A freedom-loving approach would be through the implementation of conservation easements. Nearby counties maintain a rural appearance by encouraging use of these easements. Clark County is at nearly 70% of total land area. Falker is 50%, and Loudoun is at 25%. [14:17:17] And Prince William, there's been little appetite for. As only 550 acres of Prince William's 222,000 acres are in easements. They're not, you know, the landowners in Prince William County have spoken. They're not interested in giving up their development rights in the interest of rural appeal. [14:17:35] Building more low-cost affordable housing has been offered as an alternative to data centers. Sounds good at first, but when you look at the numbers, it's a bad idea. Data centers consume about 8% in services from the county out of every tax dollar paid, leaving 92 cents for other purposes. Residences, whether apartments, condos, townhouses, or single family homes, typically use every penny up to the break-even point of about $500,000 of assessed value. Those units under that level are revenue negative and have to be subsidized by every other residence, even those that are themselves revenue negative. The key is to balance this with high [14:18:12] revenue positive ventures like data centers and other businesses. If the board made it a priority, the county could very quickly get its anemic 85-15% residential to commercial tax base moved to a healthier territory like Arlington's 6040 or Fairfax's 6535, thereby easing the pressure on a residential taxpayer by increasing the business properties that are paying taxes but don't consume much of services. [14:18:37] The digital gateway would get us a long way toward that goal. I've heard folks complain that tax bills haven't gone down since the data centers came. It's true. I can't argue that. Neither has mine. But I'd like to remind them that the tax bill bottom line is the function of the tax rate and the assessed market value of their home. [14:18:55] If the rate's going down and the tax is dead, then their home value's gone up. What's the complaint about that? The sooner we get closer to a healthy ratio, the sooner we'll see the actual tax bills decrease. There's a small but well-organized, loud minority that has opposed development in the county for years at the expense of the vast taxpaying majority. [14:19:15] The question for you, the board, today is, are you going to do the right thing and tell them to pound sand and vote yes to offer these rezoning applications, thereby ensuring a brighter and lower tax to the future for all Prince William County residents? [14:19:31] This is an opportunity that we just can't afford to pass up. Thank you. Thank you. And before our next speaker, I will call numbers 121 through 125. [14:19:47] Feel free to line up in the back. Next speaker, please. Hello, my name is Lana Craven. I'm a resident of the Gainesville District, and I'm going to be speaking tonight, or this morning, on all three of the rezoning applications. [14:20:08] So in 2016, my husband and I were fortunate enough to fulfill our goal of purchasing a home that would allow us to raise our children close to nature, with chickens, bees, a garden, and land that is home to a variety of species. We worked hard to get to where we are, and we're sold on a promise of Prince William County's Rural Crescent. [14:20:29] Since moving in 2016, we have seen new developments pop up without care to ensure proper infrastructure needs are met prior to approval. Needs such as fire departments, transportation, schools, police, medical, and government facilities. [14:20:45] Our community is still lacking in the infrastructure department, but rather than attempt to fix it, There are several of you on the board that seem content in transforming the beautiful western end of our county into industrial blight, dangling the promise of the necessary infrastructure like a carrot above our heads to be paid for by tax revenue from the destruction of our landscape. [14:21:09] Why should we take your word on this? You gave us your word a water study would be done, and it hasn't. You gave us your word lights would be up at Cat Harpen Park, and yet somehow you managed to get Neabsco holiday lights up first. Our county already has 33 data centers up and running, yet there is no massive tax revenue. [14:21:28] Our schools remain overcrowded, teachers underpaid, and there still is little to no infrastructure in the West End. I am also concerned of the irreversible and detrimental consequences the digital gateway will have on our environment in both the short and long terms. [14:21:45] Noise and light pollution will, and already are, disrupting schools, homes, will impact animal habitats, some of which are endangered species. The Digital Gateway Project will eliminate over 2,000 acres of land that plays a crucial role in our watershed. [14:22:03] And yes, it's minuscule when you look at the maps the developers love to flash on your screens. But take note, these maps they show you are not topographical, and that matters when considering development in our watersheds. These three rezoning applications, if approved, will forever change the hydrological cycle of Prince William County. [14:22:24] We will have runoff. We will have sedimentation. How does this board intend on explaining to their kids and grandkids that they prioritized campaign contributions and unsubstantiated tax revenue over water recharge that sustains life? [14:22:39] I grew up in the chemical wastelands of Kodak, attended college next door to Love Canal, and have held the hands of family members and friends as they died of cancer, likely resulting from environmental pollution. With the construction phase and eventual diesel generators, the data centers will absolutely be contributing to fine particulate matter in the air, better known as air pollution. [14:23:02] According to the Union for International Cancer Control, exposure to air pollution increases the risk of diseases like cancer, stroke, and respiratory illnesses, and air pollution is known to cause 6.7 million deaths per year. [14:23:19] 6.7 million deaths. According to your own statement, the mission of Prince William County government is to provide the necessary services to protect the health, welfare, safety, and environment of citizens consistent with the community's values and priorities. [14:23:36] Your planning department, planning commission, dozens of environmental organizations, hundreds of citizens are all telling you that this data center campus in this particular location does not align with your mission and will bring harm to communities, schools, and residents both inside and outside Prince William County. [14:23:58] please consider the impact your decisions have today adhere to your mission statement heed the warnings do your part to make the world a better place and vote no or deny and defer all three rezoning applications thank you next speaker please my name is charles seltman i have lived in prince william county for 42 years in the gainesville district i would like to reiterate [14:24:35] previous comments. We have had data centers in this county for over 10 years and my taxes have not gone down. You play the shell game by reducing the tax rate while increasing the property valuation. My home property line backs up to one of the infamous power lines. Believe me, it is not pretty to look at. My sincerest wish is that you vote no on the three zoning applications. [14:25:08] but we know that you do not have the guts to do the right thing. The almighty dollar has transfixed you with its spell. I encourage you to think about what you are doing. In Sweden, yes, they have data centers with a crucial proviso, that they be self-sufficient with solar panels built on the roof or with wind power. [14:25:34] Additional trees are planted in a border around each one to shield against noise pollution and views of the concrete. The heat generated is channeled back into the power grid of the country. [14:25:51] Data centers are already responsible for approximately 2% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions, nearly equivalent of the entire global airline industry. In the U.S. alone, data centers are expected to use 200 billion gallons of water per year. [14:26:17] That's a two with 11 zeros after it. Water is used for two separate purposes in data centers, generating electricity and cooling the facility. Controlling the water usage in a data center is critical for several reasons. [14:26:37] Water availability is a critical factor in managing climate change. It is necessary for the development of agriculture and industry, and it is necessary to support a growing population. An EU-funded project constructed, tested, and validated a data center called the Bowdoin Type Data Center, one that is both energy and cost efficient. [14:27:07] It runs on renewable energy and relies on free air and evaporative cooling technologies without the need for refrigerants. It also uses low-carbon, locally-sourced building materials. [14:27:27] I encourage you to think about your decision. The fate of the Big Blue Marble is at stake. Remember, this is not just a Prince William County vote or a USA vote. This is an environmental planet. Vote. Do your job. Vote no. Thank you for listening. [14:27:50] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hello. I am Patrick McCauley. I live in the Coles District. I'm asking you to vote no on all three applications. [14:28:08] I live near Manassas Airport and within a quarter of a mile of two data centers. And there are five data centers within one mile of where I live. So I'm pretty familiar with data centers. They are part of my life, have been. They're about 15 within a three-mile radius, five under construction. [14:28:27] I see a lot of data centers every day, and there's a lot I could say about having to live with them. But there's one realization that I've come to in the last year or so that really has to be considered. And this realization is that these data centers are creating an obvious target for nuclear warfare. [14:28:45] More than half the U.S. Internet traffic is dependent upon the corridor between Manassas Airport and Leesburg. Some estimate it as much more than half. Originally, in the 1980s, the Internet was designed as a defense against nuclear warfare. [14:29:03] It was a grid of about 2,000 computers spread across the country, so that even if nukes took out 100, 200 of them, it would leave the system mostly unimpaired. In the first years of the 21st century, we thought that the Cold War was over. [14:29:21] We privatized most of the Internet and let market forces determine where the Internet infrastructure should go. So now we have a situation where 50% or more of the Internet can come down with three nuclear bombs between Manassas Airport and Leesburg. [14:29:37] In addition, the radiation fallout will cover the Washington, D.C. area, as well as pretty much all of the northern Virginia suburbs. We thought that the Cold War was over, but recently, every month, looks more and more like we're getting into Cold War II. [14:29:58] It's scary reading global trends. Russia and China have large nuclear arsenals, and they are constantly evaluating potential targets, just as we are potentially evaluating potential targets in their countries. If the digital beltway is built, the Russians may very well decide it's worth putting a fourth nuke into the Manassas Airport to Leesburg corridor. [14:30:27] Several speakers have pointed out that these data centers will eventually become technologically obsolete. Actually, we may need to close the data centers long before that, maybe within five years, just because so we can disperse these throughout the country the way the Internet was originally designed, disperse them throughout the country for national security and public safety reasons. [14:30:50] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, everyone. My name is Jessica Harasek, and I live in the Gainesville District. I'm here to speak in favor of the three rezoning applications. [14:31:08] You've heard many comments throughout the day about how, about from people who are in favor of this project, and I, too, want to share my thoughts. In fact, I want to share how I believe this project can literally save lives. CMS has mandated that in starting in just a few short weeks in 2024, the hospitals that Report to Inpatient Quality Reporting will assess all patients for social determinants of health. [14:31:41] And CMS defines social determinants of health as conditions within the environment of where people live, play, work, worship that affect their health, functioning, and quality of life. [14:31:58] When we assess for these social determinants, we're asking about and assessing for food insecurity, housing instability, utility needs, transportation needs, and experience with interpersonal violence. We know that by removing these barriers and these obstacles, by addressing poverty, discrimination, lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, and by providing quality education and housing, when we ensure safe environments, we have positive health outcomes. [14:32:34] Many hospitals, including the one where I work, have already started collecting this data. And what I see on a daily basis is devastating. The number of our county residents with housing insecurity, inability to pay for utilities, and lack of reliable transportation is devastating. [14:32:57] It's overwhelming. And as a nurse for over 20 years and a nurse leader here in this county, I've dedicated my entire professional life to improving health outcomes within my community. How can we expect to have a healthy county with healthy, positive outcomes when our residents can't access basic health care because of these barriers? [14:33:24] The tax revenue that this project will generate will help support and address these social determinants of health and how they negatively impact health and health outcomes to our residents. Supporting the Prince William Digital Gateway is just one more way that I believe I can continue my personal and professional mission of inspiring hope and transforming health care, not only here in the county, but throughout the entire Commonwealth. [14:33:57] And I urge this board to join me in that mission through your support of the Prince William Digital Gateway. And I thank you for your time, your patience. I hope you all go take care of your own health and get some sleep later today. And I look forward to your anticipated support of this project and our community. [14:34:19] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. And while our next speaker is going, I will call up numbers 126 through 129, as well as 136. [14:34:36] Hi, my name is Kristen Stanton, and I live in the Gainesville District. I will keep my remarks brief, not because I don't have much to say about this, as some have stated, but because I respect your time this morning, and clearly I'm tired. Recently, I received an email from a fellow Republican, Supervisor Lawson, stating that today was a pivotal moment in Prince William County, and I agree. [14:35:02] But I think we must remember some other pivotal moments in Prince William County's recent history. It was a pivotal moment when the high-power transmission lines were installed along Pageland Lane, forever altering the landscape. It was also a pivotal moment when the data center at Gainesville Crossing was approved, which is outside of the data center overlay district and in very close proximity to both Conway Robinson State Forest and the Manassas National Battlefield, neither of which has moved since Supervisor Lawson voted in favor of it. We cannot forget how we got here today. We cannot [14:35:39] ignore the fact that regardless of today's vote, the Pageland Corridor will change. If not data centers, it will be filled with thousands of residential homes that will put a severe strain on our county. We simply can't say no to millions of dollars of capital tax revenue and instead say yes to high-density residential housing that will impact more than the landscape of that area. [14:36:02] It will negatively impact schools, first responders, roads, and traffic. I thank the members of this board that have spent two years carefully examining this proposition and enduring the in-person attacks and name-calling in addition to the horrific online bullying that has accompanied it. My family and I appreciate your service as you work to find ways to propel our county forward, improving Prince William County for all of its residents. Please support all three [14:36:32] applications for the Digital Gateway. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning. My name is Lindy Atkins. I reside in the Gainesville District. I've lived in Prince William County for 54 years and to not belabor this any longer i'm simply going to say i support the um three motions here to be passed and i hope you will vote yes for it too thank you thank you next speaker please [14:37:07] my name is audrey atkins and i reside in the gainesville district and i'm here tonight not to rehash anything not to take anything away from what's been said for the last two years but just to remind you that we would like to have the data center i am in support of them thank you [14:37:35] thank you next speaker please good evening my name is jennifer wall and i reside in the gainesville district and i have for 20 years madam chair vice chair bodie and the esteemed members of the prince william county board of county supervisors it is my pleasure to be with you here tonight to share with you my thoughts on the three rezoning applications before you. You have heard many compelling arguments tonight. I will share with you my top 10 reasons [14:38:14] for why I am persuaded that a no vote is the right vote. One, first this vote should not be happening now. The applicant has not given you sufficiently specific information to be taking this vote now. No, this matter should be handled by the new board. You know that taking this vote now is primarily a function of knowing that you likely won't have the votes in January. Over and over, the people have expressed their opposition and at some times their approval, and at the very least, this vote should be postponed and addressed by the incoming [14:38:47] board. Two, your own planning commission advises you to vote no. Three, your hardworking and qualified staff recommends that you vote no. Four, you should be aware that the people in the western and of the county feel that they have been betrayed by the Board of County Supervisors. [14:39:09] The distrust that has been engendered by these actions may never be recovered. Five, this is a failure of local government. This is a land use decision. Deference should be given to the supervisors who represent the people who live in the western areas. [14:39:26] I'm sorry, but proper deference has not been given in this land use decision, and the people know it. This is bad governance. The vast majority of residents who are impacted by this proposal and project reject the digital gateway. [14:39:43] Good government demands that the citizens who are most affected be given the highest respect, especially in matters of land use and zoning. Again, this is good governance, and the people are right to feel betrayed by their leaders. Six, the deficiencies in the applications are a major concern, and the applicants cannot be trusted. [14:40:06] The data centers currently being built in Haymarket on John Marshall Highway are a case in point. They show why the concern of the lack of specifics in the zoning applications for the digital gateway are so serious. Those data centers show why we in the West feel betrayed. [14:40:25] Let's talk for just a minute about berms. On the John Marshall Highway Commons, the discussion was, oh yeah, we'll create berms, we'll hide those data centers. Well, guess what? they built the data centers on top of the berms. They're massive. They tower over the entire area. [14:40:45] As you drive into Haymarket, all you can see is data centers. They're taller than the mountains because of their position. There is no mitigation. That was promised. It's not happening. I don't know if we're going to plant giant sequoias on top of the berms to cover them, but it is not beautiful is not even attempted to be mitigated and people see this and yet here we have all of this discussion about how lovely it's going to be and how hidden it's going to be I'm sorry no one believes you because that is not happening seven this decision will lead to increased costs this [14:41:21] motion should it pass will lead to unknown costs and unknown consequences people who have spoken before me have a lot more expertise on this and they've given you a lot of data but I second what they're saying. They have spoken on the disastrous consequences, the things that we don't know, the unknown unknowns. Eight, it is a fiction that data centers will lead to increased revenue for schools. [14:41:46] The costs for infrastructure improvements will significantly cut into any revenues. It will be years before those revenues will be realized. The children who are in our schools now will be gone. They'll be in college. They'll be working. Who even knows if we'll need more schools at that time because people are going to leave Prince William. They already are. Meanwhile, impacts on the land, water, use, and enjoyment of surrounding properties, noise, nuisance, view sheds, wildlife, endangered species, and tourism will be immediate, and taxing computer peripherals is questionable. [14:42:21] It is the windfall we have been led to believe, and I will not believe it until I see it. Nine, the families who are already struggling to make ends meet as costs go up for electricity and water will struggle even more. Rising costs for fundamentals will be passed on to the consumer. [14:42:38] They always are. While everyone will be impacted, who will hit the hardest? It will impact most directly the children and the families across this county who are already struggling to pay for basics like food, electricity, and other utilities. Ten, Prince William County will be harmed by this vote. I have always felt proud to live in Prince William County. This issue of data centers taking over a beautiful, rural, historically significant, even hallowed ground has made me feel [14:43:16] differently about Prince William County. I know I am not alone when I say that because of this board and its actions, I have significantly lost faith in local government to do what is right. And I know that I am not alone in feeling that way. Look to your legacy. Do you want this as your legacy? [14:43:38] To conclude, a vote against this project would go a long way in restoring faith in local government. It would go a long way in restoring confidence in the fidelity of the decision-making process, in the usefulness of a planning commission, in the necessity of competent planning staff to advise elected leaders, and elected leaders who listen to their planning staff and their planning commissioners. It would go a long way in showing citizens that their local [14:44:12] government protects them against special interests and corporate callousness. So for all of these reasons, I urge you to vote no. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Can I use the overhead, please? [14:44:43] My name, excuse me, my name is Rachel Ellis, and I'd like 15 minutes as I'm speaking on behalf of the Shelter Lakes HOA. Okay. I do not have a financial stake in the Digital Gateway, and I'm not being paid to be here. This is a picture of Village Place Technology Park. This monstrosity belongs to all five Democrats sitting on this board. This is why, as a resident, I am grateful for Supervisor Weir asking extremely deep and pointed questions today to both staff and the applicants during the hearing. Gainesville residents were left without a voice on two [14:45:19] key land use votes that got us to this present hearing tonight. Shelter Lakes is a community of 49 homes located a little over three miles from the Pageland area. We are against the three rezonings for the Prince William Digital Gateway. We are a community fully reliant on well water and we have grave concerns with the lack of water studies conducted in the area for the impact of the Digital Gateway. This past year Virginia saw the driest year since 2007. Just last month almost 90 percent of Virginia was considered to be at least abnormally dry with almost half in moderate to severe drought. You owe it to county residents to conduct a water study prior to approval. [14:45:59] Our neighborhood has 115 kilovolt power lines running along one side of our subdivision. How much power will the digital gateway take and how will it get there? It is suggested the digital gateway will require two to three gigawatts of power. Shelter Lakes is how I know Chair Wheeler. I moved into this neighborhood almost 21 years ago and we became neighbor and friends and as she was already living here. We were friendly enough to each other over the years that I would care for her dog as needed or house it when she was out of town, so I like to think I'm a trustworthy enough person that Chair Wheeler gave me a key to her house. I'm not a random citizen who has just suddenly taken issue with the way the Chair has decided to run the county. [14:46:38] I am someone who knew Anne long before she sat on this board, and at one point I actually admired Anne. To give you some background on me, my parents moved into Cat Harpin directly across from the Pageland area in 1979. I have lived in the Gainesville area since then. I am a lifelong Prince William County resident. I believe that your integrity and your word is the only way to operate in life. Your reputation is the most valuable asset you have. Back to Chair Wheeler. [14:47:07] For 19 years, Chair Wheeler raised her family in a home that sat protected in the Royal Crescent on five acres directly adjacent to a farm, so close to the farm that she occasionally had a runaway cow or two in her yard. As a Shelter Lakes resident, she wrote an email in July 2012 inquiring about the sale of a farm on Shelter Lane, which was behind her home. [14:47:28] Quote, has anyone heard about the plans to develop more than the 19 homes it is owned for? It doesn't have water or sewer, but I was just double checking. End of quote. As a county resident raising her family, Chair Wheeler was concerned about what was being developed adjacent to her property. Chair Wheeler was known in the neighborhood as a Republican, so many of us were confused when she ran as a Democrat for the Gainesville District Supervisor's seat. [14:47:52] It is important to recognize that Wheeler was a Republican because many of her current actions on the board resemble more of a Republican lean than a Democrat one. I can think of one big Republican that loves data centers and is welcoming them to Virginia without a second thought to the environmental impacts, Governor Youngkin. [14:48:09] I would say that the vote last month on Devlin Technology Park was a vote for big business at the expense of working families. I would also say that Chair Wheeler's antics on the board, belittling other supervisors, which was on display during this hearing, and smirking during public comment time are more characteristic of former Republican Chair Stewart. [14:48:29] The division she has sowed among county residents and even supervisors, pitting the east end of the county against the west, seems to fall more in line with how Trump plays politics. Are you four supervisors paying attention? [14:48:46] In April this year, I ran into Chair Wheeler, and I stated that data centers are pricing out other businesses from coming into the county because they cannot afford to pay a million dollars per acre, to which Chair Wheeler responded, you are correct about that. I told her my son Christian is at James Madison University, and it would be nice for him to have job opportunities in this county, but he will have to go to Tyson's or D.C. [14:49:07] Chair Wheeler stated, Christian is going to get a job in Arlington, he is going to move to Arlington, and he is going to love it. Two takeaways from this conversation. One, the chair admitted that data centers are pricing out other businesses from coming into the county. And note, that also means data centers are pricing out housing from being able to come in and purchase land. [14:49:26] Two, Chair Wheeler was not advertising the opportunities of employment here in Prince William County, but Arlington. As leaders of this county, I urge you to stop putting all of your economic eggs in one basket. We are over-saturated with data centers. I promise you, the tax money you are looking for is coming with what you have already approved. [14:49:43] I urge you to look for businesses that are good neighbors and provide robust job opportunities outside of just the building phase. My son has secured an internship at a Fortune 500 company in Ruston that has over 1,000 employees. A company like that would be a win in this county. [14:49:58] I'm not anti-data centers, but I am against this project. From the beginning, the Digital Gateway has been a slick piece of marketing propaganda full of lies and deceit. It has been politically charged with large donations to Democrats from landowners, unions, and even Dominion Energy, all people who stand to make money from this rezoning. [14:50:26] Landowners have used the false narrative that the transmission lines no longer make their land livable, but you can see from this picture that very few landowners actually have transmission lines through their property. The dark blue line are the transmission lines. This project continues to lack transparency and accountability for QTS and Compass. [14:50:43] the Digital Gateway is the biggest con job ever perpetuated by the five sitting Democrats on this board, with Chair Wheeler leading the charge of false information. In October 2022, Wheeler sent out an email titled, The Digital Gateway CPA Facts Are Important. In this, she stated, quote, the county staff analysis concluded at full build-out the Digital Gateway will offer an estimated annual positive tax revenue of approximately $400 million, including real estate and business tangible property taxes. End of quote. Chair Wheeler fails to disclose two things that impact the tax revenue she boasts. One, full build out is in 20 years. Two, the same finance [14:51:20] report she references ends with, quote, it should be noted that there is not enough information to properly build out this model and the results can and will vary immeasurably. In August 2023, Chair Wheeler emailed special issue digital gateway hearing. In this email, she again states the tax revenue of $400 million and also states that applicants will pay for the extension of water, sewer services, as well as the road improvements. [14:51:46] Yet the draft plan clearly states the county is responsible for 27 items under the infrastructure and facilities, which includes water and roads for the short, mid, and long term. To accurately evaluate this project, you need to know all the costs to the county for the next 20 years. [14:52:03] There is no pot of gold at full build-out in 20 years. Revenue is not relevant without knowing the cost to the county for this project and what that differential is. That will determine the true return on investment to the county. In the words of Supervisor Bailey, when we talk about spending the taxpayers' money, we need to have answers before we make a decision, and I don't know is not a good answer. [14:52:23] Back to the picture. In both emails, Chair Wheeler attaches the maps of the properties in scope which show parks and open space. In the most recent email, she touts 807 acres for parks and open space. But Wheeler knows this information is false, and we all know this information is false. [14:52:43] The red area obviously is not included in the rezonings tonight. Even the Digital Gateway Instagram continues to post the same false map showing parks and open space. I understand that progress as a county has to happen, but I can also stand back and see that taking over 2,100 rural acres adjacent to the battlefield and making them a technology flex space with only 30% required open space is a loss that we can never get back. [14:53:07] especially when it appears most of the open space will be transmission lines. I actually prefer the idea of the original 800 acres applicants requesting housing where it would be required they have 60% open space. This is not and never has been a choice of data centers or high-density housing on 2,139 acres. [14:53:27] I feel I must also share the statement with you from one of the original applicants. She wrote to me, regardless, if this doesn't turn to data centers, We will seek an application to rezone to higher density housing than 10 or 5-acre lots, and I'm sure the county would approve since they want to add lower-cost housing. [14:53:45] I am seriously disappointed that all these people joined. When we started all this, it was just 800 acres. I have four thoughts on her statement. One, I actually wish there was an option to have lower-cost housing available in this area. This area is a beautiful place to live, and everyone should have the opportunity to live here. [14:54:03] Some of these applicants also throw around the words HUD housing as an alternative to data centers if they don't get their way. Talk about elitism and entitlement. I welcome the opportunity for a single mom of three kids to be able to have an acre or two of green space outside their door. Two, the only reason the other residents, Canland included, wanted to be part of the CPA outside the original 800 acres was because they did not want data centers in their backyard. [14:54:26] But given enough money, they are okay with allowing data centers to now be in someone else's backyard. Three, many of these homes, especially in the Compass application, are well over a million dollar homes. These homes are really quite stunning. One of these homes hosted a wedding last year. Are we really that wasteful as a society to just trash million dollar homes so that those wealthy owners can obtain more wealth? [14:54:48] Four, rezoning this area will be a lost opportunity for housing. Supervisor Bodie, for some reason, I always look at you sitting on the dais and I have this hope that you will be the swing vote. I think it's because I expect someone who has young children to have a moral compass and integrity because you are raising our future. [14:55:07] For me as a parent, I always want my kids to know what I say and I do are not two different things. They are the same. Supervisor Bode, during the Omicron Zeta Sigma Town Hall, you were asked if you supported the Digital Gateway. Here are two statements that you made that you clearly state your support is dependent upon the project living up to the CPA. [14:55:25] Statement one, I would be in support of the digital gateway only and only if it abides by the CPA that we passed a year ago. The CPA comprehensive plan amendment that we passed said the policy guidelines for which they should be developing. The rezonings are coming probably in December and they have to live up to that in order for me to accept it. [14:55:44] Statement two, if we do this right, it would be a transformative project, but only if they live up to the CPA. Supervisor Bodie, according to the unbiased, uninfluenced professional Prince William County planning staff, the digital gateway does not abide by the CPA, and they are recommending denial on all three rezonings. [14:56:01] These are people that have not received a dollar from Pageland owners, unions, Dominion Energy, or anyone else that stands to cash in off the digital gateway. Supervisor Angry, Supervisor Bailey, and Supervisor Bodie, do you have political aspirations outside of Prince William? [14:56:19] Supervisor Franklin, we already know your intent for Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Ask yourself if the Digital Gateway vote will be a positive or a negative on your political resume. You will wear this vote for the rest of your life. I cannot help but wonder if each of you was used by Chair Wheeler. [14:56:35] Remember what I said earlier about the political lean and the current actions of a chair that is on her way out of a county with no political opportunities on the horizon. Think about that. You will be embroiled in significant lawsuits. As you know, proper legal notifications were not followed in this hearing. [14:56:51] Yet this board pushed to have it heard on this date. You are not above the law. I leave this with you. Almost two years ago on December 7th, 2021, I wrote this board with numerous concerns regarding the CPA. This is the one and only time Chair Wheeler has ever responded to my correspondence to her office. [14:57:08] I would like to highlight a direct statement from her email dated December 16th, 2021. Quote, all the points you raised in your email would be addressed by hearing from the applicant and understanding that during the rezoning process, impacts to surrounding areas are taken into consideration on all levels, including environmental, and plans are adjusted to address these. End of statement. The planning department rightly considered the unique historic, cultural, and environmental sensitivity of this area. They have taken the impacts of the digital gateway, the adjusted plans of the applicants, as well as everything else into consideration, [14:57:45] and are recommending denial on all three rezonings. As several of the supervisors have stated throughout this process, this is a consequential vote, one that has decades of repercussions. The only responsible vote is for denial as planning staff has recommended. [14:58:01] Thank you. - Next speaker, please. - Hello, my name is Willie Deutsch from the Coles District. - Actually, can you stop his clock for a sec? [14:58:16] I just wanna ask the next, have you signed up? Are you, okay. The next five people, or actually six numbers, non-resident NR1 through 6, are welcome to line up also inside after the gentleman in the blue coat shirt. [14:58:35] Please proceed. Sorry about that. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. My name is Willie Deutsch from the Coles District. Speaking to this set of three redevelopments, Manassas Park is a place of beauty. [14:58:51] For me, it's a place of peace and relaxation. There have been times where I've walked that battlefield in prayer, times when I've walked it when life has been stressful and I just need somewhere green and quiet to relax from the stress of life. Times where I've met with friends and worked through the crazy of life together with them. And just a few weeks ago, it was a place that, as precious and beautiful as it is, my wife and I chose for our maternity shoot for our baby coming in January. And capturing the beauty and the [14:59:25] peace and quiet of the battlefield is incredibly important. But that gets to the important aspect of the environmental components of these rezonings. Look, every single environmental group in the region opposes this redevelopment. If this board chooses to thumb their nose at every single Environmental Advocacy Group, they are intentionally going ahead and choosing not to care about conservation and the environment in this critical area. And I know some of y'all will talk a big [15:00:00] game online about caring about the environment. Right now is the moment to put your vote where your words are. And I've heard from the applicant and from board members that, well, look, we have paths for the animals through this concrete jungle that we're going to build. Look, turning expansive green space into a concrete jungle but preserving slim paths for animals is not conservation. It is not caring for the environment. It is a fig leaf to cover over your guilt. The same thing I heard earlier as well that, well, the applicant is going to go ahead and they're going to plant trees to [15:00:40] replace the ones that are taken down. Look, growth in trees that are decades old cannot just be replaced. And part of the challenge that we have is that with the noise reduction that needs to happen for these type of facilities, it is the old vegetation that helps as natural sound barriers. [15:01:02] And we as a county have a bad history of going ahead and taking down these natural barriers, even when we promise to go ahead and keep them up. And this gets to the issue of whatever environmental promises that this board makes today only matters if they're actually enforced by this board and this staff later. Jen Wall earlier talked about the fact that with some of the recent data centers, we failed as a county on that to follow through with promises that we had made just months earlier on how we were going to build those data centers. When I was on the [15:01:40] school board, I first met one of the champions of environmentalism, Kim Hosen, who is no longer with us. But Kim Hosen is an incredible person. And Kim came to me when we were building an elementary school and said, look, Willie, the school division promised to respect certain waterways and respect preserving trees that were already in existence and is failing to do that. [15:02:04] And you guys need to get in the middle and stop staff from doing it. Look, it's the environmental advocates and it's members of the board who have to be on the front line to enforce whatever environmental promises that you make that you think are going to actually matter. But this gets back to where the public does not trust what's going on, because at the same time now, we're watching as comprehensive plan decisions are being ignored with this application. So it gives us very little faith that whatever promises you guys make in the wee hours of the morning will ever be enforced if you're going to ignore what you went ahead and did with the comprehensive plan amendment. [15:02:43] So when it comes to preserving the environment, you can't just talk a big game. You have to follow through. Now, for the last four years, I've been able to serve on the Board of Equalization. Board of Equalization is generally a very boring board, and we get along very well and have a good time. [15:03:00] But we go ahead and we hear appeals from taxpayers across the county about their assessments on their property. Every year, we hear appeals from data centers. There are three things that are relevant that I've learned while being on the Board of Equalization. One, data centers own extensive amounts of land because we hear appeals on the land that they own that they have not built on. [15:03:25] And this is one of the things that the county needs to go ahead and have provided and really has been hidden and not being transparent about, is how much land is already owned by data centers that is going to be built at some point without this rezoning. [15:03:41] That number is pretty extensive. Second, we're talking about how much revenue is going to be generated. Every year, data centers come and they appeal for lower tax assessments. We already have one of the lower tax rates in the region for data centers, and yet they still come every year and appeal for lower assessments on their property. [15:04:03] But third, not only that, data centers have gone to Richmond to change the law to help lower their tax assessments. So all of these proposals about how much revenue is going to be generated probably aren't going to come through. [15:04:21] It reminds me of a movie when I was growing up where the promise was, vote for Pedro and all your wildest dreams will come true. And all night long, that's what I've heard in terms of vote for this application and everything that's underfunded in this county is going to magically be funded. [15:04:38] That's not going to happen. First of all, we as taxpayers, there's no reason for us to expect that our taxes are going to decrease. Data centers have been being approved all the way along. We've gotten additional revenue, and guess what? Our taxes have gone up on our property and even on our meals and restaurants. [15:04:58] But also, you as a board, yes, you're not directly responsible for how it's going to work out, but by approving this, you are putting a tax on all of us on our energy bills because Dominion is going to have to fund how we take care of the energy for these properties. [15:05:17] And that is a tax that you are choosing to put on the constituents if you go ahead and approve this project. And you've got to take that into consideration. Third, there's been a significant impact on the rest of the county by the way you've handled this. Areas of the county that need to be developed desperately, the Route 1 corridor, areas on the east end of the county that are economic, should be economic hubs that need revitalization, they've been ignored over this time. [15:05:43] And also, staff has been overworked and it's hurt us very bad. I've got a project that I'm working on with a church that I'm part of, and we're trying to subdivide our land so we can sell some excess land. Just getting a subdivision of land approved in this county has doubled over the course of this year because staff is too booked out. [15:06:04] It's going to take us six months just to get a piece of land subdivided because of all of the staff time that's been taken up elsewhere. But most importantly right now, though, is the fact that this board, many of you will talk online a big game about respecting the democratic process and not undermining democracy. But if this board chooses to go ahead and move forward with this redevelopment, that is exactly what you're doing. Look, every time voters have had an opportunity to speak, they've said no. They said no this summer when they went ahead and elected a different chair candidate in the primary. And every election on the west end of the county this fall, [15:06:44] Look, Democrat and Republican knew that in order to survive, they needed to oppose this project. Whenever voters had an option to speak up, they did, and they said no. But really, this board throughout the process, even in this hearing, has had a contempt for the voters. [15:07:04] We've seen it throughout these four years. People can speak over and over. And look, this board has to give real consideration to who is coming to speak, Because you have to consider who has a vested financial interest in the outcome of this vote. [15:07:19] And when people who have no vested financial interest overwhelmingly oppose this project, and you choose to push forward project after project on the west end of the county that constituents oppose, that's telling about your complete disregard and contempt for county residents. [15:07:39] Doing that only spurs division in this county. And if you guys continue to move forward, that division is a division of your choosing to force on this county. So stop and don't do it. Listen to and respect the voters. Listen to and respect people who have poured their time and energy into getting into the facts. [15:07:59] Respect your own process, your own comprehensive plan amendment, and make sure you follow your own policies. Respect the environment and do what's right for our community and oppose this project. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. I would say good morning, but it's anything but a good morning. [15:08:20] My name is Palmer Denny, and I reside in the Occoquan District. I spoke at the Devlin hearing about your failure to listen. Apparently, my and others' remarks have fallen on deaf ears, so perhaps I need to share it again. While I'm not directly affected by the decision you're going to make tonight, this will set a precedent for future projects, ones that will one day be in my backyard or encroach further into the space where brave men died defending this nation. [15:08:41] Since when has this board ever approved a proposal so controversial and yet so poorly vetted? Prudence is a virtue, I'll remind you, again. Secondly, your own planning commission has recommended that you not approve this. Do you plan to throw out their advice and push it through anyway? Not only that, the applicant has a history of lying to you regarding the specifics of the projects you've helped them jam through thus far. [15:09:04] In what world does any sane person continue to aid and abet a serial liar? What reason do you have to approve this other than repayment for a campaign donation by Stanley Martin? Beyond that, I feel the need to speak up alongside my fellow county residents in Gainesville simply because this board has a serious problem that they still refuse to address. [15:09:22] They, with the exception of Supervisors Weir, Lawson, and Vega, refuse to listen. You won't listen to the people who are elected to serve when they plead with you not to litter the areas around their homes and schools in now quiet battlefields with data centers. Once again, please let tonight be the night that you prove me wrong and vote no to the destruction of not only a portion of the Gainesville District, but quiet neighborhoods and a priceless piece of our history. [15:09:44] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Karen Sheehan, Gainesville District. I am here representing the Rose Hill Estates Owners Association. [15:10:01] I request five minutes. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes, five for each application. Okay, yep. Oh, and Anne, regarding our last interaction, when I asked for the time because I represent my board, I just wanted to point out that some of us use our positions and title for the benefit of our neighbors. [15:10:28] The reason I'm wearing this Santa Claus hat is because I really, really get into decorating for Christmas, celebrating Christmas, and sharing Christmas. [15:10:45] For the last four years since Ann Wheeler was elected chair of this board, and I saw the direction that she was taking this county, I have had posted at the end of my driveway a Protect Quality of Life sign. [15:11:07] I do have a life besides the digital gateway. I have spent the last few weeks preparing for Christmas. So the first thing that I always do is I always take the red bows that my mom gave me that she used to decorate her front porch in Lakeridge, and I decorate my fence. [15:11:39] And over the years, I've extended those bows, and they go all the way along the road and up my driveway, and it's become just what my neighbors and my friends know. I've also added to that some flags and I do the flags at the end of the driveway mainly for the kids in the neighborhood and for my grandkids because the signs say believe. Now [15:12:12] what I'm trying to do is make sure that the kids believe in Santa Claus but it also helps everybody else. The other thing that I love doing is decorating the inside of the house and I have a staircase which I bring a long garland down and it makes a wreath down at the bottom and it has lights all the way through it. This year when I went to put that garland up there was a section of the garland where the lights just wouldn't light and I couldn't figure out what was wrong [15:12:51] and I finally identified that a whole bunch of the bulbs were burnt out and I started replacing bulb after bulb after bulb after bulb. And I finally said to Tom, all right, I give up. I'm just going to replace this string. I cannot figure out what's wrong. I've replaced 32 burnt out bulbs. And wouldn't you know it, I found one more burnt out bulb. I replaced it and the entire string came to life. This morning when I drove down my driveway on my way to this meeting at 5 30 this [15:13:27] morning, I realized I didn't have my Santa believe flags at the end of the driveway. And I was determined to have those believe signs up on the end of my driveway before I came to this meeting tonight. So I drove back, put them up and raced down here to the McCourt building. So you're probably wondering why. Why is Karen spending all this time talking about her Christmas decorations? [15:13:57] What does it have to do with the digital gateway? Well, I'm not going to repeat all of the statistics and facts that were very articulately communicated this evening by multiple other citizens. [15:14:14] This proposal for the digital gateway takes too much land, too much power, too much water, and it's going to rob all of us of our quality of life. I have spent the last six months of my life attending the PJM meetings, so I know very well what the power demands of data centers are because of the $51 billion proposals that went into PJM and the $5 billion plan that was just approved yesterday by the board of managers. [15:14:54] So I'm not going to put up on the display all of the decks that I've put out. But if you want to understand what the impact is, you can go to the Coalition to Protect PwC and read my decks that put into plain English how all community members across the region are going to be paying for the data centers that have been approved. [15:15:24] Digital Gateway will bring negative and unfair impacts to agriculture, to commercial and residential communities, environmental resources, historical resources, natural resources, overall quality of life, and parkland. [15:15:43] Both the Confederate and the Union history is valued history, and I am not a racist by saying that. That history needs to be protected. Both soldiers and slave graves are valued history and must be protected. [15:16:02] We are removing county legacies of our children and grandchildren are entitled to. I am just one of the unwashed that have been relegated to this back microphone in the back of the room. This digital gateway is not in my backyard. [15:16:23] It's 20 miles from my house. And I'm not even sure what submission was being reviewed tonight. First of all, I want to thank the planning staff, in particular, Emily and Chris. [15:16:40] You are true warriors. Thank you for your courage, your honesty, and integrity. Victor Angry, I believe there is a possibility that you can focus and engage for the residents on issues affecting them rather than sleeping on the dais. [15:17:06] Bob Weir, I know you will always come with truthful facts, sometimes brusque presentations, founded on your love for our rural area and our quality of life. [15:17:25] Janine Lawson, I know you have given your all to your district and this county. You have admitted when you have made mistakes, and I am grateful you are in my life. Kenny Bodie, I believe you can show your colleagues, your county residents, that you have a spine, that you have guts, that you have a pair, and that you will honor your promises. [15:17:59] Andrea Bailey, I believe there is a possibility that you can incorporate some meaningful and beneficial contributions among all those words we hear from you on the dais. [15:18:16] Ann Wheeler, I'm not willing to articulate what I believe. Margaret Franklin, I believe you can contribute more than rolling your eyes and making side comments from the dais, all while you campaign to try to expand your influence. [15:18:47] Yes, Lee Vega, I know that you will always bring sharp focus, crisp input, and heart and soul to the issues being pushed onto the county residents. [15:19:05] The situation that we and you are dealing with today is that somehow the county government did not properly provide notice of these hearings for these rezonings. This hearing is in violation of county and state law. [15:19:32] It was not properly and legally noticed. Any vote by this hearing is invalid. Hence, anything that you do at this illegal hearing is invalid. [15:19:54] Given this, the only sane and valid outcome is for this board to defer any decision on these applications. No matter what you do, this community is tenacious. [15:20:14] This community is persistent. This community is dedicated. This community is reliant. This community is relentless. If you give us a burnt out bulb, we will pull out a good bulb to bring life to our entire community. We aren't going anywhere. We aren't finished. [15:20:52] We're ready for the next steps. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [15:21:10] Good morning. I'm Blake Myers. I'm representing the Bull Run Civil Roundtable, a 501c3 organization, and I plan to speak to all three applications. As I said, I'm representing the Bull Run Civil War Roundtable, and there are 332 members, about half of whom are residents of Prince William County. [15:21:34] I'm here to share our significant concerns with the three Prince William Digital Gateway rezoning applications under consideration. First, understand that we understand the role of data centers in our digitally connected lives and recognize the need for data centers. [15:21:51] However, location matters. The approval of data center development plans and the supporting infrastructure requirements in their proposed locations should be fully documented, understood, and assessed in order to avoid harmful and unintended consequences. [15:22:14] At a very basic level, our general concern has been and remains the lack of a holistic and synchronized approach to ensure that all relevant facts, assessments, and issues were and are documented and included as part of the decision-making process for the Prince William Digital Gateway. [15:22:36] This concern was confirmed today as I listened to the applicants' presentations, the disconnects between the applicants and the county staff as far as the contents of the applications, in the discussion during the Q&A part of the meeting that preceded this public hearing. [15:22:55] From the beginning of the county's consideration of the Page and Lane corridor as an area for data centers, too many county supervisors have viewed the Prince William County Digital Gateway as a financial enrichment opportunity without due consideration for, one, the power, water, and sewer, and stormwater management infrastructure required to support the proposed data centers, Two, the impacts and effects of the proposed data centers and the supporting infrastructure and the expanded roadway on the Manassas National Battlefield Park, on historical and cultural sites within the Manassas Battlefield Historic District, [15:23:35] on land along General Trimble's Lane that's designated as Manassas Battlefield Core Area and has been preserved and is currently owned by the American Battlefield Trust, and on the Conway Forest State Park. And three, the environmental impacts on air quality, water quality, and the Occoquan Reservoir watershed and the noise pollution that would be generated by the proposed data centers and the supporting infrastructure. [15:24:01] In January of 2021, despite the pending development of the county's comprehensive plan for 2040, the Board of Supervisors, at the request of several Pageland Lane landowners and QTS and COMPAS, initiated Comprehensive Plan Amendment 2021-004 for the Prince William Digital Gateway. [15:24:21] As part of these early discussions, Dominion Energy implied and stated on several occasions that Dominion would be able to provide the power needed for the envisioned power centers, and petitioning landowners asserted that power for the data centers was available through the existing transmission line. [15:24:43] Both claims were false and misleading, but they were believed. On May 18th of 2021, the Board of Supervisors initiated a comprehensive review for updating the Prince William County's Data Center Opportunity Zone overlay district, but this review and updating has yet to be completed. [15:25:01] That said, the Pays and Lane corridor was never considered by county planners for inclusion in the overlay district due to three factors. The lack of supporting infrastructure required for data center operations, its close proximity to Manassas National Battlefield, the Manassas Battlefield Historic District, and Conway Robinson State Park, and three, its proximity to environmentally sensitive areas, including the Occoquan Reservoir Watershed. [15:25:29] The overlay district did include a Stantec consultant assessment provided in a February 6, 2023 report that recommended a specific set of criteria of data center site selection principles. These principles were, one, avoid location directly adjacent to cultural resource sites, two, not within one-half mile of the Manassas battlefield, three, avoid locating in or adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas, and four avoid locating adjacent to residential areas a set of principles that seem wise and [15:26:08] appropriate and yet were never considered or adopted this information that was included in the initial review for the opportunity zone overlay either was never provided to the board of county supervisors or was ignored if it was provided this is a prime example of what i mean by i'm talking about an unsynchronized process related to the prince william digital gateway consideration. Despite the CPA's out-of-cycle and out-of-sequence timing with respect to the [15:26:44] updating of the data center overlay district and the comprehensive plan 2040 development and significant concerns raised by scores of county residents, the National Park Service and Manassas National Battlefield Park, and multiple non-profit organizations including Our Roundtable, the American Battlefield Trust, the National Parks Conservation Association, Piedmont Environmental Council and the Prince William Conservation Alliance. The board approved the Prince William Digital Gateway CPA on November 2, 2022. For more than a year now, the county has been reviewing the [15:27:19] resultant data center rezoning applications and coordinating with the applicants in an attempt to obtain the specific information required for these rezoning applications and answers to a long list of questions with respect to each application, largely due to the applicant's failure to provide this information, thus preventing a valid assessment of the plans for the proposed data centers, the staff has recommended denial of the applications. Having attended open house forums sponsored by both Compass and QTS and having reviewed the applications and the respective [15:27:54] staff reports, we can attest to the fact that the plans submitted are very general in nature. They include no information on the siting and design proposed data center buildings and no detailed elevations for any of the proposed buildings making a valid assessment of the proposed data center plans and the impacts of the data center sites and buildings on adjacent and nearby historic and cultural sites impossible the plans for the data centers and the associated parks and trails submitted and briefed by compass and qts can more accurately be described as generic [15:28:29] marketing illustrations and schematics intended to sway persuade and perhaps obfuscate and confuse, while ensuring maximum planning and design flexibility for the applicants. Our specific concurrence with the applications include the following, the inclusion of proffers that allow the applicants to make changes to the number and sizes of buildings, building architecture, landscaping, and noise mitigation measures subsequent to rezoining application approval. [15:29:01] Next, the inclusion of significant flexibility for the applicants to dictate project landscaping, leaving the county limited ability to ensure the proposed projects would conform to the landscaping guidance in the CPA. The lack of inclusion of any designated routes for the high tower transmission lines and the 13 or more power substations required to operate the proposed data centers. [15:29:26] To date, the applicants have failed to complete the two phases of the archaeological review they promised during the CPA development process and discussions. phase one has been completed with phase two being proffered upon approval of the respective applications the proposal for 70 foot height restriction in the southern district rather than the 45 foot restrictions specified in the cpa and for 93 foot and 100 foot height restrictions in the northern district rather than the 85 foot restrictions specified in the cpa lastly during [15:30:00] the prince william digital gateway cpa public hearing both applicants promised net zero storm water runoff. None of the applications submitted include this provision. From an historic preservation perspective, the proposed data centers and the supporting infrastructure required for the operation, including power transmission lines, power substations, sewer and water lines, and stormwater management infrastructure, would have significant adverse impacts and effects on the historic viewsheds to and from Manassas National Battlefield Park, historical sites within the [15:30:36] Manassas Battlefield Historic District and the Manassas Battlefield Corrier area located along General Trimble's Lane that is currently owned by American Battlefield Trust. In addition, the noise generated by data center operations and when used backup generator operations would have significant adverse impacts on visitors at the Manassas National Battlefield Park and at Conway Forest State Park. [15:31:01] None of the applications address any of these historic preservation issues and concerns. I would also make the point and suggest that the problems that the staff has encountered in coordinating with the applicants to come up with the precise specific details as far as the plan goes are largely probably derived from the project's intent to put data centers in an area that is not suitable for data centers as assessed by the county staff in 2021. The area is not suitable [15:31:40] from an infrastructure perspective, from an environmental perspective, or from historical and cultural resources perspective. Given the concerns noted by us and many others in the failure of the applicants to effectively address them, the Board of Civil Roundtable strongly recommends that the board deny each of these applications. [15:32:03] I would say that given the continued exchange of information between the staff and the applicants up to and including, I guess now the day before yesterday, in the significant discussions about the applications of proper language and the CPA requirements during the hearing that preceded this or during the meeting that preceded this public hearing, I honestly am not sure which version of the rezoning applications you plan to vote on. And frankly, I'm not sure you know which version [15:32:40] we're talking about either. At a minimum, the board should delay consideration of the applications until one, the applicants fulfill their assurances made during the CPA development and approval process. Two, the applicants provide the information required for their respective applications as requested by the county's planning office. And three, the full effects of the proposed data center developments are appropriately assessed and understood. Given the concerns raised in the recommendations to deny each of the rezoning applications from the county staff [15:33:16] and the planning commission we fully expect that any supervisor who votes to approve any of the applications to state for the record the specific reasons and rationale for his or her vote to [15:33:28] approve thank you thank you next speaker please um i will but not yet so uh good morning my name [15:34:12] is Elena Schlossberg. I'm from the Gainesville district and I would like 15 minutes as the executive director for the coalition to protect Prince William County. No problem. Thank you. So first of all before I get started I want to say thank you to the staff for their hard work and their professionalism and I have a lot of respect for the difficult circumstances I think they were under making this application happen in an accelerated fashion, and I think you saw the [15:34:48] results of their hard work. It must be really hard, really hard to vote to approve this application with so much against you. You've got planning staff, you've got your planning commission, you've got 30-some environmental organizations, you've got this whole new data center reform coalition, I'm sorry, Virginia data center reform coalition, there is not a whole lot working in [15:35:19] your favor. And of course, you have some issues with the legality of how you have moved forward with an application that was definitely not notified properly. Now that I've said that, in some way, I'll be honest with you, Chair. At first, I was really irritated that clearly you planned this important rezoning during Hanukkah. It's not like Hanukkah lasts for, you know, two [15:35:52] weeks. It's just one Tuesday. So I think it's in the eight days. That's what I'm saying. You look a little confused. The point I'm making is it's only eight days. So you had to pick this Tuesday. So in the spirit of not dragging down coal this year, I thought instead I would invite you to celebrate with me. Because Hanukkah is a really important holiday in particular right now. Because if you [15:36:25] don't know the story of Hanukkah, it is actually about a small group of people who stand up to a much larger army, and yet they still prevail. They're called the Maccabees, which means the hammer. And what happens in their fight is they prevail, and they get the temple, and it's only supposed to have one night of oil and instead it lasts for eight. So I honestly look at what happened with a notification as a Hanukkah miracle. I slept so well. Well, I guess at this point it was [15:37:04] two nights ago. I'm not really sure. Like a baby. Nobody should be panicked or worried. Nobody should be counting their money yet because you guys have a problem and you know it. But so many people are going to speak much more eloquently than me tonight. So I thought I would use my time to just say thank you also to the environmental organizations that Kim is not here, but what she did before she passed away is she connected this core group. And what she said was, as we [15:37:44] would talk on the phone at night, and she was really sick, and we had no idea in the midst of COVID, how we were going to stop this abomination. And she said, Elena, this is a fight we have never faced before. And it will require it taking on a life of its own. Because I, of course, was ready to like, in a couple weeks, go plan a rally at the Manassas National Battlefield. Because that's just what I'm like. Just how do you get out there and get attention? And she reminded me that we We needed to be methodical. [15:38:25] And this is what we have now. We have, do you know who I took for a drive? So I have this route that I take reporters on. Starts Data Center Alley. Then we go down Pageland. And then we end up going across, you know, by the monstrosity. When you turn into Village Place and, you know, you make that left around that circle. [15:38:43] And I tell reporters, just wait. Wait until I tell you to turn your head to the left. And they do it every single time. bar none, they say, oh my God. So you know what my last tour was? Swiss national broadcasting journalist. [15:39:03] This has ignited a fire to require this industry to finally start paying attention to the impacts on the amount of land they take, on their environmental impacts, climate change, water. [15:39:23] So in some ways, I try to remind people, Every challenge in life is an opportunity, sometimes to test yourself and sometimes to test others. And I've seen people grow as they come to this podium and speak, and I'm so proud to be a part of this community. [15:39:43] And I feel like you guys are under some kind of like water torture tonight. I mean, I can see it. I mean, Supervisor Angry, it's a long night, and you're not even done yet. So I'm hoping this gift bag for you will provide some distraction and also a reminder. [15:40:01] So if I can add the overhead. Oh, wait, I want to read something that, sorry, I want to read something Ashley said. Wasn't Ashley terrific? I mean, round of applause for Ashley. Ah, she, Kim would be so proud. But this is my favorite, my favorite paragraph was, by adopting a more progressive approach, we can position our county as a beacon of sustainable development, attracting businesses and investments that align with our commitment to environmental responsibility. This is not just an idealistic aspiration. It is a strategic imperative. And all I could imagine was, ah, if only Kim were [15:40:36] here to hear Ashley be so eloquent. So anyway, let's get started. Okay. So if you open up your bags, you'll see that you have an owl and your owl is for wisdom. You will see you have scales of justice to do the right thing. And by the way, you can actually hang these. We would call them a Hanukkah bush. You would call them a Christmas tree. So you can hang them to remind yourselves. [15:41:12] And of course, a heart for compassion, a heart for love. And of course, a butterfly, not only for the environment, but to remind us that Kim is still with us in many ways. And she is so proud of this community and of course guilt but really that's to remind you there are more important things [15:41:49] than money and to remind you that you cannot take oh yeah I just interrupt for a second this this Hanukkah gift I'll never forget my girlfriend's father would say girls you'll never see a hearse with a U-Haul never forget that a candle for light because I feel like in many ways we are in a dark period in Prince William County, but I have faith. I have faith even if one of you doesn't change your vote, we're all, well, I was going to say wake up tomorrow, but it's already here. [15:42:25] There's still hope. I just want to remind everybody there are some significant problems with whatever they do tonight. Either way, I mean, you might actually have the applicant, if for some reason this fails tonight, they could come back and say that you had an illegal meeting. This could get really crazy. And of course, what is Hanukkah without a dreidel? Now, I still have six minutes, so this is time. I know this is like, I'm going to take every single second, Anne. It's going to drive you insane. But you don't have that much more time with me. [15:43:00] So I wanted to actually bring up, and I still need the overhead. So what you all may not know, I'm sorry, this is boring. I know it's hard, Anne. It's hard to stay awake. It's going to be a long night. This is, of course, the digital gateway. You all may not realize, Julie and I are in what is called a Puig. Very stupid sounding name. But what it means is Prince William Energy [15:43:29] Engagement Group. And it's with Dominion Energy. So we are in a Dominion Engagement Group. [15:43:45] This is the map that was up two weeks ago. Do you know why this map was up two weeks ago? Because we are talking about what? The Digital Gateway. Of course. And the very first meeting we had, which was back in May, the digital gateway was included in those meetings as a topic that we were going to be discussing. I know, I think it irritates you that I'm actually engaged in a professional group. Oh, sorry. So anyway, I want you to take notice what, as I was furiously texting [15:44:21] Steve Prickard, was that when we were talking about this two weeks ago, do you know what was very apparent? You are going to put transmission infrastructure. You know where you can't put them? [15:44:37] the building. No, no. Can't put it over the buildings. Can't run it underground under buildings. What spaces remain for transmission infrastructure? So everybody that was asking the questions, please up here for a second. Everybody that was asking the questions, where are those transmission lines going to go? This is not about power generation. This is about getting the transmission to all the substations. The only empty areas that remain, Supervisor [15:45:13] Bodie are the RPAs and the trails. So in this meeting, we all looked at Steve and he looked at us and we said, you got a problem. And he was like, yeah, we don't know where those transmission infrastructure is going to go. We know where it's not going to go. And this map should have been done by the applicant. You all are flying blind. Supervisor Lawson, I'm sorry, I'm going [15:45:48] to say this because you know that I really care about you and I respect you. You made a decision about Gainesville Crossing, and I was very upset with you, and I didn't talk to you for six months, and I told you it was a mistake, and you subsequently apologized for that. This, if for some reason we don't succeed in stopping this legally, and you all prevail, this is going to be your mistake that you're going to have to apologize for. What I'm saying to you here tonight [15:46:24] is you can avoid being in that position. You kind of have a taste of it, right, with Village Tech Park, I mean, that was like, that did not go well. So I almost feel like you should thank the community for bringing this all to your attention, for giving you an opportunity. There is an off ramp. Take it. You don't owe anything to anyone. You owe something to your own legacy. Take the off ramp because you know it's the right thing to do right now. I have two minutes left, so I'm [15:47:00] going to take every second. So I just want to talk about the community for a moment. They have come here and they have spoken so eloquently. They have brought you facts and figures. They've stayed up how many nights? I mean, we have our air mattresses back there. I've got to, I think, no, I think actually Ann is going to loan me her lawn chair so I can lay down for a little bit. This community cares and we care. We're not making any money. I think every applicant that comes up here that makes money should have to say, I'm here because I'm going to make money. But you have an opportunity [15:47:40] to turn this around. You really do. And I hope that you take it. So is there something favorite that you saw in those bags? I'm going to tell you something. Whoops, the owl, like people wanted this owl. So be very grateful that you still have one in your bag. My point to you is I'm trying to not be negative. This is a positive night for everyone. I don't want anyone to go home when you all possibly vote for this. [15:48:18] I just, I'm going to hope. You never know. It's Hanukkah miracle. Somebody might have second thoughts. Might want to take that off ramp. But no matter what happens, we're going to wake up tomorrow. I might sleep for a little bit. And there are choices that this community is going to make. [15:48:36] No matter what happens. You know, the other night I slept really well was when you all voted five to three not to change the meeting. You had a chance. You actually had a chance to make this legal and you chose not to. So, you know, in some ways I'm like, you know, that's good because now we have something that we can work with. So, and I'll tell you what, I'll stop right now. And I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. And I do hope that you make the right decision. Thank you. Next speaker, [15:49:12] please. Good morning, Chair Wheeler and members of the Board of County Supervisors. My name is Ann Bennett. I am a volunteer representing the Sierra Club Great Falls Group, and it's 6,000 members, and I work on land use and data center policy. I don't have a financial interest in this, [15:49:52] and I'm going to plan to comment on all three rezonings and request 15 minutes, please. Sure. Thank you. For now years, we have asked you to be responsible stewards of our public drinking water supply, include protections for Manassas National Battlefield Park, and require clean energy to reduce the impacts on the grid and Prince William County's carbon footprint. [15:50:22] Bottom line, policies that undergird these rezonings are inadequate. We ask that you support the staff and Planning Commission denials of these applications. Three denials do not equal and approval. Success with the proposed density and use level that the Digital Gateway proposes requires stringent and state-of-the-art requirements for energy efficiency and energy efficient buildings, a significant commitment to renewable energy, sustainable water use, [15:50:59] and more natural resources and wildlife protections. It is imperative that zoning and planning policies and proffers mitigate impacts at the source and that ratepayers and taxpayers do not shoulder the burden for future climate mitigation. It is exactly the magnitude of this development that requires local government, that's you, to mitigate energy and water impacts. [15:51:25] As staff has noted in its denials, these rezonings fail to deliver sustainability measures as outlined in the CPA, county carbon emission reduction goals, the community energy and sustainability master plan, and just common sense requirements for any industrial development that pulls nearly three gigawatts of power. So what happened to delivering world-class innovation and sustainability? Where is the required energy efficiency design and the reduced [15:52:00] impacts on the grid? What happened to the on-site or off-site renewable energy requirements, the "alternative green energy." How is it that in 2023, and in the middle of a climate crisis, there's not one solar panel associated with any of these applications? [15:52:23] As is, this is just not a serious effort. And unless you make major changes to these rezonings, it is clear that the board is not committed to reducing carbon and to meaningful sustainability measures. [15:52:38] Data center impacts cannot be compartmentalized as if they don't exist. They cannot be excluded from your climate planning because they are and will continue to drive massive increases in energy and water usage and blow up the county's carbon numbers. [15:52:55] And LEDs will not save your climate goals. Because artificial intelligence is ramping up so fast and it gobbles up energy and water like we've never seen, the past is no longer a good predictor of energy and water use going forward. [15:53:15] This industry presents a unique challenge. It is unlikely that in the history of Virginia have we ever had this much energy go to one industry, one privately owned, highly profitable company serving clients all over the world. [15:53:32] We know Dominion's integrated resource plan last year. The data center industry in Virginia achieved a peak meter load of 2.8 gigawatts, but now is expected to grow to 13 gigawatts by 2038 just on existing contracts. [15:53:48] As I understand it, these rezonings are not included in those already mind-boggling projections. If, as expected, 3 gigawatts of power is needed for these rezonings, they will require the equivalent of two North Anna nuclear power plants or 3.5 clover coal plants, one of two coal plants still operating in the state. [15:54:12] One data center can equal the power consumption of 50,000 homes or more. By comparison, North Anna Nuclear Power Plant supplies electricity to 450,000 homes, or about nine data centers. [15:54:29] And the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, which was mentioned earlier today, is expected to power 660,000 homes. Of course, it's not online yet. And that would only cover 13 data centers. So that's about one-third of the digital gateway, from what I understand. [15:54:49] So relying on offshore wind as the solution, as mentioned by one of the applicants, just doesn't add up. Wind power is important to greening Virginia's grid, but with a demand of well over 130 more data centers in the pipeline, it will be a much smaller contributor percentage-wise than we had hoped and anticipated. [15:55:14] Why? Well, Dominion has said that data center growth is driving its reliance on fossil fuel generation. And Dominion projects to double greenhouse gas emissions to 36 million metric tons by 2048 due to massive growth in data centers and the requisite need for new energy capacity. [15:55:33] This mirrors what COG reports that Prince William is already seeing increases in carbon emissions due to data centers. Climate change is the biggest threat to our region, state, and world in the 21st century. from longer droughts, more frequent wildfires, more intense storms, sea level rise, and more. [15:55:53] The negative impacts of climate change are already being felt and will only get worse if nothing changes in the coming years. At the same time as we are compelled to reduce carbon, this industry poses huge challenges to meet the state's clean energy demand as required by state law. [15:56:09] And Dominion's recent plans suggest that coal, natural gas, and nuclear power will be utilized to meet the massive demand for data centers and would significantly undermine projections for the county goal to decarbonize energy grid by 57%, as stated in your CESMP. [15:56:29] How can you possibly meet that goal without serious levels of renewables and energy efficiency for this project and for all Prince William data projects? You can't. Continued reliance on coal and natural gas seems inconceivable, but Dominion put it on the table. [15:56:46] An approval vote without the requisite mitigations ties this project to increased fossil fuel usage, more natural gas, and dirty coal use again. In 2023, are you comfortable approving developments powered by coal? [15:57:05] The applicant should be required to source new clean energy on or off-site. Moreover, the applicant should procure power through power purchase agreements and take responsibility for the energy it needs for its business. This is how local land use applications can be sustainable and how some of the power costs of private companies is not borne by the rate payers. [15:57:27] In order to defray the massive energy consumption, Compass and QTS must be required to deliver clean energy to help take pressure off the grid. Further, they should be delivering buildings with state-of-the-art building and cooling efficiency and power usage effectiveness measures in the top 10% nationwide for efficiency. [15:57:47] Thermal heat should be captured for beneficial reuse. Releases into the atmosphere should be eliminated. Innovative design should be required to capture heat weights in order to utilize it for residential and other commercial use. [15:58:06] Diesel fuel-backed generators are another unhealthy byproduct, spewing particulates, nitrogen oxides, and other toxics. How many generators will there be with these rezonings? We have suggested you require solar microgrids with battery backup in order to ensure clean air. [15:58:26] Microgrids are associated with sustainable data centers. META has sustainable data centers in Virginia and Henrico. And I hope you're familiar with what measures they have taken to cut carbon. [15:58:43] This is in line with the action strategy DGSU 1.5, and that encourages the use of less carbon-intense and carbon-neutral energy generation for backup generator systems. This action strategy has taken on even greater importance following the waiver of Virginia DEQ proposed earlier this year to grant data centers in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun greater leeway to use their emergency generators during periods of increased strain on the electric grid. [15:59:13] Although DEQ narrowed and then ultimately withdrew the waiver proposal, The fact that the agency even proposed it evidences the added pressure that data centers are placing on the electric grid in northern Virginia and growing concerns that data centers will need to rely on their emergency power sources more frequently than they have in the past. [15:59:34] Given the harmful health impacts of the emissions from diesel-powered generators and what they can have on communities and visitors and wildlife within Manassas National Battlefield Park and Conway-Robinson State Forest, particularly with the number of generators, that would be needed to provide backup power for the massive scale. It is clear that this application must be rejected as is. The applicant's unwillingness to move away from diesel generators is a clear indication of their priorities, and it certainly is not mitigating climate change and protecting clean air. Sustainability measures need to meet the actual challenges posed by these data centers, [16:00:13] not betoken actions that frankly should be a given. Selecting a few sustainability measures that address LED lights or EV chargers are completely inadequate to the task of addressing three gigawatts of power. Data center mitigations were inadequate in the county's sustainability plan, and staff has concurred, and it is unlikely that it is or that it could make a meaningful difference. [16:00:41] And I know many of you voted for the sustainability plan. I know Supervisor Bodie, I think that's been a priority for you. And I hope we will take that into consideration. Sierra Club is monitoring the projected water quantity use on data center campuses throughout the state. [16:00:59] We also see drought conditions in many regions of the state, including Northern Virginia, where Potomac River flows continue to fall. Due to concerns about the cumulative impacts on regional sources of drinking water, Drinking water for residents and other county functions should be designated as a priority use during drought conditions. [16:01:22] Artificial intelligence is quickly creating a water usage problem. We've learned from Microsoft's OpenAI in Iowa, which has had huge impacts on their water sustainability, which spikes between 2021 and 22. 21, the company used 4.7 million cubic meters of water. [16:01:44] In 2022, that went up to around by 30% to almost 1.7 billion gallons of water in one year. Why did Microsoft need to draw so much water? AI supercomputers are hot. Equipment heats up, and if the center overheats, those computers can shut down. [16:02:04] The increase in water use is directly tied to the company's investment and development in AI, and during summer months, it takes even more water to keep equipment cool. Staff said that water study authorized a year ago is a long way out. [16:02:22] So what is the source of the water for cooling purposes? At full build-out, what percentage of that public water will be allocated for data center use? Do you know how many days of reserves that Fairfax Water has now? Not many. Do you know if we have enough water for full build-out? [16:02:41] Are you going to share that information with the public? I mean, this is our drinking water. Water should be recycled, reclaimed, and residential drinking water, As I said earlier, it should be prioritized over data center usage. Sierra Club has been happy to sponsor outings at the Battlefield, one of the great open spaces in Northern Virginia. [16:03:04] But just as our members don't expect to see noisy, polluting industrial development adjacent to Yellowstone or Acadia National Parks, outdoor enthusiasts and visitors to the park don't expect to see it here either. Industrial development adjacent to the park was so avoidable, and it still is. [16:03:29] Prince William has welcomed this development at a high future cost to the public. Cost to a million visitors to one of our largest open spaces and historic parks, who will see an inappropriate and avoidable aesthetic nuisance. Cost to residents who rely on the Occoquan Watershed for drinking water. [16:03:48] Cost to middle and low income tax rate payers who will shoulder the burden of higher energy bills. as they skyrocket with the bill for the industry's transmission lines, substations, and other infrastructure, costs to young and vulnerable lungs that count on you to protect the air quality undermined by diesel generators, and the cost of a massive contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in conflict with your commitment to 50% cuts in carbon by 2030. [16:04:19] 2030 is around the corner. Without proper regulation, data centers are inherently unsustainable. We have encouraged Prince William County to use the Digital Gateway as the project that pivots away from business as usual to establish this county as a leader in natural resource protection, site selection, and energy efficiency projects powered by clean energy. [16:04:46] Do not mortgage the region's air and water quality to massive industrial development for-profit private companies serving national and international clients until the unique and massive impacts of these rezonings are properly addressed a denial a denial is in order thank you very much um good evening um chair wheeler and members of the board my name is kyle hart and i'm here this evening on behalf of the national parks conservation association or mpca uh 501c3 [16:05:22] non-profit and i respectfully request 15 minutes of time uh to discuss all three of these rezoning applications collectively the PWDG rezonings. First and foremost, the National Parks Conservation Association is a nationwide non-profit dedicated to protecting and enhancing America's national parks for present and future generations. We have been upholding this mission for more than 100 years. We were founded in 1919 by the first director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather. When Mr. Mather stepped down as the first director of the National Park Service, he recognized that the parks would need an independent voice, an advocacy organization to speak for them when [16:06:00] they were under threat. Thus, he founded NPCA. I like to say that much as the Lorax declares that he speaks for the trees, NPCA speaks for the parks. We are proud to have more than 1.7 million members and supporters nationwide, with more than 43,500 of those members residing here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since I have 15 minutes, I'd like to go in a little bit about myself. [16:06:23] I was raised in the shadow of Manassas National Battlefield. We used to go sledding back when we had snow days down the hill at the Stonehouse. I have very fond memories of that time with my brother and I going down the hill and then sort of just driving up the road and going home for hot chocolate on our snow days. [16:06:42] It was it was quite a time. Back in March of 2022, I proposed to my now wife on the battlefield. The reason we did that is because we both love national parks and we knew that the battlefield was the closest option. It is the best and closest option for outdoor recreation for the Northern Virginia region and those that live in both Prince William as well as Fairfax, Alexandria, and Washington, D.C. [16:07:08] Now, back to the issue at hand. NPCA and our environmental partners have been fighting inappropriate development threats at Manassas Battlefield for decades. From the proposed Williams Center Mall in the 1980s, to Disney's America in the 90s, to the disastrous Bi-County Parkway in the 2000s, we have consistently and always stood up for Manassas Battlefield. [16:07:29] It is no secret that it's currently proposed the Prince William Digital Gateway rezonings would have significant negative impacts on Manassas National Battlefield. As you saw tonight, the National Park Service staff have been opposed to Digital Gateway since its inception, and NPS staff remain opposed today. [16:07:46] We are proud to stand alongside 32 other environmental partners, numerous elected officials on both sides of the political aisle, the Prince William Sustainability Commission, the Prince William Historical Commission, the Prince William Planning Commission, and Prince William County professional planning staff in opposition to these rezonings. [16:08:03] First and foremost, NPCA's position has always been and remains that no data center structure or supporting facility or any activity relating to the construction or continued operation of data centers should be visible from Manassas National Battlefield or heard from Manassas National Battlefield from that sense. [16:08:20] As you are well aware at the passage of the PWDG comprehensive plan amendment, building heights in the Southern District were to be restricted to 45 feet and restricted to 85 feet in the Northern District. Despite these restrictions and previous comments by planning staff, Manassas National Battlefield Park staff, and others, PWG rezonings continue to propose building heights significantly above these CPA-restricted heights. [16:08:44] As you're aware, QTS is proposing, I believe, a 70-foot height restriction, 60 feet plus their additional 10 feet for penthouse suites. In the Southern District, a 93-foot height restriction, similar layout in the Northern District. Compass Data Centers goes even beyond this with a total of 95 feet when it's all said and done. [16:09:02] Clearly, these rezoning applications remain out of step with the CPA in this aspect. In the applicant's own revised viewshed analysis, building facades and proposed electrical infrastructure are anticipated to be visible from Manassas National Battlefield Park. The applicants claim that these impacts will be minimal, but minimal is relative. [16:09:22] Intrusive industrial buildings and electrical substations might seem minimal to the applicants, but out-of-town visitors to the National Battlefield will likely find these structures highly intrusive. Moreover, the electrical substation in Land Bay B of PWDG South, the applicant is proposing to construct a reforested area between the battlefield and the substation, mind you, which will be 75 feet tall. [16:09:45] It is known that without this reforested area, the entirety of this substation will be visible from spots within the park. And as you've heard tonight from the arborists of the county, reforestation efforts take years to complete and be full height. Some parts of these reforestation could fail over the years. [16:10:05] Beyond this, of course, this 75-foot height restriction is once again well above the 45-foot height restriction in the CPA. Combined, these are unacceptable outcome for National Park Service resources. I think I'd like to spend a little bit of time on things that we think the applicant has ignored in this process. [16:10:24] For instance, we have serious problems with their viewshed analysis. One of the key viewsheds of Manassas National Battlefield Park is when you arrive at Bronner Farm, it's the first thing that applicants or that visitors to the park experience when they arrive. It sets the tone for their entire visit. [16:10:41] And it's very clear from obvious site plans, when an applicant turns into Bronner Farm, the first thing that they're going to see on their left is all of Prince William Digital Gateway South. to their left. That is entirely unacceptable. The applicant has failed to analyze this critical viewpoint in their process. However, it is clear from renderings that numerous data center structures and facilities will be visible. Second, data center construction and the construction process, which will take years, possibly a decade or more to complete, is an extremely intensive [16:11:18] activity. Heavy machinery, cranes, dump trucks, and more. The applicants have done nothing to mitigate or reduce these impacts on battlefield viewshed and visitor experience during this time. This is a severe, severe oversight. The CPA makes a clear effort to protect Manassas Battlefield, but this lack of proffer by the applicants to protect the park from construction activity is an important weakness. NPCA also has extensive concerns about the lacks of county parks and open space that you have heard from tonight from county staff and other presenters. During discussions [16:11:54] around the Prince William Digital Gateway, QTS and Compass continually touted the dedication of several large interpretive parks as one of the benefits of this project. These parks were constantly referred to as the Natural Cultural Resources Park and the Southern Community Park in the applicant's own conceptual plans. Notably, they are absent from current rezoning submissions and proffers to date. Commitments recently made by QTS on one of these parks fall in the far too little, far too late camp. As you know, this park is not proffered, meaning that following the [16:12:28] approval of said application, there's little the county can do to hold the applications and the applicants accountable. Without these parks, it's clear that these applicants remain out of alignment with the comp plan and should be denied. MPCA also has extensive concerns, as Ann Bennett just highlighted, about the applicant's embarrassingly inadequate sustainability proffers. As you are all are well aware, climate change is the biggest threat to national parks in the 21st century. [16:12:59] Longer droughts, more frequent wildfires, intense storms, and sea level rise. NPCA likes to say that, unfortunately, no unit of the National Park Service is safe from the negative impacts of climate. Anthropogenic climate change is caused almost entirely from the continuous burning of fossil fuels to power our homes, businesses, and thus a complete transition to 100% renewable, carbon-free electricity must be accomplished by 2050 to avoid the worst negative impacts of climate change. [16:13:27] Scientists the world over have highlighted this. This is not a secret. This board has repeatedly acknowledged the threat of climate change, and you have claimed to made real grounds on this front. But to this point, what has actually been done? This application falls short. [16:13:46] These rezoning documents clearly do nothing to advance Prince William, Virginia, and the nation's stated climate goals. And the applicants' commitments to sustainability are frankly a pitiful attempt to rectify the massive carbon energy needs this project will have. As has been discussed tonight, on the low end, current estimates for the project's expected power demand have been calculated to be approximately 3,000 megawatts or 3 gigawatts of power. [16:14:15] Depending on how you shake this out and how you value it, it's approximately 750,000 homes, more homes than Prince William and Fairfax combined. Currently, the largest coal-fired power plant in Virginia, the Clover Power Station, generates 865 megawatts of energy. [16:14:33] As Ann said, that's 3.5 times the current power being generated. Are the members of this board okay building three new coal-fired power plants to power this project? Because that's currently what you're getting. That's what Dominion has said you're getting. I think it's safe to say that with the proffer statement as currently written, the Prince William Digital Gateway will be a completely carbon-producing power source for the foreseeable future. [16:15:01] Is this truly an acceptable outcome for the majority of this board? NPCA says not. Our environmental community partners say not. and I certainly hope that you would agree. The applicant's current sustainability proffers list 16, or I think it might have switched recently to 17, possible sustainability measures the applicant may undertake. Unfortunately, the applicant only commits to executing six, five, or six of these commitments for the entire project, allowing them to pick and choose which ones they prefer. While many of the listed commitments include power purchase agreements, [16:15:39] Nothing is stated about the quantity of power to be purchased. Who knows? Maybe 1%, maybe less. Moreover, other provisions include, as we've heard a bunch tonight, the installation of 85% LED light bulbs. And what gets me most about this application is originally the applicants were committing to 100% LED light bulbs. [16:16:00] But as soon as they upped their sustainability proffers, they dropped the commitment of LED light bulbs down to 85%. They won't even commit to 100% LED light bulbs, for Christ's sake. By simply installing LED light bulbs inside and out, they've accomplished two-fifths or two-sixths of their commitments to sustainability. [16:16:22] Is that really enough? It's unacceptable and offensive to the county's clearly stated in their comp plan and in your priorities commitments to sustainability and carbon reduction. I would assume that you would want, at a minimum, all of the listed proffers to be committed to. [16:16:44] And moreover, that the proffer on power purchase agreement would be hopefully close to 100%, if not in the entirety of 100%. Without these measures being proffered in their entirety, this plan falls completely short of the county's comp plan and stated climate goals. [16:17:04] Passage of this plan currently would be a globally damaging project, threatening communities and national parks everywhere. Of course, many questions also remain about energy infrastructure, as we've heard tonight. I wanted to dig in just a little bit on that because I know many questions were asked about energy infrastructure. The question, of course, was, well, how come we don't know where the energy infrastructure is going to go? That's because the applicant won't commit to where the buildings are going to go. You don't know where you're going to put power lines until you don't know where you're going to put, when you don't know where you're going to put the buildings. It's really a matter of the applicant was asked, hey, tell us where you're going to put buildings. They refused [16:17:40] to do that. Therefore, it's impossible for Dominion and NOVAC to know where the lines are going to go. That's a very straightforward answer. County staff, I believe it was Mr. McGettigan, laid that out very clearly. At the end of the day, it's obvious that Digital Gateway Corridor, more power lines will crisscross Paisland Lane, existing RPA, and other sensitive resources. In concerns raised by planning staff and non-profits, other questions remain about off-site energy infrastructure and who pays for that. The applicant, of course, is not committed [16:18:18] to proffering the existing cost of new generation of new electrical infrastructure to bring all of this power on site. As a reminder, we're talking about the data center development similar, not quite, but similar to what is currently built in Loudoun County. Any thoughts or hopes that no new power lines and electrical generation will be needed to meet this new massive energy demand are frankly foolish. Anne talked a little bit about the digital gateway comp plan amendments sort of hope and dream for less carbon-intensive carbon-neutral energy generation. The applicant [16:18:55] has failed to do that. We're looking at, as you're aware, entirely diesel generators to back up this power or to back up this data center complex. Given the harmful health impacts that emissions from diesel generators have on nearby communities, visitors, and wildlife to Manassas National Battlefield, particularly with the numbers of diesel generators we're talking about here, Upwards of 2,000, though once again, we don't know because the applicant hasn't told us how many there will be, MPCA would expect a proffer for each of these three rezonings in which the applicant would commit that no diesel-powered backup generators would be used for this project. [16:19:35] Anything less would be very clearly out of alignment with the comp plan that you all adopted last year. The applications don't make a mention of non-diesel generators, and, you know, this is, of course, another strong, strong reason for this board who claims to care about climate change in public health to reject these applications. Now, I see that I'm running very slim on time. I would love to spend some time on endangered species, dwarf wedge mussel, northern long-eared bat, tricolored bat, monarch butterfly, and others. The habitat destruction that this project will bring to the region cannot be understated. We've encouraged the applicant [16:20:13] to work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine those applications ahead of time. That's fallen on death of the year. So at the end of the day, I call on all of you to do better and to reject this application for falling entirely too short. Thank you for your time. [16:20:29] Thank you. Next speaker, please. You and Bob are there. I just don't want to have to turn it on, or do I turn it on? So I'm Julie Bolthouse. [16:20:50] I'm Julie Bolthouse, Land Use Director, speaking as the representative for Piedmont Environmental Council of 501c3, and I am speaking to all three applications and request 15 minutes. [16:21:08] So first, I want to start by saying I'm tired. I think you guys are all tired, too, but I'm really tired, and my team is very tired. My staff and myself have been pushing back on this industry made up of the largest and richest companies in the world as they plow through communities all over the state. [16:21:29] Their NDAs, their disregard for local ordinances and policies, ridiculous games with illustratives that read like timeshare brochures. In October, that's why I put this image on this overhead, late at night, after trying to understand the scope and scale of the application, and after I had had a meeting along with some of my colleagues with the chair of the planning commission and was trying to explain to her the transmission line issue that I was concerned about and where the transmission lines would potentially go, [16:22:07] I realized that there was no image of the full development. No wonder no one understood me because there was no image. And so I had to resort to scissors and tape. And luckily, I'm the mother of two young children, a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old. [16:22:23] So there's plenty of scissors and tape and things like that in my house. And while I sat downstairs cutting and pasting, my seven-year-old kept getting out of bed and saying, Mommy, can I help do the puzzle too? But I told her she was too young for these land use issues. [16:22:41] They're too stressful. I'm sure that their high-paid consultants and lawyers with the applicant did this on purpose. They put all of these onto separate pages on purpose so that it was difficult to really get a full understanding of what the scope was of what we could expect. [16:23:03] And I don't think they ever expected that someone would be so desperate to get onto a floor and start cutting and pasting their pretty pictures out and putting them together. But that's me, and this story demonstrates the dynamic that's really at play here. [16:23:18] This is more than a David versus Goliath story. This is like ants on the leg of the giant. And in the words of Angela Davis, though, you have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world, and you have to do it all the time. We can't accept that residents of Virginia are going to subsidize this industry through our water and our air, our public land, and our utility bills. We will keep on shining a light on this industry and their tricks until we [16:23:54] achieve reform. So I'm here tonight to implore you one last time to deny this application or at the very least defer the meeting until the advertising issue and numerous conflicts with the county code and excessive flexibility and the inconsistency with the comprehensive plan issues can be addressed. [16:24:17] As the applicant has said much earlier in the day, you've made a decision on the digital gateway comprehensive plan already and decided to mitigate the impacts by including a number of protections of environmental resources and cultural resources and the community in that plan. What we are talking about today is how, and that is exactly what the staff was objecting to. I am an AICP certified planner with the American Planning Association, and I feel the need to defend my [16:24:52] fellow planners who are on your staff as some of you seem to have misunderstood their role in this process. So I just want to provide a little bit of clarity. Planning is a professional field that exists to review developers' proposals and consultation with other departments and agencies and determine if they are consistent with the locality's policies and they protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and provide adequate commitments to ensure that what is verbally promised is actually required. They're not giving their opinion. They're giving you a professional [16:25:31] assessment. These planners are likely the only people who have read the thousands of pages of application materials in full. You should heed what they have to say. There's not enough information or commitments from the applicant to adequately ensure it is consistent with the county's comprehensive plan or will come to fruition as promised by the applicant. They have no profit motive to recommend denial, and in fact, it would be easier for them to just rubber stamp the thing and call it a night. The applicants have representatives whose job it is to sell [16:26:09] this project to you while maximizing flexibility and profitability for their clients. An approval for them equates to profit. What I saw as I watched this discussion is the skilled use of high pressure sales tactics. They are rushing the process telling you you need to buy now because the sale won't last but you should be setting the pace. This is your county. They highlight and keep the conversation on all the fun stuff like the pictures and the promises while avoiding a robust conversation [16:26:43] about the details in the contract, which in this case is your proffers, which are missing key commitments and details according to your staff. They are encouraging you to keep up with the Joneses, which is in this case is Loudoun County. However, that comparison really doesn't hold up or make sense because Loudoun has never adjusted their comprehensive plan to allow data centers in rural areas, has never approved a project anywhere near this size all at once, and Loudoun is not lucky enough to have hundreds of acres in a national park, park public land funded and [16:27:23] maintained by the federal government at no expense to you within their boundary for the benefits of their citizens. They are throwing last minute cherries on top for you. Buy today and we'll give you an extra free feature kind of stuff. In this case, that's the Southern Park letter they sent to you yesterday with no actual commitments, but an abundance of pretty pictures and promises. And finally, the biggest mistake that you guys have made is committing to a yes before you had all the information, rather than making it clear that you're still shopping around. [16:28:00] You've made it clear you will vote yes no matter what, and so you're going to get a terrible deal. you have gotten a terrible deal unless you defer and say no we want you to meet our requirements within this county and or and we won't entertain anything less you're going to get a terrible deal and that's what's been handed to you some of the details that haven't been worked out are huge the staff has stated that the county code requires building footprints and site layout not building envelopes, as the developer argues. If the master corridor plan can be overlaid on the master zoning [16:28:39] plan and they can commit to substantial conformance, as the applicant showed in one of their pretty pictures, then why not just put the building footprints and site layout into the master zoning plan as required? The staff has also pointed out the 0.36 FAR in the southern land bay near the battlefield that is not on the low end as described in the CPA, meaning high intensity close to the park. This rezoning runs with the land, not the developer. So the point regarding the lack of building elevations and the design standards within is actually really important because it [16:29:18] might not be QTS building these data centers. And the natural open space is far below the requirement in the comprehensive plan, which was agreed upon with the adoption of the CPA. Further, without showing general transmission line corridors, the open space would be reduced further. [16:29:37] I sit on the Prince William Energy Engagement Group, as Alana mentioned, and provide feedback on transmission line routing. During these sessions, we are often left with all poor options. The transmission line corridors often have to go through stream valleys, or it has to go through some adjacent property owner, or it has to go through a park, or we have to avoid a cemetery or something like that, or we have to go along the edge of a cemetery. The transmission line corridors do not need to be committed to, but providing guidance even in the master corridor [16:30:14] plan. Just a general idea of this is where we think we're going to put the transmission lines, and here's a right-of-way that is equivalent to what would be needed, or an electrical infrastructure plan showing that would give the utility, the stakeholders like myself and Elena, and the SCC obvious options to work with rather than lines having to go through adjacent properties or resources, and the staff could estimate the impact to the open space. These general right-of-ways identified for transmission lines could be subject to adjustment at engineering and permitting stage [16:30:50] and still preserve lots of great options for routing. A couple issues I would add beyond the county's concerns and what the staff has put out there. Although the applicant has stated several times that the build-out will take over 15 years, there is no phasing of the building construction and therefore we don't actually know the time period that the build-out will span. It could be constructed over a much faster period. I live in Loudoun County so I see these data centers go up overnight. My husband works right off of 606 and they're going up all the time. And that could [16:31:25] result in additional traffic, noise, and overall impact to the community that's beyond what was expected. The county should also be requiring information about power and water usage as well. These two aspects could significantly impact the regional electrical grid or your public water system. According to the information the applicant shared with news agencies, the three applications will require around three gigawatts of power, and that's as much power as to power 750,000 homes. [16:32:00] That's more than all of Northern Virginia, for reference, and more than the 2.6 gigawatt offshore wind project that's being completed. It's also more than three times the one gigawatt natural gas peaking plant that's been proposed by Dominion down in Chesterfield County that is going to be impacting a community that's already been disenfranchised, that has already suffered extensive environmental justice issues with previous plants being in close proximity to their community. I would urge the county to require renewable energy offsets that are clearly [16:32:39] documented and committed to with this project due to its incredibly large scale and scope. with that we urge you to shock everyone tonight I think everyone kind of feels like we know what's going to happen although I feel like Elena just really uplifted me and I'm feeling enthusiastic after that truthfully so I urge you to shock everyone tonight and demand for Prince William County a better deal and finally show this industry that there is a line and that they've [16:33:15] crossed it and that you will hold their feet to the fire and deny this application as proposed if you won't deny it at least defer until these legal requirements are met to the satisfaction of your staff to save the county from expensive lawsuits thank you and have a good night thank you next speaker please and while that speaker's getting to the microphone i will call up uh nr number 7 through 14. Morning, everyone. Jason Asher. Represent the Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades. Represent [16:33:52] about 8,000 plumbers and steam fitters living in the D.C. metro area. A little more than 300 of them live here in the county. I'm going to come up like I have for all the other hearings, just talking about the jobs. We've built 99% of the data centers that have been built between Prince William and Loudoun County over the last 15, 20 years, and we just want to keep doing that. It's good work. It gets people into a good career that pays well, and it gives them the opportunity to uplift themselves and their family. As my brother Jorge said when he got up here earlier, he was driving up to D.C. and into Maryland every day to go to work. Now he had, then towards the end of [16:34:28] his career, before he became an organizer, he had the ability to live and work in the county, which gave him a 30-minute ride home from work every day. Let's him spend more time with his family. And that's all we want for our members. Appreciate if you'll support all the rezonings. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi, I'm Max Hogan. I'm speaking on behalf of the American Battlefield Trust requesting 15 minutes. Yes, but you're going to have to speak more clearly than that into the microphone. Sorry, I'm going to move this up so I'm not bending the whole time. [16:35:02] Okay, is it ready? I'm just waiting for it to actually show. All right, so members of the Prince William Board of Supervisor, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. Like I mentioned, I am representing the American Battlefield Trust and our 300,000 members and supporters across the country. Many of them are right here in Prince William County. We're a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of America's hallowed ground, protecting more than 57,000 acres of land at 150 sites across the nation. In Prince William County alone, we've [16:35:40] preserved a little less than 800 acres from Manassas to Bristow Station and the Buckland Battlefields. Those lands have a fair market value of around $38 million. We also own land directly adjacent to the proposed development and within the CPA. We believe that the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway will cause irreparable harm to the Manassas National Battlefield Park. This battlefield was the scene of two critical battles of the American Civil War, First and Second Manassas, or Bull Run. The Manassas National Battlefield Park includes [16:36:19] sites identified by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission created by Congress back in the 90s. It's been identified as what's referred to as a Priority One Class A battlefield. There's basically a couple of metrics that were used in that study to identify both battlefields based on their importance to the story of the Civil War itself and by their ability to be preserved. [16:36:49] So scored in the top category for both of those, and therefore is in the set of the most deserving of preservation. Being a history organization, I'll go through a little bit of background on the battles here. [16:37:06] So the first Battle of Bull Run was the first full-scale battle of the war. The fierce fight there forced both the North and the South to face the reality that the war was going to be long and bloody. Up to then, there had been some delusions that it was going to be a quick affair. [16:37:23] After the war officially began, when Confederate troops shelled Sumter down in South Carolina, the fighting didn't commence in earnest until Bull Run months later, just 25 miles from D.C., under public pressure to end the war in 90 days. [16:37:41] Like I said, they thought it was going to be a quick affair. President Lincoln was pushed by, sorry, pushed his generals to embark on a campaign south. So, jumping through here. [16:38:01] So McDowell embarked on a campaign to capture the Confederate capital in Richmond, but its troops were stopped at Bull Run by the Confederate forces. The Federals retreating to Washington, where the Lincoln administration retooled for a war that would be waged at great human cost. One year after their stunning victory at the First Battle of Manassas, the Confederate prospects were more uncertain. [16:38:25] General Ulysses S. Grant was keeping the Confederates at bay in the west. In the east, General McClellan was threatening the Confederate capital at Richmond with the largest army ever assembled in North America. Three Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley were attempting to move south to support McClellan's invasion, but their progress was continually impeded. [16:38:46] Frustrated by the failure of those troops to gain ground, Abraham Lincoln formed the Army of Virginia in June of 1862 and appointed Major General John Pope to command it. The Lincoln administration gave Pope the dual task of shielding Washington and operating northwest of Richmond to take pressure off of McClellan's army. [16:39:06] But Pope's defeat at Second Manassas was a setback. This second loss for the Union near the battlefield at Bull Run resulted in Pope's dismissal from command and Lee's march northward, which eventually resulted in the Battle of Antietam. These two battles together produced nearly 27,000 casualties. [16:39:25] Many Americans drew their last breath on those fields, and many still rest there. So many speakers before me tonight have laid out very eloquently the many concerns that this project brings up. Power usage, water use, water runoff, lack of clarity of building sites, the burden of additional power lines, noise impacts, viewshed impacts, and more. [16:39:52] I'd like to take a moment to talk about viewshed concerns. We've brought up time and time again how this development will impact the viewshed from the National Park. The National Park Service themselves are here tonight to express that. I would like to highlight as a part of this process something that went on months back. [16:40:12] County archaeologist Justin Patton, of course, we've heard from tonight as well, in discussion with the applicant and some groups, some landowners such as ABT, we were involved in this conversation. Justin Patton had asked the applicant to do viewshed impact analysis from the ABT property that was included in the CPA and is adjacent to it. [16:40:35] applicants refused to do that however since then the applicant has time and again shown their proposed trails as part of this project running through our land and is surely including our land in their calculation of their open space totals speaking of county staff they've worked hard on analyzing thousands of pages over the course of this project on every occasion available to them they've told you that they have concerns about the projects and the project and its impacts And I want you to ask yourself, what do they stand to gain from expressing that opposition other than the ire of those who stand to make millions from this development? [16:41:16] The Board of Supervisors is well within its authority to take care, even if it takes time. These three expansive and complicated rezoning applications necessitate more than a single evening of consideration. You've heard tonight from your own staff that they have opposed the rezonings to both the failures of the application and the lack of the time available to analyze the extensive applications that have been changing rapidly over the last four weeks. [16:41:44] It's not just the fact that you can take the time, but that you should take the time for careful consideration. There's no compelling reason that this must be finally determined tonight. Many people with financial interests in this being approved may want you to think that it's your responsibility to make a quick decision, but really you've been elected to be the caretakers of the county and its resources and to make the wise judgments which cannot always be made by those who stand to benefit. [16:42:17] The land that makes up the battlefield was made hollowed ground by the many thousands who bled and died there. For nearly a century now, Manassas has also been the subject of some of the most famous grassroots struggles to save American history. In fact, the battlefield today remains largely intact and unspoiled as a result of the work of many. [16:42:36] Because the battlefield landscape remains largely as it was in the 19th century, it serves as a site where Americans can and do come to learn about their history, about the sacrifices that were made to maintain the Union. In 2020, during the depths of COVID, with the National Park Service system-wide visitation was down more than a quarter, Manassas actually saw an increase in use of nearly 10%, despite scaling back its programming and amenities. [16:43:07] And, of course, the Park Service himself said it better than I could earlier tonight that, you know, this is a park that's seen growth and visitation. Do not doubt that this park is beloved, is well used by the community and by visitors from further away. Data centers are a reality of the 21st century. [16:43:25] We're not here tonight to argue whether the county should be pursuing data centers at all. We are here, however, to stress that there is no reason why the county cannot both allow for new data center development and preserve the single greatest historic resource in the county, a site that's a national treasure. [16:43:42] Simple, reasonable changes to this plan could greatly reduce its impact. Rational building height restrictions, fuchsia mitigation, and sound mitigation are all steps that we feel the board should consider and strengthen. The Board of Supervisors has a duty to balance both the economic interests and quality of life of their constituents. [16:44:01] We hope that you'll hear our concerns and understand that we are not here to obstruct but to advocate for the best of both worlds, growth for the county, and preservation for the country's irreplaceable and vulnerable historic resources. Thank you. Thank you. [16:44:18] Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is Mike Dempsey, and I'm speaking on behalf of Carpenter Contractor Trust. I'm going to be speaking at the three zoning applications. [16:44:34] As mentioned, my name is Mike Dempsey, and I'm speaking to you in favor of the Digital Gateway. Our organization works to bring back the skilled trades into schools across the country. We hear all the time that there are, quote, not enough workers or not enough skilled craftspeople to do these kinds of construction jobs anymore. [16:44:55] The truth is that there are plenty of people who want to participate in building the next generation of infrastructure, but they lack the opportunities to participate in a true career, not just a job. It's a stark and brutal reality. [16:45:12] The more work union contractors that are held to vigorous labor standards and are connected to registered apprenticeships earn, the more trades being taught in schools is necessary. The more apprentices can be taken into these programs, the more a skilled workforce is needed, the more men and women can go from poverty to the middle class. [16:45:33] When there are no jobs available and the only construction jobs they see are riddled with wage theft and worker misclassification, there is no incentive to teach students in schools about the trades, and the trades disappear for another generation in our schools. You know that students have to go somewhere when they graduate, and schools know that students have to be able to compete in a 21st century economy. Projects like the Digital Gateway will guarantee that students graduating from local high schools and vocational schools can enter a gold standard, union-skilled [16:46:11] trades apprenticeship program and work on a multi-year project like the Digital Gateway, a project with labor standards and protections connected to the best union apprenticeship programs in the country. They can earn a pension and annuity their entire careers, which is unheard of in today's world, and have a high-paying construction career with the skills they need to be able to compete anywhere. What will you say to the students graduating from high school in the coming years for the ones that college is just simply not an option. For too long, people have used the line, just go to trade school, to stop mothers and fathers from asking their elected [16:46:49] officials the right questions when they want to know what options are available for their children when they graduate. The reality is, without the digital gateway, those students will not see the 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 construction jobs that can sustain and raise their families in one of the most expensive parts of the country. [16:47:10] Without the digital gateway, when you are asked, why don't we have trades in the schools anymore? I remember when I grew up, we had woodshop class. Your vote is the reason why we will either have skilled trades back in these schools or not. Thank you for your courage to look to the future, not the past, to become agents of change and not protectors of the status quo. [16:47:33] Let's bring the trades back to our schools. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning. Honorable leaders of the county of Prince William, Virginia, I speak in favor of the rezoning for Compass One, Digital Gateway South, and Digital Gateway North. [16:47:58] Thank you for your service to Prince William County. My name is Lou Spencer. I'm the assistant business manager with UA Local 5 Plumbers and Gas Fitters, and I'm the secretary-treasurer of the Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council. For all the reasons spoken this day and night in the affirmative, I urge you to move in favor of rezoning for Compass One, Digital Gateway South, Digital Gateway North. [16:48:21] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening, everyone. My name is Ray Debraheem. [16:48:37] I'm speaking as an individual, and I will be speaking in all three applications. I am a resident of Falkyer County, and I live in the town of Warrington. And before moving to Fauquier, I spent about three years of my early childhood, from second, third, fourth, and a bit of fifth grade, living in Prince William County. [16:49:02] And I'm here today to speak against a project that will have negative consequences throughout the entire region and, if approved, has the potential to be one of the most environmentally destructive projects in our region's history, the Prince William Gateway. [16:49:19] And before I get into more details about this project, I have a very personal connection. I have, like, a connection as to why I care so much about this project. And I believe it's because it has many parallels to something that happened recently in my community. [16:49:41] You know, Amazon came in and proposed a data center. Amazon proposed a data center in the town of Warrington that was deeply unpopular. Many people came out and spoke against it. It really seemed that the only people who would be benefiting it from it were Amazon. [16:50:01] And the process was very incomplete, very messy application. And there was a great lack of transparency. And a lot of times, decisions like this, yes, they do divide the community. but in many ways they do unite the community as well um i came and i spoke out against the data center that was being constructed in my town that was proposed to be constructed in my town on valentine's day earlier this year and what i saw was quite frankly beautiful um i saw democrats [16:50:36] and republicans um i saw the rich and the poor and the middle class and um everyone from you know everyone from actors such as even Robert Duvall came out to speak out against the proposed data center and everyone kind of came together to speak out with one voice against the project that would have negative consequences and I believe a similar thing has happened is happening today so to be honest with you we should not even have to be standing here today speaking out against this [16:51:11] project. I believe that the voters of Prince William County already made their voices clear on this project back in June when Chairwoman Ann Wheeler was defeated in the Democratic primary by DeSondra Jefferson and when Janine Lawson won the Republican primary, both of whom have been outspoken opponents of Data Center Spall and specifically the Digital Gateway. And, you know, voters from both parties tend not to agree on much, but this seems to be something that people agree on but in a move that seems to be designed to ensure its approval the hearing on [16:51:47] this project is happening today instead of next month when the senator jefferson would get sworn in and the balance of the board would change and the project would be more likely to fail and i believe that it is incredibly irresponsible to rust the approval of such a controversial project during a lame duck period and this accident betrays the decision the voters made in june and november and um i wanted to also bring a few details about this project um the [16:52:20] prince william digital gateway if approved will build 37 data centers taking up over 1 700 acres of land to put those numbers in perspective that's almost triple the size of the arlington National Cemetery of large, ugly, windowless buildings. But that's not even the worst part. [16:52:41] These are conservative estimates for the amount of power these 37 data centers will use range from two to three gigawatts. To put those numbers in perspective, that's enough power for 500,000 houses. Yes, you heard that right, 500,000 houses. And the digital gateway will be constructed in the rural crescent, a rural region of Prince William that is filled with farmland and open spaces. And this project is also located near the Manassas National Battle Park. And it is clear that anyone who values our environment and our natural and historical resources, even a little [16:53:19] bit, should be vehemently opposed to the Prince William Digital Gateway. And that is why the planning staff have recommended denying this project. And quite frankly, I think this would be a very easy decision um it's it's very easy i think the facts are clear um the board should vote no um however it seems that the data center industry stands to profit immensely from this project and that is why they have been hard at work trying to convince people that this project is good for the community and there have also been some local politicians who have accepted lots of campaign donations from the data center industry and they seem eager to approve this [16:53:57] projects. And one of the arguments I've heard a lot about is tax revenue. And I believe that there are other ways to get the necessary tax revenue to fund schools and other essential services. There are already many, many existing data centers in Prince William County. Prince William County has one of the lowest data center taxes in Northern Virginia. Increasing the taxes on these data centers should get the necessary revenue that is needed without destroying the environment as much. And before I conclude my remarks, there's a proverb from the Cree Native [16:54:34] Americans that goes, and I quote, when the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money. We refuse to remain silent while our environment and the dreams and the futures of our children are being sacrificed to the golden calf of corporate greed and big business and even if the board makes the wrong decision tonight our fight for the future of our community will not end and just like Obi-Wan Kenobi said when he was struck down by Darth Vader you may strike me down but I will rise to be more powerful than [16:55:13] you could possibly imagine and that is what will happen in this community that is what happened in my community when the Amazon Data Center was approved. I hope you will change your minds and vote no against this project. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [16:55:39] Hello. I am David Pallon. I will be speaking on behalf of IBW Local 26, so I request 15 minutes. I'm sorry. It's not a non-profit or an HOA. Respectfully, it's a 501c5 organization. We have training center and a union hall. It is a non-profit, yes. Okay, 15 minutes. I won't take all the time, don't worry. First, I just want to thank all of you for being a supremely pro-worker board, and I just want to say thank you for hanging in the pocket here through these late nights over [16:56:17] and over and over again. Ever since your first meeting, people have been coming for you, but transformational change is difficult. Progress is difficult, and you all have had to make a lot of tough decisions, and I just want to let you know that us and our thousand members here in Prince William County stand with you, and we thank you for all the things that you've done, whether it's passing prevailing wage ordinance, collective bargaining, and the entire gambit of pro-worker reforms that you've made. You truly have transformed Prince William County in your four years. [16:56:48] I want to talk very briefly about an important distinction, I think, that needs to be made between conservationism and environmentalism. So there are people who are conservationists who only want to preserve and are not interested in the green economy and creating green energy alternatives. [16:57:12] And one of the things that we pride ourselves with IBW is actually working hand-in-hand with environmentalist organizations to be on the front line of solar projects, installing EV charging stations, decarbonization, you know, building platinum LEED-certified buildings. [16:57:30] So that's something that we work very diligently at. And I noticed when I came up here that some of the other organizations who came here and claimed to be environmentalist organizations are the same folks who have been opposing and fighting us in building utility-scale solar projects across northern Virginia and across the entire state. [16:57:47] So I just want to point that out. We are trying to have energy alternatives, and we're being fought by some of the same folks here today. Um, but that's not really, um, what I came here to do. I want to play a video, which is a bunch of our members, um, apprentices, people who have come out. [16:58:09] We've had over a hundred members come out to these various meetings and I've had them send me emails, um, and text me videos of them sharing their support for this project. So I clipped it together. Don't worry. I shortened them down. Um, and I just want to play that real quick and then I'll be done. [16:58:56] For me and my commute and being able to spend time with my family and everyone I love instead of spending hours on the road and being able to do that for the foreseeable future for the next 15 years, it's one of the best things that could happen for my work and my future. [16:59:21] My name is Colby Hernandez. I live in 7504 Equinox Landing Court, over by 29. I've lived there since third grade, almost 12, 13 years, and I would love to keep staying in the community. And this project, being here, would allow me to stay close to family, friends, and where I grew up most of my life. [16:59:44] Hello, Noah Barton here. I am a commercial electrician with Local 26. I support Prince William Digital Gateway because it will allow me to work in my community and spend more time with my family. We didn't allow speakers to support the project by video. [17:00:02] People have been playing videos all night. But excuse me, not videos speaking about the project and support or against the project. People have sung songs. They have done all kinds of videos all night long. What does that have to do with? [17:00:18] I'm perfectly fine hearing about people support the project. By video when they should have signed up. I mean, we could have had hundreds and hundreds of people pre-record. It's a public hearing. [17:00:33] I'm not going to not allow it. Sorry. I just want this. I am objecting and is now on record. You have no business coming in here and speaking. You do not. If you can't control yourself, I will ask you to be removed. [17:00:51] I will ask you to be removed. I just want the record to reflect that I am objecting. great to the public hearing process when these people's supposed residents have not registered like like the process calls for and let the record be noted that I am objecting to your you're allowing this that's great please proceed respectfully not everyone in Prince William County [17:01:23] can stay up here till four o'clock in the morning our workers get off of work at 2 30 they have to be at the job sites at 5 a.m they have come out and you'll see in these videos they were here and they have been here but they cannot stay they have to work for a living they don't have the same luxury as a lot of us where we can take the time to be here in the middle of the night sir you you go ahead i just wanted to make the record support the digital gateway project hello my name is nelson [17:01:58] aguilar i'm with the carpenters and i'm support digital gateway project hey my name is eduardo chicas i live in prince william county and i support digital gateway [17:02:22] and yes, I agree with the event they are doing, and I'm happy. Thank you all. [17:02:53] building data centers and digital gateway. Hi, my name is Marco Claros. I live in Prince William County 20 years. I work for local 26, 27 years, and I support the Prince William Digital Gateway. Hi, my name is Kofi Nimarco. [17:03:12] I've been living in Prince William County for 22 years, and I work for local 26 for 22 years, and I support the Digital Gateway. My name is D.R.P. Hatch. I'm Prince William County resident. [17:03:28] I support the data center here because I want to work close to my wall. Hi, how are you doing? My name is Jose Montenegro, and I am Prince William County resident, and I support the Digital Gateway Project. [17:03:46] Hello, my name is Luis Barajona. I'm with Carpino Local, and I support Digital Gateway. Hello, my name is Andy Urbina. I live here in Dale City, and I'm here to support Digital Gateway. [17:04:02] I'm Mohamed Kamara. I live in Woodbridge, Virginia, and I support Digital Gateway. Hi, my name is Heidel Sanchez. I live in Woodbridge, and I support Digital Gateway. I'm Cameron McMillan. [17:04:20] I am from Dumfries, and I'm from Local 26, and I support the Digital Gateway. My name is Travis Harrington. I live in Noxville, and I support Digital Gateway. Hello, I'm Tim Spaulding, Union Carpenter, and I support the Digital Gateway. [17:04:35] Support your local unions. My name is Cesar Salazar. I live here in Andale City, and I support the Digital Gateway. I'm Freddy Lahren. I live here in Andale City, Virginia, and I support the Digital Gateway. My name is Spencer Sartain. [17:04:51] I've been a resident of Prince William County for five years. I support the Digital Gateway. I'm a resident of Prince William County. I support the Digital Gateway Project. Hi, my name is Dave Jodry. I'm an electrician with Local 26, and I support the Prince William County Digital Gateway Project. [17:05:07] Hello, my name is Saeed Rouhani. I'm a member of Union Local 26, and I support the project. Hi, my name is Roderick Tan. I live in Prince William County, and I'm a local, I view Local 26 member, and I support the Digital Gateway. [17:05:29] Hi, my name is Claudia. I live in Goodbridge, and I support the Digital Gateway. Hello, my name is William Warwick, and I am a local 26 contractor, Hanley Electric. We've been in business for three years, and in those three working data centers, 100 of which are here in the Northern Virginia area, Manassas area, all of which live a very good living wage, and I definitely support the Digital Gateway. [17:05:59] My name is David Woodfin. I've been a Prince William County citizen for 55 years. I support Digital Gateway data centers. Hi, my name is Alfred Basilio. I live in Woodbridge, and I support the Digital Gateway. My name is Antonio Poe, and I live in Woodbridge, Virginia, and I support the Digital Gateway. [17:06:20] Hi, I'm Al. I live in Marisco Village. I support the Gateway program because it's got a lot of jobs for people that, a lot of people need jobs. Hello, my name is Nonda, and I'm a proud member of IBW Local 26, and I believe in this project, Digital Gateway. [17:06:42] Hi, my name is Sean Hobson. I live in Woodbridge, and I support the Gateway. Thank you. Madam Chair, the gentleman said that people had been here earlier. I'd like to know if they signed up or are on the list for the public hearing. [17:07:01] I mean, last year when this happened. I just made a decision to let them play the video because we've had a lot of different people play videos. We can talk about it later. Why don't we continue with our public hearing? Well, Madam Chair, this is a public hearing, and there was a process on the public participating. [17:07:20] And if we're going to have a public hearing, we really need to follow the law and the practices that we, this board, have had. And this has not been a practice of this board in the public hearings. [17:07:38] That's why I'm trying to understand exactly. The gentleman said that they were here earlier, although I did notice a couple of your speakers didn't appear to be physically here. Were they present here today and those were filmed outside today? Respectfully, are we supposed to be asked questions during public comment? [17:07:56] No, you're not. So thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Thank you so much. That's quite all right, because I have a feeling that maybe you'll be asking questions, maybe not in this board chamber, but in a courtroom, because I have serious concerns about the legality of what you just allowed. [17:08:14] You really have to contain yourself, please. Next speaker, please. I'm not real sure why you needed to smack down the gavel. Don Slayman, IBW Local 26, I would like to speak in support of the three applications. It would take nine minutes. [17:08:30] I won't take the whole time, though. I'd like to just thank the board. You guys have been through so many long meetings and taken so many slings and hours for doing. Nothing but transform this community. The data center industry is the most unionized industry in this country. [17:08:53] It's the jobs of tomorrow. The European Union has passed regulations that data has to be stored to where it's created because they recognize the growth of this industry, and they're trying to capture this industry back. We cannot shun this industry. As I mentioned before, organically, they become the most unionized industry in this country. [17:09:12] It wasn't by the Jones Act, like the maritime industry. It wasn't by other means. It was the nature of the work. Because these are continuous systems that can't be turned off when they're operated on, you cannot make mistakes. And so because of that, for the guts of this industry, they have sought organized labor out to do the work. [17:09:34] As Fitter's mentioned, 99% of Fitter's work has been done union in this industry here in this region. We get about 87% to 88% of this work. That's the construction. What's even more important, though, is every single one of our larger contractors that do this work, Power Solutions, Mona, Dyna, Free State, Barco Mac, they create production shops, prefab shops, next to the sites this you know and these are i i've spent 42 years in labor movement trying to organize and it's very difficult to organize a production shop we don't have to organize them [17:10:09] those are our members they put in there and because these production shops and fabrication shops are unionized it's much easier for us to help folks transition into our trade into our construction trade especially returning citizens so this offers a great opportunity for us to create the stability folks need to get into our industry. The other thing is, besides the prefab and production and construction, the maintenance is done union. You know, I had to fight a lot of, I had to fight a left-wing speaker at the Maryland AFL Civil last week because he was complaining that so much money was going to these data centers and for so little permanent jobs. They didn't count [17:10:47] the operational jobs. We have 30 people working in every single data center in Loudoun County and here in Prince William County, for six or seven different kind of maintenance contractors, just maintaining efficiency, swapping equipment, swapping components. So these are permanent jobs. [17:11:04] I was insulted when I talked about our jobs being transient. We're not tramps. These are our careers. But these maintenance jobs will always continue on and on. You know, Quantum Loophole is trying to do something similar over in Maryland, on the side of an old East Alcoa brownfield. [17:11:24] Over there, there was 800 aluminum workers who worked for 39 years. We're going to have over 1,800 electricians doing maintenance for much more than 39 years in a much cleaner environment, much better conditions and safer conditions to work in, and a much higher pay. [17:11:39] And so you saw our members testify. This is the jobs tomorrow, bringing diversity to a middle class, similar to what the UAW did in the 50s. My father was the director of civil rights for that organization. and the UAW paid for the march in Washington. [17:11:56] This is something similar, and this industry is helping us do that. This industry is much maligned. On the shell, the industry never took notice. They care about the guts, and that's why they built the union. But on the shell, the bad tendencies in our construction industry, the gigging of the construction for the carpenters and the painters and these other trades that aren't licensed like ours, they were exploited, and they were paid under the table. [17:12:22] They suffered from waste theft. They were 1099, so they weren't given workers' comp on employment insurance, overtime. I reached out to Keith Harney of Cloud HQ, told him about this. He said he had no idea. We had a similar instance at Microsoft. A general contractor bought that wage theft onto their job. [17:12:39] We reached out to Microsoft. Now they've signed an agreement that they're going to self-perform the work. They're not going to tier it. They're not going to 1099 people. Compass and QTS have reached a labor agreement, so they are going to also help us clean up the industry. They didn't have to do that. And what they're doing helps us clean, since this is the high-end, high-road construction, it helps us clean up the rest of the construction industry. [17:13:02] We're going to go from the top down and get rid of the exploitation. And the same recent immigrants that are exploited going through the union are not exploited. And this conference in QDS are helping us do that. That's not their responsibility to clean up the construction industry, but they're helping us do that because of the board, because of this opportunity. [17:13:21] Amazon, when they built their headquarters, the supervisors there in Arlington insisted that they not let the wage theft go on. And when we cut an agreement with Amazon, there was so much wage theft and misclassification in the carpentry in Arlington that the non-legitimate, not the union or the non-union, but the non-legitimate companies that paid under the table, coyotes, was the prevailing wage. [17:13:44] So they accepted paying D.C. prevailing wages. Because of that influence by the supervisors there in Arlington, we were then able to argue with the state to pay prevailing wage. They had wage theft misclassification for carpentry work on the state new general assembly. So it started with Amazon, we brought it to the state, and we brought it to the county, and thank you for you all having prevailing wage here in your county and getting rid of the scourge of paying people under the table. [17:14:08] And so this all started from this, and so things are changing. Tomorrow, there's going to be a city manager now in January who just told us they're going to do a PLA on that. new capitals, wizards, proposed new monumental sports facility, we didn't even have to ask them. [17:14:25] That's what's happening. We are cleaning up the industry, and you're doing it right here. And that is how you preserve a middle class. And I think the biggest thing that's facing this country right now is the erosion of our social fabric, and that's because of wage inequality and a huge gap in inequality in this country. [17:14:42] This is how you address it. This industry is the industry of tomorrow, like the UAW industry was, like I said, in the 50s and 60s. This industry is bringing good middle-class jobs to diverse folks in your community. And that has to be encouraged. [17:14:58] And you are encouraging. We really appreciate that. That's how you build a middle class. That's how you build stability. You know, we would not have had an insurrection if unionization wasn't at 6% in the private sector. This is helping change that. This is how we build a community. This is bigger than just building these data centers. [17:15:15] This is weaving the fabric of our community. This is bringing us together, giving us opportunity, giving us hope. And so we just really appreciate you helping us and this industry helping us clean up the gig economy and the constructionry, clean up the misclassification of wage theft, and giving people real, true careers. [17:15:34] And I thought the young man from the Carpenters who talked about what you're going to do to help us with the schools, I thought he was right on. And so I just want to finish in saying you guys have suffered undue criticism. [17:15:50] I think you're heroes in my book. And you guys are changing this county, and so goes Prince William County, so goes Virginia. So thank you. As a Virginian all my life, I want to thank you for what you've done. Appreciate it. [17:16:08] Thank you. Seeing no one else lined up, I will assume there are no speakers in person. and I know we have people online. That's correct? So I'm going to turn it over to Supervisor Bodie, and I do want to share this responsibility with you because it's going to go on for a while, so we'll have to figure that out, but you let me know. [17:16:30] So how many folks do we have signed up right now who are online? We currently have 51 that are logged in. All right. As with in-person public hearing here, you can identify yourself, worry about where you live, and how many of the rezoning cases you're speaking about. [17:16:52] You have three minutes per hearing as a normal individual and five minutes per hearing as a duly person who represents an organization. Shall we begin? Your first speaker is Sharon Harvey. [17:17:25] Ms. Harvey, you can unmute yourself. [17:17:38] Ms. Harvey, if you're speaking right now, we still cannot hear you. We will circle back to Ms. Harvey. Your next speaker will be Evan Lauer. Good morning. My name is Evan Lauer. [17:17:55] I live in the Gainesville District. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'll keep my comments very brief as I echo many of the supporting arguments that you've already heard throughout this meeting today. I'm here to voice my support for all three of the rezoning applications before the board today. In particular, I believe that the rezoning requests warrant approval for the following reasons. [17:18:14] First, I strongly believe that these cases are a once-in-a-lifetime economic opportunity for the entire county, considering how politically divided the world is over the past few years, like this present hearing, for example. I think it's particularly remarkable that the applicants and landowners in the development area are able to collectively come together for a generational project of this magnitude. [17:18:35] Second, the economic benefits of this project, the benefits we'll have for the entire county, will better enable the county to stop relying on the property owners to cover 80% of the county budget and instead balance it better with commercial and private contributions. [17:18:51] I think this is vital if the county wants to continue to provide high-quality public services, fund their top-tier educational system in the district, and be a model for other local counties in Northern Virginia. And then just finally, this project and the CPA and all these rezoning hearings have been going on for over two years, and I think no one but this current board is better educated on this issue at this point and prepared to analyze these rezoning applications and make the best decision for this county. [17:19:18] Thank you for your time and your service with these hearings, And please vote to recommend approval in these applications. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lauer. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Emily Lauer. [17:19:36] Good morning. This is Emily Lauer. I live in the Gainesville District, and I am also speaking in support of all three rezoning applications. I will also keep my comments brief as my arguments have been heard before, but I'm approaching it from the education standpoint as a former public school teacher and now as a mom. [17:20:01] with kids in the county. I recognize that these projects can add a lot of desperately needed funding for our schools that I think is super important. And lastly, I just want to thank all of you for all of your hard work. Whether you agree with me or not, I appreciate everything that you've done for our county and all the work you've put into this. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Ms. Lauer. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Cynthia Wilson. [17:20:31] Ms. Wilson, you can please begin when you can. [17:20:54] Yes. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed, Ms. Wilson. Okay. Cynthia Wilson, Gainesville District. [17:21:10] I support all three zoning applications. I want to applaud the Board of Supervisors for your unwavering service to the Prince William community. We ask the Board of Supervisors to continue to stay strong, do what's best for Prince William County, and approve the Prince William Digital Gateway Rezoning Application 3A, 3B, and 3C. [17:21:32] thank you thank you miss wilson next speaker please your next speaker is sharon harvey miss harvey good morning there we go we can hear you now please proceed miss harvey okay great uh [17:22:01] this has been quite a day i've been listening to you and watching you off and on all day and i just want to go over a little bit what my reactions were when you guys were talking to the [17:22:27] The applicants, they are very, very well rehearsed, but I was more impressed by Emily and Chris and some of the other people that worked for Prince William County there. [17:22:54] But those two young people were so, I don't know, they were so polished, they knew exactly what to say. They put up with getting up and down and back and forth, but they were really, really courageous. [17:23:15] And I think that many times people just don't realize how hard these kids work. They told you how they had worked their tails off trying to get all that done and even had Mr. Shorter take some of their workload off of them. [17:23:41] But I was so disappointed the way that some of the people, you people, talked to them and treated them. They were talking down to them, and it was just really kind of sad. [17:23:58] And, you know, these young kids, I looked around, you know, up and down the desk. I didn't see anybody sleeping when I was earlier today, but they're just like no interest in these kids, really. [17:24:18] And it was kind of sad. And I'm thinking I was expecting maybe something like maybe Mr. Shorter would speak up or something, but he didn't. And I'm thinking these poor kids, if they think that all their work has been for nothing and that people are just going to ignore them, too, you know, then he's going to have to deal with young people who are dissatisfied with the way that they're being treated at work [17:24:57] and then also maybe even a hostile work environment. I mean, that was really hard to see because I didn't think they deserved that. But here, I'm going to talk about just some other things that I observed. [17:25:17] The questions that were being asked from the dais and from, you know, were good. I mean, there were some good, hard questions. [17:25:34] But then there were some ones that just, you know, they were just phony, joony kind of questions. And, you know, let me make myself look good here. So it's just really, it was really, really kind of sad. [17:25:53] It was, you know, it was hard. It was hard to hear that in this momentous moment in Prince William County Board of County Supervisors history that the chair was not watching the planning commission meetings. [17:26:18] I mean, wouldn't you think that somebody would watch those if they were that important and that engaged? The funny thing is, if she had been watching, she would have heard why everybody was in such a hurry to get this done. [17:26:39] You know, people said, why are we rushing this? Why is this being rushed through? One of the applicants said it at the Planning Commission meeting. He said, we're hurrying up because the contract is running out with Pageland. [17:26:59] So that's what it was. It's, you know, so I would just say that as an organizational psychologist, that's what my degree is in. [17:27:17] Some of the behaviors that I saw were very, very sad and upsetting. The thing about the questions and the fact that nobody, nobody was really taking them that seriously was kind of, I don't know. [17:27:47] I just. [17:27:56] Thank you, Ms. Harvey. Next speaker, please. your next speaker is lisa bevel miss bevel if you're trying to speak right now we currently [17:28:17] cannot hear you we will circle back to miss bevel your next speaker is gila arakin oh hello yes we [17:28:52] can hear you please proceed hello yeah yes mr arakin please proceed we can hear you okay thank you gaysville district i want to thank the board and supervisors for all the hard work please vote in favor um of zone 3a 3b and 3c thank you thank you miss arashid next speaker please [17:29:33] your next speaker is shan wilkins hello yes miss wilkins we can hear you please proceed can you hear me yes we can okay well uh i would just want to appreciate the board for looking [17:30:00] into this. And this is the best thing that could ever happen for Prince William County. We don't have affordable housing because we don't have the land for it. This ridiculous rural crescent, which is now gone and done, destroyed our property values. And if the county wants to buy our land so they can appreciate the rural land while they get to buy it. We don't have to [17:30:38] give it to them for free. We aren't here. We did not buy the property in order to be a view shed for Heritage Hunt. And I appreciate everything. And these Democrats have done a great job looking at everything and asking the hard questions, something that Ms. Lawson and Mr. [17:31:03] Rear certainly did not do. And I just support the recommendation of all three of these propositions tonight. And thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Wilkins. Next speaker, please. [17:31:22] Your next speaker is Jerry O'Sullivan. Mr. O'Sullivan, you can unmute yourself. [17:31:48] Okay, we'll move along to Bobby Kelly. [17:32:05] Hello, this is Bobby Kelly. I am from Gainesville, and I am here to speak on all of the three zoning applications. I just want to make a couple of upfront observations after having watched and listened to this meeting and public hearing for the last 15 hours. [17:32:27] Somebody brought up, one of the speakers brought up wishing that there would be integrity throughout the meeting. And I have to say from my perspective, I really believe that your two planners, Emily and Chris, displayed the most amount of integrity this day. [17:32:47] And I don't see a lot of integrity coming from a large portion of those sitting on the dais. So that's pretty disappointing. The other thing is one of the speakers mentioned that all the opponents are coming from a place of fear. [17:33:05] And I really don't believe if anybody had been in the chambers for the last two years listening to the opposition that they saw any fear because we came forward with facts and figures and science and a lot of research and a lot of benchmarking. [17:33:23] And so I dismissed that the opinion was that we came from fear. The third observation I would make is that for most of the speakers who supported the Prince William Digital Gateway, it narrows down to the almighty figure of $400 million. [17:33:44] So you really have marketed that number well, and it seems to be what everybody gloms onto without really knowing what that analysis was. And we have pointed out time and time again that it's fatally flawed because all it represents is some cost, not what it costs the county or the taxpayers on the other side of the ledger. [17:34:09] So those are general comments that I would make about this hearing. So my other comments are, here we are again, and I certainly hope and wish that this type of meeting and public hearing comes to a halt with the new board. What an awful format and an awful event to put all of us through, not to mention the fact that this is an illegal meeting. [17:34:35] Proper notice was not given, and you keep violating your own rules and regulations, and I think that Chair Wheeler is personally accountable for this format and tonight's illegal meeting. So on one hand, you have developers who promise the world, it was like watching a Hallmark movie, all is good, all is fine, trust us and it'll all be good. [17:34:59] However, only a few of us will get that kiss at the end, and it's tied to bundles of cash. The rest of us will have to live here and face the fact that reality is harsher than Hallmark wants us to believe. The developers have hired a slick professional PR firm to guide their quest for approval. [17:35:19] It starts with, I'd like to thank you for your service, followed by carefully crafted text and common messaging. But at least the opponents who have no financial skin in this game speak from facts and not what we are told to say. I commend the staff again who had to go through the painful CPA process only to turn around and have the applicants totally ignore the parameters which have been called out that they were part of the development and they bought into and in some [17:35:55] cases wrote and agreed to it. Yet when the staff gave them the opportunity to correct their rezoning submission, they stood their ground and felt they needed more flexibility and didn't have to adhere to the staff request. The staff review was professional and thorough, and shame on you for chiding them for that. I always thought the CPA was written broad enough that they could get away with anything. I spent a long career writing federal regulations, and I thought this was a [17:36:31] pretty loose regulation and guidance. But even the applicants ignored that loose guidance and wanted unbridled authority to do whatever they want. This proposal was rushed, had late submissions, and all that had been pointed out before and ignored by the applicants. So I say, why would that be? Well, they thought they had this thing bought and sold. They've been driving the effort from the beginning and had no reason to believe that they would run into this. They have invested in the Democratic majority, and even though we expect a 5-3 vote tonight in favor of the Gateway, [17:37:11] you certainly are doing that against many naysayers. The planning staff, the planning commission, even your incoming elect chair, Jefferson, all the groups mentioned by previous speakers, and most county residents who are not in line to make money or believe that the money is there to be made. The other supporters have this false sense that revenue is going to fix all that ails this county. My goodness, that last union gentleman thought you were going to solve all kinds of issues. I didn't know that the gateway was the one panacea to correct all that [17:37:50] ails Prince William County and the universe. So where does that leave all the residents of Prince William County devastated with the exception of rich landowners and misled by false financial claims. Where does it leave your personal financial wealth? I would guess exponentially enhanced. [17:38:12] What you never seem to get is that we're not opposed to data centers. We're opposed to siting data centers and plopping them down next to residents and homes for all the reasons we've stated and all those that you've ignored over the last several years. I remain appalled and very disappointed by the current oversight and administration of this county. It's not what I expected of my local government. Today's arrogant presentation by the applicant only highlights that concern and that you let it happen and encouraged it. The professional planning staff presented [17:38:49] objective rationale for their denial recommendation. They said, on its face, there is simply too much on the line with this project to approve. They don't want to approve a trust me only explanation by the applicants, and I applaud them for that. So many disconnects, so many questions, but kudos to Supervisor Lawson, Supervisor Weir, and Supervisor Vega for always asking thoughtful questions that represent the concerns of the residents of Prince William County, and they [17:39:26] should be allowed to ask those questions and not cut off. The nays are sacked against you, but you have no doubt you will continue to move forward. The applicants in this case are operating under the notion that you will do whatever they ask you to do, because they have past practiced the show for it. They have taken on the identity of politicians and gall. You may remember a quote I mentioned to you early in the process by Charlie Reese, and I quote, what separates a politician from normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No human, [17:40:05] no normal human being displays that level of gall, which is brazen boldness. So you, the Democratic supervisors, have transferred and shared your gall with the applicants because they certainly come in and say, we're not following the CPA and a CPA that this county developed, and they're going to ask for and do whatever they want with their unbridled authority. [17:40:34] So let me leave this with you tonight. We have educated a community about the negative outcome of this proposal, and you heard that from Elena earlier. The community is awakened. We are leaning into the legal challenge of this decision. There is a massive effort underway to fund legal challenges moving forward, and it was this effort that's going to be garnered against the PW Digital Gateway. I'll tell you that it's been exponentially elevated, and financial support [17:41:08] we'll move forward. See you in court. Thank you, Ms. Kelly. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Nancy Armour. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can, Ms. Armour. Please proceed. Okay. I've been sick all day, but watching from my house and hopefully I won't lose my voice before I finish. Thank you [17:41:42] all for the hard work and the consideration of the applicants today and for the work with planning staff and the planning commission that have done and the other members across Prince William County that are involved in it as stakeholders to the project. I am speaking on behalf of all three projects that I would like to support the planning staff and the planning commission and recommend denial for all three projects. It seems to me that from the very beginning of this project, [17:42:15] the focus, the underlying focus that has been kind of quiet, but probably the main goal here for everyone was the revenue and the money. And as people have spoke this evening, the money, the revenue that has been projected is very vague and there's certainly no guarantee of how much of that revenue may be achieved. It could be quite significantly more than what has been proposed [17:42:49] depending on the building timeframes and how fast they get filled. The numbers have not included it anyway, nor have we ever seen from the county proposed infrastructure costs that we as a county residents will need to pay and how that comes out of the revenue that we would anticipate. [17:43:10] I also wonder the impact of customers that will be in these data sensors if they're tax-exempt clients. So if they're tax-exempt clients like state, federal, local, they could be using the space, but not having to pay for the taxes. Also, if they're in AWS building, based on the new legislation that was passed last year as a county, the tax implications and possible subsidies that we may need to provide as a county have also maybe not been factored in. We can get immediate tax [17:43:45] revenue now by increasing our tax rate. We can audit our existing data centers to ensure we know what they've got and what are they paying. We can have the Prince William County identify and map the current data centers being built, what percentage of the ones that are built are filled, and what is the projection for the capacity for all of them. [17:44:08] And just getting a better handle of what it is that we have already in the pipeline. It doesn't appear to be anywhere in the county that you can see the records for what's in progress and or the anticipated forecasted revenue from the data centers that are already in process. [17:44:28] So another thing I think is important is that we continue to move forward with projects as large is as Loudoun County has proposed, is to develop a process to protect our county budget from revenue shortfalls or overages. That has been a big issue with Loudoun County, anticipating revenue that didn't come and then the next year I think they had an overage. [17:44:51] Another topic I wanted to talk about was the timing of this. As someone mentioned earlier, I believe some of the urgency in addition to the board composition right now is also the applicant had stated that his contract was expiring with the landowners, so he's trying to get this voted on sooner than that. [17:45:14] From a timing perspective, we also have several other initiatives underway, the data center overlay study, data center working group, a water study. All these things are pending, and depending on what they come up with, this could be critical information that may, again, impact the revenue and impact the infrastructure costs that we as citizens are going to have to put the bill for. [17:45:37] So I think it's important that we take into account the purpose of those studies and actions that we took. And I believe they were all taken in an effort to protect ourselves from projects specifically such as this to make sure we understand what we're going to be potentially dealing with. [17:45:59] Just quickly go to the end here. the planning staff noted across all three applicants that there were significant or there were multiple compliance issues to the cpa the parks the far the open space where the electrical lines would go even the wildlife quarter and kenny i think you said that the the applicant was kind of in a rock and hard place as far as the power lines go because the power line company said i can't tell you where the power lines are going to go if i don't know where the buildings are [17:46:36] And I think the county staff said, and I had mentioned this before, if the data center guys, the applicants, would just assume that X amount of land is going to be needed for the power lines and pull that out of their developable space, then that would have solved that problem. [17:47:01] They could also revise their land usage to make space for the wildlife corridor. That was also defined in the CPA, but it looked like they wanted to push that building right up where the recommended wildlife corridor was in the CPA. [17:47:23] So at the end of the day, if the applicant reduced their developable area, they could be compliant with so many of these CPA violations, I'll say. And why wouldn't they do that? Why wouldn't they just give more acreage up for these other items so that they could be compliant and meet the requirements of the CPA? [17:47:51] And I believe these requirements were specifically put in there to make everyone feel better about the project. I mean, how greedy can they get that they can't even give up some of the acreage to adhere to the requirements that they were involved in creating? [17:48:11] These requirements in CPA weren't new. The applicant had been actively involved since the beginning, so these weren't last-minute surprises, and yet the applicant has failed to provide any material adjustments in an attempt to meet these requirements. [17:48:26] This applies to many of the requirements in the CPA, including the phase two architectural study. Well, that's a requirement, but there's like, oh, we didn't get to it. Oh, OK. I don't understand if it's a requirement. How can they not get to it? [17:48:44] It's I get hung up on that process and requirements. So based on all that, in my opinion and on staff opinion, the planning commission opinions, that applicants haven't submitted plans that adhere to the requirements of the CPA. [17:49:04] So the planning staff, the planning commission have all recommended denial. And I would please ask that you support these organizations and many of the county citizens and vote for denial. And the good news is that the applicant can always go back and sharpen their pencil and come back to us with a proposal that we all agree with that meets the requirements. [17:49:24] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Armour. I hope you feel better. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Allie Stoger. Hello. Can you hear me okay? [17:49:43] Yes, we can. Ms. Stoger, please proceed. Yes. First, I'd like to state how disgraceful it was to allow union members as if they are the only people who go to work or have important obligations. [17:50:03] I think it was disgusting to allow them to show those videos and not permit that for everyone else. Hardworking people, including a very diversified population in Gainesville and nearby districts, sacrificed to buy homes and don't deserve to see their neighborhoods industrialized to provide jobs for union members, especially given that there are already more data centers approved in Prince William County than anywhere else in the entire world. [17:50:38] There are plenty of jobs for these union people, and sending in their paid representatives to try to make us feel guilty that they should have more jobs than they already have is a disgrace. I'd like to urge you to vote no on all three rezonings. [17:51:00] These are permanent changes that cannot be undone once you say yes. And residents of the nearby communities don't deserve for these votes to be rushed. Supervisor Bailey, in June 2023, during a board meeting where Interstate received approval for an industrial rezoning, you stated on the dais that you would like to thank Interstate for taking into consideration the needs of your community by offering a proffer that they would [17:51:37] not site a data center in Potomac District. Supervisor Bailey, you must know that Gainesville and nearby districts are already extraordinarily heavily burdened with zonings of multiple clusters of immense data center campuses. If you wouldn't want to zone even one data center in Potomac District, why would you zone 37 data centers all in one day to add to the other 40 data centers [17:52:10] in the Gainesville area. Does this not seem sort of grotesque? Supervisor Bode, in a Washington Post article a few days ago, you stated that you were still undecided and I commend you for that. [17:52:29] But now a no vote should be extraordinarily easy for you. Every supervisor and recently elected state legislative official representing Western Prince William County, both Democrats and Republicans is opposed to the Prince William Digital Gateway. Every environmental group that has weighed in is opposed. The residents who would be the ones remaining in the area are opposed. [17:53:00] The people speaking in favor today, by definition, will be moving. The county planning office is opposed. So, Supervisor Bode, I have never seen a decision that should be easier and more obvious to make than this one. Really, the planning office made the decision for you. If you were undecided to before, I just cannot understand how the decision could be anything but no at the end of this meeting. And there's one more thing, Supervisor Bodie, that I hope will make you [17:53:37] reconsider or to make you vote, not make you, to ask you to vote no today. At the December 5th supervisor meeting, I presented information regarding a November 2023 article in Business Insider about a compass, a compass data center campus that opened in early 2023 and is causing dreadful community data center noise for three miles from the data centers. Now, three miles from these data centers in the Prince William Digital Gateway will take you halfway into the [17:54:14] Manassas Battlefield, won't that be good for tourism? And also into literally thousands of homes. These are people who say they can't go outside to take walks or enjoy their backyards because of the noise. John Liver said that Compass didn't even present a noise study. [17:54:35] How arrogant is that? Or maybe they didn't present the noise study because they know of the problems they're having in Loudoun right now. So Supervisor Bode, lots of reasons for you to vote no if you are undecided. By the way, in that same Washington Post article I was quoted as saying that Western Prince William County is being rolled over in case you missed it. It's exploitive [17:55:07] and unjust to ram 37 data centers in one day as Gainesville and nearby districts are already reeling with approvals of multiple clusters of mega immense data centers. Think about the optics for the future. Four supervisors who don't have even one data center in their districts zoning to vote massive numbers into the districts of other people whose elected officials, every single one [17:55:43] of them on the state legislative level and our supervisors all say they don't want this. Once the general community becomes aware of the magnitude of the industrialization, there will be political havoc in this county that will last for decades because the environmental impacts and the community impacts. [17:56:08] What you are doing is just wrong. Don't do this to Prince William County. The digital gateway has been a problem child since the day it was hatched in the middle of the pandemic. I urge you to stop this from destroying our county because it's going to rip it apart. [17:56:31] This will become the symbol of what not to do. And I urge you to not put your good names behind that symbol. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Stoger. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Hisham Abulhusan. [17:56:54] Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed. Great, thank you. Esteemed members of the board, thank you very much for the opportunity to voice my perspective on this truly groundbreaking project. [17:57:11] And thank you also for your commitment to this community. And I fully support you and your efforts to do what's best for the county and its citizens. As proponents of progress believe and understand, progress is always the result of tough decisions and long-term vision. [17:57:28] And unfortunately, this county has lacked the vision and willingness to make tough decisions over the past 30 years, which is why I believe minimal economic progress has taken place over the entire period. I clearly support the project for many reasons that I'm sure you've heard from other landowners and supporters of the project. [17:57:48] I'll just highlight a couple that I believe also. Of course, increasing the commercial tax revenue, which will pave the way for improving many aspects of life in PwC, such as expanding public transportation opportunities, improving school facilities, reducing meal taxes, making housing more attainable for PwC residents, among others. [17:58:13] Also, the digital revolution, which is unfolding and evolving before us today. Even the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce expressed its song support for the project. mainly to secure Prince William County's position at the forefront of technology for the coming generation. The board has learned from previous board's mistakes and is taking the correct steps to put data centers in the proper location with buffers and spaces, appropriate architecture for the area, noise suppression levels, and to mitigate environmental resource issues. [17:58:55] Finally, let's please move Prince William County forward for better pay for schools and for more jobs, for more parks, for better county services, and a lower tax rate. Please approve these rezoning applications. [17:59:14] I think that, finally, it has been a pleasure to support you over the past couple of years as the Digital Gateway Project has advanced to this point. It's gotten a lot of ups and downs, a lot of challenges, a lot of criticism, but in the end, staying true to your beliefs and remaining steadfast has become ever more difficult in this age of social media and all the public pressure that comes with it. [17:59:42] I commend you for your continued focus on the task at hand, and I fully support you moving forward. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your comments. Next speaker, please. The next speaker is Sally Chandler. [18:00:05] Hi, this is Sally Chandler, and I'm from Gainesville. I support the three rezoning applications. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. [18:00:23] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Grayson Grove. Good morning. [18:00:42] My name is Grayson Grove, and I am a Gainesville resident. I oppose the three rezoning of the PWDG. This project is said to be 20 years in the making. By then, I will be 34 and possibly have a wife and maybe even a dog or two. [18:00:57] I can only imagine that I will be in the process of cleaning up the mess you are creating today. I will be working for maybe I will be working for the parks. Maybe I'll be working for the conversation organizations. Maybe I will be a teacher teaching American history or maybe I'll be a politician. [18:01:19] And any of these occupations, I will in some way be cleaning up this mess. And even if I choose to be a professional linebacker or a marketing major, I know that this project will negatively affect my life into and throughout adulthood. [18:01:36] Please vote no to protect my future and all the children of Prince William County. Thank you, Mr. Grove. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Miles Grove. My name is Miles Grove, and I'm in the Gainesville District. [18:02:02] I am Anne. Anne. I am Anne. Anne I am. That Anne I am. That Anne I am. I do not like that Anne I am. Do you like my industrial plans? I do not like them Anne I am. I do not like your industrial plans. [18:02:21] Would you like them here or there? Would you like them here or there? I would not like them anywhere. I do not like your industrial plans. I do not like them Anne I am. would you like them near your home would you like them near your mom near mom's mom i would i do not like them near my home i do not like them near mom's mom i do not like them here or there i do not like them anywhere i do not like your industrial plans i do not like them and i am [18:02:55] would you like a concrete box would you would you like them to replace a fox not with a box not instead of a fox not near my home not near mom's mom i do not like them here there i don't i do not like them anywhere i do not like your industrial plans i do not like the man i am would i could i build them now build them build them here they are i would not could not build [18:03:25] them now you may like them you will see you may like them instead of trees i would not [18:03:36] I would not, could not, instead of trees, don't build them now, you let me be, would you, would you enjoy them with a horse, I would not, I would not, could not, with a horse, would you, could you, on a bike, I could not, would not, on a bike, I will not, will not, with a horse, I will not enjoy them as a park, no, no more dark, no more trees, a lot less birds, a lot less bees, [18:04:10] I do not like a concrete box. I do not like, I do not, not instead of a fox. I do not want them near my home. I do not want them near mom's mom. I do not want them here or there. I do not want them anywhere. I do not like your industrial plans. I do not like them, and I am. You do, you do not like them, so you say. Try them, try them, and you may. [18:04:41] try them and you you may i say and if you don't let me be i'll see you you'll see and i do not like your industrial plants i do not like them and i am and i wouldn't i would not enjoy them on a bike and i would not enjoy them on a horse and i will not enjoy them as a park and no more dark and no more trees and a lot less bees and a lot and a lot less birds they are no good no good [18:05:13] you see so i i do not want a concrete box i do not want it instead of a fox and i do want them near and i do not want them near my home and i do not want them near mom's mom and i do not want them here or there say i don't want them anywhere i do not want your industrial plans no thank you no thank you man i am thank you thank you mr grove next speaker please your next speaker is [18:05:50] Lori Snyder. Hello, this is Lori Snyder from Gainesville. I support all three zoning applications and the Digital Gateway. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Snyder. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Vanessa Cott. Good morning. My name is Vanessa Cott and I live in the Gainesville District. [18:06:28] I'm here today speaking in support of the Prince William Digital Gateway. Prince William Digital Gateway is the most exciting and real opportunity that we have with the county to stabilize and solidify our county's financial future. While it obviously is a land use issue, it's really an economic initiative and an opportunity that the county simply cannot afford to pass up. [18:06:47] What other projects would bring in the type of tax revenue every year that the Prince William Digital Gateway will generate? There isn't one. There's no other option that will give this county the funds that it needs. We have the ability with one project to completely fix the imbalance in our currently lopsided tax base. We as a county need the Prince William Digital Gateway. We have a teacher shortage. We need to better compensate our first responders. We need better access to mental health services. We need to make sure that the people who work for Prince William County can [18:07:19] actually afford to live in Prince William County. And the list goes on. This county has lofty goals as well as immediate needs that all require more funding. And the digital gateway is the opportunity we've been waiting for to make the goals a reality. Two and a half miles, that's what we're talking about, changing a two and a half mile stretch of a commuter roadway that already has the infrastructure in place. And by changing that small stretch of road, the county will have a financial foothold from which to usher in a future that is bright, stable, and filled with [18:07:57] opportunity for everyone. So I ask you to please do what's right for the residents of your district and all of Prince William County. Improve their lives by voting yes for the Prince William Digital Gateway. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak and for your continued service to Prince William County. Thank you, Ms. Cott. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Hig Simpson. Hello, I'm Hig Simpson from Gainesville, and I'm asking you to please vote to approve the three rezoning [18:08:32] applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Linda Simpson. Hi, I'm Linda Simpson from Gainesville, Virginia. I'm asking you to please vote to approve the three rezoning applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you, Ms. Simpson. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Heather Davidson. Good morning. My name is Heather Davidson. I'm [18:09:11] with the Gainesville District. I'm here to support all three applications. Thank you for your time tonight. Thank you, Ms. Davidson. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Isaac Duenas. [18:09:41] Mr. Duenas, we cannot hear you. We'll circle back to Mr. Duenas. Your next speaker is Doreen Chamati. Good morning, esteemed board members. I am Doreen Chamati, resident of Gainesville. [18:10:20] I'm speaking on behalf of all three zoning ordinance applications. Prince William Digital Gateway will benefit all residents. Please vote yes to all three applications. And thank you for your service to our county. Thank you, Mr. Shomani. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Nicholas [18:10:43] Ewing. Hello. My name is Nicholas Ewing. I'm from Gainesville, and I just wanted to show my support for all three applications, and thank you all for your patience. Thank you, Mr. Ewing. Next speaker, [18:11:07] please. Your next speaker is Kelly Lagos. My name is Kelly Lagos, and I'm a resident of Cat Hartman since 2006. With the opposition to the data centers and specifically the rezoning approval, for the parcels the board will be voting on today seems to be missing is something extremely important. They need to be careful what they wish for and I'll briefly explain. The assault on this [18:11:43] from the beginning spreading misinformation and lies to scare the general public, bullying and smear tactics aimed at those who favor approval have been cloaked in what they have said to protect their rural crescent and the environment. The reality is the rural crescent land is not theirs. It belongs to the landowners, many of them multi-generational farm owners who are now aged and want to sell it and retire from that hard 24-7 life. Their heirs and the new generation are not interested in hard farm life that brings in very little income. Their desire to sell as they age and want to retire is no different than all those who own a home or property. Much of this [18:12:22] debate is really a property rights issue and should be treated as such. Just as everyone who owns a or property should be able to sell it without public or government encumbrance. The rural crescent is no longer. The lot size to subdivide was finally returned to that before the rural crescent restricted them from selling less than 10 to 5 acres. What no one is talking about is if these landowners are not permitted to sell their property for data centers, surely they will start selling 5-acre lots, which result in massive new housing projects totaling 340 new [18:12:55] homes. That would mean around 1,400 new people inhabiting this small area. If every family has two cars, that would mean 680 new cars traveling this small area. It would call for many new paved roads to these hamlets, which would do tremendous damage to the watershed with runoff, lawn fertilizers, water well issues, loss of wildlife habitat, etc. Think Dominion Valley. Conversely, the typical data center employs 5 to 30 people, none living on site. They have very low impact regarding traffic, water control, and wildlife habitat. [18:13:33] Their water and environmental impact issues have been studied by experts in every study possible with favorable reports saying little impact. The opposition needs to be careful what they wish for in their mission. The alternative is much worse, and it will happen. It will have a huge and negative impact on the very things that they're speaking on. [18:13:54] At the end of the day, this is really a viewshed issue for those that don't even live in eye shadow for each of the lane, other than to and from their way to work. Clearly, the revenue of the county will receive a big boon to lowering taxes, improving schools, better funding for first responders, and more for the citizens of Prince William County, all of which is badly needed. [18:14:15] I urge the opposition and everyone to think about the alternative of mass housing development and the terrible impact on the environment and watershed if these zoning approvals are denied. Again, be careful what you wish for. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lagos. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Zola Inc. [18:14:34] Hi, my name is Zola Inc. I'm from Gainesville District, and I'm here to show my support for all three zoning applications. First of all, because we live in a modern world where everything is developing, and I just think it's time that we put our feet together with the rest of the world. [18:14:59] And for the rest of, I mean, for the people who are opposing, I just, I really don't understand why. And I mean, everybody's saying they want to protect the wildlife and, you know, everybody's saying we need to keep it as it is. [18:15:17] But then I really want to ask, when was the last time you guys actually went to the park and, you know, walked around the park? So it's just, I just hope that all the board members vote in favor of the projects, and I can't thank you enough for taking your time and sitting through all these endless nights and listening to us, you know, in favor or in favor. [18:15:43] I'm sure it's a lot of work for you all. So I want to thank you for all your service, and please vote yes, and I wish everyone have a good night. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ank. Next speaker, please. [18:15:57] your next speaker is booyah sand we will circle back your next speaker is joel wilkins excuse me [18:16:35] hi this is joel wilkins from gainesville district and i am calling in to support all three applications for rezoning and request that the board approve these applications and this is a source of revenue that the county would be very foolish to ignore and let slip by this is a wealthy the industry. Let it come in, do business, tax it appropriately. It's good for the businesses. [18:17:12] It's good for the county. It's good for the landowners who will be selling their property. There's nothing wrong with this. There's nothing wrong with these proposals. It's not dangerous, illegal, immoral, unethical. There's no eminent domain. No one's being forced off their land. [18:17:36] Everyone is in favor of it on Paisland Lane. There's no reason not to support it. I don't give any credence to what the National Park Service says about viewsheds from their blessed battlefield. [18:17:55] And nobody uses it anyway. You turn in there and make a U-turn. That's about all Broward Farm is to anyone, really, on that racetrack that's Paisland Lane at this point. And the park service and all the opponents in the adjacent neighborhoods, to my knowledge, none of them have shown up on my doorstep and said, may I buy your property so I can put it in a conservancy and analyze my navel whenever I wanted to go out there. [18:18:30] My in-laws bought the land in the late 90s, and we've lived there since 2014. No one has showed up wanting to buy our land. Now we have an opportunity to sell it at a fair market value, which has not been the case since the silly rural crescent was in place, and all these people now have objections. [18:18:56] Sorry, this is pure and simple land use, private property rights, a bedrock right in this country. You don't have private property rights. [18:19:12] You have very little rights left. I asked the board to approve the measures, and I appreciate those on the board who have been supporting it. and uh bid you all a good night thank you thank you mr wilkins it seems like uh this man that we [18:19:28] got uh miss sand back earlier yes miss and you are in the next speaker miss and please proceed [18:19:54] miss and you can unmute yourself hello yes miss and please proceed hello miss sand please proceed Yes, my name is Boya, and I'm here to show you my support for the all three projects. [18:20:30] Please approve the project. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Sand. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Stella Rowland. Ms. Rowland, we cannot hear you. [18:21:09] Ms. Rowland, you can unmute yourself now. Your next speaker is Mary Zalaskis. Hi there. [18:21:26] This is Mary Zalaskis, and I have lived in Gainesville for 34 years. When I moved to Prince William County, it was for the rural area that I was getting. We loved the peace and the quiet, but after he moved here, it ended about 20 years ago. [18:21:48] Other developments came in, big developments, big stores, big shopping centers. There's nothing rural about this area anymore, especially if you've lived here over 20 years. There's nothing rural about it. But I am just calling in to speak on all three projects, and I'm asking the Board of Supervisors to please approve them. [18:22:18] And I also want to state that I really appreciate the time and working so hard on this for all the board members. It's great that we have you representing us and doing such a good job. [18:22:34] Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. - Your next speaker is Ian Lada. - Hi everybody. My name's Ian from Occoquan and I'm just calling in to say I support all three. [18:22:58] Thank you and thanks for doing this. - Thank you, Mr. Lada. Next speaker, please. - I'll go ahead. - Your next speaker is Lee Oppenheim. - Good morning. My name is Lee Oppenheim with my wife, Janet. [18:23:14] We live in the Gainesville district. I request that all three, I'm speaking on all three applications and request that all three be rejected. I think I support the Planning Commission and staff in their recommendations for more information and better clarity in what the digital gateway will do for us. [18:23:39] I also think that the revenue being cited by everyone is going to be extremely high. and that current digital technology is advancing so that within 10 years these big warehouses will no longer be needed. I ask that more consideration be given to the negative issues that have been brought up and better clarity in what each one of the developers can provide to the county. [18:24:12] Thank you all. Appreciate it. Thank you. Next speaker please. Your next speaker is Ryan Butler. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes we can Mr. Butler. Please proceed. [18:24:33] All right. I'm Ryan Butler from Gainesville, and I just want to say that I support all three Prince William County Digital Gateway rezoning. Thank you, Mr. Butler. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Nancy Herwig. [18:24:53] Good morning. Can you hear me? Yes, we can, Ms. Herwig. Please proceed. Good. My name is Nancy Herwig, and I've lived in Prince William County in the Gainesville District for the past 38 years, where I've raised two children and three dogs with my husband. [18:25:19] I'm very concerned about all the three proposed data center projects and the decision-making process. I oppose all three proposals. My concerns are not enough information is known about the effects of the mammoth buildings on the environment and humans, the tremendous energy use needed to run the centers, disturbance of historical properties, water consumption, corruption within the decision-making system, and the overall appearance and reputation of our county. [18:25:49] Are we putting the cart before the horse? If we build all the proposed data centers and find out more information about the detrimental effects, we won't be able to turn back the clock. Do you really want Prince William County to be known as the data center of the capital of the world? [18:26:09] That's a really impressive statement. You have heard many hours, many, many hours of comments from the developers, staff, reputable organizations, and residents. I agree with all the statements opposing the project and won't spend my time restating all the facts about why you should vote no on the proposed projects. [18:26:32] I want to spend a few moments reviewing your role as county supervisors and basic effective decision-making processes. As stated on the county website, the eight-member Board of County Supervisors makes policy for the administration of Prince William County government within the framework of the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the county executive form of government. [18:27:00] Do all of you feel like the decision-making process for these proposed projects have followed all the rules and the laws? If so, how do you explain the lawsuits and the discussion of corruption? In the least, this decision should be postponed, that some of the members of this board that have been accused of this corruption no longer have a vote. [18:27:28] The Board of Supervisors also appoints resident and county business leaders to boards and committees to advise on a wide range of policy issues. Members provide an additional communication channel between elected officials and the community, sharing their ideas and expertise to improve public decision-making and assist with conflict resolution. [18:27:57] These are words from your website. One such board, the Planning Commission, is one of those entities that you have giving you this advice. and their advice for all three proposals was a unanimous recommendation to deny all three proposals. What weight do you give their expert opinion? The Board of Supervisors also relies on staff expertise in their decision-making process. The staff has also provided their opinion. The staff recommended denial because there's not enough information or commitments from the applicant to [18:28:37] ensure the environmental protections and other standards put forward will come to fruition. What weight do you give their expert opinion? How does all this expert opinion fit into the decision-making process? One of the speakers I heard last night went on and gave the full list. [18:29:00] I mean, I think he spoke just the list was over two minutes long. That's more expert advice. Are you listening? Effective decision-making takes all necessary stakeholders into account and is collaborative. There are many steps in the decision-making process, and I feel quite a few have been missed during this process. Step one, identify or define the decision that needs to be made. Well, let's think. The decision tonight is you're going to either approve or disapprove [18:29:36] of the zoning changes for the proposed digital gateway projects. Since the project has changed five times since the start of this project, can you honestly say that you know what you're voting on? Step two, gather relevant information. As stated, there are still a lot of questions to be answered. All relevant information has not been gathered. Is it fair to move on to the next step? [18:30:04] Step three, weigh the evidence. Evidence is still being gathered, but so much of what you have have points to disaster to the environment. Step four, develop and evaluate your options. Have all the other options been evaluated? I don't think so. [18:30:28] Step five, make an informed decision. Well, number one, I'm hoping you're not going to be making a decision this evening or this morning because after how many hours have you been sitting there listening? [18:30:44] Is your brain really operating enough to make a decision? I doubt it. But remember to use the advice of the committees that you set up and the staff and that the county pays for and all the other experts out there when you're making your decision. [18:31:02] and most of those are saying deny the proposals. Step six, review your decision and the consequences. Once again, with all your studies completed, without all your studies completed and information gathered, will you really be able to know all the consequences? Step seven, defend your actions. [18:31:31] Well, will you be able to defend your vote to all current residents and future generations, and possibly in a courtroom, many will say that we have been gathering information and discussing these projects for two and a half years. But the latest proposal, number five, was only presented in the last couple of months, right, what, less than 30 days before the last meeting of the Planning Commission. So honestly, think this through. How many of you came to this meeting [18:32:05] today, well, actually yesterday, with your mind made up and nothing anyone could have said would change your vote. Shame on all of you who can say yes to that statement. The process doesn't work unless you have an open mind. Please slow down and examine what is at stake and how it can't be undone. Deny these proposals. And thank you so much for your time. And I also really all hope that you have a safe ride home because you shouldn't be driving after being awake this long and thank [18:32:39] you and be safe. Thank you, Ms. Herwig. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Dorsey Wambach. Ms. Wambach, we cannot hear you. Ms. Wambach, you can unmute yourself. When it is your [18:33:16] turn to speak for roughly five people before you, the moderator. We'll circle back. Your next speaker is Claudia Thompson-Deal. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed. Thank you. My name is claudia thompson deal and i live in the gainesville district i'm speaking on all three rezoning requests i'm the conservation chair of the prince william wallflower society which is [18:33:50] a chapter of the virginia native plant society i am officially representing our chapter the prince william wallflower society has over 200 active members and is a 501c3 organization the virginia Native Plant Society is dedicated to the protection and preservation of the native plants of Virginia and their habitats to sustain for generations to come the integrity of Commonwealth's rich natural heritage of ecosystems and biodiversity for purposes of enjoyment, enlightenment, sustainable [18:34:25] use, and our very own survival. My master's degree is from Virginia Tech in Global Sustainability. I'm very concerned about the scope of this project and its effect on climate, energy, and sustainability. [18:34:41] It's appalling that your very own planning staff recommends denial of the entire Prince William Digital Gateway, and you choose to ignore them. The Prince William Planning Commission also recommends denial of the entire Prince William Digital Gateway, and you have chosen to ignore them as well. [18:34:59] This knowledgeable staff was hired to look deeply into this project, and the fact that you're bypassing the recommendation is truly baffling. We have more than paid for our share of data centers in Northern Virginia. [18:35:15] The fact that we are the largest data center complex in the world is not something to be proud of. To me, it means that there's a tremendous loss of open space, and much of our natural heritage has been paved over. Driving around Ashburn and seeing the proliferation of data centers is depressing. [18:35:35] To think about the loss of biodiversity and habitat with all this construction is absolutely heartbreaking. Climate change is a threat to our lives. The climate change for this massive development are unsustainable. [18:35:51] This fast-growing industry requires huge amounts of energy, land, and water to operate. We will probably not be able to achieve our state efforts to meet climate goals, and even so, Virginia does not currently have any regulatory oversight of data centers, and localities continue to improve these energy hogs without considering the cumulative impacts. [18:36:16] Analysis has found the past 12 months were probably the Earth's hottest on record in 125,000 years. This means nearly three in four people experienced more than a month's worth of heat, so extreme that it would have been unusual in the past, but has become three times more likely because of human-caused climate change, scientists at Climate Central found. [18:36:45] Increasing energy production is likely to increase emissions of certain air pollutants and greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Climate change is real, and this means that the planet is closer than ever to a global warming benchmark that scientists have predicted could irreversibly damage if not destroy entire ecosystems, 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial norms. [18:37:15] Dominion has publicly said that the growth of energy demand from approved data centers is impossible to meet with renewable energy sources alone. Dominion has said to meet this demand, their options include delaying the planned retirement of fossil fuel power sources and purchasing power from West Virginia. [18:37:38] Data centers are putting such a demand for power that there is no way to supply them without relying on dirty energy. We must do more to require the data center industry does more to offset their carbon pollution and to mitigate our serious climate change challenges. [18:38:00] There was a quote in a recent article that I found dated November 28, 2023 in the Virginia pilot by Wyatt Gordon, who is the senior policy and campaigns manager of land use and transportation with the Virginia Conservation Network. [18:38:18] network. He said, quote, since data centers are going to support global internet traffic, they need to be across the globe instead of concentrated in one region of one state. We have already suffered enough. We have already suffered through enough natural resource loss here in Prince William County. Water consumption is a concern for the Fairfax Water Authority, which is why they have asked you to reconsider the scope due to contaminating the Occoquan [18:38:55] Reservoir that provides drinking water to over 2 million people. Prince William County's own Watershed Management Division reported that the plan would harm nearby forests, streams, wetlands, and wildlife. There is also no proof that using this much water won't impact our aquifers. Don't be fooled by greenwashing. There's no such thing as green data centers. [18:39:25] Running a single supercomputer can require as much power as entire neighborhoods. The location adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park is an outrage. From real estate jargon, we hear location, location, location. This is the wrong location. As a frequent hiker at Manassas National Battlefield Park, it will alter the entire natural and botanical and historical experience [18:39:59] and a loss of the sense of place. An earlier speaker noted that no one even used the Bronner Farm section of the park, and I would respectfully disagree. On one hike, I met hikers that were there from Alabama that were studying the Civil War, and they were visiting battlefield parks. [18:40:20] I've spoken with hikers there from as far away as Alaska, and they came because of the National Park Service's passport program. In the passport, it says that mid-Atlantic parks also preserve the hollowed ground of conflict. The Civil War raged throughout this region. These parks commemorate the bloodshed that preserved the union. The National Park Service, as it stated, blah, blah, [18:40:56] blah. Please note that the National Parks Conservation Association released polling data finding that Northern Virginians overwhelmingly support protecting national parks from massive data center development. This poll found 86% of surveyed Virginia voters would support legislation that would prohibit large industrial data centers from being built within a mile of a national park. [18:41:27] Please follow the advice of your own staff and reject this project. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Annie Ewing. Hi, my name is Annie Ewing from Gainesville and I support all three zoning applications for the Gateway. [18:41:55] Thanks. Bye. Thank you, Ms. Ewing. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Dorsey Wambach. Good morning. My name is Dr. Dorsey Wambach. I am in the Gainesville District, and I wanted to talk about some climate literacy. The diesel smoke and wildfire smoke was already a combination. Do we want that in our county if we add more data centers? Yesterday, I heard [18:42:34] that there's going to be 37 data centers with about 16 hours of diesel smoke per data center. I believe there's more diesel generators than just one. So it's going to be, let's say, three generators per data center. That's going to be 1,776 hours of diesel smoke. And that is only for testing. So if they actually need to use it for more than just testing and that there's power outages or brownouts, then it'll be more than that. What most people don't fully consider [18:43:13] is that data centers will damage our air quality, and we have to breathe air 24-7. This is for all three data centers, by the way. What most citizens remember that smoke from the Canadian wildflowers that we had, the wildfires, it limited our time outdoors and put our health at risk. As a retired physiologist, epidemiologist, and statistician, I also began recording air quality index when the wildfire smoke became a health concern this past summer. AQI is based on particulate matter, [18:43:49] ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide, all dangerous chemicals and gases that are monitored and regulated by the EPA. Although a bit technical, we should all care about air quality index, especially our elected officials. 18 days of AQIs I recorded between 29 June and 20 July. 10 days were in the safe zone. However, there were eight days when AQI [18:44:22] was over 50. Six of these mornings, AQIs, this was in the morning, worse in the day, were 51 to 150, which is moderate, and two days were between 151 and 200, unhealthy. [18:44:38] Modern AQIs affect particularly sensitive groups, while unhealthy AQI may affect members of the general population. And more alarmingly, please listen. Sensitive groups may experience serious health effects and even death. In PwC, our Board of County Supervisors is considering a great metropolis of data centers, mostly in the western and mid part of the county. Diesel centers use immobile diesel backup generators and are tested regularly as discussed before. Tests are performed [18:45:11] regularly, typically monthly, and spew some of the same gases as wildfires as well as particulate matter. Diesel generators released greenhouse gases, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, nitrous oxides, and sulfur dioxide, harmful pollutants, and they are all going to exacerbate respiratory conditions. When the generators spew the same gases as they run their diesel generators during the time of wildfire smoke, both of which are expected to happen regularly during the summer, PwC residents may be trapped indoors for most of the summer [18:45:49] and may not even be able to use AC because of the problems with the electrical grid that these generators are going to inflict on all of us. Increases in mortalities, heart attacks, hospital visits, and other adverse consequences, particularly in vulnerable communities. [18:46:08] And yet, this is what the majority Board of County Supervisors is choosing for our community. The prevailing winds at Manassas Airport are most often from the north and west. This means that the southeastern part of the county, southeastern, the area most vulnerable communities, is more likely to be burdened with most toxic gases, smoke, and particulate matter from data centers and wildfires. This is a particularly dangerous combination. How ironic that it is the very supervisors from the southeastern part of the county that keep voting [18:46:47] for building data centers. When it's their constituents, they're going to be harmed the most. It is never too late. It's never inevitable. And it's never progress to have the county citizens' real physical and mental health threatened with the catastrophic and third world path that the majority Board of County Supervisors is forcing on its citizens. It's time to change course and promote actions that maintain green space, clean watersheds, and self-sustaining clean air. All of the citizenry, or much of it, understands that Loudoun County has more tax [18:47:24] revenue, and that is because their tax rate is higher on data centers. If Prince William County would increase the tax rate. We would have the same revenue as Loudoun without putting in more data centers. I'm not sure why everybody at the board is trying to fool the rest of the county. [18:47:48] Prevention, as I said, I'm an epidemiologist and prevention is a big deal. It's a word we don't use much anymore. It's outdated, antiquated, but absolutely necessary. Coulard's disease prevention. Who lauds those involved in preventing deaths from diseases? Almost no one. [18:48:06] Who lauds crime prevention? Who lauds those involved in preventing deaths from crime syndicates and drug lords? Almost no one. And yet prevention is order of magnitude cheaper, cheaper than treatment of disease and investing in crime and its consequences. [18:48:22] Prevention awards citizens and politicians must use and follow protect our county. We must do everything in our power to prevent drought, wildfires, blackouts, brownouts, poor air quality, poor water quality, desertification, excessive heat, mass industrialization, wildfire decimation, flash flooding. [18:48:45] Data centers are a dead future. Vote for a vibrant, burdened, ecologically sound future, as if our lives depended on it. It does. Right now, our Board of County Supervisors is teaching powerlessness to our youth. [18:49:04] We have our rapidly changing climate. Predictability is becoming less so every minute, hour by hour, day by day. Three days ago, it was 102 degrees in Portland, Oregon. It's fall in Oregon now. Blazing heat waves are predicted across the Pacific Northwest. [18:49:24] So are atmospheric rivers. When a fan died in Brazil at a Taylor Swift concert two weeks ago, it was 108 degrees Fahrenheit. It's springtime now in Brazil. 2023 will be the hottest year on record. [18:49:40] Improve your climate literacy. The digital gateway threatens our climate, environment, and ability to feed ourselves. Dismissing any of the life-giving, diminishing any of the life-giving farmland in the county is irresponsible and tantamount to depriving citizens of access to any food. As we diminish our ability to feed ourselves and import more food, we take it away from thousands, even millions of others who have less ability to grow their own food. It will soon be going to the highest bidder. Stop letting money [18:50:17] do the talking. War against the farmland and the planet. How is that different than human war against one another. It is no less lethal, painful, or devastating. It is permanent and for some reason we have not comprehended this fact. Stop letting money do the talking. Stop forcing the community to live with the conditions they never supported. Stop allowing complete insignificance to win the day. Stop distribution of the crumbs of life to future generations. Vote no on the [18:50:50] ZONING APPLICATIONS FOR ALL THREE CAMPUSES OF THE DIGITAL GATEWAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. YOUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JOHN COLE. HI. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. LET ME JUST START OFF BY -- OH, I LIVE IN THE GAINESVILLE DISTRICT. [18:51:13] HI, BOB. AND I'M GOING TO SPEAK ON ALL THREE SUBMISSIONS. LET ME JUST SAY THAT I'M VERY empathetic to all the people sitting on the dais. It's tough, and it's really hard when a citizen starts to berate you, and they don't see you as human beings with families, and I do. [18:51:34] Oh, anyway, I'm not going to go long. I have been keeping track. We've had, of all the people speaking, and this doesn't count the union video, Janine, 61 opposed, 105 in favor. So we have a two to one going on. You guys have a very tough decision to make. I personally think that you have enough information to make this decision. The planning commission has been very diligent. [18:52:09] They're looking for more information. I believe they will get that information when they do the site plan approval. And I think you can move on with this project. I think this is a good project for the county and it does get us on a better financial footing and we should move forward with it. So that's how I feel. I thank you again for your service and have a good morning. Thank you, Mr. Cole. And before we move on to the next speaker, how many more folks do we have online? [18:52:42] With the non-resident speakers, we have 33 at the moment. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Tom Sheehan. We can't hear you, Mr. Sheehan. [18:53:02] My name is Tom Sheehan. I'm in the Gainesville District. There are definitely advantages to having data centers in the county, but there are also side effects that may exceed the benefits and tax windfalls they give us. [18:53:28] The increase in power demand of just the current data centers caused power providers to undertake increasing the power grid costing billions, billions to be paid back by the rate payers, potentially doubling or tripling their power bills. [18:54:06] This will also decrease our ability to contribute to the local economy because we won't have that much cash. The increase in the number of data centers will increase water usage, impacting water supplies and water quality. [18:54:30] Continually increasing the data centers in the county will further degrade communities, parks, open space, air quality, and the general quality of life in the county. [18:54:48] It will be a mistake to approve these proposals. I recommend that you deny the request or at least defer them until we have the total scale of these side effects identified and understood. [18:55:17] Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Emilio Abu Hassan. We can't hear you, Emilio, if you're speaking. [18:55:49] Emilio, you can unmute yourself. [18:56:01] Ms. Van Pugh. Okay, we'll circle back. Your next speaker is Nancy Veres. Good morning. Am I on? Yes, you are. Please proceed. [18:56:18] Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to testify virtually, but I believe that your minds are already made up. My name is Nancy Veres, and I am a resident of the Manassas area of the Coles District. I'm speaking to all three applications. [18:56:37] I serve as the president of the Virginia Native Plant Society, an organization with members throughout the Commonwealth. I'm a lifelong resident of the area and a product of Prince William County Public Schools and Virginia University. I'm also a 2012 retiree of Fairfax County Government, having served for more than 21 years as its clerk to the Board of Supervisors. [18:56:59] We never had any meetings like this during my tenure, and I feel sorry for you, Andrea Madden, and your staff. I have seen many changes in the area over my 65 years. Some changes have been positive, such as the current vibrancy of downtown Manassas, the diversity of our residents, and the addition of some parks such as Dove's Landing and Leesalvania and wildlife refuges like Aktaquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. [18:57:26] The biggest gems that we have in Prince William County are our two national parks, Prince William Forest Park in the south and Manassas National Battlefield Park that is next to the proposed digital gateway. These open spaces contribute to the quality of life here in Prince William County and serve as magnets for visitors to our area. [18:57:47] Both are under assault by the proximity of proposed data centers. Manassas Battlefield is an amenity that we share with the nation, and we need to take responsibility for our role in maintaining the integrity of the area surrounding this special federal park. [18:58:03] As the president of the Virginia Native Plant Society, like Claudia Thompson Beal, who spoke earlier, I take our tagline, conserving wildflowers and wild places very seriously. Natural areas such as Manassas Battlefield and the nearby Conway Robinson Memorial State Forest will be diminished by the kind of development associated with data centers. [18:58:26] Huge monolithic buildings will tower over the area and emit a constant hum. Besides their rapacious appetites for electricity, there will be a blight on the areas surrounding the National Park. They will affect the fauna that is attracted to the native flora of the area. [18:58:43] To wrap up, I ask that you listen to your dedicated professional staff and vote to deny these three applications for the Digital Gateway. It is too big, will demand too many natural resources, and does not belong near our treasured National Park. Thank you. [18:58:58] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Ginny Hallick. Hi. I had a lot to say, but I am going to cut it down a little bit. Basically, I'm Ginny Hallick-Williams, and I have lived in Prince William County for 23 years, born and raised in Fairfax City. [18:59:22] I want to just say that I support what everybody else has provided such wonderful facts that I will not repeat any of that. But what I would like to say, in addition to those who are against the data centers and the facts that they've been presenting that I hope are being heard, and I have to say I was reluctant to speak because, unfortunately, I do feel that the decisions have already been made and our voices are not being heard, which is shameless and shameful, sorry, and unfortunate. [19:00:02] But for whatever it's worth, the reality of the magnitude of this plan that has slowly emerged, and we are already witnessing our portion of the county steadily being swallowed up by concrete, similarly to Gladden County. [19:00:18] When I learned that the Pageland project alone would be five times greater than the Pentagon's footprint, not even including parking, and that we could become the largest data center in the world, that changes everything. why do we want to create a platform which makes us sitting ducks with a red target on our back? [19:00:36] The security threats would not just be to us locally, but worldwide if we house international data. And no offense to the officials, but that does bring me to question, why would our little county officials in Prince William and Loudoun County of Northern Virginia be given authority to make decisions which could be detrimental not only locally, but nationally? And in addition to security threats, there are still so many unanswered questions. Where is this power coming from? How many diesel generators will be used? How severe will the noise and fumes, et cetera, be to the residents around them? Tax revenues. Of course, there are some inflated estimates or [19:01:15] projections, but there are also those who predict that the data centers will generate much smaller amount of revenue in the first several years than predicted. And after 20 years, we'll make no money for the county. Parkland. Where are the plans for the parklands that have been promised? Why are we building here? Why not a long express race where nobody prefers to live? Obviously, many more unanswered questions, but I just leave you with this. Please guard yourselves against every kind of greed. Don't be hasty in making rash and short-sighted decisions that could have destructive [19:01:49] consequences to us, our families, to you and your families, and potentially worldwide. Let's patiently and collectively gather reliable facts and data and make wise, accurate, informed decisions that would benefit the whole. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Robert White. Hello. Can you hear me okay? Yes, please proceed. Thank you. My name is Robert White, Gainesville District, and I have worked in the Gainesville area for about 37 years and now live [19:02:28] there for the past 20. In 2006, my wife and I bought a home along Pageland Lane and have enjoyed it for several years up until probably the last 10 to 15 years. It's no longer a royal crescent, as everybody seems to want to be stating. The traffic there has gotten so bad that we can't even pull out of Thornton Road to get onto Pageland anymore because traffic being backed up either from 234 or from 29. [19:03:04] Also tractor trailer traffic, I'm saying tractor trailers. I've been a truck mechanic for 45 years. Tractor trailers are running up and down this road now on a regular basis along with dump truck. This road has become so unsafe that when this traffic is backed up, people use the Thornton gravel road to travel to get around the traffic. [19:03:31] Those who don't know this, school buses travel that road on a constant basis, picking up children on Thornton Road. Cars travel up and down Thornton Road, high rates of speed. Many times the buses and cars, because there's not room for both of them at the same time, have to pull up and off into people's yards. [19:03:55] This is not a Royal Crescent anymore. It was, it was quiet, it was beautiful, and we enjoyed it. but this decision to change that now and have an opportunity to help the county move forward. [19:04:10] I ask you that you approve the rezoning of the three applications, and thank you very much. And also I'd like to state to Supervisor Lawson, Supervisor Weir, it's kind of strange that neither one of you have ever come to talk to anybody on Pageland, but yet you like to call everybody on Pageland, a bunch of greedy people. [19:04:37] We're only looking forward to the future, and those statements are very unfounded. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Mally White. [19:04:54] Hello. Thank you. I'm Mally White, the 10th District in Gainesville. My husband and I have been in Prince William County as homeowners for about 20 years, first at Heritage Hunt, and now in Cat Harbin in a single-family home. [19:05:14] Please approve all three rezoning applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway. I ask you to support this data center. Now, to each and every one of our Prince William County board members and staff, I want to say thank you for your commitment and your service. [19:05:34] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Elisa Cole. Hello, my name is Elisa Cole, and I reside in the Gainesville District, and I am speaking in full support of all three of these rezoning applications that you are considering at this meeting. [19:05:57] I realize at this point in the proceedings that there is absolutely nothing new that I can add to aid you in the decision that is facing you today, but I do want to sincerely thank the entire board for serving our county, and I particularly want to thank Supervisors Bodie, Bailey, Franklin, Angry, and Chair Wheeler for their grace and professionalism in the face of bullying and personal attacks on their stance on this project. [19:06:22] I thank you again, and I do fully support all three of these rezoning applications. Good day. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Melissa White. Hi, I'm Melissa White. [19:06:42] I'm with the Occoquan Districts. I would like to say that I support all three zoning applications. I believe this project will benefit everyone in Prince William County. It will definitely help provide much-needed funding for teachers and aging schools and facilities, especially on the east side of the county where we are located. [19:07:07] Thanks for your time. Have a good morning. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Stephen Lawrence. [19:07:28] Oh, good evening, or rather good morning. Stephen Lawrence from the Gainesville District. I support all three applications and hope that the board will vote yes, hopefully unanimously, although I know that's not going to happen, for these three very progressive projects. [19:07:49] I was looking forward to attending the party in person. Unfortunately, I'm 14 time zones away, having been called away for work. However, I have managed to listen to much of the public comment time on and off throughout the day and for this evening or overnight for you guys. [19:08:09] Every meeting for the past three years that I've attended, and there have been a few, I routinely find interesting things. I've always found it both entertaining and educational at times. Earlier this evening, there was one about data centers being an attractant for nuclear missiles, and that we are left safe if we build data centers 20 miles from the White House and Pentagon. [19:08:42] Having spent half my career working on ways to intercept said missiles, it never occurred to me to suggest building a cluster of data centers in some isolated location to help protect D.C. I know, bad joke. [19:09:01] But more seriously, one thing I didn't hear tonight was I didn't hear anything from Manassas Battlefield Superintendent about his continued push for the Bi-County Parkway. One of his main written objections to the Prince William Vigilar Gateway submissions was that it would prevent the freeway they'd planned for replacing Pageland from being constructed. [19:09:26] Not that PWDG was violating historic land, but that it kept the park from turning Pageland into a freeway to act as a bypass around the park. I have not heard one speaker ever from any of the many Manassas Battlefield supporters, all of whom seem to treat Pageland like a shrine, speak out loud the real plans that the park has for Pageland and for the landowners on Pageland. [19:09:59] This push by the park to destroy Pageland made it real easy to organize a redevelopment effort among the landowners. It wasn't just the money, trust me. I encourage the board to vote yes for the best and probably the last major commercial development that Prince William County will see, at least in many years. I consider the $400 million in tax revenue to be on the low side, given that the tax rates here in the county are amongst the lowest in the area and are certainly guaranteed to rise steadily throughout the years. It's not [19:10:36] a question as to whether or not 20 to 30 million square feet of data centers will be built somewhere in the region. But if Prince William County rejects this proposal, they will simply be scattered to Loudoun and Stafford counties and quite likely many to Frederick County in Maryland. [19:11:00] The three gigawatts of power to be consumed by Prince William Digital Gateway is not going to be saved by simply shifting a few miles. However, it will simply be shifted a few miles away to other counties. I'd like to say it's been a pleasure participating in this process and getting to know all eight of the board members throughout the last couple of years. I've been very glad to see that social decorum has been largely maintained through these difficult meetings, and I think they've gone very well. Thank you for your careful consideration. I look forward to your [19:11:39] votes moving this process forward. Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Nancy Mackies. Ms. Mackies, are you there? You might need to [19:12:08] unmute yourself. We will circle back. Your next speaker is Abigail Bland. Hello. Good morning. [19:12:26] My name is Abigail Bland. I will be speaking briefly on all three rezoning applications. I'm 16 years old, and I have been a Gainesville resident for the past seven years, specifically on Pageland, but I grew up in Manassas. I ask that you approve all rezoning plans because it is almost 2024. The world is evolving, moving on, if you will. It's time for us as landowners to grow up just like the rest of the world. In those boxes, the people before me claim to be corrupting this land will do no harm to it as they think they will. As a 16-year-old student, I stopped going to public school and began homeschooling due to the lack of opportunities I was given because our [19:13:05] schools are severely understaffed, and the staff we do have are not being paid enough to care for their students. These projects will change that, though. These projects will open up new possibilities to the growing generations. This fighting is exhausting and I know you all agree too, but I want to thank the board and all the staff for the work they have been doing for the benefit of the county. [19:13:25] Again, I ask that you please approve all three rezoning applications. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Larry Dolph. [19:13:55] Larry, you can unmute yourself. We'll circle back to Larry. Your next speaker is Paula Daly. Ms. Daly, are you there? [19:14:15] Can you unmute yourself? Ms. Mann, why don't we go on? Ms. Daly, you are unmuted. Please speak. Good morning. [19:14:31] Give me one second here. My name is Paula Daly. I live in the Gainesville District, and I will speak to all three rezonings. Water and air, two things we cannot live without. [19:14:51] Yet, driven by the data center industry demand for land, power, and water, there is increasing alarm for our air quality and water quality, as has been repeatedly raised by over 30 environmental groups. [19:15:07] The industry's demand for power is expected to quadruple over 15 years, and Dominion Energy states that would likely forestall scheduled closures for fossil-fueled power plants, impacting our air quality, and likely triggering emergency generators in the event of a power shortage or outage. [19:15:32] At the same time, Virginia, under the Yunkin administration, is planning to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and is being challenged in court by the Southern Environmental Law Center. As for water, PwC is nearing the 10% tipping point. [19:15:53] So in addition to the impacts of hundreds of acres with impervious surfaces directly affecting the watershed, we should note that for the millions of square feet of data centers yet to be built in Prince William County, water use for those data centers is often a zealously guarded secret. [19:16:13] protected by non-disclosure agreements as the entire region was under a drought warning recently metro d c is now contemplating an additional reservoir to protect the ongoing water supply and may need to consider a secondary source to the potomac river here in prince william county we have a responsibility to protect our watershed supplying the arcoquan reservoir which is the sole water source to eastern pwc as well as nearly one million northern virginians [19:16:47] The demand for land is the subject of this meeting today. Is the digital gateway the best use for the 2,100 acres sandwiched between the battlefield, a state park, and thousands of residences within two miles? [19:17:06] I know. Power lines and money. The power lines have been there for years, but the money is new, and therein lies the rub. Enter QTS, Compass, and their legion of attorneys, public relations personnel, and willing landowners. [19:17:22] still trying to convince us that the Digital Gateway will benefit all of Prince William County, and only the Digital Gateway alone can pay the bills, so we should thank them for their philanthropy. This is a bit of smoke and mirrors from the applicants. [19:17:41] If we could get a straight answer from our county as to the actual number in square feet of operating under construction and approved data centers, estimated to be 50 million square feet, One would reasonably ask, do we need an additional 20 million square feet in a most inappropriate area and subject thousands to the impacts from incompatible zoning? [19:18:10] Loudoun has fewer residents and only has about 30 million square feet of data centers and seems to be doing just fine. It is a constant example that residents bring up here for Prince William County. [19:18:25] Speaking of impacts, thanks to Prince William County, poster child for how not to do data centers, communities nationwide and the data center industry itself have taken notice of our loud and prolonged protests to stop not just the Prince William Digital Gateway, but other data centers, sited next to parks, schools, and residences. [19:18:49] Approving data centers in spite of incompatible zoning opens the door to years of misery for your constituents from construction, loss of quality of life, property values, and maybe even a peaceful night's sleep. [19:19:07] We didn't move next to an industrial zone. You are putting industrial zones next to our homes, schools, and parks. Just stop. It must be a heady experience sitting up there above everyone, appropriating $100,000 here, a million there, with a simple yes vote. [19:19:29] It must also be equally heady to see your campaign chess grow with the largest donations from those who will expect a favor in return. Is that a dilemma for you? I think not. This is the first time in my life that I have been active in local government, and I am appalled by the Democratic supervisors here. [19:19:53] I don't know what you stand for, certainly not the environment, certainly not even the idea of public service. Because if you cause harm to thousands, you cannot justify that harm solely for revenue. [19:20:11] How does one quantify the quality of life and financial impacts to families from siting data centers next to homes? How does one quantify the impact of living in an industrial construction zone for years, literally in your backyards, of seeing mammoth towering buildings no matter which way you turn in your community? [19:20:33] That's the future for Gainesville and Bristol. Mr. Looney, your comparison of a housing development to compasses 11.5 million square feet of data centers and seven substations is ludicrous. [19:20:51] Besides the scale of the structures themselves, homes will probably not change that much in 20 years or require three to ten times more power. Who knows what a data center will look like in five years, or how much natural resources and power it will require. [19:21:10] Take a look at the data centers built five years ago. No comparison. And you expect a blanket approval for 20 years from this board. And unfortunately, for many of us, I'm sure you'll receive it in just a matter of a couple hours. [19:21:26] Mr. Calabrese, you referenced Williamsburg as an inspiration for preserving history in the Digital Gateway Corridor. i've been to williamsburg it is not the size of a pocket park surrounded by monolithic structures i guess i have to give you and mr looney credit for your imaginations but seriously you expect us to fall for that bad land use bad zoning destroys communities you supervisors have the future of the gainesville district in your hands i would hope there would be some respect but i have seen [19:22:03] none in over two years, so I recognize that as wishful thinking. There are three applications tonight for which the Planning Commission and staff have both recommended denial. I ask that you also deny all three rezoning applications. One last request. Gainesville finally has a representative, Ann, so don't limit Bob Weir's questions on the largest data center campus [19:22:32] in the world. The night is young yet. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Michelle [19:22:44] Cunningham. Ms. Cunningham, are you there? We'll circle back. Your next speaker is T. Tapp. Hi, I'm T. I'm from the Brentsville District, and I spent the bulk of my professional career working [19:23:20] with massive organizations, public, private, and took over all of their IT, tore it apart, reconstituted it, and ran it at higher, more consistent service levels than they did, for 40% less than they did, and the reason I had to do that was because my CEO would kill me if I didn't market up 20% back to them when I sold it. So very complex, done the biggest IT deals in the world. I only worked on stuff 500 million or more. Sometimes we would take over the customer's data center. Sometimes we would retrofit them. Sometimes we moved their workloads to our data centers, and a lot of times we would build new data centers from the ground up, and I did this on [19:23:59] multiple continents, multiple currencies. I did it for a number of the companies that share Wheeler Holds stock in, like Honeywell when they were Allied Signal, J.P. Morgan, some others. Did it for the Postal Service, 34,000 locations, 153,000 devices. Did it for the DOD and a lot of three-letter agencies. Most importantly, we are responsible not just for the data centers, but for all the equipment, all the staff, everything that went in the data center. And this is significant because what's in your data center drives most of these issues that everyone's worried [19:24:32] about here. Unfortunately, I have not heard one person who knows that stuff, what goes on in a data center, what those issues are, and how they impact things like power draw, water, noise generation, and so forth. I hear a lot of people who talk about the shell and a lot of cosmetic stuff. So in the past, I might have been in Compass's or QTS's position presenting at this meeting. The big difference, though, is that if I were presenting, I would be the person talking who populated the D.C. with all this technology, would be making the decisions that dictated how [19:25:08] much noise and how much power was generated, how much water was used, and I would be able to answer all of these questions. But the reality is you probably never would have met me because I never would have bid on something like this. We, I, never put data centers this close to population areas certainly would never want to build this many data centers this close together. [19:25:29] And it's not because I was altruistic or anything. I mean, we were just as greedy as any other company, but we were shrewd enough to know that deals like this would ultimately descend into a nightmarish welter of lawsuits and countersuits, and that the concentration of massive power draws in this many data centers together would create rolling brownouts or even worse, that would make it virtually impossible for our own data center to run reliably, and that's what we do for a living. [19:25:57] So I don't care who belongs to what party. I don't care how you vote. I don't care if your mind's already made up. I just have to talk about this because I've been part of this process many, many, many times, many contexts, many countries. I have been part of two to three years sales processes with government entities, including the largest government IT project in history, 17 billion over 10 years. [19:26:19] So you can trust me when I say the problem isn't so much that we don't have answers to some of these questions. The problem is that I don't even hear people asking some of the most significant questions because you don't know to ask them. And I learned that the two biggest threats in these kind of big stakes situations, whether it's for the applicants or for the government, is you don't know what you don't know and you're not asking the right questions. [19:26:43] So first and most significantly, given all the angst about noise and power and water consumption, it is mind-boggling to me that for two years you haven't been negotiating with the companies that will actually populate and run the data centers. Compass and QTS are just landlords, and most of the significant decisions that will drive factors like noise and power and water consumption will be made by their ultimate tenants, not by Compass or QTS. [19:27:08] That's why they can't tell you where lines will be run or commit to anything substantive like the number of jobs that we created, power consumption levels, noise levels, because each of their tenants have solution templates that they use in all of their data centers, and they are very unlikely to change them for us or anyone else. [19:27:27] We spend all this time rafter on the axle about what Dominion or Novex says about this or that, but they're being honest when they say we can't say anything definitive until we see a final plan. And Compass and QTS can't provide a final plan because they're not the ones who will be outfitting and actually running the data centers. So the planning commission meeting was such a clown show. I mean, not because of the planning group, but because the participants, none of them were ready to actually discuss a vetted plan with details, et cetera. And yet we still had meeting. And I mean, I don't want to speak ill of people that I don't know, but in private industry, you would have been fired for publicly wasting everyone's time like that. [19:28:03] So when I sat there and there and heard Compass's statement that this needs to move forward because we have deadlines with our real estate companies, I mean, that's not your problem, Bort. It's their problem. Deal timing is something that they're supposed to factor into their risk assessment, especially when they're dealing with an uninitiated kind of rookie customer like BWC here. [19:28:23] You just don't say something like that out loud to your customer. It's self-centered, it's tone deaf, and frankly, it's kind of comical. It's like a sales rep telling his customer that the customer has to buy his product right now because it's the end of the quarter and the sales rep needs to hit the sales quota. So, PwC Board, you are the customer. [19:28:39] You are in charge of this deal. You drive the schedule. So, if you let yourself get bullied into doing this faster than you're ready, then shame on you because you're letting them do it. And it's become obvious that that's what's happened, you know, during the planning meeting. I just have never seen this in my life. [19:28:56] So either Compass and QTS are taking advantage of your relative ignorance about subject matter, which certainly seems to at least partly be the case, or you guys are knowingly ramming this through in spite of the certain ruinous consequences for the community. So really quickly, data center ops concepts, this is why the power draw will be worse than you think, why taxes won't be as good and jobs won't be as plentiful as you think. [19:29:18] Density is what drives how you operate a data center. You fit as much processing power in a chip as possible, as many chips as possible on a board, as many racks as possible in a facility, and as much total processing power as possible in a given facility. So DC operators are paid specifically to optimize density. [19:29:36] And it sounds like there's sort of vague unspoken assumption that There's some kind of asymptotic limit to power draw because, hey, you can only draw so much power at a given plot of land. History shows that's not true. So raised floor space in the data center is measured and tracked and optimized down to the centimeter in every DC. [19:29:54] Equipment is placed strategically to diffuse heat and strategically maximize walkway space so you can install and remove equipment easily. A server used to be a box with boards and disks and a backplane array. And then it shifted to being a board and slot and rack, and servers became virtualized. You could run hundreds, thousands of them on a single board. [19:30:12] And now servers of all kinds are chained, sometimes across multiple sites and even countries, to create supercomputing power from really cheap components. So the definition of what a server is for tax purposes is really hard for most localities to understand and track. And the data centers in Loudoun are routinely taking advantage of the county's ignorance about this. [19:30:32] note their recent $60 million budget shortfall for equipment taxes, $60 million less than they thought, because next concept, cascading. Tech refreshing data center is way more sophisticated than most governments understand. Data centers constantly fold in the latest, fastest boards and GPUs as tech advances, and they cascade older boards down from high usage racks to lower usage racks. So data center doesn't buy anywhere near as much equipment as governments think they will see what happened in the lab. A new board usually replaces two or five or sometimes even 10 older boards or GPUs, but it also draws a lot more power per board. And these older boards are then [19:31:12] cascaded down and devolved into other racks. So you're not going to see the kind... And by the way, data centers self-report on this. It cracks me up that they let them do that, but that's the case. So the tax figures for certainly equipment tax is not going to be there. But the thing you need to understand is availability is what data centers are all about. It is the highest good. It drives everything and you need to know the difference between 99% availability which is 88 minutes of downtime a year and 99.9% which is just an eight minute difference per year is about 40% increase in cost to go from 99.9 to 99.99 which is only nine minutes down cost double and [19:31:52] then going at an extra 0.9 is just one minute down cost five times as much so the cost for these guys They watch it like a hawk. Once they engineer an availability solution and sell that service to the customers, they are selling service level. [19:32:07] In many cases, they will have to pay liquidated damages if they don't hit those SLA. So they're not going to make substantive engineering changes to their solution because doing so would just cut into their projected profit. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [19:32:24] Your next speaker is Mike Ketchmerick. Mike Ketchmerick, Heritage Hunt, Gainesville. Good morning. i'm totally opposed to the board approving any data centers during the land dock period i speak against all three rezonings the rush vote will only be a complete surrender to the developers and the data center industry you have not negotiated the best deal for the county given our last speaker you have no clue of what you're doing at all so i mean you're basically [19:33:03] letting the data centers control everything you're not in negotiations until you know the proof of proof of that you have not negotiated the best deal is that the applicants are still coming to you with proffers. Do not end negotiations until you call for best and final offers. You haven't done that. You have no clue what you're doing. It cannot be done in these last meetings. You're surrendering all future Prince William County authority to regulate data centers. Give the new board a chance to lead on this issue. The voters spoke very clearly during the primary. They wanted [19:33:41] new leadership. In the general election, they spoke again for new leadership. There's a reason. You don't know what you're doing. The Democratic majority on this board needs to listen to the voters. Give DeShondra Jefferson a chance to lead in a new direction. Democrats, I know you won your individual district, but so did DeShondra, and she did even better than you did in your district. [19:34:05] She wanted to restrain data center growth, but you want more data centers. The voters sent a mixed message, except they made clear they wanted Democrats to decide this issue. Give the new board that chance. Four Democratic supervisors are not lame ducks. You have more than, you have four more years to decide the issue. I oppose this process of conducting votes on a 20-year construction project at the end of a term. I also oppose the three Z Brazilians because of the damage you're going to do to the Democratic Party. In 2019, when this board was elected, [19:34:42] your mandate. In 2019, you ran on removing the board, removing control of your board from the developers. The previous Republican boards, you claimed, were controlled by developers. But this board is also controlled by developers and large landowner contributions. The average citizen and voter have no say in this county. The Democratic Party at the local level is almost as cynical and corrupt as a Republican Party. What I say today will have limited impact, I know. But what you do [19:35:20] today will speak volumes on the credibility and the honesty of the Democratic Party. The parties are only different slightly on how they would spend the money and what taxes to raise and lower. But all the big decisions are totally controlled by the developers and big landowners who want to cash in millions in windfall profits. In 2019, you did not run on approving an industrial park right next to a national park, state, forest, and retirement community. But that is what we will get. Even after the voters rejected this idea in the primary and [19:35:59] reinforced it in the decision in November, this board is still pushing this agenda. In December 2019, the Republican board approved Gainesville Crossing at university in 29. This was a one-tenth scale version of the Ann Wheeler Data Center Industrial Park. They clear-cut the area and built one building does not match any of the pretty drawings that were offered. That is what Pageland area will look like for the next 20 years. It will not look like any of the drawings by the applicants. The Democratic majority will outdo the Republicans tenfold this time. [19:36:38] The Democrats are not losing control of the board seat, so they have no reason to rush this vote. But they are so afraid of new leadership and the voters having a say. They want to surrender to the developer backers and get this over with. Also want to point out a major difference between a yes or a no vote on this issue. A yes vote is irreversible. The land will be purchased, developers will clear the land of trees and start building. Even if a court later reverses your [19:37:11] decision, you cannot reverse the damage done. A no vote only means a delay. The developers only has to repurpose, they can start the process again with a better plan. I'm asking for a no vote to give Prince William County more time to negotiate a better deal for the environment and nearby residents. You have clearly not given the staff enough time to do all the work. I cannot ask Dominion Power this question, but you should have. It was Dominion Power lines in the first place that started this rush to industrialize the area. So anywhere in the county that they string new [19:37:51] lines will be your next industrial zone how much power does existing lines carry to clown county is there any excess capacity on the lines that can be used to power the new data centers how much additional power will be needed for the 20 million square feet of data centers can they even add additional power lines on the page land court will they have to come from a different direction i know they are unwilling to give specifics but dominion could give a range of [19:38:19] I agree with Dr. Liver. You need to ask the hard questions before approving anything. The county needs more time to get regulations in place before you consider any new data center approvals. Once approved, you lose all leverage to get necessary regulations. [19:38:35] And from this last speaker, you have not even begun to negotiate. You do not have the technical experts on staff required to evaluate such a massive technical project. You have no idea if you can monitor or enforce any concessions that the developer even makes. [19:38:55] Chair Wheeler, earlier you made a comment comparing how long the opposition spoke compared to those who favored the project at the Planning Commission 23-hour meeting. Let me explain. It does not take much time to say, I support you giving me a multimillion-dollar windfall. [19:39:11] It takes much more time to express how much destruction will be occurring because of this project. But I am sure you enjoy hearing all the suffering you will cause to the less fortunate residents of Prince William County. I'm very disappointed in the Democratic supervisor refusing to hear from the voters and give the new board a chance. [19:39:29] You are rushing to give away all future county authority. You want to lock in all future boards to the worst possible decision. That could be made. You want to sabotage the future. Supervisor Bodie, I am most disappointed in you. [19:39:46] We discussed this option. No for now only means more time to get a better deal. It does not kill any project, but gives Prince William County more time to get the experts to really evaluate the proposal. [19:40:02] You are not a lame duck. You believe it is a good decision now. You should be able to convince the new board to support it six months from now. Take the time to get it done right. This is not good government. This is not what I worked so hard for to get Democrats elected. [19:40:19] Respect the voters. Please respect the voters. we will need them next year to save democracy and the country. Of course, we had to have the Trump Nazi speaker tonight. They lie about voter fraud. They will lie about anything. [19:40:35] They certainly do not believe in free and fair elections. One comment about this entire process, we should at least assign numbers to online speakers the same as the in-person speakers. We deserve some respect, too. We had no idea when we were going to speak. We had no idea where we were in the queue. We had no idea at all. We could never communicate with anyone to find out that information. You really didn't care, did you, about when we had our chance to speak? And again, I go back to that last speaker that opened my eyes even more to how little everybody on that [19:41:12] board knows about this subject and why Lowndes County doesn't even know. We don't even know how they calculate the value of the equipment for the C&P tax. But Lowndes County, at least we're morning have to have a very high rate you didn't even have that so my time is ending i hope you do [19:41:34] the right thing thank you thank you next speaker please your next speaker is sherry snyder miss snyder are you there ms mann can we go on the next person please keep us moving uh yeah she was just [19:42:11] there but i'm here yeah she's yeah there she is yes i'm here i just can't figure out how to turn the camera on. Oh, is that okay? Absolutely fine. Just proceed, please. Okay. My name is Martha Snyder, and my husband is Peter Snyder of Pageland Farm. I did live in Virginia, but I currently do not reside there. I'm speaking on all three applications. Madam Chair and Supervisors, thank you all so much for your time and effort. I have been a part of the Pageland Farm family [19:42:46] for 37 years. I've been on numerous Zoom calls and sent numerous emails, both state and border supervisors, and supported the Digital Gateway on behalf of the family. I'm here again to ask you to please vote yes to all three applications. Prince William County boasts a rich tapestry of communities, but the rising cost of living threatens the accessibility and inclusivity that make it so unique. My stance is pro data center and here's why. It benefits [19:43:25] all of Prince William County and not just the select few. Number one, maintaining an average no net increase flat tax in residential. This approach fosters an environment where families can plan for their future without fears of escalating property taxes. Number two, continued increases in local school public funding. Allocating 57 cents of every dollar to the [19:44:00] school budget is an investment in the future of Prince William County that supports student athletes and enhances their opportunities. The construction of a world-class indoor sports An event center providing a venue for athletic development and community engagement is essential. [19:44:20] Number three, reduction of personal vehicle tax rate. The county acknowledges the burden posed by the personal property tax for personal use vehicles, especially with today's higher car values. [19:44:38] A reduction in a car tax is essential. The move is critical in ensuring the tax system is fair and equitable, particularly for the middle and lower income families. Number four, expansion of public transit opportunities. [19:44:58] To alleviate the strain on individual budgets and reduce traffic congestion, the expansion of public transit options would be ideal. Improving public transit not only benefits residents financially, but also contributes to a more sustainable and connected community. [19:45:21] Number five, increased funding for housing preservation and development programs. Recognizing the importance of affordable housing and committing to increasing funding for housing preservation and development programs is in dire need. [19:45:39] Additionally, the project will initiate targeted programs to make housing more accessible for essential county employees such as those in public schools, public safety, public health and well-being, ensuring that those who serve the community can also call it home. [19:45:58] Number six, robust acquisition program for parkland and open space. A commitment to green space is integral to maintaining the county's quality of life. The project aims to secure additional parkland and publicly accessible open space, creating recreational areas for families to enjoy and contribute to the overall well-being of the community. [19:46:26] In conclusion, by adopting this comprehensive approach, this data project aims to address the various facets of affordability in Prince William County. [19:46:44] This strategy not only fosters financial stability for residents, but also ensures that the county remains an attractive and inclusive place for all. Wouldn't working together, building a community that thrives economically, socially, and environmentally embody the true spirit of Prince William County? [19:47:08] Just imagine what $462 million in data center tax revenue from Prince William Digital Gateway can do for Prince William County. Thank you. [19:47:24] Thank you. Sorry. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Neil Kelly. Good morning, members of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. [19:47:40] My name is Neil Kelly, and I am from Gainesville District. I am not compensated for my time that I have spent here. I did log on at approximately 0945 hours yesterday, and I've been waiting my turn patiently. I agree with the previous president who said that we should treat the virtual online people with the same respect that we do for the in-person people. [19:48:05] Give us a number so at least we know where we wind up. And now I see that I had to wait for a non-county resident to speak before me. I thought these people were supposed to be speaking after all the county residents had a chance. Anyway, back to why we're here. I am speaking to you on all three zoning applications, item 3A, 3B, and 3C. [19:48:26] Once again, I ask you to vote no to the Prince William Digital Gateway. After hearing all the unanswered questions from earlier today, How can anyone think it's time to move forward on this once-in-a-lifetime event? The Planning Commission, the Planning Staff, and many of your other Prince William County Commissioners have recommended against this project. [19:48:45] Earlier yesterday, Chair Wheeler stated that the opposition to the Digital Gateway uses all their allowed time to speak and accused us of trying to run out the clock. However, I really think it's because the citizens have uncovered many issues that need to be addressed, important things like environmental impact on the local ecosystem, water, noise, air, land, and the power grid are among unanswered questions. We ask, where will the new power lines be? How will this affect the country's historical tourism? Is this a recreation of the Vyke County Parkway? Why so many NDAs? What don't they want us to know? What is the cost to the taxpayers for [19:49:22] the needed infrastructure? Why is our peripheral tax all within Loudoun if it's all for the money? What happens as technology changes and the massive data centers are no longer needed? How many additional natural gas turbines will be needed to provide energy during peak demand time? [19:49:39] I have many more other questions, but you've heard them all before, and I'm still waiting for answers. The applicants from QTS and Compass have asked for greater flexibility with their profits. Giving them this is a free pass to change their plans. We already saw that when they changed the height of the buildings. [19:49:56] Who knows what they want to change next? As a resident of the Gainesville District, I support Supervisor Weir, Lawson, and Vega's willingness to ask the hard questions. Thank you for standing up for the majority of your constituents and for your service. And again, vote no on all three proposals. [19:50:13] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Irene Kelly. Good morning. [19:50:32] I have a new name for the McCourt building. Could you state your name and generally where you live, please? Sleep deprivation torture center. Ms. Kelly, can you please state your name and generally where you live? [19:50:47] you've inflicted all of these hours on yourselves i'm i'm watching you rub your necks rub your eyes you poor folks come on you're doing this to yourselves folks and it's not the first time you know first time you make a mistake shame shame on somebody else but it happens the second time shame shame on me anyway let's move on and i hope you can really change this it's better for you it's better for the citizens. And not only that, but don't you think your citizens are a little [19:51:24] concerned if you made such a bad decision when having these long meetings? How are you going to really come about making good decisions for the citizenry on topics such as this? Oh my goodness. All right, let's go on. I pay my taxes. You took my money. You hired these wonderfully intelligent planning commission folks they turn around and say no no no no don't do it very bad and then what [19:51:57] do they get they get insults really terrible treatment shameful treatment i've seen people sue their bosses for less terrible treatment mr perez get yourself a lawyer anyway let's get down to why i really think we've got to watch out for what's going to come down the pipe [19:52:27] Data centers? No, not three generators per data center. You've got at least six, maybe more, truck-sized generators. And Chair Wheeler, you had asked one of the representatives, how much time does a generator run? And the answer was 16 and a half hours. That's for one [19:52:57] generator. Now you take your 37 generators, you times that by six, maybe even more. You have hundreds of generators, 16 and a half hours. So then I did a little research because we all know they're trying, they're going to do their best to keep that air quality clean. But if you've ever been near generators, I haven't seen one that runs any better than a catalytic converter that's [19:53:30] on a car and they want to do away with those cars so don't believe that the air is going to be clean so let's go to that toxic air the toxic air i did a little research and i asked well how long how far can the toxic fumes go well first of all the toxic fumes can last in the air anywhere that's from, what did they say? [19:53:59] They said, oh, days to even weeks in the air, particles. And how far can they travel? Hundreds of thousands of miles. So it's not just the community that's right around the data center area. [19:54:17] The winds are going to take it over to your folks in coal. The winds are going to take it over to your folks in the, excuse me, the other eastern regions. You all have children, you have babies, or hopefully you have family members who need to breathe clean air. [19:54:39] We heard from Matt Haddock about what was going on in Pittsburgh with children three times as big as the three times as national number with asthma. Let's take care of our kids. [19:55:01] Let's give our kids someplace to go. Let's not build out. Can you tell I'm from New York City with my accent? I've been through Brooklyn. I've been through New Jersey with all of that nonsense. Where are the kids in the inner cities playing? [19:55:17] They have no place. Give them some green air. At least they can get that from you, can't they? I just want to tell you, you're going too fast, too soon. [19:55:37] Give it a break. And give yourselves a break. Why don't you start changing your laws and saying we cut down. Dinner time over. Done. We'll continue the conversations then. I don't know what else to say to you. You've heard it all. I wish you well, and may God bless America. [19:55:59] Bye-bye. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Tom Ackerley. Good morning, Board of County Supervisors. I'd like to make a few comments about some of the things that have been said today. [19:56:20] Can you please state your name and where you live, please? Yes, Tom Ackerley. Sorry, I might have said it before I came to the camera. Yes, this is Tom Ackerley. I live in the Gainesville District. Thank you. I know, and I live on Pageland Lane also, and I know that the Pageland Lane residents all care very deeply about the Manassas battlefield. [19:56:42] In fact, when we had the Susquecentennial several, about 10 years ago, the battlefield did not allow the reenactors to reenact the battle on battlefield property, interestingly enough. [19:56:59] Where did that reenactment take place? On Pageland Farm, on the other side of Pageland Lane, on Paige Snyder's farm. In addition, the battlefield, people don't talk about this, they act like the battlefield's a pristine area. It's not. We all know it has the power lines that used to bisect it about 15, 20 years ago. They were moved to the west on the Brawner Farm. [19:57:27] In addition to that, over on the eastern side of the battlefield and on the southern edge, there's significant development. In fact, there's data centers in that area, as well as the data centers we know that are being constructed on the western edge of the battlefield right now in the Gainesville Crossing development. [19:57:50] So, there's significant development already around the battlefield. And I know the rezonings are taking into effect or into consideration sighting and view sheds. And from what I've seen in the balloon studies and some of the other studies that have been done, they're taking very good measures to limit the view of any data centers that may be built. [19:58:22] on the northern side of the battlefield. In fact, that would be better than all the development that currently exists on the eastern and southern ends of the battlefield park now. Without the Digital Gateway comprehensive plan recommendations and the rezonings which implement them, many cultural and historic resources would remain unstudied, undiscovered, or unprotected with private ownership. [19:58:55] These rezonings enable the study, preservation, documentation, and public access to many layers of history—Native American pre-Civil War, Civil War, and African American post-Civil War life. [19:59:10] They do not pave over history. They're going to enhance the history in the area. I've listened to—I joined the call about a quarter of 10 yesterday morning. I've listened to much of the presentations, as well as many speakers today. I'd have to say that the staff and the county have worked very hard in doing a lot of work to review the rezonings and work with [19:59:42] the applicants. However, I was disturbed by Mr. Perez's completely unprofessional tone and manner when he was talking with the applicants and some of the supervisors yesterday and super supervisor franklin i want to give you a shout out for asking the tough questions that um drill down on the power lines and why there is some um unknowns about the power development and the uh infrastructure that will be part of the development um on the three applications rezoning applications [20:00:21] And as other folks have said in the last 24 hours, many of these ideas and sightings will be approved during the site plan approval process. [20:00:36] The Prince William Digital Gateway will usher in an unprecedented opportunity for the county, and I applaud the vision of the five Democrat supervisors who have taken this opportunity and promoted it and have worked tirelessly with the applicants and with other folks in the county to make sure this is going to be a terrific opportunity for Prince William County. [20:01:06] develop revenue, and improve our commercial tax base. I highly recommend approving the three zoning applications today and look forward to moving Prince William County forward. Thank you. [20:01:23] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Phyllis Thompson. Hello. I'm Phyllis Thompson from the Gainesville District, and I'm speaking to all three zoning applications. I ask you to vote yes on the Prince William South and North and Compass Data Centers [20:01:56] as this is an innovative opportunity for Prince William County. Another thing that I'd like to mention is that this project will widen Pageland Lane. You have heard that Pageland Lane is extremely dangerous. There are many of us that just really have a great deal of danger getting out of our driveways, and I happen to live on a curve, and it will take the curve out when this [20:02:28] road is built. I am very disappointed by all the criticism, attacks, and threats directed to the board during this hearing. You do not deserve these insults. Thank you for your patience and courage during the past several years in studying this project. Thank you very much. Thank you. [20:02:57] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Nancy Stevens. Ms. Stevens, are you? Yes, we can hear you. [20:03:18] Hi, my name is Nancy Stevens. I live in the Gainesville District. I'd like to talk to all three proposals that I hope you will reject. My husband and I moved here from Ohio about four years ago, and I was so drawn to the beauty of the area, and I was also so impressed that Prince William County had a rural crescent. It was so forward-thinking, I thought, on the part of the county to protect itself from over-industrialization and urban sprawl. But alas, if you approve these [20:03:57] applications, this precious green space will be gone forever. If I had known that Prince William County would do an about-face and strive to become the data center capital of the world, I would never have even considered moving here to this county. I'm sure that if you approve this digital gateway project and it becomes a reality, in the future, many, many families wouldn't even consider moving to this county. Why is a project of this magnitude being rushed through passage, especially as this recent speaker said, who was involved in the industry, that we're not even [20:04:37] asking the right questions. Do we have all the facts and projections, impact studies? Are you confident that the thousands of pages these data center companies have given you have been gone over with the fine-tooth comb? What about all the new modifications? Have they been fully vetted? After all, these data center companies with endless funds have armies of lawyers trying to write these applications to their advantage. A little subterfuge there, [20:05:11] a little unclear word there, a little omission, words like similar design. I mean, who decides what's similar? And when possible, they use words like that. So they cover themselves in any future litigation by having such vagueness in their applications. We've listened that we don't have studies about the electricity demand. We don't have studies in the water issue. We don't know [20:05:45] where the buildings are exactly going to be placed. We don't know how high they're going to be. We don't know how they're going to build up the land before they put the building on top of it. For the life of me, I cannot understand the rush of such a life-changing project. [20:06:03] If the digital gateway is such a good idea, it won't go away. These data center companies will still want this land in the next six months, 12 months, 24 months. You're not going to lose developers by slowing down further consideration of this application process or denying it. [20:06:25] Still, I wonder why the rush? It begs the question of something sinister. Is there some secret arrangement made behind doors? I'm thinking of former Supervisor Candlin, who now works for these industries. And the fact that our district, I live in Gainesville, our district had no representation at all for the time that this project was being considered the last couple of years. [20:06:54] I mean, zero representation. I understand that the planning commission, you know, has been short-staffed. There have been several resignations, turnovers, and they're backlogged. [20:07:11] Is this the time? Is this the time to make a legally binding, long-lasting, life-changing decision for us inhabitants of Prince William County? Here you have both your planning office and planning commission denying the approval of these applications. [20:07:29] And you're going to go ahead and vote yes on these projects? I mean, you're not going to listen to your own experts and your own advisors on what to do here? I must make a comment about the Village Tech Park and the disastrous D.C. campus at Cat Harpin and John Marshall. [20:07:52] I just, how could it have happened? You have a data center so close to those homes there. There was no buffer. How did that happen? Have you been down there to see how it actually looks? It's become like a poster child of the bad thing to do with data centers. [20:08:12] Nationwide, it's been circulated photos of that area there. I ask you to please slow down. Do the right thing. Tell developers to modify their plans to fit into the data center overlay district or other light industry areas. [20:08:31] Make them adjust to our wants and needs. Do not, you absolutely cannot count on developers to do the right thing. Their one and only interest is money. Data centers belong in appropriate places, nowhere near school, parks, and neighborhoods. [20:08:52] You'll still get the tax revenue without destroying the rural crescent. Just think about this. If I ask you, the best place for a huge data center complex of 37 buildings is between a national battlefield park, a state forest, and a retirement community. [20:09:13] Would you say, oh, yes, that sounds like the perfect place. Let's put 37 huge buildings there. And I want you to look to the future. These data center, they might be obsolete in a few years. How would 37 ugly concrete buildings be along there after they're abandoned? [20:09:35] We moved here from Ohio, and I can tell you that there's a city there called Youngstown. Everyone there relied on its big steel-making industry. Lots of steel mills, prosperous. People loved it, all the jobs. [20:09:52] But you know what? Well, the steel mills closed down. And everywhere in Youngstown, you see abandoned buildings and blight. You see big, old, closed-down steel mills that no one wants to use the money to tear down. [20:10:10] Data centers may well go the same way. Technology moves fast, and all the data that might go into a data center today might fit in something the size of your palm tomorrow. What would you do with all those empty, ugly concrete blocks? [20:10:27] Think about your legacy. My husband and I thought that moving here was going to be a good idea, that it was a progressive area, that surely Pennsylvania County would be sensitive to the ecology and the protective of the environment. [20:10:47] We felt we were moving to a place that, you know, would strive to be green. Now we may be faced with hazardous, noxious fumes from hundreds of diesel generators and constant noise. Seems like a backward move, not a progressive one. [20:11:03] I beg you to do what Frederick County, Maryland just did and vote no on a mega data center alley. I hope you'll be brave enough to do the same. Big money shouldn't always win. I beg you to vote no and not rush this through before you know all the consequences and before you know all the information. [20:11:28] There'll still be developers who want to do it down the road. So why the big, huge rush in the middle of the night after these endless meetings? I mean, this is not the optimum way to run a business or the government. [20:11:45] I beg you to delay this decision and vote no on these applications. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Jerry O'Sullivan. [20:12:07] Hi. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning. And I'm, excuse me, I'm Jerry O'Sullivan from Gainesville. Excuse me. I moved to Ashburn in 1991, which was more than a decade before the very first data center. [20:12:33] And I moved there because it was nice. It was lots of green open space. It was quiet, peaceful, but still an easy commute into Reston or, you know, in town. So that was cool. [20:12:49] The first data center appeared on Waxpool in, I don't know, it was more than a decade later. But it didn't take long for construction to explode and for the data centers to proliferate. That permanently changed the character of Loudoun. [20:13:07] I guess you guys know this, you've heard it before. It changed the character of Loudoun for the worse. For me personally, it became a place I just didn't want to live anymore. So it wasn't really that long ago that this this giant industrial blight, the Prince William Digital Gateway, it didn't exist here. [20:13:24] It wasn't it wasn't even a thought in 2018 when I moved here. Now, or if it was a thought, no one was talking about it. But then, you know, some good old greed. Someone got an idea to get rich, sell big chunks of land at way over market prices to buyers who saw it as a huge discount compared to land in Loudoun. [20:13:48] elsewhere. The county might even offer an unnecessarily lower tax rate to further entice the data center buyers. Landowners would cash out and get rich. Developers would get cheap land and an even cheaper tax rate. The county starts thinking about how to spend the tax revenue even before the ground is broken. So win-win, the American way. If it were all upside, there wouldn't be any debate. We wouldn't be here. But of course, nothing is all upside. There's that pesky issue of consequences. Most directly for me, as a local resident not far from this project, [20:14:29] the most serious consequence is loss of quality of life. The sound levels reported by residents in Ashburn and Manassas and soon-to-be Haymarket are intolerable. They force families to give up using their own yards and retreat to their basements to escape the 24-7 buzzing hum. [20:14:50] It's loud enough to wake you up in the middle of the night. I find that very disturbing. It's scary, too. I believe naively, perhaps, that it's part of your job to protect your resonance from this kind of thing. Naive, I suppose. [20:15:07] And there's the issue of viewsheds, of course. Replacing trees in open spaces with giant concrete boxes is just depressing on many levels. I think it might kill the battlefield. And it'll have subtle and maybe not so subtle effects on the mood of people driving by every day. [20:15:30] Just roll down Haymarket right now. It's not even done. And it's so sad. And again, when they turn those on, people in the townhouses there, they're just totally screwed. Very sad. There's a serious air quality issue associated with the enormous diesel generators needed to power the data centers. [20:15:54] Whenever their power demand exceeds the supply, this is a looming disaster because not even Dominion knows how they're going to meet the demand. And of course, many more high voltage power lines will be needed, which is more viewshed destruction at the very least. [20:16:13] And of course, higher utility bills, which by the way, why are we putting that bill? It's their extension cord. Why don't they pay? Somebody explain that. Another direct consequence for anyone unlucky enough to be near this industrial blight is loss of property value. [20:16:33] No one wants to move next to a data center. It's maybe not ironic that maybe 100% of the people here tonight that spoke in favor of this project are the very ones reaping the windfall and are guaranteed to not buy a replacement home anywhere near one of these things. [20:16:52] So they get rich and everybody else loses property value, peace of mind, and quality of life. But oh boy, they're the best thing to ever happen to Prince William County. Such hypocrisy. Give me a break. Another consequence Loudoun can inform you of is revenue shortfall. [20:17:12] $60 million last year, and now they'll need a stabilization fund so they can operate. I mean, the prior speaker spoke about this, about not even knowing the correct questions to answer. ask, but you'll blithely plow forward anyway. It's just exceedingly odd that despite overwhelming opposition to this, as it's currently planned, and the points that the data industry in the CIDR made just a few minutes ago, that you're going to approve it anyway, five to three. [20:17:46] How about maybe a pause to answer questions put forth by your own professional planning staff? No need. Approved, 5-3. How about an environmental study? Don't need one. Approved, 5-3. [20:18:02] Don't need a water study either. Approved, 5-3. Caroline's, don't worry. We'll figure it out. Approved, 5-3. Climate change implications? Eh, maybe later. Approved, 5-3. You all know this. [20:18:20] You know how it looks. And you know what it implies. And you're going to do it anyway. Shame on you five. Thank you. Next speaker, please. your next speaker is keith snyder greetings board of county supervisors um a lot of what [20:18:56] can you please tell us your name and generally where you live and what you want to speak to please yes chair ruler one second i'm going to turn my tv off in the other room so i don't hear an echo on you guys it's keith snyder thank you apologies for that delay um a lot of what you're [20:19:32] you're running into with us, the citizens who are concerned about the future, concerned about the environment, concerned about noise studies, concerned about power, could easily be addressed rather than this bull in a china shop tactic. I know it's incidental and it seems like a year and a half is some astronomical length of time to go through a process of assessing [20:20:08] something. However, when we first started talking, when I first started talking to you about a year and a half ago, I brought up something called an environmental consultation. Environmental consultation is suggested, recommended, requested, highly recommended, and advised by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service according to the Endangered Species Act, Section 7. And it simply gives you, [20:20:42] There's a website. I actually gave it to your Alex Venegas at a friends of the Occoquan cleanup. It was interesting because I had a conversation with a couple of people that worked with friends of the Occoquan and brought it to their attention that there was no environmental review that had been done by the county. [20:21:03] When I say environmental review by the county, I'm speaking of a third party that's acting objectively rather than an environmental-looking review that's given to you by the applicant to make it feel like an environmental review has been done. [20:21:23] Something that's actually been something that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service would appreciate. So I brought up the fact that there was no environmental review in front of this couple, and she was very surprised because she, like many of us, like many citizens, like the ones you aren't hearing from who are asleep or waking up and going to work, we kind of take it for granted that some of these processes are addressed because they're practical and logical. [20:22:02] and one would think that an environmental assessment would transpire simply due to the fact that we have a sustainability board as well as a carbon footprint commitment that we've committed to. So an environmental consultation, in environmental consultation, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent or biologist would do a quick review of the area and give their assessment of the situation and then advise you as to how to proceed. And had you done that about a year and a half ago you might have that paperwork in your hands and about 50 percent of us would be [20:22:42] silenced because you would have addressed those concerns not only diplomatically but technically according to the nature's laws that we have in place as a nation um as a world as well as a nation we've agreed to address certain climate concerns i know that there's some damn the torpedoes full [20:23:18] speed ahead drill baby drill tactics that are out there. However, those are not necessarily in the interest of longevity and sustainability. That's why we have a sustainability board who does not approve of this project. As I understand it, I could be wrong, but as I understand it, there's a general agreement that there's some rushed decisions taking place here. [20:23:54] So we have the environmental concerns regarding the endangered species, which would be a review. You also have, in that Endangered Species Act, affected areas. [20:24:10] It's not simply around the built. It's the affected areas, downwind, downstream, how this all works together. As far as the water concerns, that's where Virginia DEQ and Army Corps of Engineers would assess this situation, which simply means opening the door of conversation with the Army Corps of Engineers. [20:24:42] And according to the conversations I've had, there's been a request for delineation on certain properties. And that's about where that ended. There hasn't been any further discussion. Of course, I stopped discussing stuff with him a couple of months ago. [20:25:01] Regarding your carbon footprint commitment, I realized that there's some discussion about reforestation. When you're talking tens of thousands of acres of reforestation, you might be able to start offsetting some of these numbers. [20:25:27] That kind of falls flat on its face when we're talking about, in this particular project, three gigawatts of power demand on the grid that's already at capacity. [20:25:49] These three gigs of power that you're looking at approving and zoning today, when in conjunction with the gig of power from the Devlin Park and the additional six, seven gigs of power that are already in process between Loudon and Prince William, put us at a tipping point. [20:26:14] And that tipping point isn't only in the electrical grid. That tipping point is in that carbon footprint commitment. And what you're incidentally doing is you're incidentally demanding the coal fire plants, all the fossil fuel plants to stay online that are currently scheduled to be taken offline. [20:26:40] However, you as a county are actually putting the entire world and the state of Virginia, specifically, along with everybody in PJM 13 in a corner. You're forcing PJM 13 to be in a corner and they don't know it yet. [20:27:04] You're taking advantage of a window of opportunity to approve this before anyone catches on. And there's a lot of us that have been raising red flags outside of our little box here in efforts to get some support, but you, the county, has to kind of step in that trap first. [20:27:33] So you approving this project right now, as much as it might seem like it's crossing a threshold of success, you might actually be stepping in a trap. You might be tripping a tripwire. Incidentally, that's really not going to play out so well, and it could serve as an example of ways to not make decisions so wisely. [20:28:00] So just keep that in mind. I urge you to please act with a higher sense and either defer or deny, just as all of your advising boards have advised you to deny these projects. [20:28:17] Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Curtis McArthur. Good morning. [20:28:35] My name is Kurt McArthur, and I'm a resident of the Gainesville District, the community of Oak Valley, right off of Cat Harpin Road. And I want to register my, I'm vehemently opposed to these data centers and the destruction is due into the western part of Prince William County. [20:28:55] I moved to the Gainesville District in 2004. My reason I moved out here was I was attracted to the rural Crescent. I came from Fairfax County where development was, development was basically finished. [20:29:12] There was nowhere else to build homes. And I was attracted to the rural Crescent out in the part of Prince William County where I moved to, which brought me out this way. I am appalled at what is going on at the end of Route 55 in Haymarket right now. [20:29:29] There are already three gigantic data centers constructed and more coming, and there's no way to stop this. The board has already made up their decision on how they're going to vote today. It's going to be 5-3, and there's nothing I feel we, as the citizens who voted these people into office, are able to do to stop the onslaught of these data centers. [20:29:55] I vehemently oppose the construction of these data centers, and I hope our voices are heard. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. That was good, Kari. The next speaker is Stella Rowland. [20:30:12] Good morning. My name is Stella Rowland. I'm from the Gainesville District. i'm speaking on all three applications and i recommend approval thank you for your time thank you miss roland next speaker please your next speaker is emilio abu hassan is my name is emilio abu hassan i live in haymarket virginia we've been here for over 40 years and we love the [20:30:44] area uh i am here to speak on all three proposals uh to deny all three proposals we are so close But yet we're still so far from saving our beautiful and historic Piedmont, the historic and serene Manassas battlefield and the graves and resting places of the thousands of warriors who loved and gave their lives for our country and our country's freedoms. [20:31:14] They are going to be bulldozed by data center industrialists and developers for their financial gain. We are so close to protecting the safeguards of America's own history, but we need people who really care in places and positions of real consequence. [20:31:37] We have appealed to you in the past. We have appealed to you to have the decency to protect and respect those who protected you. Ms. Ann Wheeler, Ms. Snyder, Ms. Gabbann, you chose to sell out and betray our history for 20 pieces of silver. [20:32:00] We know that traitor who ended the life of a man for 20 pieces of silver, and we know what his fate was. [20:32:09] To the board members and the landowners who are betraying these treasured historic battlegrounds and resting place of so many patriotic Americans who gave their lives and looked like this man, a patriot, who gave their lives for our beautiful Prince William Kelman. [20:32:42] Now, if your legacy is not important to you, and I'm speaking to the board, let me address the cooling of the large rooms the computers will be warehoused in. [20:33:00] We are told that it is a closed-loop system. I have been selling to office buildings for over 40 years, and many have the so-called closed-loop systems. The water in those closed-loop systems needs to be chilled to make the rooms cold. [20:33:20] The air that is blown on the pipes also needs to be chilled. It takes a large amount of electricity to do both. In addition, the water needs to be treated to neutralize the corrosive acidity and or alkalinity. [20:33:38] That requires the application of chemicals. Once the water in the system becomes too salty, almost like brine, it must be refreshed. Where does the contaminated water go? Into the ground or into our aquifers. [20:33:58] And now fresh water is brought in to begin the cycle again. Those who rely on well water for their everyday drinking needs will need to connect to public water at what cost thousands of dollars per household. [20:34:19] And that is the tip of the iceberg. The Titanic's crew knew what that meant. Let's not sink our beautiful historic county because we don't know the hidden truth. Thank you very much. [20:34:36] Thank you. Next speaker, please. your next speaker is nancy mackis good morning hi my name is nancy mackis i'm in the gainesville district um i'm speaking on all three zonings um i'm asking you to approve them and thank you for [20:34:59] your time thank you thank you next speaker please your next speaker is matt fisher good morning uh thank you for your time my name is matt fisher i speak for the gainesville district uh all three rezoning. I ask y'all to approve all three. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [20:35:30] Your next speaker is Brian James. Mr. James, are you there? My name is Brian James. I live in the Gainesville District and I work for Prince William County Schools. Our school systems need adequate [20:36:05] funding and we need to be able to pay our teachers what they deserve and make sure our schools have the resources they need to be successful. Please approve all three rezonings to generate the tax revenue to achieve this and thank you for your time thank you mr james next speaker please your next speaker excuse me is jeff custer all right good morning i will be uh my name is jeff [20:36:39] custer i'm in the gainesville district i'll be speaking about all three rezonings and i'm asking the board to approve all three at this time thank you thank you mr custer next speaker please your next speaker is charlotte arnoldson hello my name is charlotte arnoldson i live in the gamesville district i vehemently oppose all three applications uh unlike those who approve this [20:37:15] project in my opinion i have nothing to financially gain from this decision i'll keep it short and sweet everyone's tired you've already heard every single logical valid reason why this project really shouldn't move ahead at this time but i think we all know that the majority of the board is going to go ahead and approve this disastrous project anyway, no matter what I say, so I'll end here, but I vehemently oppose this project. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ms. Arnoldson. Next [20:37:45] speaker, please. Your next speaker is Marie Palmer. Hello. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. [20:38:11] My name is Marie Palmer, and I live in the Occoquan District. I want to speak on all three rezoning applications, REZ 2002-00036 Compass Data Centers, REZ 2002-33 Digital Gateway South, and REZ 2022-32 Digital Gateway North. Supervisor Kenny Bode, you are my supervisor and you ran on preserving and protecting rural spaces in the Occoquan Reservoir. Approving these three rezoning applications would show irresponsibility as well as complete shift in the values proposed when [20:38:46] you're running for office. However, don't just take my, don't take your constitutes and my word for it. Listen to Supervisor Ware, whose district this project is taking place in. Listen to the planning staff who have recommended denial. Listen to the planning commission who have recommended denial last month. Listen to the historical commission and the sustainability commission who you supposedly champion. They all recommend denial. With so many questions remaining, it would be unwise of this board to approve the scale of a project that seems to have been fast-tracked [20:39:21] to appease a small number of landowners and their applicants. The fact is, there are transmission lines, does not justify data center proliferation and industrialization of National Historic Registered Sites, and does not necessitate building up the world's largest data center corridor by Manassas National Battlefield. By the way, speaking of the battlefield, what your appointed planning commissioner said regarding the Manassas national battlefield is completely offensive and a public apology in statement should be made, if not a complete removal of [20:39:56] him from his position. Why are the citizens continuing to cry out against this project and it's just falling upon deaf ears? Those of us who stay up all night for these long meetings sacrifice our time and our sleep to be heard by only a small representative of all the people in this county who have become outraged by the push for industrialization and putting data centers in inappropriate sites. This is perhaps one of the most inappropriate sites for a data center complex and it is certainly not the place to put the world's largest data center corridor. Environmental, [20:40:34] national, natural, historical, and cultural resources are too important to sacrifice for this project, which seems to be former supervisor Pete Canlan played a key role in orchestrating himself, making himself a part of the assemblage. It is a shame and unethical what has happened in the past with the approval of the CPA. I ask that all supervisors vote no on these three distinct and disastrous rezoning applications. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ms. Palmer. Next speaker, [20:41:06] please. Our next speaker is Amanda Burris. District, the Prince William Digital Gateway is projected to generate $20 million in tax revenue in the very first year. Please do what as best for the whole county and approve all three. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Burris. Next speaker, please. Good morning, Board of County Supervisors. I know it's been a very long night for you. I appreciate what you do. However, Nils Buell-Gainesville District, I oppose all of these [20:41:45] applications. While I do have something financially to gain here, I still don't advocate this. And the reason simply is not enough time has been done. And you've heard all of this before, but I'm just going to reiterate a couple of things uh chair wheeler as a person with a land and forest management background surely you can understand that a hundred year old tree is certainly not going to have the the carbon capacity that a young sapling and if we're talking about evergreens versus deciduous trees the deciduous trees are going to lose all their leaves so everybody's going to see these buildings that's really the challenge here everybody you've heard that opposes this largely moved out here simply because of the bucolic nature the fact that it's still rural [20:42:24] still farmland and i disagree with the fact that it's no longer rural yes traffic has increased but that's simply by nature the fact that this place is getting a little busier there are a lot of people here but the other challenges aside from that the view sheds those are going to be changed markedly the fact that everybody is on a well out here and if they are really going to be polluting the water as we've heard uh and then the strain and drain on the electrical grid this is going to be very challenging for this community to try and contend with, even if there's a transition period. And so my point simply is you already have an overlay where these data centers could [20:43:01] be put. Why don't you try and exhaust those first? And then there's certainly going to be somebody here who wants to buy this land. There's no doubt. But I think we really should defer for a period of time until the Planning Commission can get their job done appropriately. You can get in alignment with the rest of the supervisors and understand what the impacts for the people here. This is not happening in your backyard, this is happening in our backyard. And so after the disastrous effects of Pete Candlin, now we have Bob Weir in the seat who better understands and doesn't have, can't be bought like Pete. We would ask that you simply give it a little bit of time. Let's let [20:43:37] the Planning Commission do their job. Let's get all the questions answered and then revisit. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Buell. Next speaker, please. Our next speaker is Mary riley hello hello miss riley please okay i'm trying to get my uh there's my video i knew i [20:44:13] was there someplace uh good morning everybody um it's uh i don't even know what time it is at this point oh my goodness it's almost seven um i uh wanted to put this picture up last time these are two of the little visitors uh up at our house a couple of years ago and it is one of the things that we love about the rural nature of western prince william county is that we do get these visitors um it only makes uh my dog kate bark quite a bit um he likes to sing to them but um they are adorable we do like to see them from a distance um along with the deer and the wild [20:44:49] turkeys and the fox um doves uh oh and even the vultures they like to they like to ride the um the thermals and so we get to see them uh as well we have a lot of wildlife up here and it's really nice to see. So Mary Riley, Gainesville District. I think I said that, but I can't remember. [20:45:11] Anyway, I want to say that I am not anti-data center. Society needs them. I am not anti-land owner who wants to profit from their investments. I hope all of us can gain from our financial investments. I'm not anti-revenue. We need revenue. I get all of that. At the same time, I really, really want to trust, but I just can't trust in what has been happening in this county and what's been happening with our board of county supervisors and the information that's been presented to them. [20:45:49] I can't trust the way that our money has been spent and thus trust the idea that we're going to put more into the hands of folks that I already don't trust to spend it well. [20:46:09] If the data centers are going to be closed loop, cooling, don't just say it, put it in writing, sign it, make it enforceable. If the water isn't going to come from county water for these data centers or the aquifer or from groundwater, where is it going to come from? [20:46:35] Even a closed loop system requires water. So where's that water going to come from? There's only really two sources, the ground or the county systems. So if it's not going to come from either, where is it coming from? [20:46:55] Those who live in the Royal Crescent understood that they would have to foot the bill for their water and septic. And they've done that. But if the county allows the groundwater to dry up, will they make those residents whole and get them on water and sewage? [20:47:17] How is that going to be handled when the time comes? The another piece that was talked about was that stormwater model, that it would be cleaned to make sure that it is equal to or better than forest quality. [20:47:39] This is great. I really applaud them for making that that decision. I hope, again, that that is in writing and that it is enforceable. But discharging it to a stream after it's been cleaned or a lake or a pond or a reservoir or any other water body, no matter what its quality is, will not save the county groundwater sources. [20:48:11] Once water is in a stream, it is no longer contributing to the groundwater. Stormwater runoff must go back into the ground to keep Prince William County groundwater as a sustainable resource. What's the plan for getting that now clean water into the ground where it needs to be for a sustainable future source? [20:48:36] This needs to be in the contract or the proffers with the builders, and it needs to be enforceable. Why has there been, well, actually, I have to take this back. There has been now one discussion that I've heard, not about sustainability or about environmental security or human health or personal, well, I guess even that's the wrong word. [20:48:59] Why has there been only one point made that when you develop the world's largest data center complex, you're opening an invitation for cybercrime and terrorist attack? [20:49:14] We've heard nothing about what the plans are by the county, by the state, or by anyone else, about how and what steps are we thinking about to make sure that our community does not become victims politically, internationally, cyberly, or by attack for being that largest data center in the world. [20:49:44] The piece that holds it together is the piece that people want to tear apart. Data center profits have been hailed as the windfall that will reduce county residents' personal property tax and home real estate property tax bills. [20:50:08] We have data center dollars coming in right now. Our taxes have gone up every year. Now, you'll say last year we held the line on the tax bills and that that was enabled by data center income. No, it wasn't. [20:50:26] It was possible because of the value of property went up by so much that even at level rates, the county would make more money than it did the year before. Why should we trust that the future data center profits will lower our taxes when the current ones haven't? [20:50:45] What is the assurances, other than trust us, that the funds will go to first responders, schools, parks, mental health, housing, etc.? Where is the current data center revenue going now? [20:51:06] What's the long-term plan for the data center buildings when they expire? Has a life cycle analysis been done on what happens next? We didn't know what we didn't know in the past, but that doesn't mean we should continue now that we do know. [20:51:28] What we have done in the past is what is called in accounting services a sunk cost. That is, we've already spent the money, but it doesn't mean that you should put good money after bad money. [20:51:45] What we're done and are doing now is expecting different results for the same actions in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are so many cliches. There are so many statements that say, don't continue doing what you're doing until you can understand how to get a better result, a different result, rather than the same result. We, the rate payers, will pick up the tab for the electrical infrastructure? [20:52:20] The extension cord for these data centers. Excuse me? Why should the rate payers have to pay for something for which they are getting no electricity? All that electricity will be going into the data centers. It's not going into our homes. [20:52:37] It's not going into our schools, okay? And finally, what about the studies? The comprehensive plans for power, for noise, for water, for land use, for life cycle analysis, for buildings and industry, for air quality, which has significant health impacts, not only do we see the increased rates of asthma from [20:53:11] particulate matter from diesel generators, and that's one fact, that can be just an inconvenience to life-threatening, but heart disease. Thank you, Ms. Riley. [20:53:30] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Michelle Cunningham. [20:53:50] Hi. I live in the Gainesville District, a four-minute walk from the new estate center that's being built. It's discouraging. I came here because of the trees, and now I live next door to an industrial zone. [20:54:11] I highly doubt that any of the other supervisors do that are voting for this. It's ugly. It's not inspiring, but it's done. So we're either, I think I'm glad we rent so that we can leave when we need to. [20:54:33] But I was wanting to emphasize that those who have voted for data centers don't have to keep doing it. You can leave a legacy that says, yeah, I did this much, and I guess you're okay with it. [20:54:49] But, you know, when it comes to our national park, let's leave it beautiful. You can choose not to vote the same line. That park is irreplaceable, and when I'm walking along, I don't want to see what I see when I walk along my neighborhood, just big, gigantic white buildings. [20:55:10] Is that the kind of legacy I was the one who brought this to our county, or do you want to leave the legacy of I'm the one who stopped this from destroying the beautiful land around our national park? Please, please think about a lasting legacy. [20:55:28] I do also know that many times in data centers come into a place, and actually it's happening right now. After it's been established, they go in and ask, go to the reassessment board and ask for it to be reassessed for lower taxes. It's happening right very now in this county. [20:55:45] That's discouraging, and I feel a deception. They said they would contribute to the tax base, and now they're asking for less contribution. Please, please consider voting for the people, for the people, not just the people who are going to get paid for it. [20:56:03] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cunningham. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Angela Tang. Hi, good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Angela Tang, and I'm from the Gainesville District. [20:56:21] My husband and I both live in Bull Run Mountain Estates. We've both served in the Navy a combined 49 years and still counting. And we came here because, you know, my husband and I have moved across the country. [20:56:38] He's moved around the world. He's been to Iraq. We've both been overseas. And we chose this area for our forever home. You know, being in the service, it's kind of hard to have a forever home because you move. And this is what we chose. So we chose this area coming here from D.C. because it's open. [20:56:57] It's green. The air is clean and there was a respect for nature. That's what we hoped. And we chose it for its history and the signs that talk about hallowed ground. I understand that no place is frozen in time and no place can remain unchanged. [20:57:16] I understand that people like to make finance-based decisions, both for the businesses, both for the homeowners, and both for those considering the county coffers writ large. But there is an overlay district that I believe was approved for a reason. [20:57:34] Ever since we've moved here, the whole area near I-66 and 29 and 55 has gone from treed to just one big lot of dust. And there's plenty of opportunity to keep industry in other parts of the western part of the county that are not right next to Conway Robinson, where I bike, that are not right next to the National Park. [20:57:57] It is simply too much to ask to put that much heavy industry that close to a national park with that high of a concentration, with 37 data centers so close to the park. I've listened to the presentations by the folks that are seeking these permits, and I'm speaking to all three permits. [20:58:20] and they can talk about aesthetics and talk about paint all they want but even their studies show that this will be visible from the national park it is just too much it is in too small of an area and it is too close to national park you cannot put lipstick on a pig and have it mix in with the landscape the national park the battlefield will be forever destroyed and diminished the pace of development in this county has been too much. And I reiterate the thoughts of the last speaker where we still have data centers coming online. We don't need to compete with Loudoun just because [20:58:58] they have more of a data center tax base. We don't have to become a jungle of nothing but concrete structures. I've heard about the plans to leave some trees and to put the trails through the data centers. No one's going to want to go run through a jungle of concrete monstrosities. It is just too much and too small of an area in the wrong place. And it can be done elsewhere in the county to bring the good jobs, to build the tax base, to pay the teachers who deserve to be paid. [20:59:32] If you are going to approve this project, I urge you to approve it only in a smaller scale and not extending all the way down to Conway Robinson, all the way down to within sight lines of the battlefield, and to approve fewer buildings that are more sparse. The draft laydown of this, which is building on top of building in such a small area, is atrocious. It is a nightmare. And there's no way that this could be mixed into the landscape in any kind of way that respects the environment. Concerns about the water, even in a closed-loop system, obviously there are losses. [21:00:11] They have to be made up, and obviously there's effluent that has to be treated and has to go somewhere. I'm concerned about the fact that these data centers are going to draw as much more power three times over than every house currently draws in Prince William County, and that it's the energy providers that have to come up with this and distribute this and somehow pass this cost on. [21:00:35] I'm concerned about the diesel generators that may have to run and that may be requested to run in the highest energy draw months of the summer. Those requests have been made because even currently with our state of power generation and the number of data centers, there already isn't enough electricity. [21:00:55] And so there's not a sufficiently clear plan how we're going to do this and do this in a in a green way. Businesses and people look to their immediate desires, and somebody has to look out for the environmental concerns and preserving this land for your children, if you have children, other people's children, their children's children, so that there's something left to enjoy other than everything being paved and everything being a giant concrete building. [21:01:29] This is your chance, even if you've said yes to other data centers, to say no to this particular project in its particular parameters, with the questions that the planning board has raised, with their repeated rejections or recommendations to reject, and to say not this one, not this time, not this place, and not on these specifications with these questions. [21:01:51] Thank you very much for your time. Goodbye. Thank you, Ms. Tang. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Atafa Azad. Good morning. [21:02:07] My name is Atafa Azad. I'm from the Gainesville District, and I'm asking the Board of County Supervisors to approve all three rezoning applications. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ms. Azad. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Elaine Romanis. [21:02:35] Ms. Romanis, are you there? Yes. Please proceed. Good morning. Yesterday, as I was driving down the Prince William Parkway, I noticed many poles, electric poles in the front yards of constituents that live right before I got to Holy. And I wondered [21:03:07] what kind of county would allow this electromagnetic field to be put right in the front of people as they're living day-to-day lives. This whole project on Pageland is going to bring not only health concerns, terrorist concerns, water concerns, noise concerns, and people are shaking their heads in the audience, but it's true. All you have to do is drive out to Loudoun [21:03:47] and see what has happened. People bought special properties to live near lakes out there, and people now have their homes shielded from the sunshine. Before I go further, I wanna thank Supervisor Lawson. [21:04:09] Thank you for your caring, your dedication, and your actions for all your constituents. You've provided service with integrity for our county. And also Supervisors Weir and Vega, I wish you the best of luck in speaking the truth for all our future county work. [21:04:32] Supervisors Wheeler, Angry, Franklin, and Bailey, have you actually driven around Gainesville lately to see what you have wrought in your decisions over the past few years? Look at Village Place, four huge data center buildings right next to the patios of these townhomes. [21:04:51] These four young families who've worked all their lives to probably buy their first home will never be able to sell it. They've had a deal with construction noise 24/7 and now we'll have the noise of diesel generators to awaken them. [21:05:07] The air will be filled with pollutants when the generators are on. You know the digital gateway is a bad idea. You've had Kamoin reports, Stantec reports, people talking to you, groups talking to you. Aren't you concerned at all? [21:05:25] Can't you use your own thinking to decide what is right for the people? All I hear is revenue, revenue, revenue. You already have 100 buildings being approved or being built. You don't need 50 more. Raise the data center tax and stop the building right now. We've had planning groups, planning commissioners, hundreds of residents, but you aren't listening. Question after question [21:05:59] today came out from constituents, from you. These proposals are not ready. There are too many unanswered questions, too many studies which have not been completed. So it's like buying a used car without knowing the history. Don't approve anymore. And by the way, why isn't the planning department in this meeting? They should be there and so should Christina Wynn because she approves all these buildings and she never comes to these meetings. She should be accountable for her [21:06:33] actions. This week I've seen pictures of Supervisor Bailey dining with developers, Supervisor Bode dining with pageland owners it's time for all of you to become independent thinkers and i leave you with this from proverbs arrogance leads to nothing but strife but wisdom is gained by those who take advice take advice from all the people who have told you about the negative aspects of the digital [21:07:09] Gateway, listen, think, and vote on your own. You are not lemmings or sheep. Vote with your own conscience so that you know you are leaving a decent legacy. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Romanes. [21:07:32] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Mary Ann Bland. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed, Ms. Bland. You can hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed. Okay, thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and Board of Supervisors. My name is Marianne Bland and I do live in the Gainesville District. I wish to speak for all three zoning applications. I am in support of the Prince [21:08:07] William Digital Gateway Zoning. The time is now to move forward and secure a better future for all of us for the years ahead, especially for our schools, our police, our first responders, our health care system, our social services programs, and also much needed programs that would benefit the underprivileged families who are trying to live and work here in Prince William County. [21:08:35] I want to applaud you, Madam Chair, for your professionalism during the earlier display of disrespect and outburst of anger towards you. It was very disrespectful, very disappointing, quite shocking, and very disturbing to see this come from board members. My own family has been harassed, also insulted, and we have felt threatened due to our support of the Prince [21:09:14] william digital gateway this has been quite overwhelming and so unnecessary i myself refuse to back down from my support for this project um i admire your courage and patience all of you throughout these past two and a half years i'm trying my best to stay on the needs the thoughts and needs of all of the citizen citizenry of this county and not on the bitter voices bitter the [21:09:48] the voices of the select few who refuse to accept changes for the betterment of all of us that will come in the future. I also want to thank the opposition who made sure to put those tall, tall power lines in our backyards just to keep them out of yours. Thank you for this gift to Pageland Lane. I want to thank you, Madam Chair and Board of Commissioners, for your time, your service to the people of prince william county and i hope that you do vote yes in favor of this [21:10:26] opportunity to move forward with the zoning applications thank you thank you miss bland next speaker please your next speaker is alice buell miss buell are you there yes i'm here please proceed can you can you hear me yes we can please proceed okay well my name is alice buell [21:11:05] and I live in the Gainesville District. My husband and brother-in-law developed Sudley Mountain Estates in the 1960s, and my husband drove into Washington for 40 years to be able to come home and live in peace and quiet. [21:11:24] Now you will vote on 2,000 acres to destroy this horrendous project without the proper research to establish feasibility. [21:11:39] Therefore, I'm absolutely and categorically opposed to all three re-zonings that are within a half a mile from my home. It's devastating to think I'll spend my retirement years listening to generators instead of the songbirds and wildlife that live here on Godly Mountains. [21:12:06] Thank you, and I vote again no. Thank you, Ms. Buell. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Linda Whitehead. Hello, my name is Linda Whitehead. [21:12:23] I have lived in the Gainesville District for a long time. Actually, I have been here for 51 years, moved here in 1972, and I plan to speak on all three issues. At that time, Manassas was a town within Prince William County. [21:12:42] I-66 was completed only to Gainesville. We were considered a country bumpkin area and not really part of suburban Washington. Prince William County chose to pull out of the D.C. metro system when it was running in the red and hadn't broken ground. There was no kindergarten program in Prince William County. [21:13:00] My husband and I moved to Manassas from Richmond as young newlyweds due to my husband's employment. We rented a home in the Westgate community and became a part of that community. He was a sales rep for Armstrong Flooring Products, and I was hired to teach at Coles Elementary School. [21:13:17] This was a good old boy's society. Board of County Supervisors had a fistfight during one of their sessions, and one of the supervisors' glass eye was knocked out. The county seat was in Manassas, near the current courthouse. When community issues came up, I hosted a supervisor for a neighborhood coffee to discuss our concerns. [21:13:37] The board tended to work together. If there were projects in one jurisdiction that that supervisor was not in favor of, the board respected that opinion and voted along with that supervisor. The board worked together, as I have said, not against each other, to make Prince William County a better place. [21:13:57] I have never lived, never in 51 years, as a resident and taxpayer in Prince William County, seen a more biased board. Why are we always talking east against west? We should be one county, or maybe we need to seek to become two separate counties so that each end can get what they want. [21:14:16] My husband and I lived moderately and saved our money to purchase a home in Prince William County. We felt this was a good community to raise our potential children. Two years later, we were fortunate enough to purchase a home in Sudley. My husband eventually went into business for himself. When our daughter was born, we made the decision to live solely on my husband's income in order for me to stay home and raise our child. [21:14:38] It wasn't always easy, but that was what we felt was important. During that time, I remained active in the school system. I volunteered on textbook adoption committees, hiring committees for middle school principals and high school principals. and on advisory committees at all levels of the high schools, of the schools, excuse me, elementary, middle, and high school. [21:15:00] After 14 years, our family chose to move out into the Cat Harpen area, still in the Gainesville District, north of the battlefield. Wow. We were out in the country. We had trees. We had birds. We had bears. We had deer. We had fox. Living in the country was great. [21:15:16] The county at that time built the Tin Center, the first indoor pool and rec center in the county, in the eastern end. The western end didn't get an indoor pool for years until George Mason University and the city of Manassas joined the county to build the Freedom Center. [21:15:35] The western end of the county fought several battles to preserve our history. Till Peterson's Shopping Mall and Residential Community, Disney's Great America Theme Park, the Bay County Parkway, high-tension electrical lines, and now the Digital Gateway. [21:15:51] After my telephone conversation with Supervisor Franklin, I came away with the feeling that she sees the Eastern End as people living on top of each other, and it is the Western End's fault. [21:16:08] Why? I don't know. Certainly, the Eastern End has grown more rapidly, and they have received more services due to that growth. My daughter's high school swim team had to travel from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas to the Tin Center or Dale City Rec Center to practice without the benefit of the Prince William Parker. [21:16:28] Ms. Fraisland stated we were all rich out here in the western end. Not quite. We had to wait many years for the Freedom Center. We waited many years for additional libraries. We may have paid more taxes, but we benefited a little from those taxes. When the Heritage Hunt subdivision was being discussed, many living in the area fought the back gate of the community opening onto Windy-Cathopon Road. [21:16:54] We knew a school was to be proposed at that location, and it was a very unsafe road. The current back gate, Sarah Duchamp, is still only used by emergency vehicles. The community, the Board of Supervisors, listen to us. We, my neighbors and I, were in the 40s at that time. [21:17:12] We laughed about this old folks community. We called it the Vinyl Village. And then we laughed and called it the Final Village. And now I'm a resident of this wonderful 55 active adult community. The people in this community come from all walks of life. [21:17:29] Doctors, teachers, police, lawyers, retired military, business people. They participate in many activities, golf, bocce ball, knitting, biking, pickleball, bridge, croquet, marjon, aerobics, book club, woodworking, hiking, car club, quilting, and the list goes on. [21:17:51] We are 50 to 95 years of age. We have the right to a comfortable, quiet retirement. We've worked hard. We've saved our money. We are not all rich. This has become an Eastern against Western issue. you are wanting to destroy the Royal Crescent, which was set up to preserve rural land and slow down development in the county. You want to put industry where it does not belong. You are destroying this county. A previous board set aside land, the overlay district for data centers. [21:18:23] A brilliant idea, but why aren't these companies being told to seek land there? Ann Wheeler, I ask you, how dare you attack a fellow board member who's asking a question? You kept interrupting Mrs. Lawson. How dare you threaten her about the amount of time she's allowed to speak? [21:18:42] How dare you think as a lame duck you should be pushing this project through? Your county citizens voted you out of office. You do not get the message. We do not like your politics. I recall when you ran for chair that you stated you would protect the rural Crescent. Have you done that? [21:19:02] No. How dare you restrict my supervisor's time, Bob Weir? Suddenly now you make a motion that everybody's only allowed 10 minutes when others have spoken for 25. Is this really the way we run our government? [21:19:21] You do realize that the majority of those who have spoken in favor of this project may currently reside in Prince William County, but will take their winnings and leave this county. They don't care that our taxes supposedly will go down because they won't be here. [21:19:36] They will not be here to see the destruction of this county that you have caused as they enjoy millions of dollars that they have taken with them. Chair Wheeler, where are you going when you leave office? We all wish you would buy a home in one of those data centers areas. [21:19:56] I'm sure there are plenty of people near the Devlin Data Center Project with homes for sale. That's where you should live so you can suffer what the other residents will be suffering. Please, please come back to a civil society. Treat each other nicely. [21:20:12] Work together. Listen to the citizens who have spoken tonight. Many are experts in their field and know way more than you do about the environmental and health effects of this project. Listen to your own planning staff and planning commission. [21:20:27] They've both said no to this project. It needs more study. Otherwise, why are we paying their salaries if you're not going to listen? Please put this vote off until more is known about this project. The constant changing of Proffers, Proves, Compass, and GTS are trying to get things through that we don't want. [21:20:47] I have lived in this county, as I said, 51 years. Proffers are continually changing, so they're going to sneak in. If you approve them, they'll continually sneak in things that they're going to change to make this a more and more worse project. [21:21:05] It doesn't make sense for what you are trying to do tonight or this morning, today, hopefully. These data center people need to be up front from the get-go. This is what they plan on doing. They're not going to change it, and it's approved or disapproved. Please be responsible to the citizens of Prince William County, and please stop this disaster. [21:21:26] I want to thank supervisors Weir, Vega, and Lawson. I'm sorry that you had to spend the whole night sitting there and listening to this. It should have been over hours and hours ago. Thank you, Ms. Whitehead. [21:21:43] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Sally Peterson. Good morning. Good morning, Ms. Peterson. [21:22:01] Please proceed. Thank you. My name is Sally Peterson, and I live in Gainesville. I've lived in Gainesville for 20 years. I'm going to be relatively brief. You've all heard now way over 200 speeches, and I'm sure you're exhausted. [21:22:24] I am speaking to all three rezonings. Firstly, I'd like to say that I believe you all received a letter yesterday morning from Chet Peterson stating that this meeting is actually illegal, so I'm not entirely sure why you've actually continued to hold it. [21:22:46] I would like to take issue initially with the people, many people who have spoken in favor of approving the rezoning proposal. In virtually every case, in fact, I think I would say in every case, it has been obvious that the people are approving because they believe that building the Prince William Digital [21:23:20] gateway, will increase taxes, tax money coming into the county. And they believe that the tax money will be spent wisely, that it will be spent on schools to increase teachers' salaries, maybe support firefighters. And I honestly, I'm sorry, I'm trying to read my notes here. [21:24:00] They believe that bringing this proliferation of data centers to the Prince William Digital Gateway will bring needed dollars to our county. But I want to knock that misconception on its head. [21:24:17] Certainly, the data centers have the potential of wealth creation to their home county, but we already have enough of them to fill the county coffers. data centers that are already online or are being built as we speak within the data center overlay zone. We now have many, many of them in our county. The Prince William Digital Gateway is not necessary. It will cost the county many millions of dollars in infrastructure costs, which will [21:24:55] offset any data center revenue for many years. Your own finance department have confirmed that. If data center tax dollars are going to be used to give more money to teachers and firefighters and police, it won't be coming from the Prince William Digital Gateway within the next 10 years. [21:25:18] So why, then, are Chair Wheeler and the other Democratic supervisors so determined and in such an all-fired hurry to get this rezoning passed? [21:25:37] I would make a guess that it could be that you've been bought and paid for. No thought required, no integrity in sight. Well, money does not solve all problems, and it is a huge mistake to destroy our heritage for expected tax revenue, which you're not going to see for probably a decade. [21:26:04] I watched the question and answer session this morning, And I was appalled that so many of the answers were lacking in detail or just went entirely unanswered. I heard a lot of silence. I agree with Jen Wall and John Liver, who spoke during the evening. Those two speakers said everything that I want to say. And I have to tell you [21:26:41] that Mr. Liver has done so much research on this. He really should be listened to. He knows what he's talking about, which I'm sorry, but I don't think that I can say the same about you. [21:27:09] I ask you respectfully to deny these rezonings. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Peterson. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Oscar Arnoldson. [21:27:29] Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can, Mr. Arnoldson. please proceed. Great. Thank you. I'm a resident here in the Gainesville District, actually in a neighborhood that will be in direct line of sight to these data centers. I know that there's been a lot of people talking here about the tax revenues and the schools and the first responders and things like that. I also am aware that these are speaking points that have been pushed out through the data center. They're very coordinated and telling everybody which buttons to push and what will sound good and what will get the vote across. The truth is I'm here to [21:28:05] oppose all three rezonings. There are areas in the county, the overlays, that have been annexed for these types of projects. There is no reason that they should be put in neighborhoods and ruin our family's way of lives, put us into an industrial zone. This is a beautiful place in the county. It's adjacent to the battlefield and, you know, the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains. I think you've heard quite a few people speak against this project. And those people who [21:28:41] are speaking against are those people who will continue to live here in the county and have to deal with the fallout from these data centers. And you've heard a lot of people who are for the data centers. And I challenge you to actually see who is spoken for and who is spoken against. [21:28:59] And I think you will find those people who have spoken for are financially tied to this project. I know that there are several politicians who are also financially tied to this project. And we need to put a stop to it. It's being crammed through for really just for greed. And And I'm just really against all of this going through, and I hope you guys take a look at it and vote for your constituency, not those people who want to take a payday and run and leave us holding the bag. [21:29:36] Once you destroy this area, it's never coming back. Those data centers will not be feasible forever, and we will be in an industrial park wasteland. So who knows what happens to these massive buildings after the fact. They're not going to bulldoze them. [21:29:52] They're not going to plant trees, and they're not going to give us our forests and our battlefields back. You're desecrating the area, and it's really an insult and an affront to all those who live in this county, love this county, and don't want to see it destroyed and have our home values plummet, as well as dealing with the rest of the fallout of living in an industrial or wasteland. [21:30:18] Thank you for the time, and I hope you vote against and really look into this project and see what it is that these data centers belong in an industrial park, not in our neighborhoods. Thank you. [21:30:34] Thank you, Mr. Arnoldson. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Courtney Ruiz. Good morning. My name is Courtney. I live in the Gainesville District, and I'll keep it brief because you've already heard all sides of the argument. [21:30:55] I'm in favor of the Digital Gateway. and i'm asking the board to vote in favor of all three applications thank you thank you miss burris before we go on miss man how many folks do we have left right now there are 15. [21:31:11] let's continue uh your next speaker is elspeth mccormick good morning uh good morning madam chair board of supervisors i am elspeth mccormick i'm from the brentsville district i am against the prince william digital gateway for all the reasons that you've already heard yesterday last night and this morning so many of us have moved to western prince william county for the peace and the quiet of the rural crescent as an escape from the northern virginia noise and traffic we implore [21:31:51] you to please keep the beloved part of our county intact please vote no to the prince william digital gateway thank you thank you miss mccormick next speaker please your next speaker is ellie tumor Good morning, everyone. I live in the Kansas district. I strongly support digital cutaway. [21:32:27] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Toomer. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Donna Gallant. Good morning. Can you hear me? Yes, ma'am. We can. Please proceed, Ms. Gallant. [21:32:50] Wonderful. Thank you, Supervisor Bodhi. Good morning. I know it's been a long day, night, and my name is Donna Gallant. I live in the Brentsville district, and I represent the emberley station hoa so i would like my 15 minutes sure please for all free i appreciate it so i've listened to this and i'm sorry i'm not there in person i am a little under the weather so i figured i would just do it remotely so i've heard a lot i've listened to a lot there is a lot [21:33:25] of deficiencies in every single application you all have heard you've heard from attorneys that told you you're violating virginia code yet you continue to press on so what i have in foremost is this would be a travesty if it you if you all approve this so i am saying you need to deny these and the reason i'm saying it is miss galant we can't hear you i think your connection is bad [21:34:04] doesn't go five three it's a song we can play over and over and over again in this county [21:34:22] And Supervisor Bodie, when I sat and watched the December 5th meeting, imagine my surprise when I watched with the old bridge parkway realignment, the camaraderie, collaboration, and the communication demonstrated across all the supervisors. [21:34:48] And Supervisor Vega, I will call you out directly because of what you said in that meeting. And Supervisor Bodie, let me explain it to you. There were 10 citizens, maybe 15, that came and talked in opposition of that road realignment. [21:35:04] That road realignment, they cited quality of life, the impact to their quality of life, impact to small businesses, impact to residents. Everybody listened to those 10 to 15 people. Supervisor Vega spoke about it, that we need to look at it. [21:35:25] She deferred to the supervisor of that district and followed suit with what you, Supervisor Bodhi, said in support of your constituents. But what I don't see from this board is that same respect and that same deference to the supervisor whose district this will impact, to the residents of this district. [21:35:54] And to tell you that 10 to 15 people in the Occoquan district can get something deferred when there are hundreds of people speaking in opposition of this, I pray that you follow suit to how that December 5th meeting went, because it was very evident, very evident how things are going to go. [21:36:21] I will also say, driving out through 66 on Gainesville, I don't know if any of you have done it, but this area has been decimated with data centers. It is now the ugly area. It's the industrial area coming out on 66. [21:36:41] To put more data centers in here, to traverse lines, and let's be honest, those in the east will not be unscathed by decisions that you make. [21:36:56] when they have the massive towers coming up 95, they got to traverse somewhere and you can bet your sweet bippy they're going to come right across some of your constituents land, then that's a problem you will have to deal with. You don't even know how many data centers are out here and we hear about revenue, revenue, tax dollars, tax dollars. Well, it's my understanding, Chair Wheeler, that we collected $100 million in tax revenue this last year from data centers. Yeah, everyone has said, [21:37:35] yeah, and I get the fact that the tax rate didn't increase on real estate and people don't understand that the values go up and the tax rate stays the same so your taxes go up. But there was no countermeasure to move that rate down to combat the increase in housing prices. Nope. [21:37:56] Supervisor Bodie, you all approved personal property tax, not at an 80% assessment, but you were okay with moving it to 100%. Then imagine my surprise after the atrocious, egregious vote for Devlin Tech. [21:38:16] You come out with this op-ed. Your op-ed was citing things from 2013 about Stonehaven. And I sat and I read that and I said, what is he trying to say? Because this area was against the growth of Stonehaven 10 years ago, that that's justification for your vote to destroy by putting in data centers? [21:38:45] I would speculate if you go back in 2013 and 10 years, the number of houses that were supposed to be put into Stonehaven have far exceeded with the development in this area in 10 years. Yet you seem to forget that very important point. [21:39:02] So as you sit on that dais and you think about your vote, I implore you to think about your actions on December 5th as you go and discuss and place your yes-no while you're sitting on the dais. [21:39:20] And tax dollars in the West doesn't mean the East gets everything, because the day the West can secede from the East, remember where those tax dollars will stay. Division of this county, which is what each one of you on the dais has done, is maybe the only answer to save any part of Prince William County. [21:39:42] We can have eastern Prince William County, and we'll break away and have western Prince William County. Remember that, because all that tax dollar will stay in the west. And building a rec center in Woodbridge is not the answer. [21:39:59] You, Ms. Franklin, should probably focus on your double-digit homicide rate and figure out, ooh, what can be done. And if you think you're going to go to Congress and do anything better, you can't even represent the people. Supervisor Angry, I'm not sure if you've read your Facebook posts, and I'd be happy to read a few of them. [21:40:19] But your constituents say that you don't even listen to them. You don't engage with them. So you all sit on the dais thinking you are high and mighty. But are you really? Do you really connect with your citizens? And Chair Wheeler, I know this is probably the last board meeting between now and the end of the year. [21:40:40] So I wish you all the best in your next career, and I will not miss you in any way, shape, or form. But do know that I will be at all of the rest of the board meetings as I watch Deshundra Jefferson lead this county in a very different direction. [21:41:02] And I hope she is extremely successful, and I support her fully. But you all, in closing, need to make the right decision. Remember, arbitrary and capricious. [21:41:19] The attorney for the gateway spoke out. So at the end, do the right thing. And I wish you all a very blessed day. Thank you, Ms. Gallant. [21:41:34] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Sarah Cho. Good morning. My name is Sarah Cho, and I live in Gainesville District, and I have been living here since 2005. Things have changed so much even since then, and we love living here. [21:41:51] A little over a year ago, I attended planning commission meeting because I've been hearing all the talks about data center, I wasn't sure what to think. I was there until 3 a.m. and I could not believe what was our hearing. There was no research. There was no data. All I heard was let's get these lands and we're not talking about acre here. Over 2,000 acres. Let's get this rezone first and we'll worry about all the important details later. One of my friends brought her high school to the meeting and he said if he did the exact same presentation like this at school, he will get an F on that project. [21:42:24] and i thought for sure planning commission would recommend to deny the project after hearing the exact same presentation that i heard with no facts no research but to my amazement they actually recommended the project i heard that it was a done deal and there's nothing citizens of provincial county can do anything about that well things have changed then more people find about this about this project and the facts and recently the exact same planning commission actually recommend to deny the same project they approved a year ago because they realized they need more study so i ask you county supervisor does this still make sense to vote yes to push [21:43:02] this massive project without all the facts and research there's a reason why this is the most controversial project and even kids can see that there's no way this project should be approved please do the right thing by voting no do what is right not just for the county and the people who voted for you but also for yourself this decision will be remembered forever along with all your names thank you thank you miss cho next speaker please your next speaker is bill hafker [21:43:36] good morning can you hear me yes we can sir please proceed thank you my name is bill hafker and i've lived in oakland virginia since 2000. i'm expressing my concerns on all three digital gateway project applications together because they concern the process used in all of them I do not envy you or your staff the position that you find yourselves in in trying to elevate such a massive project, evaluate such a massive project with such a myriad of component parts and major ramifications under the untenable time pressures that the applicant's behavior has caused. [21:44:12] Their negligent and cavalier approach to your permitting requirements has put unrealistic and unreasonable pressures on you and your staff to properly analyze and act on their applications. Perhaps they thought that with Prince William County being a smaller, largely rural county, they could ignore the, quote, niceties, unnicety, unquote, of the more laborious, correct, and legitimate permitting process and expect you to simply accept their verbal assurances that they will meet all of your expectations without actually having you or your staff bother to confirm the accuracy of those claims. [21:44:44] Projects of this size can't be based on a, quote, take our word for it, commitment. Your commissioner's decision to recommend denial rather than defer their recommendation until staff had adequate time to review the applicant's substantial late changes, unfortunately, puts you in a very tough situation. [21:45:02] By denying the applications, their vote merely progressed these incompletely evaluated projects onto you to also confirm your denial or to approve them as just such a take our word for it on such a take our word for it basis. Unfortunately for the applicants, their protestations to the Planning Commission that they're just delivered in unreviewed updated applications consisting of thousands of new pages and numerous updated proffers satisfactorily addressed staff's serious concerns. [21:45:29] Those were found upon staff review to be inaccurate. This leaves you today in the inappropriate position of considering the approval or denial of projects that the applicants have not had time to rethink and discuss with staff to address remaining deficiencies and which staff, therefore, must continue to recommend to deny. [21:45:46] You would also be acting before studies requested to inform your decisions, such as on water quality, have even been completed. To approve, you would have to act outside of the traditional and proper rules and practices of doing your job of protecting and advancing the best interests of the county, commonwealth, and nation by protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all those people and the environment that supports them. [21:46:08] The precedent that this would set for future developments in Prince William County, and even for other jurisdictions, could have wide-ranging unintended and negative consequences. Applicants claim that this rushed process and the professed need for immediate project approval is because of business commitments that they made that have a year-end deadline and that delay will be costly to them. [21:46:28] It goes without saying that protecting applicants' business interests against their poor business decisions is not a regulatory body's responsibility. Your responsibility is unambiguous. It is to protect the current and long-term safety, health, and welfare of your citizenry and their environment. [21:46:44] With this great responsibility in mind and your apparent interest in finding a possible path forward for these data centers, there are only two defensible choices before you. You can defer your decision until the applicants submit all the information required to be in conformance with county rules and adopted plans, or you must follow your professional staff's recommendation and deny the applications based on their shortcomings, their continued non-conformance with county plans, and the incomplete studies needed to evaluate them. [21:47:11] I retired as ExxonMobil's Environmental Global Technology Sponsor after 36 years as an environmental engineer. During my career, I worked on permitting projects, one in excess of $2 billion, and negotiating those project applications with regulators such as yourselves. [21:47:28] I would never have expected a regulatory body to accept, let alone to pass, project applications with deficiencies in waiver requests as substantial as what the data center operators continue to put before you. I would have considered it a professional embarrassment to deliver such vague applications or fired a consultant who prepared them. [21:47:46] I feel for your staff who have had to constantly push the applicants to conform with usual permitting expectations under what they have created and themselves described as an incredibly accelerated time frame. One of my more memorable permitting jobs took three years from the application to county board supervisor approvals. [21:48:05] Exxon lost millions in revenue while pursuing those permits, but that was the time it took those county supervisors to properly and adequately execute their proper and due diligence in the best interest of their constituents. And in the end, Exxon got its project approved and the county obtained a project substantially more desirable for its constituents. [21:48:23] While data centers may look like just big box eyesores, they can be even more harmful to environmental quality goals than oil and gas operations, potentially being responsible for as much greenhouse gas emissions as several large boiler refineries. Responsible governing bodies such as yourselves, tasked with protecting the well-being of its people and environment, would consider approving projects of this enormous scale and impact only when their professional staff confirmed their conformance with documented county requirements and goals and recommended their approval. [21:48:52] The projects were materially in alignment with the county's adopted comprehensive plan. The projects would not interfere or certainly not make impossible the county's achievement of the goals in their just adopted energy and sustainability plan. The necessary studies funded to inform these decisions were completed and evaluated, and the County Sustainability Council advised that the projects were materially consistent with the county's sustainability objectives. A responsible governing body similarly would not rush to act based on applicants' spoken representations without proper documentation and review by planning staff and the county attorney. [21:49:27] That planning staff found that the representations repeatedly made by applicants at the planning Commission hearing regarding what their application revisions provided were not accurate. That vividly demonstrates this point. One might assume that the apparent rush to approve these projects might be about politics or money. The politics here are perplexing because it is most common that it is Democrats who stand with the people and the environment against efforts by big corporations to reap billions from sweetheart treatment. It is rather unbelievably, therefore, that any of the board's five Democrats could be so out of step with the broader policy position of their party and vote to approve these projects. That they would be willing to take such great [21:50:06] risks with the welfare of county residents, lands, and overall quality of life to assist a multi-billion dollar industry to secure its permits without adherence to a standard review process seems almost unfathomable. The money question is equally puzzling. If this was about raising tax revenue, that could be done by offering incentives to site these facilities in the places already designated for that purpose rather than on these more pristine and presumably cheaper lands. [21:50:32] You could also already be collecting millions of dollars by further raising your data center tax rate to be in line with your neighbors. The county rate of $1.65 was roughly two to four dollars less than the neighbor rate whose revenue streams are so frequently cited as the great prize to be had here. Additional tens of millions could be flowing in if you focused more on increasing the tax rate and less on helping boost data center profits by allowing their installation on the lands cheapest to them to develop. [21:50:59] Your action to raise the rate to $2.15 was a modest start, but that could be doubled and still be in line with your neighboring rates. In normal circumstances, even a small building permit, let alone the world's largest data center complex, would be turned away to be completed before a hearing was scheduled. [21:51:14] I hope that the county attorney can advise if a vote to approve on what you have in front of you would stand up to independent scrutiny and to the letter or spirit of the requirements of the Code of Virginia Chapter 22 on Planning, Subdivision, and Land and Zoning. Section 2200 states that development should, quote, improve the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare of the citizens, unquote. Many factors are to be considered, but they are in no way prioritized over the preservation of natural lands, which is in fact actually more strongly stated as an imperative of the code. Therefore, in closing, I implore you to be the responsible supervisors I described [21:51:51] earlier and heed the advice of your professional staff, stand with your constituents, and deny the projects or defer them until you can make the required fully informed decision. This decision will be talked about and studied in potentially in university classes as examples of how to do or not to do public policy, land ethics, etc. Way beyond Prince William County for a very long time because the magnitude of its impact here and beyond. It will be a lasting legacy element of your legacies. In fact, very likely the biggest. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Next speaker, [21:52:29] please. Your next speaker is Ava Hampton. Good morning. My name is Ava Hampton and I'm the public outreach manager for the journey through hallowed ground national heritage area a 501c3 non-profit with that being said i'd like to request 15 minutes to speak about all three applications on behalf of my organization sure please proceed after the journey i urge you not to approve the three prince william digital gateway rezoning applications the journey is an 180 mile long 75 mile wide region stretching from gettysburg pennsylvania to monticello and charlottesville [21:53:05] virginia prince william county is directly in the middle of our area and dozens of individual historic sites in the county including manassas national battlefield park fall within our region mmbp and its associated historical resources feature prominently in our education programming for example every summer we bring groups of high achieving high school students from across the country to the site as part of our national history academy program there we discuss the complex ongoing legacy of these sites in american history something that we all inherit when we we visit and promote Prince William County sites, including MMBP, we focus on place-based [21:53:41] learning, emphasizing what can be gained by occupying the same physical space in which these historical events took place. I say all of this to impress upon you all what an important part Prince William County is of the National Heritage Area and to express how grateful we are for this county's contributions to the historic and lived landscape that the journey exists to protect. I'd like to take a moment to further explain our organization's investment in the issue at hand. As a National Heritage Area designated by Congress in 2008 with bipartisan support, the journey exists to celebrate and protect the unique natural, cultural, and historic [21:54:16] landscape of our region. This work takes a number of forms. We promote and support civic engagement through history education, economic development through heritage tourism, and the preservation of cultural landscapes. It's primarily because of this third aim that I'm appearing before you all The journey, both in our individual efforts and through our partnerships with other historic preservation and environmental conservation organizations, works to protect historic sites in our region and to share the lessons of these locations with residents today through public outreach and education initiatives. [21:54:48] initiatives. I know you've heard many times what is at stake, but let me again say the approval of these three applications as currently written would constitute a profound threat to the cultural heritage, natural environment, and historic resources in this region. Historic sites in this area, including those directly affected by Prince William Digital Gateway, play an essential role in our shared local, regional, and national past and equally shape our contemporary character. [21:55:16] These applications, in our view, put that at risk in a serious way. The journey is invested in more than just the historic value of this region, however. And here, I think it'll be helpful to comment just briefly on the nature of National Heritage Areas. As stated by the National Park Service, National Heritage Areas are regions in which historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. [21:55:41] Significantly, unlike National Parks, National Heritage Areas are large, lived-in landscapes, and this is something that we seriously take into account as we go about our work we know that these historic sites do not exist in a vacuum totally separated from the spaces in which contemporary residents live and work national heritage areas by their very nature acknowledge the ways in which the past and present are fundamentally intertwined and share space and we at the journey make that connectedness central to our work as such we collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs. With that [21:56:19] being said, I want to make it clear that our objections to these applications are because of specific unanswered questions, inadequately mitigated impacts, and opacities in the application and approval process. We recognize the potential benefit that such a project could theoretically have for the county if appropriately cited and planned with sufficient input from all relevant stakeholders. But Digital Gateway, as it has been proposed, is not that project. The countless historic preservation and environmental conservation organizations speaking out today know that. [21:56:49] The local residents asking you not to go forward with this project know that. Your staff knows that and has expressed it to you in their continued recommendation for denial. For all of these groups, with their varying areas of expertise and investment in the issue, to be united in their opposition to these applications as they currently stand speaks volumes. Having mentioned staff, I'd like to briefly restate something that a planning commissioner brought up during the November 8th meeting, the importance of showing professional respect to the county's professional staff. Planning staff members have faced an enormous amount of public pressure from all sides. [21:57:24] They've been forced to review thousands of pages of new and resubmitted materials on extremely short notice, with no alterations made to the compressed timeline in order to accommodate the immense amount of work required to sift through that volume of material. Regardless of those tremendous demands, they've put forth thorough reports that ultimately recommend denial for all three applications. I want to thank these experts for their diligent work and urge you to be guided by their well-researched recommendations. That, for me personally, is baseline professional respect. All three of these applications share a persistent lack of essential information. [21:58:00] Despite numerous resubmissions, key questions, which were brought to the applicant's attention early and often, have remained unanswered. As just one example, as we've heard at this meeting, the planning staff reports cite across applications a concern over a lack of building footprints and site layouts. [21:58:16] When it comes to the impact on adjacent historic sites in the environment, this is no small point, particularly given the many concerns of the Historical Commission and the MMBP superintendent's stated problems with the Phase I study, not to mention the lack of completion of phase two activities. [21:58:33] Further, as county planning staff members have shared, it would be extremely difficult to hold the developers accountable for any alterations to the site layouts that prove destructive to the area, as staff have noted concern over enforceability of what has been presented. Of course, the developers hope to maintain that flexibility for themselves. [21:58:51] Their role in this process is to represent their own interests. But it is your role to ensure the necessary guardrails to protect historic resources, the environment, and the community are in place. If you approve these proposals with as little certainty and accountability as they currently mandate, you are voluntarily surrendering the ability to safeguard those interests. In doing so, the process breaks down, because while the developers will continue to act in their own interests, as one would expect, there will be no one directly involved in the decision-making process who retains sufficient power to protect the needs of constituents, the landscapes, and the invaluable historic resources. There's been [21:59:30] ample opportunity to provide the missing information and to commit to the accountability measures that have been called for in the course of this process. By not doing so, the applicant has deprived planning staff, invested organizations, and the public of the opportunity to accurately assess impact. Indeed, the fact that such basic information was not relatively available poses an infinitely greater threat to the natural and cultural landscape. [21:59:55] These sites are at risk not only from what has been firmly proposed, but from the massive space of uncertainty that the applicant has left. Staff reports for North, South, and Compass all cite many unresolved issues with a long list of agencies. Put simply, uncertain and unresolved should not be approved. [22:00:13] While National Heritage Areas are not National Park Units, they are formally a part of the park system as related areas. As such, the journey heavily weighs the National Park Service's opposition to this project. In articulating our reservations about these proposals, I found much in common with Superintendent Chris Butcher's thoughtful comments here and in his September 23, 2023 letter. [22:00:34] He wrote, quote, the NPS has determined that the proposed project will likely adversely affect MMBP and directly affect numerous other historic resources associated with MMBP, end quote. Superintendent Butcher goes on to detail some of the historic landscapes at risk, highlighting the importance of post-Civil War settlement communities of the Dean family and others. We echo his call for a thorough cultural landscape report that would give a clear understanding of the intact resources in the area and make evident exactly how much may be lost. [22:01:06] And while in the most recent submission, those reports may be proffered for future completion, we would need the results of those reports today in order to make a fully informed decision. The letter closes with a powerful statement on the importance of historic preservation efforts, saying, quote, It is in the interest of protecting and preserving the totality of our nation's history that deliberate and comprehensive steps are taken to ensure that vital pieces of the cultural heritage are given due consideration, end quote. [22:01:34] We at the Journey could not agree more. It is our feeling that until the applicant resolves the issues and requests for additional research and information made by the National Park Service and numerous other agencies, these applications should not move forward. I'd now like to comment further on the opacities in the application and approval process that I previously mentioned. [22:01:55] As I stated, National Heritage Areas are fundamentally community-responsive organizations that prioritize local interests and needs in our preservation work. As such, we deeply value transparency, open communication with members of the public, and processes that bring all relevant stakeholders to the table, not moving forward until a mutually acceptable proposal is identified. [22:02:19] That is not the way that this process has been conducted as we have observed it. The applicant has too long left numerous calls for further research and information unanswered, coming from the Transportation Department, Virginia Department of Transportation, Watershed Management, Parks and Recreation, Land Development, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Conway Robinson State Park, County Archaeologist and Cemetery Preservation Coordinator, and the Historical Commission. [22:02:44] Those are just the agencies listed in the staff report, not to mention the calls for further transparency and impact mitigation that have come from nonprofit organizations and Prince William County residents. Even the process by which applicants have updated their submissions makes it clear that there is room to more thoroughly consider community needs and inputs as they move ahead with their applications. [22:03:06] After long leaving key questions unaddressed, the applicant has flooded members of the public and planning staff with thousands of pages across multiple late-stage submissions. I do not fault them for providing this information, and indeed commend them for seeking to strengthen their application. [22:03:23] But the time frame in which they have done so deprived citizens, invested organizations, and for that matter, planning staff, commissioners, and supervisors, of the opportunity to thoroughly review that material in advance of this meeting. This was also the case with the Planning Commission meeting in November, something that multiple commissioners and members of the public expressed immense frustration with. [22:03:45] The manner in which the process has been conducted does not best serve local interests. It is a strategy that, regardless of the intention behind it, has cut the community out of the process and has made productive conversation virtually impossible. That, in and of itself, is enough to cause us extreme concern about the project, not to mention the material deficiencies in the applications. [22:04:08] Furthermore, it has eroded public trust in the project and pitted community members against each other, hardly laying the groundwork for a positive ongoing relationship between the applicant and Prince William County residents and organizations. This meeting itself should illustrate that. [22:04:23] I'd like to leave you with this final note, both to provide some context about our organization's history and to offer a hopefully instructive lesson from the past. The journey through hallowed ground was created through a concerted effort by concerned community groups to protect this area's endangered cultural landscape in the wake of the Disney's America fight in the early 1990s. [22:04:45] The region was placed on the National Trust's list of the 11 most endangered places in the United States in 2005, declared by Congress as a National Heritage Area in 2008, and Route 15 was named a National Scenic Byway in 2009. This proposal galvanized the historic preservation movement and attracted nationwide attention. [22:05:05] The sites that are threatened by Prince William Digital Gateway have been at risk before, but as the former Manassas National Battlefield Park superintendent stated, quote, the intensive development of the Pageland Lane corridor is the greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades, end quote. [22:05:22] To approve these rezoning proposals would not be guiding this area towards some right future, as the application suggests. It would be setting Prince William County back 30 years when it comes to historic preservation efforts. I ask you, do not make that happen through voting to approve these applications today. [22:05:41] Thank you very much for your time and consideration. On a personal note, I think for a proposal this consequential and controversial, it is essential that the time be given for outstanding questions to be thoroughly addressed and all viewpoints adequately represented. While it may not end in consensus, I still truly believe in the value of that process. [22:06:01] I sincerely appreciate your attention and appreciate everyone here today who has remained committed to civil discourse through this contentious process. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Hampton. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Robin Noonan-Price. Ms. Noonan-Price, [22:06:36] we cannot hear you. We'll circle back. Your next speaker is Aaron Price. Can't hear Aaron Price either. We'll go to the next one. Your next speaker is Elizabeth Merritt. Good morning. I'm [22:07:14] Elizabeth Merritt. I'm Deputy General Counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. On behalf of the National Trust, I would like to request five minutes to speak for each of the three rezoning proposals. Sure. [22:07:30] I have served at the National Trust for almost 40 years, and for the record, I personally live in adjacent Fairfax County. I also have a number of family members who live in Loudoun County. So I have lots of opportunity to see the terrible effects of the massive industrial data center development that has taken place in Loudoun County. [22:07:54] On behalf of the National Trust and our more than one million members and supporters, I'm here to urge the board to reject all three of these controversial rezoning applications, as recommended by your own expert professional staff and your planning commission. [22:08:14] At the very least, you should delay and defer this vote in order to allow adequate time for your staff and for the public and for the newly elected board members to review the thousands of pages of new material that have been filed by the applicants. [22:08:33] First, I'd like to provide some background on the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust was chartered by Congress in 1949 for the purpose of furthering the historic preservation policies of the United States and facilitating public participation in the preservation of our nation's heritage. [22:08:54] Congress stated that it intended the National Trust to mobilize and coordinate public interest, participation, and resources in the preservation and interpretation of sites and buildings. With more than a million members and supporters, the National Trust works to protect significant historic sites and to advocate historic preservation as a fundamental value in programs and policies at all levels of government. [22:09:23] In addition, the National Trust has been designated by Congress as a member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which is responsible for working with federal agencies to implement compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. [22:09:39] The National Trust has also participated in hundreds of cases in federal and state courts relating to the enforcement or application of laws that promote the preservation of historic places. The National Trust has been involved for decades in efforts to protect the Manassas National Battlefield Park. We fought the Disney development. We fought the Bi-County Parkway. And we strongly oppose this massive proposal to convert more than 2,000 acres of historic land to industrial development of data centers. This would be the largest data center campus in the world. And the [22:10:17] National Park Service has stated that this proposal was one of the biggest threats to Manassas National Battlefield Park in decades. I've been watching all night and most of the day yesterday, and I am so impressed and inspired by the powerful opposition testimony that you've heard from local residents and the fact that these residents are so passionately concerned about protecting the historic character of Manassas Battlefield in Prince William County that they've been willing to stay up all night to make you aware of their objections, even though they have [22:10:56] no potential financial gain. The National Trust is extremely concerned about the threatened adverse impact of the applicants' proposals on the hallowed ground of Manassas National Battlefield Park and the other threatened historic resources. Our statewide partner, Preservation Virginia, included Manassas National Battlefield Park on their list of Virginia's most endangered historic places in 2021 because of the significant impacts of the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway Project. [22:11:34] We oppose the Digital Gateway Project because of the irreparable harm it will cause to this nationally significant site. The visual and noise impacts will be awful and will be exacerbated because of the widespread removal of trees, which will take decades to restore. [22:11:55] The power infrastructure needed for this massive development has significant adverse impacts on environmental and historic resources that have simply not been adequately evaluated, and the potential archaeological impacts have not been adequately studied. [22:12:15] There are also many issues identified by the staff where the proposals are inconsistent with the comprehensive plan amendments adopted last year by the Board of Supervisors. And the professional staff has developed long lists of issues where the applications simply do not include enough information to enable a meaningful review of its impacts. [22:12:42] In addition, there have been a number of procedural violations cited, such as inadequate public notice and countless last-minute changes in the proposed plans and proffers without adequate public disclosure. [22:13:00] A vote to approve these rezoning applications would be legally vulnerable. Manassas National Battlefield Park and its cultural historic landscape have been preserved so that each generation can learn the complex and multi-layered history of the people and events that are part of our American story. [22:13:26] This large industrial use adjacent to the historic site would forever damage the visitor experience. the impacts are far greater than simply to the landscape. The economic impact of heritage tourism consistently ranks as one of the top four industries in Virginia. Area businesses and the county benefit from the revenue and tax dollars generated by heritage tourism visitors [22:14:00] to Manassas National Battlefield Park. If this project moves forward, the national park would see a drop in visitation and tourism revenue the data center developers promise that approving these rezoning applications will somehow magically and miraculously generate so much money for the county that salaries for teachers and firefighters will be massively increased, while residents' taxes will go down. [22:14:35] Well, the county has already approved more than 30 data centers, but these miraculous economic benefits have not materialized. How's that working for you? In sum, we urge the Prince William County Board of Supervisors to accept the recommendations of your own professional staff and your planning commission and to deny all three rezoning applications for this massive industrial Prince William Digital Gateway project. [22:15:10] You can say no, and you should. The nation is watching, and it's not too late. Just say no, as your own staff has recommended. At the very least, you should delay and defer this vote in order to allow adequate time for your staff and for the public and for the incoming elected members of the board to review the thousands of pages of new material filed by the applicants. [22:15:44] Thank you for listening to our testimony. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Fernando Gracia. Good morning, Madam Chair and County Supervisors. [22:16:03] My name is Fernando Gracia. I'm a resident of Arlington County and an avid supporter of our public lands, public lands. My comments this morning concern all three rezoning applications. First, I want to thank you all for your time and attention. I've been listening to a good portion of this hearing. [22:16:20] And before I get to my prepared notes, I'd like to make a couple of observations regarding these proceedings. If I could cede any of my remaining time to Mr. T-Tap, who spoke earlier, I would, because it seems like his testimony is a perspective that has been missing from the discussion. [22:16:39] If I were you all, I would deny the applications or delay this vote and reach out to Mr. T-Tap or someone with similar technical expertise to learn more about what you don't know. I have been listening, as I said, to a majority of this hearing, and another observation that I have is that some of the supervisors critiquing poking holes in your own staff report rather than the applicant's proposals. [22:17:05] County officials are tasked with providing an objective analysis of the application, but it appears that some county supervisors' priority has been to prop up a biased proposal that is here to extract resources and devalue the importance of this area. I am no county supervisor, but I don't think that is how I would protect the interests of my constituents. [22:17:25] Second, it has been reported in the media, and it was certainly confirmed again today, that some of the Democrats on this board seem to forget what values the Democratic Party stands for. A true Democrat would support environmental preservation and protecting citizens from corporate exploitation. [22:17:41] I didn't see too many true Democrats up there today, and the rest of us Virginia Democrats will not forget how you vote today. Honestly, I don't know how much difference my comments will make as the chair at the beginning of the public hearing period already characterized and dismissed. [22:17:56] Any comments in opposition of the application is merely reading from a phone book. But I have a few minutes left, so here we go. Much of today's discussion has been around where the power lines will go, profits in the next phase of the rezoning process. And I am not against getting down into the weeds of the project, and those conversations should be part of any infrastructure and development proposal. [22:18:20] But what is missing is context. This discussion misses the forest for the trees. You're forgetting that the forest here is the national battlefield, and quite literally, a state forest. Manasseh's national battlefield and the area surrounding it is hollow ground. and the approval of the applicant's rezoning plan would dishonor those who gave their lives to make sure that our freedom to speak truth to power was protected. [22:18:42] None of us would be here at this public hearing without their sacrifice. The applicants state that they are very conscientious and respectful about protecting hysterical or natural areas, but time and time again, whether it's in the staff report or in any of the applicants' answers to questions regarding sustainability, we see through their hollow and downright insulting promises. [22:19:03] As staff put it, they're only reaching for the low hanging fruit. Like seriously, are LED lights the best they can do? The truth is that applicants' proffers and pledges to minimize their impact has not been done in good faith. If they truly care about building sustainable infrastructure that is respectful of a site of national significance, they would not have even entertained the idea of building a data center including generators, power lines, substations next to Monassas National Battlefield and Conway Robinson State Forest. [22:19:33] The vote that this board is considering will set a precedent for future development projects in the county and beyond. The Board of Supervisors can vote today and decide to inflict irreparable damage to two of our area's greatest treasures, Manassas National Battlefield and Conway-Robinson State Forest. [22:19:51] And for what? So you can have your package delivered in 12 hours instead of 18, so you can watch another TikTok video, or so corporations can store more of your personal data that they'll use to sell their products back to you. a vote approving the project like this sends a clear message to developers that any area is up for grabs they will be encouraged to submit egregious projects thinking that developing any space is viable no matter the significance or sanctity of that space but there's another way this vote could go the board of supervisors could vote to not approve this project stand firm with millions of people around the country that come to this area to see clarity refuge inspiration [22:20:29] and connection to our shared American story. This board can be a leader in helping shape how, when, and where this type of infrastructure is built. Therefore, I urge this board to vote no on all the three rezoning applications. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Garcia. [22:20:45] Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Dr. Jean Wright. Good morning. Can you hear me? [22:21:02] Yes, we can, Dr. Wright. Please proceed. Thank you. I'm Reverend Dr. Jean Wright, And I am co-founder of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions and the Facts Lead for Loudoun County. I live in Ashburn, Virginia, and I frankly live right across the street from a data center alley. [22:21:25] And I especially appreciate the opportunity to speak to you since I do live outside of Prince William. I want to share with you this morning why I care about the building of the massive project known as the Prince William Digital Gateway, which includes the three rezoning applications collectively known as the PWDG rezoning. [22:21:49] And this would allow for 34 data centers in that area alone. Why do I care about your vote? First, I care as a Christian and as an interfaith supporter. [22:22:05] I care because all we people of faith share a common concern for the earth and for earth care. In fact, as a Christian, I believe that God has given us the high honor of being caretakers and stewards of the earth. Our work as earth stewards is found in Genesis 1, verse 26. [22:22:25] Let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness, and let them be stewards over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. [22:22:42] As we know, with so many species having gone extinct in our lifetimes, with so much of our flora and fauna currently going extinct or under a threat of extinction, the evidence it's all around us that we are letting down this sacred task of caring for the earth. We have fallen down on this job. Now if the digital gateway corridor applications are voted, thousands of acres of land will be disrupted, resulting in the destruction of trees, grasses, shrubs, wildflowers and flowers, insects, [22:23:19] and other animal habitats. In fact, entire ecosystems will be lost. The The disturbed soils will, when it rains, go into our streams and rivers, disturbing, if not destroying, creeks and tributaries to our waterways, and the wildlife that lives in and around those streams. [22:23:39] There is no coming back from such an ecological loss of native land and wildlife. If these projects are approved, that land is gone forever. I, along with so many others, care about this. [22:23:54] We grieve such a loss. Secondly, I care about these three zoning applications because I'm a parent and a grandparent. I care about the future of our children, our grandchildren, and all future generations. What would this mean for our legacy to them? [22:24:12] Data centers, due to their size and number, are destroyers of natural habitat and natural resources. They also are noise polluters. I can hear them when I'm out walking in my area. And when they use their diesel generators, they are both noise and air polluters. [22:24:29] Filling the neighborhoods with toxic gases and particulate matter, there are serious public health issues related to the data centers. I care because I'm thinking not only of my health, but also of the health of my neighbors and the children. [22:24:46] Let us love our neighbors, including wildlife and habitat, as we love ourselves. Additionally, I care about data centers because they are tremendous energy hogs, and I care about global warming caused climate change. Just this morning, the Washington Post announced that at top 28, 200 nations have signed on to transition away from fossil fuels. [22:25:12] Dominion Energy, which is required to meet the data center energy needs, has told the state corporation commission that they cannot fulfill their Virginia Clean Economy Act requirements by 2045. This is not acceptable. It would mean that Virginia would not meet its 2050 goal of producing 100% renewable electricity. This is not acceptable. [22:25:38] Nonsensically, Dominion is asking for permission to build four non-sustainable natural gas combustion turbines, a peaking power plant, to provide energy during times of peak demand. The plant, if approved, will be built in Chesterfield, Virginia. [22:25:55] It'll have a huge impact upon all Virginians, including here in Nova. These plant costs are high. Who do you think would be paying that cost? Peaker plants are high emitters of greenhouse gases. [22:26:12] We, our families, our planet will pay the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in health care and loss of a stable climate if the peaker plant is built. However, there is a bit of hope. Just today, the Virginia Mercury published an article sharing that one of the utility regulars with the SEC is recommending that it rejects Dominion Energy's recent long-term plan because of its inclusion of the paper plant. [22:26:40] Ms. Ann Berkebeil, the SEC hearing examiner, declared that Dominion's integrated resource plan is neither reasonable nor in the public interest. Chairman Wheeler and board, I feel similarly to Mrs. Berkebeil. [22:26:59] I care about the digital gateway corridor because I don't think the digital gateway corridor is reasonable, and most definitely it's not in the public interest. Now, I do want to say that I'm not opposed to the data centers per se. [22:27:16] Like you, I want my data processing continuing. However, we must truly study the issues related to data centers at the local, state, and national level and develop plans that work for everyone. We must take our eyes off the dollars and put it onto the unaccounted for costs of the data centers, the externality costs of the data centers. [22:27:40] It's not in the public interest to add more non-sustainable dirty methane to our atmosphere. It's neither reasonable nor in the public interest to ask the public to pay for a Dominion paper plant in order to provide energy on demand for the data centers. [22:27:58] It isn't, right? And in my opinion, it's neither ethical nor moral. Chairman Wheeler and Board, I care about these digital gateway corridor applications that are under consideration because I grew up in West Virginia. [22:28:13] and the coal mining region where my father was the coal mine foreman. I know the damage that coal mining has done to the land and to the water resources, the damage done by mountaintop removal. Importantly, I've seen firsthand what happens to the people when an economy that's built on the back of one industry, and what happens when that industry falls out of favor or is superseded by another technology. [22:28:40] In Loudoun County, the data centers provide around 30% of the county tax base. For example, in 2022, tax revenue from data centers totaled $663 million. That amount comes primarily from equipment inside the data centers. [22:29:01] What if the data centers purchased new equipment for a year or two years or three years? There would be quite a shortfall in the tax base. Because of this, Loudoun County recently voted for a stabilization fund. You might think of it as a rainy day fund to be used in case the data centers would have a downturn or, heaven forbid, become redundant due to new technology. [22:29:28] I've seen what has happened to West Virginia with the closing of the coal mines, the poverty, the opioid epidemic, poor physical health, vulnerable family instability, and more. It's deeply saddening. Your vote is about so much more than adding to the tax base of Prince William County. [22:29:47] Are you willing to accept the consequences and potential consequences of your vote for the Digital Gateway Corridor, the consequences of major land, soil, water, flora, and fauna disruption, the consequences of high-powered transmission lines and substations all over the county, the consequences to public health due to global warming caused climate change, The consequences of both an increasing and potentially a decreasing tax base, Chairman Wheeler and the Board of Supervisors, please carefully consider all the ramifications of your vote. [22:30:27] It impacts not only your own citizens, but also citizens and counties around you. Please listen to the recommendation of your staff and the Planning Commission. I know that some of you have said you would defer to their recommendations. [22:30:45] Please do so. And please listen to all those who have spoken before you with major concerns about the quality of life in Prince William County and the historical function of the land involved, its physical and cultural value to we, to all of us, and the generations to come. [22:31:05] And please do that which is reasonable and is in the people's best interest. Please vote to either defer or vote no on the PWDG rezonings. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dr. Wright. Next speaker, please. [22:31:25] Your next speaker is Pam Goddard. Good morning. My name is Pamela Goddard, and I live in Greenbelt, Maryland. I'm here to speak on all three applications. I'm speaking today to urge you to vote no on the rezoning applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway, including Digital Gateway North and South, and Compass Data Center's Prince William County Campus One. [22:31:51] These proposed projects would have direct and permanent harmful impacts to Manassas National Battlefield Park and Conway Robinson State Forest. They would increase polluted runoff and sedimentation to the Aquacan Reservoir that provides drinking water to over 300,000 residents. [22:32:09] They would require a massive amount of electricity that would generate a substantial build-out of transmission towers and generation stations that would increase the monthly electricity bills of Virginians while marring this historic landscape. Finally, the mitigation measures offered by the applicants are sorely lacking and actually mitigating the harmful impacts, and they lack enforceability. [22:32:35] I began visiting Manassas National Battlefield Park when I moved to this region in 1985. I enjoyed hiking the battlefield, learning about the park's history, reliving the battles that occurred there, and experiencing the beautiful nature along the trails. [22:32:50] I participated in a National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation at Manassas National Battlefield Park beginning in 2012 regarding the impacts of the then-proposed Bi-County Parkway. The proposed parkway would have taken several acres of the battlefield and bifurcated it with a new and unnecessary road. [22:33:14] This proposal would have disrupted the peaceful historic landscape of the battlefield. Thankfully, decision-makers chose to reject that terrible project and the battlefield remained protected. The addition of massive data centers to this region will forever and permanently harm Manassas National Battlefield Park. [22:33:34] It will box in the landscape with buildings up to 100 feet tall that extend for hundreds of acres throughout the region. These data centers will require a massive build-out of new energy infrastructure, including transmission towers, transmission lines, and energy substations. [22:33:50] This bill will mar the historic landscape and will increase every citizen's electric bill every month. The data centers will produce a buzzing noise that will be heard 24 hours a day, disrupting the peace of the region and harming wildlife. [22:34:07] Your own County Planning Commission has urged denial of all three rezoning proposals. They have clearly stated the many problems in the applications and the lack of clear and enforceable mitigation measures to protect Prince William County residents and their environment. [22:34:22] I strongly urge the Board of Supervisors to vote no on the rezoning applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway, including Digital Gateway North and South, and Compass Data Center's Prince William County Campus One. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. [22:34:41] Your next speaker is Trey Owen. Good morning, everyone. My name is Trey Owen. I'm a resident from the Gainesville District, and I support all the rezoning activities and encourage you to do so as well and vote yes. [22:34:59] And thank you, supervisors, for all your time. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Sharon Kilrain. Um, good morning. My name is Sharon Kilrain from the Gainesville District. I asked the board to approve all three zoning applications. I feel the gateway will be a positive force for the future of the county. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [22:35:31] Your next speaker is Shi Song. Good morning, Chair and Supervisor. [22:35:55] My name is Shi Song. I live in Gainesville. I speak to three rezoning proposals and I suppose PW Digit Gateway. So, because I truly believe this project is very real opportunity, good investments for our accounting and will boost economic. [22:36:21] And I believe this project is, I mean, it's good for our community and have a positive impact for our county and will benefit residents live across county as a whole. [22:36:39] So, again, I support PW Digit Gateway. So, I ask for chair and the supervisor to move forward and pass this project. And I support your leadership. And thanks for your time and your service. Thank you, Ms. Song. Next speaker, please. [22:36:57] Your next speaker is Zafir Imam. Zafir Imam, Gainesville District. Please vote yes to all three zoning applications. Thank you. [22:37:18] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Sheila Raich. Good morning. I am Sheila Raich from the Gainesville District. I will be speaking on all three zonings. I am definitely opposed to the Digital Gateway. [22:37:37] I want to first thank Ms. Lawson for being our surrogate supervisor in 2022 when we were abandoned by Mr. Canlon for his own personal gain. Best wishes to you in the future. Thank you, Ms. Vega, for always supporting us. [22:37:53] And Mr. Weir, I am so thankful for your knowledge on this subject matter and your heartfelt concern for all of us in your district. please do what's right all supervisors and vote no on the prince william digital gateway thank you thank you miss rage next speaker please your next speaker is sarah imam hi my name is sarah imam and i live in the gainesville district thank you board members for your hard work for the past four [22:38:26] years i support pw digital gateway please vote yes to all three zoning applications thank you Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is John Carlin. [22:38:48] Hello? Yes, Mr. Carlin. Please proceed. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed. Okay. I've lived in Cat Hartman for about 20 years. I strongly support all three proposals. [22:39:12] The Democrats on the board have been doing a great job, despite one cheap shot after another. Please hang in there. The tax revenues will be so beneficial to the whole community, the county as a whole. [22:39:28] Nobody knows the answer to all of these questions, but the enormous tax revenues will deal with the uncertainty, offset some of the bumps in the road along the way. Some people will say your mission is coming to an end when you vote to put these proposals through today. [22:39:49] Other people are going to say, your mission is just beginning, as you have so much opportunity in front of you down the road with all of these tax revenues. Please hang in there and keep up the good work. [22:40:05] Thank you so very much. Thank you, Mr. Carlin. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Larry Dolph. Hi, good morning. My name is Larry Dolph. [22:40:20] I am a Gainesville resident. I've lived in Gainesville since 2005. And I will be brief. I am expressing my displeasure, and please vote no on all three proposals. And nothing I really say at this point, since you've been listening to speakers since yesterday afternoon, will really have any big sway. [22:40:43] But one observation that I have had is regarding leadership. And I'm a soccer coach by profession, and we speak with our players a lot about leadership. And when I say leadership, I'm going to refer that to the board in general. [22:41:03] So a good leader surrounds itself with people who are subject matter experts, because a good leader can't know everything there is to know. So a good leader is going to rely on those subject matter experts to help guide them. [22:41:23] So it's interesting to me that all the subject matter experts have weighed in on these proposals, and the subject matter experts have all said it's not a great idea. This is not a great place to do this. Let's get these questions answered before we make any type of decision. [22:41:44] So good leadership would lead you to believe that those people are giving the sound advice. But for some reason, those of us or those of you who have decided that it's a good idea are not relying on those people who are providing that advice. [22:42:07] So Prince William County obviously is a business. You have to think of it as a business. So as the board being the CEO of this business, when your team of subject matter experts are providing information to you or they're telling you that there's a lack of information to make a sound decision at this point, it would seem that that leader, those leaders would weigh this advice heavily because these are the people who have done the work. [22:42:41] the staff has done the work, they're the ones that have spent a ton of time going over these applications, and they see that there are large deficiencies. So back to leadership, I would seem to me, and I'm not a smart person, but I would seem to me that a good leader would rely on that sound advice from their team. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Dolph. Next speaker, please. [22:43:08] Your next speaker is Musti Shaikh. Good morning. Good morning, sir. Please proceed. [22:43:27] Good morning. My name is Musti Shaikh. I live in Prince William County, Gainesville District. I'm living here for the last 34 years, and I fully support Prince William County's digital proposal. [22:43:45] My major concern is that Prince William County is totally dependent on the real estate taxes, and there is around about 15% commercial tax base. We have to compete with our neighbors, Loudoun County and Fairfax County, and we cannot do that with this type of tax base. [22:44:08] There is no commercial tax base period. 34 years ago, this area was nice. Now we can't come out of our houses due to a lot of traffic connecting Livia Drive, Katharpan Road and all that to the Gumspring Road. [22:44:25] So in other words, what I'm saying, Prince William County cannot accomplish a strategic plan which they have in front of them right now just based on the amount of tax base. [22:44:42] So we have to provide better school, human services, affordable housing, recreation, and parks. Prince William County cannot, at this moment, cannot adequately fund a strategic plan without commercial tax base. [22:45:00] So I would appreciate it you consider this, and I really appreciate all the Democrats members of the board who is looking at this all the time. Thank you very much, and have a good day. Thank you, Mr. Schreich. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Betsa Beth Hutchinson. [22:45:21] Hi, my name is Betsa Beth Hutchinson, and I live in the Prince William Gainesville District, and I support the Digital Gateway, and thank you so much for all your efforts you guys do it. Thank you. [22:45:39] Thank you, Ms. Hutchinson. Ms. Mann, before we continue, how many folks do we have left? At the moment, we have two. Okay, let's keep going. Your next speaker is Robin Noonan Price. [22:45:53] Hi, good morning. My name is Robin Noonan Price, and I live in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband, Stephen Price, who's a retired Army colonel. And we want to express our concern and opposition to the proposal before the board to allow the development of an expansive data center adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park and the surrounding area. [22:46:27] area. In addition to my comments here, my husband Stephen sent a link to all of you about a song that he wrote called Wilderness, and the song depicts a single day in a single Civil War battle between two opposing American combatants. He shared it with you because we believe it is relevant to your individual decisions and your board's decision on this matter. Our family has benefited many, many years over from our visits to national parks. And [22:47:04] Stephen Song was inspired by our visits to many of the national battlefields, including the Manassas National Battlefield. These national parks properly preserved are true national treasures that literally provide millions of Americans with the opportunity to see, feel, hear, and imagine the terrible sacrifice and tragedy that played out on those grounds and that still serve as a resting place for many who gave their lives there. It is invaluable to maintain and protect these sacred [22:47:37] grounds from this type of economic, industrial, and digital incursion, which directly degrades, interrupts, and prevents the proper reflection of park visitors on those terrible events that transpired there. America's visceral awareness and knowledge of our history is critical to America's ability to not repeat past tragedies. Reflections such as Stevens' Musical in Nature is only one type of a singular reflection, but our national battlefields, if protected from [22:48:11] intrusion, will continue to provide millions of Americans annually the opportunity to reflect on the tragic failure of compromise and civil discourse among opposing American factions. That is the Civil War. We are living presently in a time of extreme American division, a time where it has never been more important to see, feel, hear, and imagine the tragedies that we may yet again bring upon ourselves if we do not find a way to work together to mutually agreed outcomes. I thank the board for taking on the positions of leadership and responsibility [22:48:51] that you represent. And we hope that we can change some of the hearts and minds of people on this board to think seriously about the repercussions that this type of data center will incur on the people of Prince William County and in Virginia at large. [22:49:18] Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Price. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Stephen Cott. Mr. Cott. [22:49:47] Hello? Yes. Hello, yes. Yes, sir. Sorry. Please proceed. Could you not hear me? Yes, we can. Please proceed. Okay. I'm Stephen Cott. I live in the Gainesville District, and I support the Prince William Digital Gateway, and that's for all three applications. Thanks. Thank you, sir. [22:50:03] Next speaker, please. We have one person that's joining right now, and they'll be next. All right. [22:50:39] Your next speaker will be Edward Stearley. Hi, good morning. My name is Ed Stearley. Thank you for the opportunity to comment this morning, and I'll be speaking in opposition to all three zoning applications. [22:51:00] I'm a former longtime nearby resident who now resides in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and I've long been a national park advocate, but, you know, Manassas National Battlefield Park is a very important park to both myself and my family, which is why I felt compelled to offer personal comments this morning. For as long as we've lived to the area since moving from out of state, you know, Manassas National Battlefield Park has been an important place for our family to learn about history and explore the outdoors. I'm speaking after I just dropped my kids off at school, and Manassas National Battlefield Park is one of the few places that we were able to visit [22:51:40] with them, when we first moved to the area, we could go in Northern Virginia, we could go for a hike and essentially feel lost in the woods. It's really a place of peace. You know, when my twin daughters were born, it was actually a place we brought them when they were only four days old. It was their very first national park. You know, and I'll tell you, I honestly don't remember much of those first few weeks after they were born. I kind of blacked it out, but we really remember the peaceful day we spent at that park, you know, as they quietly slept in their stroller. And I'm not alone you know when you visit on any weekend you'll see hundreds sometimes even thousands of people including many families you know kids running in the fields people hiking trail running [22:52:18] you know really learning and engaging with the history so i'll say all saying all that you know it deeply saddens me that this place will be disturbed by the inevitable loud electric buzzing noise if this project is approved you know the pristine views of the blue ridge will be forever changed, and the water quality of the creeks and rivers will really be harmed. This is going to drastically impact the environment of the entire area. I'm lucky that I've been able to visit many historic places and national parks, and never have I seen a proposal of this scale so close to a [22:52:56] national park in a landscape like this. National parks exist forever, but industries come and go. Even still, the scars on the landscape remain from a lot of poor planning and decisions. There are many parks that I've been to, and I know other visitors think, what were they thinking when they put a really inappropriate development either sited within or next to a national park? [22:53:19] History judges poorly those who successfully develop or harm national parks, but it venerates those who protect them. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, it is completely unthinkable that Prince William County would approve this data center development in a way that would harm a place of such national significance such as Manassas National Battlefield Park. I strongly urge you to reject these applications. It is not too late. I know this hearing has been going for almost 24 hours now, but it is not too late to listen to your own planning experts and take time to rethink how [22:53:55] the county can approve the responsible development of data centers without impacting a national park that would harm all Americans. So thank you very much. I urge you to reject these applications. Thank you, Ms. Sterling. Ms. Mann, was that the last speaker? No, we have, your next speaker is Francis Carlin. [22:54:16] Okay. I'm Francis Carlin, and I've lived in Cat Hopper my entire life, and I support all three proposals. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Carlin. Next speaker, please. There are no more speakers at this time. [22:54:37] All right, thank you so much, Ms. Mann. Back to you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Mann, if you can hear me, and thank you, Vice Chair Bodie. okay good job we are finished with for virtual public common time and we will continue uh with numbers 166 through 170 for in-person public common time you will have um please state your name and generally where you live or your magisterial district at the beginning of of the your remarks and if you can tell us um which rezoning you're speaking on if you just say all three and we will give you nine minutes please proceed hi good morning uh thank you for taking [22:55:16] the time yesterday and into today to hear from us I want to thank each of you for your time over the last three years my name is Melanie Williams I am from the Gainesville district the first thing that I wanted to mention is that I've been watching and listening for the past two days and I think that mr. Perez's demeanor was extremely unprofessional thank you supervisor Franklin for asking [22:55:52] some tough questions. With that being said, I don't think that it's a secret to anybody that it's become too expensive to live in Prince William, not only for those with low incomes, but also for middle income, two worker families. We need to help Prince William become a more affordable place to live. Everyone needs lower cost housing, taxes, transportation, and food. [22:56:21] Make all housing more attainable to Prince William County residents. Increase the supply of all different types of housing and price ranges in a responsible way. Increase the public and private resources available to residents that provide a helping hand, not a handout. Maintain a no-net increase flat tax in residential real estate. Reduce the cost of transportation for Prince William residents. Reduce and ultimately phase out the car tax, personal property tax for automobiles. [22:56:50] Expand public transportation opportunities, expanding the bus and VRE services, and extend their frequency and maintain low fares. Reduce the cost of food and increase its availability. Reduce meals tax. [22:57:07] We can make up the revenue with data center revenue. Designate grocery stores as a targeted industry. None of these initiatives can be done unless we expand the commercial tax revenues. I listened to one gentleman in particular that really touched my heart last night, and he was one of the union workers that thanked you guys numerous times for the opportunity that he's had to provide work close to his home, be able to get home to his children for soccer practices, and that's an opportunity that we can give many other workers that are traveling outside of our county. [22:57:45] In addition, he talked about how they could bring new electricians into the trade through these projects because it will provide thousands of jobs for many years to come. He is the American dream. He is the reason that we need to support these types of initiatives in our county, be able to provide more revenue, be able to provide more services, be able to provide more parks, more resources for the schools, for our children, and that's it. [22:58:16] I really support these three zonings. I hope that you guys can too. Thank you very much and thank you again for everything over the past three years. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Morning. Garland Williams, Kat Harpin. I support all three phases of the Prince William Digital Gateway, and the data centers make sufficient economic fiscal contributions, not only to Loudon but all of Virginia. [22:58:44] They will be built somewhere. Why not here? Why not here in Prince William? Data centers are a critical part of the infrastructure that supports all the industries, including advanced manufacturing, entertainment, finance. health care IT and many others. These rezonings are needed for tax revenues and jobs. Thank you. [22:59:04] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, Chair Wheeler, members of the board. You all are doing a great job sitting here all night and into the morning. Appreciate you taking all this time. I was just out on my morning walk and I heard something was going on over here, so I thought I'd stop by and give you the benefit of my opinions. So a couple of things I wanted to talk to you about first and foremost is the public process issue that's involved here basically from from my take on it the staff is telling you did you introduce yourself and say where you lived [22:59:41] oh i'm sorry i've only done this a few times no it's important for people no no absolutely martin zeter i live in the aquan district thank you so i just want to talk about first of all the public process involved here from my take on it the staff is telling you that you you need to have more specificity on projects like this especially important large projects like this before you go to public hearing and and introduce this and take a vote on it especially things like building placement building height facades and things like that because what the applicant is asking [23:00:17] is for you to do these things regarding the specificities I'm talking about behind closed doors at the site plan stage and the staff is even telling you that we'd rather not do that Even though that would be the county staff working on this, the site plan, they want this to be a public process. [23:00:36] We certainly want this to be a public process. And the important thing to keep in mind is that even if this project is approved, it's not set in stone. I mean, it's not like the – I know it's a 15- or 20-year plan, as the applicant has told you, the applicants. And, by the way, I didn't mention I want to speak on all three of these at the beginning, too. [23:00:56] So they've told you that, you know, they may need to make changes to this plan over these years, and we have a process for that. It's called a proffer amendment process. There's other processes they can use, but the important difference is the proffer amendment process is public. [23:01:12] So the public would have a chance to weigh in. The public would have a chance to see these changes before they're approved behind closed doors. And so the way the applicant wants it is to be behind closed doors. And, you know, that goes counter to the transparency that I think we all want. [23:01:31] Just want to make a brief mention about the power line issue. I know you've discussed that a lot yesterday. There's certain areas you can't run power lines, as you've heard from Dominion and others. You can't run them under buildings. You can't run them over buildings. There are certain areas in this plan that are set aside for the buildings. [23:01:49] There's a rough outline where the buildings would be. So that leaves very few options as far as where the power lines would be run. And what I think staff is telling you is that one of those likely options would be through the buffer area. And I have experience with what happens when you do that. [23:02:04] Right here, over here at the police and fire stations on Davis Ford Road, we work with the applicant, with the police department, the fire department, the county, basically. And we had a nice buffer, treed buffer, in front of that police and fire station. And they decided they needed to run the utilities through the middle of that buffer. [23:02:20] So they cut a 30-foot wide swath through the middle of that mature treed buffer. And not only did that affect course the trees that were cut down, but it was a shock to the other trees that were on either side of that buffer. So if you notice when you drive by, take a look, most of those trees, well not most, I'd say many of those trees have died now due to that shock from being, their buddies being cut down basically. [23:02:42] So you got to keep that in mind is where these power lines are going to be run. I know Dominion's not going to tell you exactly where, but you need more specificity on that too, in my opinion, before you could approve a project like this. Otherwise, your buffers are really not buffers. So I want to talk about greenhouse gas a little bit. [23:03:02] I want to congratulate you again. I've done it before, passing a great CESMP sustainability plan. One of the main components of that is it's trying to reach your goals, or the main reason for that plan is to reach your greenhouse gas reduction goals. And we all have to keep in mind that this application alone, if not done properly, has the ability to completely make those goals unachievable. [23:03:25] This is 3 gigawatts most likely, 2.7 to 3 gigawatts. The greenhouse gas involved in that, if it's not done with renewable energy, that alone will make your goals completely unachievable. So if you don't have the kind of information you need on greenhouse gas and what kind of renewables there's going to be used here, I know they can't tell you exactly what they're going to do, but most of these companies that build data centers, they have public plans saying they're going to use renewables so they need to be pinned down a little bit better for you to be able to decide whether or not you're [23:04:01] going to be able to achieve your own goals that you've set so um you know electrifying the vehicle fleet uh putting solar panels on county buildings these are all great things and it's something we should achieve we should achieve as a county but that stuff is a drop in the bucket compared to the kind of implications of just one application like this just a drop in the bucket so um so thanks for listening. I know I'm not going to take up my whole time, but please make sure you have the information you need before you vote on a very big, very impactful project like this, and please protect transparency and open government in all of our applications. Thank you. [23:04:41] Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hello, my name is Terwin Gania. I live in Gainesville, Virginia, and I'm here to voice my opposition concurrently, consecutively to these three rezoning applications. [23:05:00] I have a packet of information here that starts in about February or March, about three years ago. I won't bother to try to read all of these things to you, but I'm going to voice my opposition for the same top five or top ten reasons that we have been hearing over and over and over again for years and years and years. [23:05:25] This incident here seems to be like some part of a Groundhog Day movie that we can't get out of. Is this some sort of a college hazing incident that goes on and on? After these marathon 24-hour meetings, how much enthusiasm can you have for voting up or down? [23:05:46] I mean, this just dulls your senses. And to package these things into a bucket to just get it out the door is unprofessional. And I'm trying to be controlled and civil here. [23:06:03] But it's just hard to be when you just keep poking the bear and you don't get a response. I don't understand that, how a legitimate, concerned government can continuously act this way. It reminds me of P.T. Barnum in the old days when you had these rings of circus animals going around like the bears riding the motorcycles. [23:06:30] Where is the individual thought process and the thirst for knowledge that we can nail down some of these specifics that the gentleman just before me was addressing. I apologize for my speech. It's not that eloquent, but it's very heartfelt. [23:06:50] And I just can't get over the fact that we just can't get satisfaction in some sort of a transparent manner. I will say that Ms. Wheeler did motivate me enough yesterday to write another check for litigation because the rules don't just seem to matter here. [23:07:10] You can advertise willy-nilly. You just defied this Virginia Supreme Court. Have you paid your $500 fines yet? Are you going to pay us back the $150,000, which is now $172,000 you've used out of our tax money to defend that? [23:07:30] This isn't transparent government. This is, at best, illegitimate or corrupt. So I'm going to finalize by saying you need to vote no for this unless you're going to get on the motorcycle and just ride around the ring again. [23:07:46] because we need some independent analysis and some individual thought process here. So I thank you for your time. Thank you. Well, I know we have two people online, Ms. Madden. [23:08:01] Can we go back to online? Supervisor Bode, do you want to take it over? Sure. You're good at that. Okay. All right, your first speaker is Erin Price. [23:08:21] Hi, thank you. Can you hear me okay? We can. Please proceed. Great, thank you. My name is Erin Price. I'm a resident of Arlington County, Virginia, and I'm commenting on all three proposals. [23:08:37] I strongly oppose the approval of this project and the proposals being considered. I've lived in Northern Virginia my whole life, and I've grown up in a time where the impacts of climate change are being felt in communities across the country and around the world. And if we're not doing everything we can to prevent climate change from worsening, then within our lifetimes, we're going to continue to experience climate-related events, just like the extreme heat wave we just had here in Northern Virginia in September. [23:09:04] we have to prioritize prevention tactics that this project that you're considering to approve is going to have lasting and deeply negative impact on the environment which is going to directly contribute to this problem you're entertaining the construction of this massive data center right on the borders of the national historic battlefield and a state forest and there are many valid concerns about the impact of this facility on wildlife waterways and water sources and the population um or sorry the pollution that will be produced during construction um and to run these data centers long term and yet those feel like they're being cast aside by the [23:09:39] board this project will also be require an astronomical amount of energy to build and to maintain and dominion has already stated that they're going to rely on natural gas generation to meet the demand which also directly contributes to the growing environmental footprint to be left by this facility your county is going to be a county that continues to depend on fossil fuels to function and again by voting yes to this you're saying that you don't see this as a problem it also seems that you don't even understand the full scope of the environmental impact that these [23:10:16] data centers are going to have because you've ignored requests to conduct impact studies which is a very routine process when considering land use proposals and there should be no compromise when it comes to clean air clean water and the preservation of natural resources and wildlife so the board should prioritize the protection of our parks forests national historical sites and other cultural and natural resources because they are invaluable resources and cannot be replaced by approving this project you're also choosing to accelerate climate change that alone is unacceptable but outside of this very serious and very clear environmental concern there's other [23:10:52] aspects of this project that are deeply troubling and should also be addressed one that i want to make sure to speak on is the financial implications on the project for virginia residents um you know You know, I joined earlier this morning around 3 a.m., so I've heard a lot of constituents talk about the anticipated revenue from this project for the country, or sorry, for the county, but no one has spoken about the direct costs to build the infrastructure needed for the data center to run. [23:11:16] And it's clearly understood that the facility will require a significant amount of energy, and the cost to produce that energy is going to be thrown onto Virginia residents by increasing their utility bills, which is an extremely serious issue. can't be taken lightly i work for an organization that combats food insecurity and hunger across the us including in northern virginia and so people's ability to provide for their basic needs is top of mind for me specifically um i know that in prince william county you have a food insecurity rate of 36 and that is the second highest food insecurity rate of all the counties in the dmv so 36 of your constituents don't have consistent or sufficient access to food and you're seeking [23:11:54] to approve a project that would double their utility bills i can't stress enough the severity of this decision for people who are already forced to choose between paying their rent or mortgage buying food or paying for their utility bills so i don't want to take up too much more of your time you know i think that you really need to consider the long-term implications of this project especially for your constituents it feels like this project has been fast-tracked by the board and as i mentioned before multiple requests have been made to conduct studies to evaluate potential outcomes of this project including the environmental impacts and noise generation from [23:12:32] data centers but this committee has allowed three rezoning proposals to move forward without fulfilling those requests um and as others have mentioned you've ignored the recommendation from staff members that have diligently analyzed the proposals put forward which is highly unusual by ignoring study requests and the informed opinion of staff and generally rushing across of us the board is showing some bias in making a decision which is not acceptable from elected officials who are here to represent their constituents not their own interests so again please consider the future implications for your constituents prior to making today's decision um you know countless residents tonight have shared their opposition to these proposals and [23:13:11] i urge you to take their opposition seriously as you make a decision so please note to all these rezoning proposals this does not equate to a permanent decision on the issue but rather a delay to continue to gather the essential information needed to make an informed decision on the project thank you thank you miss price next speaker please your next speaker is tammy dodd good morning can you hear me yes we can miss dodd please proceed okay good morning i support all three proposals [23:13:49] and i want to thank you for staying up all night and standing by your convictions and looking towards the future of prince william county thanks for your courage over the last two years despite the threats and insults and thank you so much for your time today thank you miss todd are there any more speakers miss man yes we have uh one more terry lear hello yes mr please proceed all right good morning um i'm in from the colts district and i've lived in this county for 43 years [23:14:29] and i've been a county teacher for 37 of those years um i strongly support increased funding for schools especially in this time of our teacher shortages and i strongly support the creation of jobs in our county however i do think this data center rezoning proposal is flawed um and i don't think it's going to accomplish either one of those goals uh there are too many unanswered questions [23:14:58] and not enough adequate research has been done first miss lear we can't hear you now Ms. Lear, we can't seem to hear you. [23:15:24] Are you, Ms. Mann, can we come back to Ms. Lear? Here we have a couple more folks. [23:15:43] First attraction, and it's also a source of pride for our county. In summary, I think the disadvantages are great. The necessary research has not been done. And I do think the immediate impact will be a series of lawsuits that may well be successful because of the lack of research and that has been done to vet this rezoning. [23:16:10] So at this time, I think it is not a good idea and I don't think it will accomplish our goals. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lear. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Rabia Lyakut. [23:16:28] Hello, everyone. My name is Rabia Lyakut. I live in Gainesville District and I support all three applications. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. [23:16:48] Your next speaker is under morton good morning can you guys hear me yes we can miss morton please proceed okay thank you um i'm going to be speaking just off the cuff here i um watched the meeting last night had to run the kids to school even had an appointment and just got here in the nick of time so um i just wanted to point out a couple things that i heard last night i'll be speaking about all three um i am [23:17:23] not in support of this project i do believe it's very flawed um and you know i would actually say my number one reason is because the planning staff has recommended denial twice um the planning commission as well um so i really question how this could be put forward in good faith a couple things i noticed was the applicant comparing housing rezoning to this project and the problem is there really is no comparison i mean this is unprecedented um the other the other thing is comparing gainesville crossing which is literally a fraction of the size of this project in In fact, this project is so massive, it's almost mind-blowing. [23:18:02] There's nothing like it in the world. So we cannot, it simply does not compare to past projects. I know the applicant talked about needing flexibility. I really interpret that as needing flexibility for profits, like the expense of the residents in the area. [23:18:19] The bottom line is we've seen where allowing this flexibility has gotten us, and it's just the cusp of the projects that we've seen so far. But we have all acknowledged and know that mistakes have been made, and that has been because applicants have been given a great deal of flexibility, and that has led to mistakes and problems for residents. [23:18:43] And so while I understand that things change over a long build-out, we as citizens still need protections, and the county needs protections, and we can't just allow maximum flexibility because it results in problems. So the other thing is that the lawyers and corporations are saying that we have sufficient engineering that has been done to approve this project, but your staff has very clearly said that the engineering is not sufficient right now. [23:19:12] So I guess really what this comes down to tonight is who are you going to support? Are you supporting your staff? They are the professionals. They've recommended denial. They're saying there's problems. To me, that is very concerning. It's very concerning that your staff is standing up there and saying this isn't ready. [23:19:30] It's flawed. This project is, there's nothing, like I said, that compares to it even in the world right now. So this is unprecedented. In many ways, I feel like we're the guinea pigs. We're the experiment here. And then the last point, they talked about the wildlife corridor and that it's missing. And that was something that was expected. And so I guess the question too is, are we just going to allow ourselves to be swindled? I mean, that's what it seems like to meet we don't even have in this plan something that is expected promised your staff recommends denial I am asking you to also deny this at this time because it's not ready and the bottom line [23:20:09] is it needs to go back to the drawing board it's not ready and we are getting the short end of the stick as the county and as the residents so thank you and I hope you will take all these points into [23:20:22] consideration. Thank you, Ms. Morton. Ms. Manner, is there anyone else? There are no more speakers at this. All right, thank you so much. Back to you, Madam Chair. We're still on virtual. You're talking about virtually, Ms. Madden? Okay, let's go back to virtual. Thank you. I think no worries. They aren't connected yet, so we have to wait. While we're waiting for that connection, Ms. Trednick, I saw you approaching the microphone. If you could give us your name, generally where you live in the county. [23:21:53] and what rezonings you're speaking to? My name is Erica Trudenik, and I'm speaking to all three. And generally where you live in the county? [23:22:09] I live in the Brentsville District. Thank you. I'm sad that you guys are still sitting here after 20-something hours. Today is a pivotal moment in the history of Prince William County, one that extends beyond the mere consideration of a digital gateway project. [23:22:26] As we navigate through this proposal, let's not lose sight of the legacy we're crafting for our children and the desecration of the history that hangs in the balance. I recently attended a teen driving seminar that opened my eyes to the unsettling reality of decision-making under the influence of sleep deprivation. [23:22:47] It's disconcerting to realize that after 18 hours without sleep, our cognitive functions mirror those of someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.05%. The implications for our ability to make sound decisions and navigate the complexities of a project like this are profound. [23:23:06] By the 20th hour without sleep, our thinking mirrors that of a drowsy driver with an 0.08 blood alcohol content, the legal limit in most states. As we contemplate the impact of the digital gateway on our community, we also must acknowledge the parallel danger of decision-makers operating in a compromised state. [23:23:27] Taking it a step further, at 24 hours without sleep, our thinking reaches a concerning 0.1% blood alcohol content. Can we in good conscience allow our county leaders to make decisions about the future of Prince William County under conditions that mimic the impairment of intoxication, thus contributing to the desecration of our county's history? [23:23:48] This issue strikes a chord with me as a long-term resident and devastates me to witness the potential desecration of our history. Our county leaders are setting an example that our kids will notice. Are they showing a commitment to making smart, clear-headed decisions? Or are they creating a legacy of quick choices with big consequences, including the desecration of our historical landmarks? [23:24:13] Let's not forget that the professionals, the staff you hired, recommended denial. Why would our leaders go against the advice of the people they hired? Voting against the Digital Gateway isn't just a vote against a project. It's a choice for a legacy that cares about our kids' well-being, that preserves our history and ensures a future built on good choices. [23:24:35] Let's come together in this moment, urging our leaders to show an example of wise decisions that safeguard our history. Our children deserve a legacy steeped in respect for our past, not one marred by decisions made without enough sleep. You all have been sitting up there way too long to make a decision this big. [23:24:52] We've sat here as residents. I've slept. I went to bed. You didn't get to do that. And I'm nervous about this decision. Mr. Bode, you have kids. You know what the future of our county looks like. Please, please, please make the right choice today. [23:25:10] You know that the people that you just elected, that our county elected, they don't agree with this decision. They've said that. Please, please, please do the right thing. And I know you're on your way out, but please make the right choice here today. Don't do this. Don't do this to our county. Don't do this to the people who love this county, who live here and love it here, and have lived here their whole entire life. [23:25:31] Don't do this today. Make a good choice. Thank you. Are we ready to go to our virtual? Okay. [23:25:41] Hi. Yes. Our speaker is Lee Giza. Hi. Good morning. I don't have a lot to say about this. I live in Bristow, so I'm not super close to where this is going to be happening, but it still affects me as a county resident, just the quality of life, the, I don't know, destruction of open spaces concerns me. [23:26:14] where I live in Bristow, there's been several warehouses and I think potential data center approval. And the character of the area is just changing greatly. And I am seriously considering moving farther south, either Richmond or Fredericksburg area to get away from all this that's going on. So I really seriously hope that this is either delayed or rejected based on the way I feel and I know other people as well feel about how this county this part of the county [23:26:51] especially is is changing and I don't believe for the better so I urge the supervisors to reject these three proposed changes to the plan not to mention I'm not sure I understand how this can happen in a area that's not approved for data centers to begin with I just think that is the important factor that should be considered by everybody on the board. So thank you for listening [23:27:20] to me. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Your next speaker is Isaac Tatagiri. Good morning, everyone. [23:27:38] I'm a resident. My name is Isaac Tatagiri, and I'm a resident of Chatharpan, and I support this data center for three applications. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any more speakers? There are no more speakers at this time all right thank you if you can please this will close the virtual link if you can disengage the virtual link and we will move back to in-person comment thank you vice chair bode thank you ms man that will conclude our virtual public comment time [23:28:14] we are back do we have anybody signed up ms men okay um if there's anyone else wishing to speak please approach the microphone in the back, say it's your name, generally where you live, and what you're speaking to. May I have the overhead, please? Good morning, members of the board. My name [23:28:52] is Mary Ann Gadban, and I'm a proud resident of Pageland Lane for 40 years and a lifelong resident of Prince William County. Many people have spoken for months about preserving the ruralness of our area. I'm here to state that the ruralness of Pageland Lane has been gone for over 15 years. [23:29:14] Beginning in 2008, our lives were forever changed when a Dominion Regional Backbone High Voltage Power Line corridor with 530-foot high towers that are 250 feet wide were put through our properties. My horses began having numerous stillbirths and other issues, and we had stillbirth cows as well. So I had to move them all to Fauquier County for their safety. Heaven knows what these lines are doing to the residents. Then, as Loudoun County became the home to the NRO, and all the [23:29:51] contractors that support the government agency came as well, Pageland Lane became the commuter cut through to avoid congestion on I-66. It is not a rural country road anymore. During rush hours, it's nothing less than dangerous. Dangerous for getting in and out and for school buses trying to get children to and from their homes. Through no fault of our own, our property values began to decline. Then the final blow was delivered with the zoning approval of the three million square [23:30:26] foot data center called Gainesville Crossing near us at the entrance to Pageland Lane. This is next to the Manassas National Battlefield headquarters on Stewart's Hill and closer to Heritage Hunt by car than to our Pageland Lane properties. The forest was clear cut and the area has no buffers. [23:30:46] It is a blight. This was outside of the overlay district and was passed easily by the previous board with Supervisor Lawson voting for it during the lame duck session. No one from Heritage Hunt, the HOA Roundtable, the Historic Commission, the Journey to Highland Ground, or the National Trust, or any environmental group said a word against it. [23:31:14] The reason it passed was twofold. To preclude high-density housing there and to generate commercial tax revenue. The approval of Gainesville Crossing was precedent-setting. It was the final blow, nail in our coffin. [23:31:33] So our community of 400 residents who actually live on Pageland Lane, not 10 miles away, not in another county, but on Pageland Lane. We work together to solve our problem, and we also work together to help the county find a desperately needed source of additional commercial revenue. [23:31:54] It was a win-win-win. Pageland Lane is the right location for data center campuses. That was established during the approval of Gainesville Crossing. All the residents will move. No one is in the state force or the battlefield park after dusk and before dawn. [23:32:12] Darn. Dawn. I can't speak. There are no schools nearby, and the view shed from the park is secured. Within two years, new revenue from increased real estate taxes will be realized. It's not a bad way to start. [23:32:30] Then, as the land is developed, the data center computer peripheral tax will generate much more revenue. The value will just continue to grow year after year. What has been said about it taking 15 years to get any revenue is false. New revenue will begin within two years, and it will grow significantly over time. [23:32:51] Schools can be better funded, the dreaded meals tax can go away, and our public workers can get more competitive pay. Sadly, a small group of people, about 75 to 105, out of our 500,000 residents seek to block these zonings, and later to reverse the board's 2040 comp plan that will help so many in our county. Most of these opponents that live in Heritage Hunt retirement community have lived [23:33:25] here less than five years. They've not sent their children to school here, experienced overcrowded schools, worked here, or commuted out of the county every day. They go out to dinner and shop at our grocery stores, but don't add a lot of revenue to our county. Yet, they seem to think they have the right to tell the thousands of other residents what they need and how they should live. Because they are loud and have time to write op-ed after op-ed since they are retired, they have been able to control the narrative. While our teachers, police officers, and firefighters are too busy [23:34:02] commuting to neighboring counties where they can afford to live after working all day. Our lower and middle income workers are going to their second job trying to make ends meet and then go to the food pantries to help feed their children. These people simply don't have time to come to meetings and sit all night. So while it sounds like many people are against the project, the answer is it's a very small group who love the attention they're getting. Also, despite the applicants trying many times, the Heritage Hunt HOA board refused to let QTS or Compass come to speak to [23:34:41] their members. When the applicants tried to have a public meeting at a local hotel in Haymarket, the hotel was forced to cancel it due to threats made to the hotel staff. Supervisor Lawson and Weir encouraged and attended town halls where only opponents were allowed to present information. [23:35:02] These were not town halls, they were pep rallies. The Heritage Hunt community will have a 35-acre protected open space and tree buffer between the back of its neighborhood and the data centers. Much of this area will become an extension of the Greenway, Cat Harp and Greenway. [23:35:19] If you have trouble visualizing an acre, this is the equivalent of one football field. That means 35 football fields will be buffering the Heritage Hunt community. The mandated buffer is 50 feet. The data center campus is on the other side of a forested ridge and sits well below the homes and the view from the neighborhood. [23:35:44] Heritage Hunt will neither see nor hear anything. But why deal with the facts when you're getting so much attention in the papers and the local news? The Prince William Times seems to love to quote all that is said by the community and continues to ignore the actual facts, especially the incoming tax revenue that is so desperately needed to advance the county's strategic plan. For the past 25 years, Prince William's goal has been to have a 35% commercial tax rate. We are sadly at 15%. We've heard testimony on agritourism to improve the commercial [23:36:19] tax rate. While that would be lovely, another winery or a truffle farm here and there will not move the needle toward the revenue we desperately need. Neither will another Starbucks or Chipotle. We have to be bold enough to admit we have fallen behind and we need to do what is needed. [23:36:36] We are at a crossroads right now. What direction are we going to go? Will we create a county where all the residents can enjoy a thriving wage instead of a barely living wage? Where our public workers are able to live in the county where they work? [23:36:52] Or will we continue to scrape by, losing teachers and police officers to higher-paying counties every year? Will we have housing where all income levels can live in dignity, or will they have to commute long distances from elsewhere to work? [23:37:09] Will we have enough parks and bike paths that are the envy of other counties? Will we have services for our most needy? It would be nice to have a homeless receiving center on the western end as well, or medical clinics that can serve the underprivileged. The choice is yours to make today. [23:37:26] The Comprehensive Plan Digital Gateway chapter has provided a blueprint to creating a county where all can thrive in Prince William. The choice is yours to decide what your legacy will be. You are not just voting on three rezonings. You're voting again on the current Comprehensive Plan you adopted last year. [23:37:44] You're voting again on the current Strategic Plan. The opponents don't only want to defeat these zonings. Their objective is to undo portions of the comprehensive plan and to undo the strategic plan. For the record, there have been 142 people here in the last 24 hours for the digital gateway and 105 against. [23:38:06] And many of those were special interest groups and people from Heritage Hunt. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to speak? Please approach the microphone. Please state your name, generally where you live in the county and what you will be speaking to. My name is Mary Beth Shaw. I'm a resident of the Bradstall district. [23:38:22] I'm gonna be speaking on all three rezonings. I could not let that be the last word for this public hearing from a morally bankrupt person who has a history of doing damage to our county that goes back decades. [23:38:39] Not only our county, but the region. I believe that as a former teacher who taught students who lived in just this area, I learned so much from them regarding their generational history. [23:38:56] And for everybody who sits here, whether you're a Pageland owner or a resident of the county, to watch that history be desecrated, to be destroyed and mowed over, never to be repaired, never to be reclaimed, is incredibly heartbreaking. [23:39:16] My students told me with pride, these are students who lived, who were generationally proud of their history and what was on those lands, they would come to me. I was their seventh grade social studies teacher. [23:39:32] Never once in their previous lives had they been given an opportunity to exhibit a pride in their history, their history. Not just our county's history, not just our state's history, their personal histories. These are the sons and daughters and great-grandchildren of those former slaves. [23:39:54] They're the ones who came to me so excited to be able to present. These are people who, these are kids who never, ever expressed any interest in history alone. But because it was their history, they were beyond proud to get the opportunity to share that. [23:40:12] So for all of the people who are currently living on those areas, you are making a decision that is going to impact not only all of us, but your families. Have you ever thought about the fact that your kids may ask, why? [23:40:28] Why is it that we took that land and we gave it away for money? At what point in time do you say to yourselves, I am better than that? I care about not just what happens now, not 10 years, not 20 years, but decades down the road. [23:40:55] We are all stewards. And as a person of faith, I have to say that God provided us with all of this. You are stewards of our county's resources, but you are also stewards of God's gift of this land. [23:41:19] Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to speak today to the three rezonings? Please approach. Good morning. I'm Allison Satterwhite. I live in the Gainesville District. [23:41:34] I got here just in time. And which will be speaking to all three rezonings? Yes, thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Excuse me for being a little breathless. I rushed in from the parking lot. Thank you all for listening to everybody who's spoken for the last 25 hours, 24 hours now. [23:41:55] I know this has been a lot. This has been a long process. It's been a long process for all of us who have been asking you for two years, over two years, please don't do this. Right now, you've got in front of you incomplete applications. [23:42:12] If you approve this, if you approve this today, you are setting a precedent that could be very costly for Prince William County. I've heard people talking about, oh yeah, there are proffer amendments that can happen. You approve this right now with all of these questions unanswered that staff have told you are problematic. And if you approve this right now, then you're asking for all the other data centers that are yet to be built to come in here and also ask for the farm, the moon and the stars, and in this case it's literally the farm, you're setting a precedent [23:42:50] that's dangerous for Prince William County. Right now you're looking at applications from QTS and Compass that are incomplete. You have not approved any applications this incomplete ever, and this is a project the magnitude of which, as you've heard many times tonight, Prince William County has never seen. Do you want it to be your legacy that in just a little while you approve this project, that you're signing away without knowing all the details you know I've spent eight years in the [23:43:25] school board and I am a very passionate advocate for good governance you know you heard a lot of promises from the applicants and I'm sure they're well-meaning but if they're not written down in the applications that have been received and evaluated by staff they aren't worth the paper they're not written on. So I urge you to please, please take a step back, defer this until you have that information, until you have that completed application. This project is so massive. We all [23:44:02] know that once it starts, it can't be undone except for the litigation that's been promised by many people overnight. And I just urge you to please do the right thing for Prince William County because saying that, you know, just saying that they're buildings. I remember when I went to the open house that compass actually had for us in gainesville district qts did not but i remember when we met with compass they're telling us all of these different things about the project i asked about the bridges over lick branch that were in the very nice design that they had laid [23:44:38] out and they said well you know this is what we'd like it to look like but we're not responsible for that and that's a question okay i don't know if this has been answered are they paying for the road for Pageland for the four-laning, or is that on all of us, the taxpayers? Are they paying for the bridges over Lick Branch and Little Bull Run, or are those on the taxpayers? And if you'll recall, last year when the Comprehensive Plan Amendment was adjusted greatly, there was an implementation plan that if you pass this, there's a whole litany of things that would have to happen also. [23:45:15] I'm driving home last night on Sudley Road, and it just, I couldn't help but wonder, all the houses with the Christmas lights. Do all of those residents along Sudley Road know that that road is slated to be four-laned from Highway 15 all the way to Gum Springs? I don't believe they received any postcards from the county. Do all of the residents know in our area that Pageland is going to have over 10 years worth of construction if this project is approved? And the roads won't be improved before that. And we will have, if you haven't driven along that area recently, but I [23:45:52] think most of you have have had tours out there it's not flat land for the most part it's hilly it's beautiful virginia hilly countryside that's a lot of dirt that's going to have to be moved a lot of dirt that's a whole heck of a lot of dump trucks and in western prince william county we've seen increasingly numbers of those large dump trucks because there's so many data center projects in production right now which is another reason why i like it like to ask you to take a pause. There are so many data centers in Western Prince William in production. We don't even know [23:46:26] the full impact of what those are going to mean to our county. You know, lots of people have talked about how much money that the digital gateway is going to be adding to our economy. And yes, data centers are great for our economy. We've had them for well over 10 years in Prince William County. And yet, as has been pointed out tonight, our taxes have not been reduced. We added the restaurant and meals tax, which actually hurts our restaurants and small businesses that sell food items that are ready to go. And it hurts our taxpayers. And as you've heard a few of the people say this morning, because I was listening on the way here, our electric bills are going to go [23:47:05] up. Because we know that the applicants, because the way the laws are written in Virginia, they won't be responsible for paying to put in all that infrastructure. It's going to be on all of us. As a resident of Prince William County for almost 20 years, I live 1.5 miles away from the project. [23:47:24] It will impact my life on a regular basis. And just like all of the many others of us who have been here tonight and meeting after meeting after meeting over two years, so much so that you're sick of seeing us up here. And trust me, we're tired of having these long meetings. [23:47:41] I urge you to please say no. This isn't ready for prime time. Defer it. Let them put together an application that actually has Prince William's best interests in mind because we know your job is to represent us and represent the county, not the applicant. [23:48:01] We urge you to please, please, please make sure the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed because as a business in government, that's the responsible thing to do. So I thank you so much for all the time that you've spent listening to all of us. [23:48:18] Janine Lawson, I want to thank you. I'm going to get emotional. I want to thank you because this has been a very emotional topic for all of us, too. And, yes, we have had nightmares about it. But, Janine, I want to thank you for stepping in when the people of Gainesville District felt we didn't have a voice. You were there for us. [23:48:35] You and your staff worked overtime to answer the questions of the people in the Gainesville District. You served honorably. You represented the board in matters that had to do with education. Because of your diligence, we were able to build John Jenkins Elementary School on an accelerated schedule. [23:48:52] We have a Gainesville High School that could accommodate an extra 500 students. And it was working together with you that made those things happen. I want to thank Supervisor Bob Weir, our Gainesville District Supervisor, for the work that you have done representing us this year. And you jumped right into the middle of tax season and right into the middle of this. [23:49:10] And you've done a phenomenal job representing us. Yes, Lee Vega, I want to thank you also for your stepping in for Gainesville District. When so many of us had questions, you were there for us also. Kenny, forgive me for being informal. Kenny, Andrea, Vic, Margaret stepped out of the room. [23:49:28] Ann, thank you for your service for Prince William County. Ann, I wish you no ill will as you go forward, but I just ask you as your last act as chairman before you close the meeting, I ask you to please consider all of the residents of Prince William County, Consider good governance and consider the legacy, because if you approve this project, this isn't a good legacy to leave, not with all the questions unasked, not with the improper notice of meeting notification that we all know has happened. [23:50:01] And we know that you've had legal advice saying this is not going to work. Just please, please, please step back and think. Maybe get a good night's sleep and then come back and revisit it. Thank you. That will conclude our in-person public comment time, unless anybody else approaches a microphone. [23:50:18] I don't see anybody standing up to do so. So that will officially close the public hearings for the rezoning 3A, 3B, 3C. I'm not going to read the numbers, but I think we all know what they are. Officially closed. With that, it is 5 after 10. [23:50:36] We've been going for about 24 hours. My understanding is that the applicants have some proffer changes or discussions that they wanted to talk about, and I will give you that time. Thank you, Madam Chairman. [23:50:51] again, Mark Looney on behalf of Compass Data Centers. Since we last spoke to one another however many hours ago, we have been working to listen to and address some of the comments that we have heard both prior to today's public hearing from particularly Supervisor Bodie, as well as some of the public comment that was received today, and to try to make some adjustments to the proffers to address those concerns. And so if I could pass to the clerk [23:51:26] or to whomever paper copies to hand out to the board members, it's not the full set of proffers. We have a full set of the signed proffers that incorporate these changes. But I wanted to walk you through the proposals first so that one, we as the applicant are clear as to what we are adding to the proffers or addressing through the proffers. And secondly, to be able to answer any questions that board members have before we present the fully signed proffers, presumably after we get through the rest of the question and answer period that was [23:52:00] reserved. So I'll give you all a second to receive the copies and then I'll explain what the changes entail. I'm Chair. Supervisor Lawson. Mr. Looney, forgive me, but I also would, before we move forward. I believe we had agreed on some Q&A time afterwards. I just want to make sure that that hasn't been lost. No, no, that hasn't been lost. Thank you. But I think that since this may address some of the questions, I figured this would be more pertinent. And are you having deja [23:52:38] vu? Because I am. I just don't know which day it is, Supervisor Lawson. So just to set the stage, As I mentioned, in conversations with Supervisor Bodie in particular ahead of the hearing in trying to answer his questions, he raised some questions about some of our existing commitments in the proffers and asked us to take a look to see if we could strengthen some of those elements. [23:53:08] Similarly, through the public comment that we've had over the last 16 hours or so, we've heard some additional things that we wanted to try to address. So I'm going to walk through them. I'll try not to dive into too much detail, but I want to make sure that we give you the proper explanation for the changes. [23:53:25] And these have been distributed to your staff, and your staff has had a chance to review them ahead of us presenting them now. The first change was made in the preamble. There was some conversation and some communications to you all ahead of the hearing with respect to the use of strict accordance with the proper conditions. [23:53:46] We've incorporated or had incorporated already cross-reference to the zoning ordinance standard itself, but just for the avoidance of doubt, we went ahead and added the word strict accordance with the proper document itself in total. The second change, and one of the more substantive changes based on the public comment and Supervisor Bode's questions during the public hearing process or during the applicant presentation process, we've expanded the definition of natural open space. [23:54:15] And specifically with respect to the Compass application, and QTS has made, as I understand it, similar changes in their proffers, we've provided a minimum commitment of 149.5 acres of natural open space throughout the development at the conclusion of the development. [23:54:33] In other words, our minimum proffered target for natural open space is 149.5 acres. And we then provide that as part of each site plan within the development itself, we would identify additional opportunities to increase the amount of natural open space within the land area covered by the site plan and provide documentation of that to the county arborist as part of that site plan review process. [23:55:02] We also would, on each of the site plans throughout the development, provide a running tabulation by land bay and by site plan as to the amount of natural open space that is represented on each of those site plans so that we can track the cumulative amount of natural open space that is being provided across all of the site plans that would follow. [23:55:27] We also then added preservation organizations and a specific reference to the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, which was one of the organizations that Supervisor Bode raised this morning as a beneficiary of the easements or restrictions that would be put in place throughout. We then, as we dropped down into 27E, we made a cross-reference in a different proffer covering the total amount of open space within the development to include the minimum requirement for 149.5 acres of natural open space. [23:56:04] We also cross-referenced the natural open space definition in both the encroachments outside of the RPA and encroachments as permitted by the DCSM so that we are consistent across the board in terms of how the natural open space is to be addressed in those two proffers. [23:56:24] Moving on at the bottom of the second page of the handout that I gave you with respect to proffer 37, we have added a commitment that each of the data center buildings constructed on the compass property, with the construction of those, we would require the entity or entities purchasing the power from the applicable public utility. So it could be a tenant directly purchasing it. It could be the building owner purchasing it. But regardless, whomever it is that is purchasing the power would include as part of its purchase agreement with NOVAC [23:57:01] or the utility that a minimum of 10 percent of the electricity purchased come from clean or renewable energy sources to the extent they are commercially available at the time the agreement is entered into. And then we would provide documentation of satisfying that commitment prior to bond release. [23:57:22] The purpose for doing it prior to bond release is that if it's a multi-tenant building and the power is leased to the individual tenants directly inside the building, until the building is fully leased, we can't provide the documentation. [23:57:42] And so what this would enable us to do is prior to bond release, the point is we may not have the entire building leased. When it is first occupied, the lease-up may take additional time, but once it is fully leased in that context, that we would provide the documentation to the planner in the form of a redacted copy of the lease, a redacted copy of the power purchase agreement, or such other material as the applicant is permitted by contract to provide. The last provision with respect to the contract, if for, say, there is a government tenant that is inside the building or a government user, there are restrictions on the types of disclosures that [23:58:20] can be made, and that would cover that particular circumstance. And then we then added a similar provision to the other sustainability measures that need to be incorporated into the building such that we would provide that documentation prior to bond release. [23:58:37] We then made a couple of minor tweaks to the individual sustainability measures, and if you flip over to the third page. We struck sub-item S from that proffer, which was already included, meaning the purchase of clean energy, because we now incorporated that into the first part of the proffer itself, and so we could strike it as duplicative in that particular instance. [23:59:04] And then finally, in terms of the conveyance of the open space land bays, we again added the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust as one of those entities that is eligible for receipt of the easement or other restriction. I'll let Mr. Calabrese talk. I think there's one slight modification that QTS has in their version of the proffer. I'm either happy to answer questions now or turn it over to him to provide that clarification and come back, whatever your preferences anyone have a preference sorry madam chair if I could I'm I [23:59:43] misspoke earlier there was one additional change that we made earlier in the time period that didn't show up in this document but I want to make it clear in consultation with mr. Patton after the the applicant and staff presentations in the Q&A with the with the board we addressed one of the weaknesses that Mr. Patton had with respect to the proffer for the Phase II studies. We had inadvertently left out the architectural elements as being subject to the Phase II study requirement. [24:00:21] We had only focused on the archaeological. We've now added in the architectural elements so that Mount Pleasant, which is one of those identified sites, would have a Phase II study done for it. It was not intentional, but we picked it up, which addresses one of Mr. Patton's weaknesses, I believe. [24:00:38] Thank you. Then maybe, Chair? You didn't have your light on. Well, I did for a split second, and then I deferred to Mr. Looney because he remembered something. Do you have a question on the proffers? [24:00:54] Well, actually, I was going to ask him, but then I thought I probably should give him deference and see what he wants to do. I'd rather just hear from him. He wants to hear from QTO. Good morning, Honorable Chair, members of the Board. [24:01:12] Tony Calabrese with DLA. You've got two handouts from me, but I can review them quite quickly. The first I'd like to, if you'll look, it's the South Case, South Case Black Line. The preamble we've aligned, as Mr. Looney described, so the language is the same, strict accordance. [24:01:30] Secondly, importantly, revised Phase 2 Profer 10B, again, consistent with requests from Justin and Franklin, I think Ms. Franklin, Ms. Bailey, and others, we've embellished on the phase two and recognized that the pursuit of preservation in place is not only appropriate, but desirable. [24:01:50] So that's covered. Third, the revised open space toward the bottom, Proffer 34A1. We did also acknowledge the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust as an appropriate entity for receipt of the conservation easements. Page two, importantly, the open space, Proffer 34A-4, taking to heart some good comments and questions from staff. And over the course of the evening, we have embellished, and as Compass just did, specifically acknowledged that with each and every site plan, every land bay, we will look for [24:02:25] additional opportunities to increase the natural open space. The next and last substantive one, revised sustainability proffer, again, in deference to good comments from the vice chair and others, something that's really unprecedented for Compass. We haven't done this for QTS, excuse me, anywhere in the country, a commitment to 10% renewable energy electricity assumed with each and every building and ultimately to be documented as Mr. Looney described. So we are proud to present those as well. With regard to the north, the second handout, [24:03:03] The only difference between what I just described is on the bottom of page 1, the new Marble Cemetery Proffer 16C. Ms. Lawson, Justin, and others, even though, again, we think Marble Hill is not on our property, we will absolutely delineate any portion of it that might be on our property, and assuming the landowner of that site, we hope and expect they'll be cooperative. [24:03:30] we will undertake all federal, state, local delineation by a qualified specialist on Marble Hill Cemetery. Obviously, we recognize the import of that. Otherwise, the proffer changes are the same as what I just described. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Calabrese. [24:03:48] Any questions on these proffer changes? Supervisor Weir. Mr. Looney, Mr. Calabrese, can you give me an approximate time at which these proffer amendments were given to staff for review and the county attorney? [24:04:06] The one given to Mr. Patton was sometime around 9 o'clock or so last evening. I forget the exact timeline, but somewhere around 9 o'clock after the Q&A had ended at the beginning of the public comment period. [24:04:25] The additional proffer changes, I think, were shared with your staff sometime initially around 3.30, 4 o'clock this morning. So this has been an all-night process? Yeah. These are, no, no, no, I'm good, I'm good. [24:04:46] By your own admission, these are, quote-unquote, substantive changes, and I don't disagree. They're not substantive. You refer to them as substantive. I guess what I would suggest, Mr. Weir, is that they are addressing the comments that were raised by board members and by the public. [24:05:04] And the question that we have to determine is, are they substantive or not? Yeah, I wouldn't want to characterize them. And I don't have a full set of proffers where I can put this in context. I've been up for 29 and a half hours, and you want me to read legalese and proffers at 29 and a half hours and make a decision because you guys are going to add stuff. [24:05:24] I would also note, it's not the only proffer that has changed since the Planning Commission. There have been conditions, offers, and et cetera given on the 7th and the 12th of December as well, and that doesn't mention the 1st and the 28th of November. [24:05:41] And I would argue that they have been substantively changed since the public notice for the hearing, at least to December changes. [24:05:58] And hitting me with this at 1030 in the morning strikes me that collectively, everything that's been done since the December 1st draft and everything else that you've offered by ordinance, 32.700.43 subsection 3 once notice of a public hearing before the board of county supervisors honored amendment is given in accordance with the provisions of this chapter the applicant may make [24:06:38] a substantive change in his application only if the application is referred back to the planning commission for further consideration i would argue that in the last two weeks three weeks there have been significant substantive changes that do require it to go back and asking us have to sat here for 18 hours of public hearing, 17, something like that, and to hit us for a snap decision after having staff that's been up all night reviewing proffers at 3 or 4 in the morning is not reasonable, is not good governance. [24:07:18] It's probably bad practice on your part. And I certainly don't believe it's ethical for us to adopt it at this point in time without the chance to actually sit down and review it in context with the rest of the proffers. I don't know how this ties into the rest of the proffers because i don't have the rest of the proffers you know mr calabrese knows i read every sentence i can't speak to the rest of the board but that's the way i operate and i don't know what i'm dealing with so so supervisor we're i number one i believe what that zoning ordinance provision is referring to is if we were to change for example a land bay that was proposed to be [24:07:56] residential to a land bay that's now commercial find substantive change i i understand i understand your opinion. So you're going to tell me what the definitions are? I would disagree with you with respect to what constitutes a substantive change in the context of that provision in the ordinance, number one, and in number two, what has been even two weeks ago, the practice of the board and of other boards and other jurisdictions with respect to resolving questions and clarifications and tightening of language with respect to proffers. [24:08:34] This is not tightening. In many cases, it's wholesale replacement, and it was in the earlier renditions as well. I mean, it will be this board's decision as to what the definition of substantive change is, because we're the ones that are responsible for it. [24:08:52] I get it. We're going to agree to disagree, and I don't particularly care what happened a couple of weeks ago. Supervisor, I have been in other jurisdictions where it has been remanded. If you would like, we actually have full red line copies of the proffers, not just the excerpts here. [24:09:09] We just, and I'm happy to distribute that to the board members so that you have it in the context that you're looking for. We just thought for ease of reference and explanation, it would be easier to isolate the revisions that we have made over the last 16 hours. [24:09:25] If this were a normal hearing where we had only been in here for two or three hours, yeah, I might be willing to do that. But going on 25 hours, my brain's not working quite right right now. And I don't think anybody at this dais is. So do you not want the red lines? [24:09:42] Is that what you're saying? I don't believe we should be considering it. I don't leave it at that. Thank you, Supervisor Weir. I see Supervisor Lawson's laid on and Supervisor Bailey's. But can we get back to having people ask to speak so I don't have to keep paying attention to lights? Is that possible? [24:10:00] It's not. It's not working. It's not working. See if they can fix that because it's a little bit easier because I'm just not used to doing that. Supervisor Lawson, then Supervisor Bailey. Thank you, Madam Chair. Regarding the proffers, I assume. We're still in the proffers. Yeah. Mr. Looney, I felt compelled to weigh in on your reference to what happened two weeks ago. [24:10:15] In all fairness, I don't think it's a fair comparison because what happened two weeks ago was a proffer that we deemed not enforceable, no nexus. Some things of that nature, went into closed session, came back out. [24:10:36] So there were different elements to that case and what changed during, you know, the evening, early morning hours. I would say it's really not a fair comparison. [24:10:52] I mean, I guess, Supervisor Lawson, what I would say is I wasn't involved in that particular case in detail. But the fact remains that there were proffer changes that were done after the start of the public hearing, and that's all I'm comparing it to. [24:11:08] Okay, that's fair. That's fair. Your co-counselor can speak on it. Not that she wants to. Not that she wants to. She was chomping at the bit to jump up. Jonelle Cameron with Walsh Colucci, Lublin Walsh, and you're correct, Supervisor Lawson. [24:11:24] At that hearing, there were proffers that were removed. But in addition, there were specific proffer changes that you requested of the applicant as well, revisions for example to fenestration increases in percentages oftentimes the board based on feedback from the county has come to the applicant and asked for proper revisions to address some of the comments that were made no of course we do that often i i don't have telepathy but i thought you're referring to land bay a and that's why i specifically mentioned the nexus was the issue yeah i thought it would be helpful if i just came up to explain the other aspects of it so these [24:12:02] proffer revisions were based on communications that we had prior to the board public hearing and then feedback that we heard throughout which is a common practice of this board to help address any additional questions or cleanup items and cleanup items and fenestration and things of that nature is a discussion i think supervisor weir spoke eloquently about his concerns of the substantive changes and i'll leave it at that supervisor bailey thank you ma'am chair um mr Calabresi don't don't leave Mark please I just wanted to address under the [24:12:38] sustainable say sustainability measures the 10% is transformative for us and it helps us to get to our goals here in the county so I just wanted to thank you for that that's really important yeah and then that's I want to say that to you and the other part that I wanted to say to you is the the Marble Hill Cemetery proper and I don't want to still supervise the law since Thunder but that was something that was very important to us in terms of it being all-encompassing with the cemeteries though it may not be your responsibility but acknowledging that and working with Justin is very important [24:13:15] that we don't repeat cemetery errors that we've had in the past so we appreciate that yes I just want to acknowledge that but the other and for mr. looney what I want to acknowledge and just to [24:13:30] clarify with you was the piece for, just to make sure it's clarified, the piece with the, where is it, the piece that you corrected that was compatible with the NZP, here we go, the new open space proffer, the natural open space reflected in the NZP, that's under new open space proffer 34A4, is that yours or Mr. Calabrese's? [24:14:04] I think that's Mr. Calabrese's. Okay, I'm sorry. So I just wanted to acknowledge that because that was a concern that our staff had, making sure that things were compatible with the MZP, these acronyms are driving me crazy. [24:14:21] Yes, ma'am. Compass has a similar proffer in its application package, and effectively what we're doing is defining natural open space as an additional element of the protected open space and to establish a minimum target that must be provided with each site plan or in a cumulative fashion across all of the site plans, but that minimum number is tied to the numbers that we have on the MCP. [24:14:51] Right, rather than the MCP. Correct. Okay, I just want to, because that was a concern that Mr. Perez had earlier, and I just want to acknowledge that it had been compatible. Thank you. All right, thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Supervisor Lawson. [24:15:09] Thank you. I do want to go to the sustainability, but while we're talking about Marble Hill, sorry, Tony, we step up there. I understand you have a challenge because, you know, the cemetery has not been delineated, which means we don't know exactly the boundaries. [24:15:29] We don't know how big or small it is. you have a contract with the current landowner who believe that may have some remains but there may be remains on with land that you don't have under contract how how do i um have assurances and maybe this is a more of a question for justin do you did you reference it's partial delineation no ma'am what we're proposing to do is we absolutely will reconfirm what we believe which is that we believe that there's no portion of Marble Hill on the property that we have under contract. [24:16:08] The proffer before you ensures that we will confirm that. The proffer goes on to commit that so long as the contiguous landowner, where we believe Marble Hill Cemetery is actually located, we do not have that property under contract. Right, so you obviously can't proffer it. [24:16:25] What we are proffering is so long as that landowner grants us permission to come on their property, we will absolutely carefully delineate what is there under Justin's watchful eye or Emmett's or both. Okay, I see it now. I'm reading on the fly. [24:16:44] And, again, I'm going to thank you. Supervisor Bailey weighed in on it, too. Thank you. And, Justin, wherever you are, we had this side hall conversation last night with the county executive, And he offered to talk with you guys, and I appreciate your work on it. [24:17:05] Now let's talk about sustainability. Somebody spoke during the public, a lot of people spoke during the public hearing about sustainability. And if Ann Bennett from the Sierra Club were here, which I don't see her, I would absolutely ask her to review your revised proffers, and I personally would want to get her opinion. [24:17:32] But somebody that I believe is here and weighed in brought up a really good point that you guys won't even commit to 100% LED light bulbs. So, A, I want you to address that. I know it may not be a proffer in front of me, but the 10%, really, guys? [24:17:53] 10%? So, quickly. Hang on. I don't know what the standard is, but 10% doesn't do it for me. We have a school board elect who spoke about education and the importance, and I guarantee you the school board doesn't think 10% is a great achievable goal. [24:18:21] At least I hope they don't. So how can we get that higher? With regard to the light bulbs, it's a minimum of 85%. Probably we'll get close to 100%. We'll determine that on a building-by-building basis. With regard to the 10%... [24:18:36] Wait, can you commit to that right now? I'm not going to change our profits at this point, ma'am. With regard to the 10% renewable energy for each of these data centers, that is a meaningful commitment. So too. [24:18:52] It is to us. We've not done this anywhere else in the country. This is precedent setting and, frankly, something that you all ought to hail and be proud to achieve. And we literally went to the CEOs of our respective companies over the course of the evening to make sure they were comfortable with that. [24:19:09] So we're proud of the proffer that is before you. We're proud of precedent setting, something that this board, this county can hail and probably will continue to be a model. So we're very comfortable with that. We will not be changing it. And with all due respect, you're representing your client and your CEOs are obviously looking at the almighty dollar in the bottom line. [24:19:31] But 10% is a tough sell to the public. It's a tough sell to folks who are, you know, are serious about green energy and reducing our carbon footprint. And, you know, no disrespect, but 10% didn't do it for me. [24:19:49] I'm sorry you feel that way. We feel differently. Supervisor Weir. Mr. Calabrese and Mr. Looney, I apologize. I get it. I deal with attorneys every day. You're there to advocate your client's position, and I'm here to advocate for the residents of the county. [24:20:13] Long and short of it is this. You've hit me with a whole bunch of profit changes. And I have no idea at this point in time whether they address a weakness, strengthen a strength, just change some parameter because I don't have the capacity at this point in time to sit down and compare them to the staff report and see what they do address and what they don't address or if they address anything. [24:20:47] Quite frankly, I'm not going to be in a position to do that work probably until tomorrow when I get a good couple of hours of sleep. I'm not saying I'm not unwilling to consider them, but I am unwilling to consider them right now. [24:21:07] And I don't know if you can work something out with Ms. Roble, but I don't think that any of us should be trying to determine what the impacts are, what the effects are, what they cure, what they don't cure, if they cure anything at this time. And I'll just leave it at that. [24:21:29] Okay. Anybody else on the proffers? I hit the button. I hit the button. Okay, gotcha. Just came through. Thank you, Madam Chair. Hey, let me ask, we've got experts in the room, Dave, Justin. [24:21:47] So these proffers, I'm taking it that you all work with them on these proffers. Can I get your take on we've got the experts in the room? And I guess, Justin, I'll start with you. Yes, let's start with Justin. Supervisor Angry, Madam Chair, members of the board, Justin Patton, County Archaeologist. [24:22:08] So, yes, I did work with the applicants' representatives to review the proffer language and make adjustments to the proffer language with the changes that you've seen before you, specifically for cultural resource proffers for all three recommendations. [24:22:32] And I will try and go over these off the top of my head. For proffer eight for Compass, we added architectural sites. That was an oversight, frankly, from myself in not catching it, and also the easy proffer to fix, and it addresses one of the weaknesses. [24:22:55] For Digital Gateway North and South, proffer 10B, the changes there bring the same language that is in the compass proffer to both Digital Gateway North and South. [24:23:16] In other words, to seek preservation in place first, and data mitigation, data recovery as a second option. So all three rezoning applications, when you get to phase two evaluation, after phase two evaluation, that language is very, very similar, if not identical. [24:23:38] Make sense? Yes. And then for Digital Gateway North, there's a new proffer, Marble Hill Cemetery, delineation. If you look at the first and the last sentence of that proffer, that deals specifically with Digital Gateway North land. [24:24:00] The second sentence, and there may be a third sentence there before you get to the last, that deals with the proffer to delineate land that is not on Digital Gateway North if the landowner is willing, in which we don't, staff doesn't really have any, and the county doesn't really have any control over administering or reviewing that profit. [24:24:27] But if it is acceptable to the adjacent landowner and if they grant permission, that does further our goals for delineating cemeteries in their entirety and working towards their preservation. [24:24:45] Okay. Thank you. Thank you, sir. For the other items, though, we did just review to make sure they were in a form that we were okay with. We did not do analysis of any strengths or weaknesses or how it changed our position on any of the issues. [24:25:07] Those were just to address things that were brought up during the hearing that they wanted to address. So, all in all, you're good with the proper changes? I'm asking, so I'm not putting that in your mouth. No objection to the changes. Okay. [24:25:23] And just for the record, I'm going for a run after this, so trust me when I say I'm alive and well. All right. Supervisor Bailey. Give me any buttons. [24:25:39] I'm going with Vic after it. Just clarification, David. You said you didn't talk about the strengths or weaknesses. Why? There was not time to do it. We just wanted to make sure we didn't have any objections to the changes. [24:25:56] Okay. Okay. Just wanted to make sure. Any other questions on the proffers? Supervisor Weir, then Supervisor Lawson. Question for staff first. [24:26:14] So, judging by your last comment, this doesn't change the recommendation, even though it might, if further analyzed. That's correct. Okay. Mr. Looney, Mr. Calabrese, I don't really care which one. [24:26:33] Within the revised and updated sustainability proffer, and forgive me because I'm having a little trouble reading this right now. By entity or entity purchasing power, I'm assuming you mean whoever your colo is, or is that going to be in the case of Compass or the case of QTS, QTS, or whomever occupies the building? [24:26:56] It would be whoever is responsible for paying the charges incurred at the meter. So if, say as an example, the building owner has a building meter and then has tenant meters inside the building, but the building owner is responsible for paying the light bill at the end of the day through reimbursements from each of the tenant spaces, then the building owner would be responsible for purchasing [24:27:32] or achieving the renewable energy component of it. Have there been circumstances where there are multiple meters? Every data center operates slightly differently. In the scenario where the tenant actually contracts directly with Novec and receives a Novec meter, then the tenant would be responsible for achieving the 10%. [24:28:01] And I'm assuming that would be written into the contract with the tenant? Yes, and that's why we're providing documentation through redacted leases, redacted power purchase agreements, or other means that are available to document that circumstance. [24:28:16] So it could be the lease, it could be the PPA. And if the green power or credits are not available at the time of power-up? then it would not have to be part of the lease. And then one last question, what happens after final bond release? [24:28:35] How does the county, because your documentation is provided prior to final bond release, but then it looks like once final bond release is done, you're sort of in the wind. I think a couple of things. One, these are long-term leases or long-term occupancies. [24:28:53] I would agree with you that 50 years from now, I don't know that we or the county have an ability to ultimately fact check what they are doing at that particular point in time. I'll acknowledge that point. [24:29:09] But the intent is that it becomes part of the practice of the building, whether at the tenant level or at the building level. And I think the industry generally is trending in that direction anyway. Supervisor Lawson? [24:29:28] Thank you. You're done, Bob? Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to try and tie this question. And I know the county staff and county attorney's office have reviewed these changes. [24:29:51] I just don't want to get hung up on this too much, but somebody did raise during the public hearing concerns about, like, Section 106 was mentioned a lot. And then somebody raised the concern of, like, Mecklenburg and the tragedy there. [24:30:11] I appreciate the Marble Hill Cemetery proper. There are other grave sites throughout the 2,100 acres. Staff, Justin, do we have protections in place that prevent, God forbid, something like that happening here like it did at that Microsoft complex down in Mecklenburg? [24:30:39] I don't know if everybody's familiar with that, but, yeah. Let me address in two parts. So Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended is only initiated when there is a federal action. [24:31:00] And it essentially says that a federal agency is responsible for that process. So until that action is taken and until that process is initiated, it's kind of a mute point. That's not to say that it may not happen, But if it does, the county is automatically a consulting party within those because we have what's called a certified local government status. [24:31:25] Okay, and help me out a little bit. Let's just say hypothetically that a transportation project in the 2,100 acres gets federal funding for a transportation infrastructure. Something like that might trigger a 106 or a wetlands. [24:31:43] Those are two very common options, federal actions, that trigger Section 106. Okay, okay. Go ahead. I'm sorry. You had a two-part answer. So the second part is the development, and I can't recall exactly what the development is, in Mecklenburg County. [24:32:04] I'm not extremely familiar with it, just peripherally. I think that Prince William County has the procedures and safeguards in place to ensure that that doesn't happen here. [24:32:26] Okay. As you and the rest of the members of this board know, we have, particularly with cemeteries, over the last two years, we've made very significant changes within our own internal review processes. we have published the cemetery layer on county mapper we have hired a cemetery preservation coordinator so our level of response doesn't rely only on me we have somebody completely dedicated to cemeteries okay thank you i appreciate that because you're right we are [24:33:03] really sensitive about it okay so to the applicants thank you for the revisions regarding natural open space i have a lot of respect for julie flanagan and uh in the environmental division and um i don't know if if miss flanagan's had an opportunity to review the proffers i'd like her to i don't want to put you on the spot but um i mean frankly we're all on the spot on the fly like this and there's a [24:33:41] lot a lot of context here content and i want to have some assurances that staff has deemed these as dramatic improvements slight improvements julie flanagan county arborist in the department of public works i'll start by saying that as supervisor weir has already said these were [24:34:12] received early this morning we've had very little time to look at them and typically with proffers on our experience we have to read them multiple times to truly understand their impact so i don't think i can give you a thorough answer to what we think this may mean i can only give you a very preliminary answer um and i'm reluctant to do that that you don't you don't need to you just [24:34:50] answered me adequately so thank you very much um regarding those dreaded power lines um limits of disturbance? Did I see that you've changed some proffers regarding limits of disturbance? [24:35:14] Or am I just hoping that you did? What we did was we added in where there were certain exceptions to the limits of disturbance that were permitted. We cross-referenced the definition of natural open space as one of those areas where those exceptions to the limits of disturbance could apply. So when we created the separate minimum requirement for natural open space, it was [24:35:52] necessary to true it up essentially throughout the document so that we had consistency in each of the sections where the concept of protected open space was previously addressed. We're now adding the natural into that as well. All right. Is that the same case for QTS? Well, actually, I should ask Tony and not you and Tony Calabrese again we I think we already uh trued up to use Mark's term I think we already had that consistency there prior to 3 30 this morning is that yes correct [24:36:27] well kudos to you for you're giving me a lot of accolades Miss Lawson so I'll take them and I'll sit back down um okay so uh let's go back then to uh the layout because tough to uh You're putting Dominion in a tough position when you won't get specific on your MZP regarding the layout. [24:36:57] And so I think it's been pretty clear throughout the last 24-plus hours that the transmission lines are expected then to go on the perimeters where you should be having good buffers. [24:37:17] And we had testimony from folks that are very involved with the— the stakeholders group regarding dominion so can you can you address that sure supervisor loss and i'm asking mr mcgett again to pull up onto the screen um the if we can do it the trails map because i think it's it actually even though it's we're not going to talk about trails specifically it's a good visual for how this will work um or how to how to answer your question um recall [24:37:54] I explained that as we understand Dominion's, and again, I'll go back and again clarify which of the entities, Dominion or Novak, are responsible for different elements. Because I don't think that that's been clear throughout this conversation. [24:38:12] The existing 230 and 500 KV lines that run through the corridor are the responsibility of Dominion. When they tap into those lines to provide power to the substations, those lines that come from the existing lines to the substations and those lines that connect substation to substation within the corridor, those lines are Dominion's responsibility. [24:38:37] Those are transmission lines. Once it hits the substation and it goes into the substation and it is converted into distributable power that goes out to the data center buildings themselves, that's NOVAC. So the location of transmission lines within the corridor is a Dominion planning exercise. [24:39:00] It is not a NOVAC planning exercise, except to the extent that we have to tie the substations together and that Dominion and NOVAC need to work together to make sure that the substations function properly. I described earlier today how, as we understand Dominion's intended connection system, On the east side of Pageland, you can see right here the existing transmission corridor, and it goes all the way up to the north here and then up to Sudley Road. [24:39:31] Their plan, as we understand it, is to tap the lines here, bring it down to a substation, cross Pageland Lane, then bring it south in a configuration weaving in between buildings and RPA areas and all the other obstructions and limitations in this corridor, loop it down to the south, then bring it back north and come back into the existing lines. [24:40:02] And I'm not showing you the exact locations, it's just a concept. When you do that, you necessarily are going to be crossing Paisland Lane. You necessarily are going to be crossing the wildlife corridors and the RPA areas. [24:40:20] You necessarily will have to cross back over Pageland Lane elsewhere. You are going to be crossing areas where there are environmentally sensitive areas that stand in the way, if you will, of being able to connect the substations together in terms of not a physical barrier, but a geographic location. [24:40:50] What we have proffered as part of our, and by the way, the substation locations are proffered. And so within each of our land bays, Compass and our plans, again, I believe QTS and thereby know QTS and their plans have proffered the specific locations of those substations and they can't change. [24:41:12] So when the routing is put together, what, or the loop that I talked about is put together by Dominion, we have proffered that we will do everything within our control to encourage them to minimize the crossings that Ms. Flanagan and our others are concerned about in terms of not running transmission lines parallel to resource protection areas, as an example. [24:41:35] We already know that we have to cross them. We already know that we have to cross the buffers, but we want to minimize those crossings. We have specific proffer commitments to minimizing the number, making them be perpendicular, et cetera. We have strong proffers with respect to that. [24:41:52] What we can't do is ultimately make the decision for Dominion. No, I get that, because trust me, I've been involved in that process more than I ever anticipated. That's how I got to know my friend, Elena Schlossberg. First of all, what number is that proffer, the strong proffer that you referred to? [24:42:17] It's proffer 28. And if you look at even just the handout that I gave you earlier, if you look at top of page two, revised proffer 28B, and then same thing is replicated in proffer 28C. [24:42:35] If you go down, call it two-thirds of the way through the proffer, it talks about the applicant shall make a good faith effort to coordinate with and encourage all applicable utility providers. Hang on, I'm sorry. I'm still trying to find. [24:42:51] Okay. Is it mid-sentence? No, it starts with the term the applicant, about two-thirds of the way down the paragraph on the right-hand side. Oh, you're on C? B or C. B or C is fine. Okay. So, well, let's jump to C because it's in the middle of that paragraph. [24:43:08] Okay. So right after DCSM, it says, The applicant shall make a good-faith effort to coordinate with and encourage all applicable utility providers, By the way, that's above and beyond just Dominion, to locate dry utility connections, electric transmission lines and electric distribution lines running to and from the existing transmission lines and substations outside of, meaning they're supposed to locate them outside of the protected open space and natural open space areas and the wildlife corridor, [24:43:43] except for minimal perpendicular crossings and to co-locate such utility connections to minimize disruption and to avoid electric transmission lines crossing over top of delineated cemeteries. And before you ask the question, why did you use the term good faith effort as opposed to something else, that was actually a suggestion from the staff because I think we had included commercially reasonable efforts. [24:44:10] and so we chose to use, they suggested using good faith efforts, and so that's what we have converted to at some point along the review process. Okay. You have telepathy, because I was going to ask about the encourage and good faith, so that's not enforceable, though. [24:44:29] Like, what's the criteria? That's so subjective. Supervisor Lawson, we are working consistently with Dominion and NOVAC on routing of these things. And I think as you heard from the representatives from Dominion or the representative from Dominion this morning, their plan is to incorporate and include the county in those conversations directly so that the county, not you, but that the county is a participant in those conversations. [24:45:03] They've definitely improved their community engagement plans. It's a huge improvement. there's still a lot of legitimate concerns about, you know, the cloud of lack of transparency and things of that nature. [24:45:21] I do want to get to questions, too. So if you want to get around for a round of questions, if we want to get around for a round of questions, we need to keep it moving. Okay. So this is, thank you, this is regarding same changes B and C on 28? [24:45:38] Correct. Okay. I'll read it while somebody else is going. And then do I have time for a different proffer question with QTS? Well, actually, it applies to both of you. But do you want me to wait, Madam Chair? I'm just saying we need to keep on moving. [24:45:56] So, I mean, it's not a casual conversation. Is there something directly that you have a question for regarding the proffers? And then I would just keep moving on. Not sure what you meant by casual conversation. We were having a conversation about what good faith and encouraging mean. [24:46:13] Many would say it's subjective. So if other board members have questions other than me and Supervisor Weir, I certainly don't want to, in your terms, monopolize this conversation, but I definitely have more questions. Do you have questions about the general application, you're saying? [24:46:30] Absolutely. Well, then let's go and start doing 10-minute increments. We can start with Supervisor Weir and work our way around the dais. Supervisor Weir, do you have additional questions? I've got one simple one, Mr. Liner. Sorry, just a point of clarification. For the round of questions, I think we agreed to do one round and then to move on. [24:46:49] I think that's what we agreed to earlier. Not that I'm aware of. Supervisor Weir, do you have questions? Yeah, I've got one for the moment. Going back to the electric infrastructure, I'm assuming you're going to have a drop-down substation from the 500 kV to a 235 kV? [24:47:08] Yes, sir. Or that will then drop down and then transfer to the 235 kV? From the 500 to the 230, yes, sir. there will be at least one switching station. And then there will be 115 connecting the substations, I'm assuming? I don't know that answer. Because it would be hard to bury the 235, but maybe not so much the 115? I don't know the answer to that. I don't know what Dominion has planned. Okay, but Novec would be burying the 34.5s? Yes. Coming out of the substations, going directly to the buildings, they would be placed underground. We don't have any sense of what the substation [24:47:46] tower height would be, do we? I can't imagine it's significantly higher, if higher at all, than the building, but I'd like to know. I don't know specifics to that supervisor where that's their decision, not ours. [24:48:02] I'll let it go. I assume, my operating assumption is it would be similar to other towers that function similarly, but I just got one question. I don't know what slide I'm looking at here, and you know, it's just one One of the slides that has the building layouts. [24:48:24] So someone had brought up a concern that we didn't know where the buildings were going. When I'm looking at that, is that basically to scale, saying that's the direction of the buildings? [24:48:41] I know we had the discussion about wanting to have the option of cutting the building in half versus making the long linear building. But just so in that grid, in that square, and there's another one that shows kind of buildings, you know, going in a certain direction, the length of that entire, is that not like to scale or that would be that way? [24:49:04] Or in that design, could you then turn them any kind of way that? So we are a limited supervisor, angry to, we've proffered substantial conformance with respect to the orientation of the buildings within the land bay. [24:49:21] So we can't flip them 90 degrees. We've also proffered to substantial conformance of the limits of disturbance in terms of how much grading and that sort of activity, land-disturbing activity, can occur in order to create building pad sites on which to build the buildings. [24:49:41] And then we've also committed to all of the open space areas, the building heights, the FAR limitations within that. This is a two-scale graphic representation of what filling in that envelope would look like. [24:49:58] The staff's concern, I think as you heard, originally it was to proffer to substantial conformance to this, but there was a concern that that would lead to interpretations. And so they encouraged us to go back to general conformance to this plan. [24:50:17] Supervisor Vega. Supervisor Franklin, and we'll go back to Vega. i'll save my comments for discussion supervisor bailey i'll save my comments for discussion supervisor bode do you have i know we're moving i don't have any questions i know we're moving um i know we haven't talked too much about this specifically during this conversation it came up a lot during the conversation about the cpa um watershed and the effects of uh developing this versus not developing this you know the stormwater management that they're uh proposing versus [24:50:57] the current condition of the drain fields can someone from watershed or what have you talk about that and see if we can have a conversation about uh is this is this set up to leave the watershed in a better place a worse place can we have a conversation about that i'm not the best person to answer that question i would imagine that either ben or clay are hurrying over here from they're behind you good morning chair wheeler members of the board i'm ben i've with public [24:51:33] works department so if you could repeat the question sure so i remember if you recall ben a year plus ago we had a long conversation about the the confines of cpa and how there would have there is a potential there if done the right way for this to leave so that the the streams and the watershed in this area actually better than in the current condition does this rezoning live up to that i don't know that we can answer that uh quite honestly um i mean there are provisions here that definitely push it in that direction and we talked a lot about the wildlife corridors I think [24:52:08] that's significant natural open space is I think really where we need to focus so and yeah we we know that there's always impacts there's things in place to try to mitigate those so unfortunately I don't know we know the answer I think from from our perspective our comments and our position on this is remains the same and i would refer you to those comments for specifics on on areas where we think we could have done more um to ensure that we get closer to to minimal impact so unfortunately [24:52:46] i don't know if i answered your question you did a little bit yeah just comparing it versus the existing conditions of the drain fields and the septic systems and what have you versus where we could be if we did the right job with you know the the uh the wildlife corridors the reforestation restoring the streams that kind of stuff yeah yeah and and to be fair too there are commitments in there for stormwater um there you know there's always more we could do there but um there is uh proffers that commit beyond the minimum so you know those all mitigate um but it's hard to know [24:53:19] you know definitively what what that impact is going to be thank you supervisor lawson thank you if i recall correctly some of the stormwater proffers um staff and their attachment wanted strengthened is that is that correct right okay i just can't recall exactly what they were yeah off the top of my head thank you ben um so mr calabrese by the way do we say your last name [24:53:53] right how do you officially say your name calabrese how do you i'll say what i said at the planning commission supervisor loss and if you want to be italian about it you have to say calabrese and you got to use your hand but Calabrese is fine go ahead it's Vega does it well coming from the Latina that's right so we had the National Park Service the what's the name of Kyle's the con but National Park Conservation Association a lot a lot of different organizations as well as residents ask [24:54:32] that and actually in this in the staff did a good job of noting that south should have a lower density because of the proximity to the battlefield and I don't think that you've achieved that I know that there's a you have the debate which we talked about yesterday would you consider proffering to 45 feet and on south. Quickly, again, just to remind Supervisor Lawson and the board, we actually do have lower [24:55:10] density in the south. The buildings are limited to two stories. The building themselves are 44 feet. The building themselves are 44 feet. The county, the CPA, asked us to include the parapet, the protective parapets at the top, which takes the building to 60 feet. That is both a screening methodology, noise mitigation, and our viewshed studies were all conducted, as Mr. Perez pointed out, in the dead of winter at 60 feet. We use drones, we use balloons. The visibility, as staff has even asserted, has been mitigated throughout the south. The easternmost portion, the land bay [24:55:49] D, is about 56 acres, 59 acres. We are going to be conveying nine acres to the park, plus there'll be another 25 acres of existing forest and reforested areas. There's no data center development immediately proximate to the park. It starts on the west side of the power lines. And the density of those two land bays is the lowest of any of the land bays. That's a 0.22. When you calculate those two together, that's below the bottom level. So we absolutely believe that we have met and exceeded the CPA policies. Thank you. I know you believe that. We'll agree to disagree. Yes, [24:56:26] and the answer to my question is no you will not proffer to 45 feet we have proffered to 60 feet with the parapets that's correct well I know I I cannot reduce it at this point I will not change it okay uh thank you yes ma'am doesn't hurt to ask uh so staff um I would like you to explain why using vertical datums for a measuring height is a weakness frankly I didn't know what a datum [24:56:57] was. I had to look it up. Anybody else know what a datum was? A datum is a way to measure vertical elevation. So the way that the proffers are structured, and this is a difference in opinion between the applicant and myself, I just think it's simpler to have one vertical datum instead of two. Plain and simple. It eliminates possible confusion in the future. Speaking of height, sorry, is that better? That's a lot better. I'll restate my answer. We have a difference of opinion [24:57:36] between myself and the applicants, I believe that it's a simpler, clearer proffer if there's just one vertical datum. I prefer, in my professional opinion, I prefer the above average mean C level. I think it's easier to implement. I'm sure the applicant has an equally good justification for the reasons why they want to have another datum. Well, I'm sure to better represent their [24:58:09] client's interests but I trust your expertise and we'll leave it at that so somewhere in the proffers and certainly in the presentations earlier the the applicants attorneys spoke about you know the need for flexibility and especially over 20-year project and there are proper concerns that I certainly have regarding handing over a lot of decision-making to the planning director administrative changes that frankly this board hears cases regarding [24:58:46] proper amendments for reasons such as changes to projects that are of this magnitude and even projects that are not as large as this so to staff what is [24:58:59] normally allowed in regards to height with minor modifications Alex Alex Alex Venegas planning office in the zoning ordinance we allow up to 10 feet [24:59:38] of minor modification for height and up to 0.1 FAR 10 feet or 10% I believe it's 10 it's 10 feet I'll come back to you Alex okay so you so where and all these proffers I remember reading concerns about a lot of circumvention of the boards and honestly i won't be here but the future board who i want to protect the interest of [25:00:18] ultimately the county's interest would we be circumventing or bypassing through proffering basically a bunch of administrative approvals i remember the um there was a master landscape plan and i think you guys changed it right where where you took out the 120-day automatic approval does that sound familiar did you guys change that we did yes ma'am we uh we jettisoned the the sunset on the 120 day approval period and i can address the question if you'd [25:00:54] like i've got a good exhibit but i don't want to delay this too terribly long with regard to um i think what you asked mr venega there's a zoning ordinance provision which is very clear clearly delineates what the planning directors or zoning administrators discretion is to adopt minor modifications oh I'm familiar it is legal it is enforceable it is well understood and we have specifically proffered to it although you don't have to proffer to what the zoning ordinance already specifies to double down to use somebody's term from from last night to double down on the expectation that where and when a site plan is submitted and there's any question about the [25:01:33] substantial conformity issue the power lies within your good staff to make that determination And if they determine, for example, that either COMPASES or our site plan fails and is not in substantial conformance, questions Mr. Angry was just asking Mr. Looney, for example, hard stop until we demonstrate substantial conformity or unless we pursue, for example, a property condition amendment. [25:01:59] I don't think anybody's particularly interested in doing. So you have the authority. Your staff has the authority. I don't believe that those are issues that will percolate up to the Board of Supervisors. On occasion they might, but that won't be the norm. Do you recall what those numbers were? Numbers in terms of what, ma'am? [25:02:16] Those proffer numbers that... Yes. Give me a sec. Well, I don't, but I'll look them up for you. I know there's multiple references in our proffers, and I've got an excerpt from the zoning ordinance section if you'd like to see it. Oh, I'm familiar with the minor mod, and I believe it's even, you know, the district supervisor has a courtesy review, if I recall correctly. [25:02:39] Yes. I'm just trying to hone in on what exactly those proffers were that made some cleanup. I think they're fairly overarching. For example, in the case of QTS, they govern the building elevations, the access points, the heights. [25:02:58] And we were just discussing with Justin every parameter, the limits of disturbance, the tree forestation, the reforestation, the landscape, the buffers, the one-for-one. literally every one of those things is subsumed as part of any site plan, and ultimately the discussion lies within the staff to determine, are you complying with these proffers, this MZP, this master concept plan? [25:03:24] Well, I appreciate it. I've only got a minute left on this round, but staff is not elected. We are. And I want to be really careful that we, the board, don't hand the keys over to staff on decisions that, frankly, should come before the board. [25:03:41] which is why there's a, you know, discussion and fine detailed language about minor modifications. And then when you have to bring your client back for a proper amendment, and I certainly know Ms. Cameron and I have worked over the years on all those things. [25:04:02] And to that point, Supervisor Lawson, the way the ordinance reads, I'll paraphrase, is that you can go up to 10 feet in additional height, but not beyond the height permitted in the underlying zoning district. [25:04:18] But by practice and by ordinance, in effect, decisions on minor modifications are the staff defers to the supervisor or the district to help make those decisions. I'm operating off of a lot less sleep than normal. [25:04:41] I appreciate that, and I think your reciting of it pretty accurate. Thank you. Supervisor Vega, we're going to go back to you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Looney, this question is for you. I wanted to point out to you that Amazon has actually committed to 100% renewable energy by 2025. Taking that into consideration, I appreciate your revised sustainability measures to proffer 37. Would you consider going a little bit higher than the 10%? We only have authorization, Supervisor Vega, to go to the 10%. [25:05:17] Okay. Like Supervisor Lawson says, it doesn't hurt to ask. This other question is for staff. I already had this one on my list to ask, but a lot of folks that spoke during public comment time have brought the issue up about utility costs and the potential of it being handed down to the customer. [25:05:37] Have we done any studies in regards to this as to, you know, what the utility rates impacts average is going to be to the Prince William County resident? No, no, ma'am. No? That's all I have for now, Madam Chair. [25:05:53] Okay. Supervisor Weir, you have your light on. Oh, hold on. Supervisor Bailey, do you have questions? Hold on, I skipped over Supervisor Bailey. Do you have questions? Mine is just real quick. You can go to Bob. Well, no, why don't you go, because then we'll let Bob collect his thought. [25:06:14] I'm sorry, Supervisor Bailey. Yes, ma'am. Got to use the hand signal. Go ahead. I did. Now I understand. Now I can hear. Go right ahead. So, I wanted to ask, we were talking, when we were going over the project, we were talking about an assembly use, an assembly use within a quarter for warehouse for your HVAC. [25:06:46] I'm being replaced again, apparently. Sorry. I had confidence. Could you just describe that for us, please, because I think it's a good feature and a good additive to the project. Yes, ma'am. [25:07:02] As I mentioned in the initial presentation, the principal uses by proffer are limited to data centers and other supporting uses, with one exception that I didn't go into yesterday when we started this conversation, which was we've added an additional principal use of up to 125,000 square foot assembly facility, which in effect is a location within the development where Compass and its contractors would be able to receive shipments of the various parts of what goes into the guts of the data center, assemble them within that building, and then move them to the building where they are ultimately to be installed. [25:07:42] And the benefit of doing that is that it makes it a more efficient, a more sustainable design, because we're not having to truck in large quantities fully assembled elements or to have multiple people bringing in different elements and then coming and going as they assemble it. [25:08:01] And so it's really a more efficient way of building out the facility by being able to do all of the work on-site as opposed to off-site and trucked in. Saves on in terms of trucks on the road? Trucks on the road, you know, energy consumption, all of those things. [25:08:20] Yes, ma'am. That's why I want you to just pay attention to that. Okay. That's my question. Supervisor Weir. Just bring some closure to two things and say, Mr. Looney and Mr. Calabrese, the need to search for your questioning where the ability to make changes and which proffers are addressed on Gateway North. [25:08:45] It's page 7, last paragraph, proffer 20, 21, 27, 40, 43, and 60, and it's on page 8 of the compass one. [25:09:07] different numbers and then on page seven of the south with respect to the question about energy or utility bills the last rough calculation was doubling them but it was over a period of years okay so seeing um no further questions you have more questions of course i do okay well then take [25:09:46] another 10 minute slice and then we'll we'll move on okay we've got to keep moving i mean we've been doing this for an hour and a half and I'll do it for another hour and a half if I feel it's necessary to look you go on another 10 minutes go on you thank you regarding north and south is I know I know the automatic 120-day proffer was amended so it wasn't automatic but is just the proper maybe I should ask the staff does the proper where's Chris areas is the proper revised so that the [25:10:25] county does have approval authority on the master landscape plan or i'm sorry maybe it's julie question is on the master landscape plan yes ma'am for north and south yeah is it subject to the county's approval in any manner not not like i know that i had concerns about the 120-day automatic if the planning director you know i mean it's no secret we've had a lot of turnover in the planning [25:11:03] office the last few years yeah um so hopefully there'll be a lot more continuity in the future but uh talk to me a little bit about the protections for county staff to weigh in on the master landscape plan so the master landscape plan is intended to cover landscaping for um throughout the entire project in all different aspects of it from and i think this might have been mentioned earlier from reforestation to buffers to supplemental areas road frontage along Pageland Lane, et cetera. [25:11:35] For North and South, and the only thing I'm a little bit concerned about is we've had so many iterations of these. I think I'm reading from the most recent version. I share your concern given all this. I'm sorry to interrupt you. [25:11:52] The only thing for North and South is different than Compass. North and South does not give the county authority to approve the Master Landscape Plan. It only gives the county authority to review the Master Landscape Plan. [25:12:12] So we would be able to review it. Our comments would then go back to the applicant, and it would be the applicant who then decides whether or not they want to act on any of our comments. Okay, well, I want you to have the authority to approve it. [25:12:28] Isn't that the norm? Yeah, well, it's certainly what we've asked for as staff. Okay, so Mr. Calabrese, where are you? Front and center, ma'am. Let's talk about that. Sure. Master landscape plan. [25:12:44] Yep. I'm asking you to proper county approval of it. No. Why? Because the simple answer is I'm not going to get into a do-loop where my entire project is held hostage for an area that's the equivalent of Rock Creek Parkway. So let me finish, please. The MLP, the master landscape plan, is sent to all the following folks. [25:13:02] the county arborist, the county archaeologist, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Conway Robinson, of course the battlefield, the heritage hunt, Cat Harpen Valley Estates, and the planning director as well as some other folks who have articulated an interest. We have to submit that plan. It has to be consistent with the master concept plan. [25:13:22] It has a whole bevy of suggestions, requirements, implementation, types of plant species, pollinator planting, soil compaction, an entire cadre of things. I cannot be in a position where somebody— Okay, I'm sorry, real quick. Do you mean concept or corridor plan? [25:13:38] I'm sorry. You said master concept plan? Master corridor plan. Okay. The master corridor plan is the follow-up. The master landscape plan, the master corridor plan is what has been done at a conceptual level. The much more detailed master landscape plan covers the equivalent of Rock Creek Parkway, It's subject to review and comment from all of those interested parties. [25:14:03] I'm here to say, I won't speak for Compass, that we look forward to those comments. We're happy to refine them, but I'm not going to be in a position where one person doesn't like, for example, one of the trees that we've selected. I can't get it approved, and I can't proceed with my multibillion-dollar development. [25:14:19] One person is in the county staff? Whoever it might be. Whoever it might be. Okay. So we look forward to collaborating with and hearing the feedback from each and every one of those entities. We've already actually started on those plans with the hope and expectation that we can sit down and have a series of meetings that will be very helpful. [25:14:38] We are very much attuned to the desire. You've seen the depictions as to what type of ambiance that we want to create. But I can't be in a position where somebody doesn't like it and I can't proceed with my development. Well, I can't be in a position that your hope and Mark's good faith effort are going to assure the county's best interests are kept. [25:14:59] So you said the master corridor plan. The master corridor plan is what's before the county now in terms of the design elements. We have to be consistent with that. For example, again, I can pull up an illustrative if you want. [25:15:15] Our master planners, which are not only some of the best folks in the region but arguably in the country, have done a detailed layout of the three-and-a-half miles of Pageland from 29 all the way up to Sudley. That's what this guy is, right? That's correct. And if you look in detail, there are several pages that are associated with what should be created along Pageland. [25:15:34] Yeah, and it's a great plan, but it's a picture book. It's illustrative, which is essentially a bunch of beautiful pictures. none of it is proffered on the mzp or is the mastered landscape plan is it is there anything that we can rely on that what the public has seen is what the public is going to actually get so a couple quick things one we actually have once again substantial conformity that was as a result [25:16:12] of julie's comments to that that's correct and so we have the teeth of that um and then in addition we have, again, the feedback from each and every one of those entities that I just discussed and reviewed. Another change that was made, I think it was at the end of November, is that each and every time a site plan is submitted to the county, we have to show conformity, not only with the document that you have, but then the ultimately much more detailed master landscape plan. So on a site plan by site plan basis, conformity with those concepts is required as well. [25:16:46] So to circle back, your answer is no, you're not going to allow the experts here that represent the county's best interest to approve your plan like we standard practice. That's what applicants should be. I'd say objection, leading question, Supervisor Lawson. [25:17:03] But no, I'm not going to have one person at the county, for example, say they don't like some element of it and hold my entire project hostage. We have put very good assurances in place that this will be a plan that you all will be proud of and will be an active participant in making better. i'd like uh miss flanagan to weigh in because i'm kind of thinking that you're directing your one person no ma'am i'm absolutely not doing that and that's not correct what i can say is that um [25:17:32] this proffer is distinct from compass and compass proffered to have review and approval by the county archaeologist and the county arborist and then there was review and comment by these other organizations. So they limited review and approval, which we were fine with, to specific county staff. And I'll just say that in my history, I'm not inclined to hold up anybody for one small tree. Thank you. Thank you, Julie. I didn't think you [25:18:11] would be. And I've worked with you long enough to know that. And sometimes you and I might even disagree on a tree. So, Tony, I can't help but ask, can you match your partner here, Mr. Looney, on what he proffered? At this point, I'm not going to change the proffers again. However, I did not realize, frankly, Compass put review and approval. Since we're going to be collaborating together on the master landscape plan, you're going to get the same result. Our master landscape plans are going to mirror one another, and we'll have to ultimately uh follow their lead on that one he owes you guys lunch you won't have dinner with me [25:18:51] um okay thank you for that conversation um i'll collect my papers in front of me and see what supervisor supervisor we're nope you're gonna leave it up to me okay um watershed a few people that spoke during the public hearing are on wells nearby and expressed concern about recharge i mean we're we're gonna have i don't know how many millions of square feet of impervious [25:19:30] surface what does that do to the recharge of the nearby wells we don't know we don't know we don't regulate it it's not not our issue to to review that would be a question for health department did they do they review this application applications do you know does the health i'm sorry it's okay we we did send it to the health department and what did they say emily they didn't [25:20:08] provide much comment beyond that they reviewed it we don't know um that's a concern we don't know a lot of things we don't know the cost of the electrical infrastructure we don't know um i'm sorry your your your time is up all right yeah so supervisor weir doesn't look like he's you have any more questions no he doesn't have any more questions so well at this point in time i think we're just going to wrap it up i mean we could so you're not going to give me another 10 minutes [25:20:43] if i find um my many pages of questions you know um did you well i tell you what madam chair we had how many hours of a public hearing the public hearing is absolutely to address public concerns public comments public encouragement there was a lot of people that spoke for this project that think that there's such a great economic windfall coming and it's going to solve all the prince william county's long-standing problems is there a question in there i'm so sorry um so is any i mean supervisor weir it's it's in your area supervise you know i mean madam chair i'm going [25:21:22] to make two real quick comments and then i'll take care of all the motions first i want to compliment staff and i know that's going to seem odd coming from me given that i'm generally your greatest detractors um to be honest with you i was very very surprised and quite frankly very very pleased both with the planning commission report particularly the the board staff report to be honest with you it was sort of the epitome of what I've always expected my only criticism would be what took so long the only other comment I've got before I move on to [25:22:01] this is you know a lot of people have gone on about how virtually every member of this board that's been disparaged over the last 24 hours. Quite frankly, I agree with a lot of the criticism, and quite frankly, I disagree with a lot of criticism. [25:22:17] In fact, Madam Chair, I would even argue that a lot of the criticism of you was misplaced. But I don't want, going forward, don't worry about us. When we took this job, you took, you know, when you donned that mantle of authority, we donned with it the slings and arrows of public discontent. [25:22:42] And if we don't have thick enough skins to listen and put up with criticism, whether it's valid or not, then we probably shouldn't be sitting here. I'm going to box. I'm going to box for a couple of reasons on this. [25:22:59] As was noted earlier, this is in my district, and a lot of people, several hundred, are in favor of it. And by my estimation, several thousand are opposed to it, but they're all my Gainesville District constituents. I can count. [25:23:18] Okay. It was, and these comments are going to apply to all of the three, so bear with me. Supervisor Weir, if I could ask a quick question. Would you like us to go through the signed proffers that we have that have the modifications before you make your motion? [25:23:37] Do we have signed proffers from both? Yes. Signed as of today? Yes. The only reason I ask is that I don't want to somehow interfere with other litigation, and I think Mr. Calabrese will know what I mean. [25:23:53] Yeah, whatever you're comfortable with. I'm assuming that's dated December 13th, correct? [25:24:09] Mr. McGettigan, would you like to do that? Yes, please. Very good. Why don't you proceed? Or somebody proceed. I assume it's you. Are we going with Compass first? I was going to go with Compass first, yeah. Would you like to go over the proper red lines? [25:24:26] I thought we just did that. You want a five-minute recess? Yes, please. Didn't we just go over the red lines? Okay, you need a five-minute recess. Yes, if you need a five-minute recess, we will take a five-minute recess to let them confer. Okay, we are back from recess. [25:24:51] Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, thank you very much for giving us that moment to take care of those things. And I am almost in possession of North, and I would, Commissioner, we were asked that I, I mean, Supervisor, we were asked that I show them to them with the change date, just the cover sheet, and then we will be ready. [25:25:15] All right, Tony? [25:25:16] Madam Chair, just to make sure we're all on the same page, I'm going to ask this one more time. [25:26:30] For Compass, these are the proffers inclusive of the prior proffers that were heard by the Planning Commission as well as those that were put in on November 1, November 28, December 11, and December 13, with no reference to the 12th, correct? [25:26:49] That's correct. And with respect to the Gateway 1, it is inclusive all the way through December 13th. That's correct. which is where i thought we were 10 minutes ago but okay all right where was i i'm gonna i've got two sets of constituents with differing opinions um in my estimation a greater number of those [25:27:22] constituents uh are in opposition um that being said there have been some strides made since the presentation began yesterday afternoon but the staff report puts me in a box so i'm somewhat limited in what I can do. Given what are, in my estimation, significant and substantive changes [25:27:54] to the proffers that were considered by the Planning Commission, many of which were made subsequent to the notice of the public hearing for the board, I'm going to move that the, where's my sheet at? I've lost my cheat sheet and all the shuffling. Who's going to agenda [25:28:29] to hand me borrow that for a second i would move that rezoning number two zero rez two zero two two stroke zero zero zero zero three six compass data centers prince william county campus one with the proffers revised through december 13th 2003 be remanded to the planning commission in accordance with 2023 excuse me uh in accordance with section 32 stroke 700.43 subparagraph [25:29:03] three remand it back to the Planning Commission okay and he's on the compass one on the compass one did I get that wrong zero zero three six correct yeah motion made by supervisor we're seconded by supervisor Lawson discussion madam chair supervisor we're these comments are going to apply to all three of them [25:29:41] first law of digging holes is when you find yourself in one stop digging and I think that's kind of where we're at um most of you guys know many of the public know i'm a policy procedures and numbers guy uh and that's all i look at um and then i determine whether or not it's in the health welfare etc for the county um i've got a lot of concerns uh i've got constituents who are going to want this to go forward i've got constituents that live in neighbor that [25:30:19] neighboring neighborhoods adjacent neighborhoods they're going to be subject to considerable grading, grading noise, dust, blasting, no view sheds were taken from their properties. We've seen what happened at villages in Haymarket or Haymarket Village, whatever you want to call it, and I want to avoid that circumstance, and I don't think that we're at a point where we can avoid that circumstance right now. Further, you know, a lot of people point to Loudoun County, the revenues and such things as that, and Loudoun County provides a lot of lessons, [25:30:53] But a lot of those lessons we haven't learned or are being ignored. Currently, as late as actually two days ago now, because it was Monday, I got a call from a senior staffer in Loudoun on behalf of one of the supervisors asking me to provide them language on how to restrict data centers in Loudoun County as to where they're allowed and where they're approved and where they're limited. [25:31:26] We've talked a lot about revenue, and a lot of that isn't really covered in this. Whoever T-TAP was who spoke earlier struck a chord with me, because what he was saying, and I hope he calls my office, speak to Rebecca, the comments he was making are exactly the comments that I made to the finance department, both here in Prince William County and Loudoun County, and the issues he raises are real. [25:32:01] I believe that we do need more information with respect to the equipment, how it's done, how it's calculated, because I believe, truly believe, that it's possible we have left tens of millions of dollars in unrealized projected revenues. [25:32:19] Similarly, Ladin County is also establishing a reserve fund strictly to fund shortages, shortfalls in future data center revenue, something I think we should start thinking about. Above and beyond that, how we've gotten to this point, quite frankly, this process has become a circus. [25:32:41] And no matter what we do from this day as to day, it will most assuredly result in lengthy, expensive litigation, litigation paid for with Prince William County tax dollars. My personal opinion is the county's odds of prevailing are slim given recent judicial rulings. [25:33:00] Generally speaking, do not favor local jurisdictions. So I'm going to give everybody an exit ramp with this motion. The process has been unnecessarily rushed, in my view, and we've ignored almost all best practices. County staff has been under enormous pressure. [25:33:20] I would argue that at any number of times during the past year, somebody's thumb has been put on the scale. I'm not going to call out any names. And I think the culmination in what is now a 28-hour meeting, 26-hour meeting, I've been here 28-hour meeting, sort of goes to that point. [25:33:42] This process, quite frankly, is almost a travesty, and it's divided this county and pitted neighbor versus neighbor, and it's got to stop. I've never seen this unprecedented level of acrimony. Last point, and I'll just stop talking and just make the rest of the motions as need be. [25:34:04] Regardless of the outcome here, regardless of any legislation, rest assured that significant legislation has already been introduced in both the House and the Senate as a result of our actions. and by our actions i mean the board and the county legislation that if adopted changed the framework the changed the landscape of land use in northern virginia at the very least and will not make us friends of the neighboring jurisdictions probably knock us off their [25:34:38] christmas lists but i just wanted everybody to be aware of that your time is up um any further discussion yeah he was there was a second yeah yeah yeah and then he can't see it it was second by supervisor lawson uh vote on remanding it back to the planning commission seeing no further discussion yes i think she you asked something well yeah and our light doesn't work yeah it doesn't yeah sorry yeah just just click the the swirly thing on the far left hand bottom side [25:35:14] okay supervisor lawson uh thank you um with all with all of the confusion and scrambling and the the you know proffers on the fly um i can't help but ask i think supervisor we're already clarified with county staff that the proffers include everything including december 11th 12th [25:35:48] 13th those are the dates that you covered inclusive um i have to ask i have to ask staff i think you already answered but are these substantial material and have they been thoroughly vetted through the normal staff process they no have not been the latest changes have not been vetted through any agency review okay and you would say that that's the case well the motion's [25:36:22] on compass you said no no okay um thank you david um that's a big concern and um there were a lot of public comments tonight that reiterate my concern that so much of this project we don't know a lot of homework needs to be done so many I don't know answers from the staff and it's not their fault a lot of it's because you know the [25:37:00] applicant has has not not given them the answers that they need or requested repeatedly um so many residents have expressed just their frustration with all the unanswered questions as part of this public process and i share that which is why i think that the motion is in order to send this back um 13 months ago the board majority approved the comp plan amendment [25:37:36] and made it very clear that these were going to be the quote guardrails for the applicants to earn their support and planning staff on multiple occasions now have recommended denial you've got historical Commission sustainability Commission am I forgetting any other appointed bodies that this board appoints that have [25:38:08] recommended denial I mean I think it's a fair motion frankly just to send it back give the applicants more time to work and earn planning staff's approval there's board members up here that have made it contingent on planning staff they can't tell you tell you if the proffers on the fly have earned their support or not so I think the motion is more than fair because you guys know I'd like to kill the project but I'll I'll show deference to the district supervisor [25:38:47] and second his motion and i'll support it for all the reasons i just i just said manager supervisor angry with all due respect to the district supervisor i disagree with this and i disagree with these comments because this is has been a contentious you know decision for the past 13 months possibly two years we've been dealing with this case and this case has drawn the community apart and i don't think that's the fault of this board it's a fault of two years of a process We've listened to a lot of people say they don't want it. [25:39:23] We've listened to equally a lot of people that say they do. I don't make my decision based on that, and I get that's where those discussions come from. My decision is based on the greater good of this county and what the needs are to assess it. I believe, given the current circumstance of the fact that this particular corridor of Pageland, all of this community has come together to all sell their land, and we have an opportunity with Data Center, which has been a staple and a critical portion of our commercial tax base [25:39:55] because of the fact that retail has failed, and this is where our new commercial tax base exists for the current time. I believe our current overlay district is in the wrong place, and ultimately, the next board will need to make a discussion on where that is. [25:40:12] I believe this location fits perfectly to where that would be. If I had to make a decision over residents, data centers next to a residential school or data centers next to a battlefield, I would choose a battlefield. We're not touching that battlefield. We're not infringing on one grain of dirt on that battlefield. [25:40:29] What we're talking about is private landowners, land, who are selling their land for an opportunity for this county, for this county. Now, there's going to be those that, you know, are going to not win this, and there's going to be those who feel they're winning this. [25:40:46] Bottom line, ultimately, this county, I have to look at this county winning 488,000 people. And I believe this is that. And I'm going to be so bold and to go so far as to make a substitute motion to approve the three rezoning applications to 2022, 00036, 0033, and 0032 for approval with the amended proffers per the date of December 13, 2023. [25:41:19] That's my motion. Second. Madam Chair, there's already a motion on the floor. That's my substitute motion. We've been here before. I believe Supervisor Weir has to accept the motion. [25:41:42] We've been here before, and we just vote on the substitute motion. Friendly. Friendly. Otherwise, we just vote on it, because I know we've been here before the other way. Oh, yeah, we've definitely been here before. [25:41:59] There's people often. So, motion made by Supervisor Angry, seconded by Supervisor Bailey. We are now in discussion on the substitute motion. Yeah, thank you, Madam Chief. Bob, you want to go first? Okay. [25:42:15] First of all, I just want to, I know it was a tough way to go, Bob. You have made a concerted effort, 100%, in getting us there. [25:42:32] And I certainly appreciate this, appreciate your efforts and your knowledge base, because it's a controversial decision. It really is. And I think that you have given it a yeoman's try on getting us there. [25:42:48] That's real important. My thing is, I think, even though this is very controversial, it's been very intimidating, all the bad words, but we've been here before in a different way. [25:43:04] We've been here before during the COVID season. And I'm not trying to make one bigger than the other, but having to change our trajectory to make it work for everybody. And I think that my thing is establishing a commercial tax base. [25:43:22] And I think that this gives us an opportunity to craft it the way that we want it to be crafted, establishing a commercial tax base, because I believe that's where we are as a county right now. And I also think that we have, we can't leave out the landowners that own this land, which we really don't have a lot of control over. [25:43:45] This is, you know, when we talk about all-encompassing, this is something that they've decided they want to do. They just decided they want to share it with the rest of the county. And so I think we need to think about that and consider that as well, as we consider those that don't want it. [25:44:02] And so, but I think we're at a critical place right now, even though it looks really ugly in some senses. I think we need to consider the fact that we need to establish, we need to start somewhere with commercial tax base so that the burden is not on the taxpayer. [25:44:24] And I think when we take off our blinders and we look at it from that perspective, and when I say take off our blinders, I don't mean anything negative, but I think we need to look out here rather than right here. Also, I think we need to assess the type of vendor that we're dealing with, the type of applicant that we're dealing with. [25:44:44] And oftentimes, I think the greatest artist on this board that knows how to negotiate from the dais is Janine and establishing proffers. But this way, I think we've all done that, and we've done it with the comprehensive plan. [25:45:01] So I see that as a compatible tool with where we need to go in working with these two applicants to make sure that this is holistic in us establishing a foundational commercial tax base. [25:45:24] I'm going to throw it to Ms. Robel just discussing whether it can be consolidated as it is or separate motions. Madam Chair, members of the board, Mr. McGettigan was asking me the question. Just like on your consent agenda items, on your consolidated land use, you have one motion, but there are separate ordinances for each. [25:45:45] This is one motion. There would be three separate ordinances. It would be the same maker, the same second, and the vote would apply to all three. So this is standard practice of the board. It's one motion, but there will be three separate ordinances, one for each application. If board members are thinking that there will be three different outcomes for them, then the board members should take appropriate actions to separate it out. [25:46:16] And the motion before the board right now is one motion to approve all three applications. And his substitute motion was, the substitute motion was to approve all three. So, okay. I believe there's a substitute motion to approve all three. [25:46:42] Supervisor, we are your next. Pardon me if I'm a little cranky after more than 28 hours of being here. Let's get something straight. Some of the comments I've just heard are irritating. [25:47:03] that you people who have been here for four years don't know what your job is. This isn't a game. This is a land use application. Our job is to examine the application, question staff, and make certain that the application comports with the zoning ordinance and the comp plan. [25:47:27] The staff report for each one of these is clear. Recommend denial for multiple inconsistencies with the comp plan. It's not, I feel good about this project, so regardless of how deficient it is or how many questions there are, because it might give us a windfall at some point in the future, is not what your job is, so I'll offer a substitute motion. [25:47:59] I was trying to play nice. I'll move to deny all three, based on the staff reports dated December 12th. And I hope some of you go back and learn what you're supposed to do and what your job here is there in a land-use case. [25:48:15] These are momentous decisions, and I don't want to put us in a position where we're making an arbitrary and capricious decision based on how we feel about the economy. I'll second your motion, Supervisor Weir, to deny. Motion to deny all three rezonings as discussed, made by Supervisor Weir, seconded by Supervisor Lawson. [25:48:39] Discussion, Supervisor Bailey. Bob, we're all irritated because we've all been up 28 hours. and so you misunderstood what i was saying to you it's not we need a commercial tax base bottom line and and you know that you're brilliant enough to know that so i take i take offense to how you reacted first of all i'm trying to respect the fact that you've done your homework and you're trying to be collaborative so i'm not going to argue i'm you know i understand you're being [25:49:17] irritated so am i but we need a commercial tax base and that's that's the bottom line of what I was saying. I just want to be clear about that. I know my job just like you know your job. We've been you've been here less than I have. So let's decide. Let's make a decision because it doesn't get decided upon after 28 hours by us insulting each other. I don't think that's what the public wants to see. Now, that's what the public wants to see. I'm not going to give that to them because I respect them enough not to do that. But my point is we need a commercial tax base to keep going into [25:49:54] the public which includes us to our pockets and this establishes an opportunity for us to do that now i express myself a lot differently in the way you express yours and i hope you can respect that because i certainly respect you thank you madam thank you vice chair bode thank you madam chair um to go back to what was just being discussed you know we're a growing county and we need we do need to diversify and grow our commercial tax base to meet the needs of those who live here now and the future. The data center industry has and will continue to have a critical role in economic [25:50:30] growth. Folks who oppose this project have said that. They just don't like where this is. I think we can all agree that data centers have a future in our county. We just disagree on how and the where. But I firmly believe that in weighing each one of these cases, we have to do it on its merits. Which project is the highest and best use for a particular area? Are we able to mitigate the impacts of development? What is the cost of not developing? Is the applicant a good community partner. When it comes to data stream development, the last question weighs on me heavily. As discussed many times in these chambers, we are just in the process now. To me, it's late. [25:51:08] I'm not going to place blame on anyone, but we're still getting a handle on how we regulate the data stream industry as a locality. As was said before, the state is just now, you know, they've tried to promote bills a couple times. They're doing it again in this next General Assembly session. But this is largely because of how quickly it's evolved over the last 10, 15 years, a largely unregulated industry. And it's sort of fall to us to try to put in those guardrails. [25:51:35] And so we're also caught in this place where we're having to rely on good development partners when it comes to this industry. And I've struggled with this one for a while, especially over the last week or so, because there's been so many inconsistencies between what the APKIN has said they're doing and establishing versus what our professional staff has analyzed and said what is actually going to happen on the road if we actually approve this. There's also been talk about you know folks putting thumbs on scales for staff, maligning staff, what have you. There's been talk [25:52:13] about you know members of the board doing things like that. I've just never been a fan of putting staff in the middle of our very public disagreements on these things. And I think that staff, as always, should be, again, like I said yesterday, celebrated for how much work they put in and how much constrained they've had to be over the last couple years on this. For the past two years, the proponents of this digital gateway have talked about the jobs it would bring to the the windfall of the county, money that could be spent on schools, public safety, all the things [25:52:52] that we as a board all agree should be priorities. I want that too, but as a supervisor, I'm tasked with ensuring that the cost of that does not outweigh the potential benefits that we can see from right now. So I've had issues with this for a long time. I've said on the record, most people have cited that I would only support this rezoning if it lived up to what we all adopted or at least the majority adopted as the comprehensive plan a year ago. And our staff, at least in terms of [25:53:28] their analysis, says that they've not lived up to that. Again, there's disagreements on how far we are. There's deltas there, what have you. We've done some work as a board over the last 24 hours or so to to get it closer um but i still struggle to see how we have completely gotten there um and this is not a small project everyone has said that i think that everyone on this board can agree this is probably one of the biggest projects any of us will ever vote on on this day no matter how [25:53:57] long we're to be here or not um so so that said um i like supervisor we're feel like we're in a box here where we we want if we were given more time we gave the applicant more time the applicant had more time to work with staff that delta would converge as opposed to diverting because i feel like one of the biggest problems we've had is because this timeline has been so constrained staff and the applicant have not been able to work together as closely as we've seen in other applications i mean devlin two weeks ago the staff recommended approval of that that's because [25:54:36] they took almost two years there, well, a year and a half or so there, to come to agreement on where staff was comfortable with it. Even though people disagreed with it, staff was comfortable with it. We're not there on this. And so I still struggle to support this project in its current form. So I'm going to be supporting the motion to deny, and I'm going to be putting in a substitute [25:55:01] motion here when it fails. Supervisor Weir. Thank you, Madam Chair. Supervisor Bode. [25:55:17] I agree with almost everything you said, and I think that we can all agree that the tax base needs to be addressed in this county. The question is, how do you get there legally and legitimately? I've got more than a dozen years doing this from behind the dais, and I've got more than a decade sitting on a planning commission doing it. [25:55:41] This isn't how we do it. This is, in my opinion, this isn't how we should do it. I tried to give everybody an off-ramp with a deferral, and I was willing to forego, quite frankly, but I believe are some issues created by the applicant with respect to timing that would have made this a more palatable project potentially and wouldn't have put us into the box that we're in. [25:56:12] But the applicant, whether it's the applicant, whether it's staff that's no longer here that made decisions that nobody has a record of, we find ourselves in this place. And I think we've got two options. [25:56:29] We defer it, give the applicant the benefit of their doubt, give them time with staff to work on it, understanding that the timeline will be necessarily extended, or we're almost mandated to go with the staff recommendation to deny, based on the severity of the noncompliance with the comp plan and other things. [25:56:54] There's a lot of things missing here, and I'll stick with the motion to deny. I think we're in that position right now, we're in that posture, but I don't think that moving it forward with a resolution to adopt it serves either the interest of the county or the interest of the taxpayers because I see that going in a really bad direction really fast. [25:57:28] Supervisor Vega. I'm going to withdraw. I'm ready to vote. Seeing no further discussion, please vote. [25:57:49] Motion fails, four to four. Madam Chair. Ms. Madden, we talked about if another, he's going to make another substitute motion. We're fine. We have one cleared. [25:58:05] Okay, it's not really a substitute motion, it's just another motion. You can only have three motions on the table at one time. Gotcha, so this is a new motion anyway. Yeah, that's all I can handle. We have a motion on the floor. Are you making a new motion? I am. No, there's no motion on the floor. Yeah, I'm making a motion. [25:58:21] He can make a substitute right now. Not a substitute, it's a clean slate. It's a clean slate. It's a clean slate. But doesn't it go back to. It's all really just vocabulary. Supervisor Bode can make a motion. The Supervisor Weir's motion to deny has failed. [25:58:39] So we have two motions on the floor, but Supervisor Bode can make a motion right now. Okay, I understand. But otherwise we revert to the Supervisor Angers. You're making a substitute motion? I will be. Yeah, so one of the biggest concerns I've had since the beginning is the close proximity of the southern land bays to Manassas Battlefield Park and Conway Robinson. [25:59:05] Staff continues to affirm that they have concerns about the FAR of Land Bay Sea as it pertains to how dense it is close to that. That said, my motion is a motion to approve just Compass Data Centers 1 and Pageland North, or Digital Gateway North. [25:59:33] Digital Gateway North. Digital Gateway North and Compass Data Centers. Oh, yeah, my motion is to approve the two northern ones, so not approve digital gateway south. [26:00:10] Okay. So then if we go in order, I move to approve Compass data centers. [26:00:30] Say the case number. Supervisor Bodie's the maker. Yeah, R-E-Z 2022-0036. No second. [26:00:54] Motion fails for lack of a second. So we're back to Supervisor Angri's motion, was a consolidated motion for approval so far that's that we've had supervisor Bailey's beacon supervisor we're any discussion I my thing doesn't work hold on I'm I'm I've got it I got to have something alive so hold on there's no live item for you and I'm finding it hold on right we're madam chair you want [26:01:31] to stop well so that happened very quickly the motion without the second I i didn't really realize that was happening and of course i didn't know any of this was happening because i could have probably supported you on that had i known but and now i feel like that part is done so now we're back to victor's original motion so um you have comments supervisor weir and supervisor bailey have already gone once on that motion so i will defer to supervisor [26:02:08] franklin to state her first comment sure my original comments were just going to be around a few so a couple of comments and then some highlights for the discussion around the electrical lines you know i'm still having a hard time with that particular discussion um given that again we're we're requiring the applicants to pinpoint where they want the electrical lines to go but dominion has said publicly and to me directly that that's just not a discussion that they would be comfortable having without an approved project so i just feel like we we're kind of putting [26:02:47] applicants whether you support this project or not i think just based on fairness we're putting them kind of in a difficult position so i've already said that i'll just leave that out there i do want to highlight on the cultural resources portion as a reminder what we've already put in originally and then of course marble hill was added later today but i'll just as a reminder, kind of read what we did originally for the CPA. We put in place certain action strategies, reserving resources in place with consideration for access to the public found in [26:03:23] study areas within several historical time frames. The prehistoric Native American settlement, early national period from 1790 to 1829, the antebellum period from 1830 to 1860, The Civil War period from 1861 to 1865, Reconstruction and growth from 1866 to 1916, World War I and World War II from 1917 to 1945, the New Dominion from 1946 to the present, which I think is pretty significant. [26:03:55] And we also included provisions to specifically address using oral histories and other historical research measures to preserve any cultural or historical resources related to Jenny Dean. Obviously, that was a big discussion we had over the past couple of days and originally. And we also included provisions to protect and preserve any unmarked graves related to military history and African-American heritage. And I think some of the proffers kind of strengthened discussions around unmarked graves. And then lastly, in action strategy DGCR [26:04:31] 1.8, we directed the county archaeologists to evaluate areas that may be of historical significance, such as the Honeywood site complex, also known as Pageland 1, Pageland 2 complex, the Phillips Cemetery, and the Civil War mass grave. If warranted, we will preserve these areas in place, work with any interested property owner to consider transferring these resources to an entity or organization that provides for the long-term preservation of the city. [26:05:01] of those resources and work with any interested property owner to allow access to the public for interpretive programming i just mentioned these because i think we did significant work on the cultural resources portion obviously we added some things that i agree with over the past day or so but i don't want that to get lost in terms of our discussion around preserving the history that is or can be found in that particular area so i just want to make that clear and then the last thing we did talk about labor earlier that is something that i've always been clear that that's important to me talking about workforce development priorities i think [26:05:37] that are included and particularly on wage theft and making sure that we prevent wage theft and so those are things that i think are to be highlighted within this project you know i talked to staff and And staff has told me that, you know, they're more good in this project than not. [26:05:56] But, of course, the electrical lines and the cultural resources is where staff had a problem getting there. I think on the cultural resources portion, we got there. There are other things that staff has issues with that they went over very diligently. [26:06:12] From my perspective, you know, if we're going to issue a staff denial based on those things, I say that's completely fair game. But I think if we're going to do it on the electrical lines and the cultural resources portion, I just think particularly with the electrical lines, we still have a lot of questions around that process because I'm not sure that I believe that it makes a lot of sense. [26:06:33] And then, again, on the cultural resources portion, I think we did significant work already. Thank you. Supervisor Vega. Thank you, Madam Chair. First off, again, I want to thank staff for all of your hard work. It's been a long road, and it seems like we might be getting to the end of it. [26:06:52] To the folks that came and spoke, whether you were for it or against it, thank you also for being here. But more so to those that have been fighting for what's right and for never compromising on your integrity and fighting for what is absolutely the right thing to fight for. [26:07:09] You know, it's a bit astounding to sit here and listen to the callousness that comes out of some of my colleagues' mouths in terms of the way that they talk about this project and the way that they talk about growing and expanding our commercial tax base. Is there a need? Yes. [26:07:26] But at the expense of what? What are you willing to sell out to grow that commercial tax base? That is the question that begs an answer. And I'm going to refer the rest of my comments to the only person in this room that can actually make a significant difference in the outcome of this vote here today. [26:07:49] And that is Supervisor Bodie. Supervisor Bodie, the concerns that you've raised are absolutely valid. And I want to remind you that nobody on this dais has championed sustainability more than you. Nobody on this dais has put forth things to protect the environment. [26:08:10] And I've said time and time again, folks, that the biggest impact the county supervisors have on the environment is through our land use votes. Major quality of life issues with this application. Major environmental issues with this application. [26:08:25] You can't put a price on that. 7,000, 7,000 million square feet of in previous surfaces is what this project is going to bring to this county. You can't undo that. I've mentioned time and time again how we put forth goals for our sustainability goals, but then we do something else that sets us 10 steps backwards. Supervisor Bodie, I'm going to encourage you to remain strong and to never apologize for never wavering or compromising on your integrity. I can appreciate the applicant [26:09:01] making these last minute concessions, but let's be real. You're just throwing a bone to some of my colleagues here on the dais so that they can feel good about justifying their support for this application. That's what it is. The reality is, is that the major concerns that have been raised, not just by county staff, but by the residents, by environmental groups, by state delegates and state senators are valid and they have not been addressed. We have a new chair coming. We have other supervisors coming, and you all know the incoming chair's position on this project, and I understand why there's a reason to rush this. You all know what the reason is, [26:09:41] but I will remind my colleagues on this board that you no longer have to carry the water for anybody that's not returning. We can start fresh. We have four years where we can continue to work on this, where we can actually continue to put forth projects that are going to grow and expand commercial tax base and help us reach that goal. But this isn't it right here. I've spoken about the issues at Great Oak. Supervisor Weir has addressed the other issues pertaining to data centers in the Gainesville district already. I don't know what it's going to take for my [26:10:16] colleagues to realize that this is not a good project. It just isn't. And you can throw one, two, three things that will make you feel good in justifying why you support it. But there's a reason why staff is recommending denial. There are serious issues with this project. And these last-minute proffers, proffer amendments that have been made, don't change the outcome. Don't change the position that staff has taken. The recommendation still remains denial. So Supervisor Bode, just remind yourself of what you fought for, of what it is that you want us to achieve in the [26:10:56] coming years when it comes to this county, open space, green space, sustainability. And I give you my word that I will help you because I've learned so much when it comes to our land use votes and how they impact the environment directly the impacts to the watershed we've learned so much so don't waver stay strong you're doing the right thing and there's so much more work to be done but if we approve this monstrosity here today it is going to set us back and there's no coming back [26:11:28] from that supervisor we're in bailey have already spoken supervisor lawson then supervisor angry thank you um just on a side note you two still have to work on klein farm together i won't be here but i bet you two will work work on it starting maybe next year i don't know i'll leave that up to the two of you um but i'll think of you when i drive by it uh so we've had hundreds of people weigh in on this project people that waited in line people that have been emailing [26:12:05] the board for years people that uh even live outside the county we had people participate virtually from Maryland. This is a legacy project, and it certainly has garnered national and international attention. We've had residents repeatedly raise concerns. I mean, echo the concerns that we share up here regarding data center noise. Supervisor Vega knows all too well [26:12:41] about data center noise. Air pollution, air quality, don't have all the answers to how many diesel generators and what the air quality is. And I've learned more about air quality and data center noise than I, or noise attenuation than I ever thought I'd need to know as a county supervisor. Environmental analysis on the watershed, endangered species, enforcement of noise proffers. How do we enforce noise proffers on the zoning side? Concerns regarding our [26:13:21] cultural resources that I absolutely share, power line corridors. We could belabor that conversation for a long time. Cost of the electrical infrastructure, carbon footprint. [26:13:39] I mean, we could go on and on and on. But I also want to raise that many people have also weighed in regarding equal protection under the law. The 5th and 14th amendments that we all share, the United States Constitution regarding equal protection under the law, and there are folks who have raised concerns about due process. Is this application, or these applications plural, [26:14:11] have they followed due process? Does the process protect them? How can they be assured of that? There are people that are very skeptical, and I share their skepticism. There are, I mean, just layers and layers of concerns if the board majority is going to approve approve a project of this magnitude we owe it to this county to the region to the country to the environment to the [26:14:51] history to future generations to at least get it right at least get the planning staff the objective experts here to get it right to to recommend approval i mean y'all know they were integral in [26:15:21] the comp plan amendment process and they they didn't earn planning staff's support for a reason and like i said earlier in this probably it was yesterday they don't they don't recommend denial very often y'all in my nine years i i can't i can't think of a rezoning case where they've recommended denial they've recommended denial because maybe the rezoning case doesn't match [26:15:53] the comp plan but in this case you already took care of that um this is absolutely and my one-eighth vote not has not earned the board majority or shouldn't earn board majority support a project of this magnitude in particular and i hope that my colleagues will vote for denial with me of the motion sorry supervisor angry thank you manager i'll be real quick you know um you can pick what [26:16:32] side of right you want to be on but everyone has a version of right so just to take one side of a right is not fair um that's the that's the interesting position we find ourselves in because no matter what we do you're going to have those who like your vote and those who don't like your vote so let's just be clear i mean we're picking a side of folks who fought for this but there also another side of folks who also thought now i'm not going to pick either side you know my job is to sit up here and look at this case you can you can weigh it how you want to weigh it but i i didn't weigh my my decision based on who was for who was against because that literally is [26:17:10] going to get us nowhere you're never going to satisfy uh everybody with this and so someone's not going to be satisfied but both sides are right in their argument for what they're writing fighting for. So I want to make that clear on what we're talking about here. But I'll stop there because I don't know where this is going, but we can move on and get through this boat and see how it's going to turn out and go from there. So I'm the last one to go with my first five minutes. [26:17:40] So if you want to start the clock, Ms. Madden, you know, this has been going on for a long time. For anybody to say that we rushed this, we've been doing this for two and a half, almost three years, you know. And so it's funny that people say we're rushing this because we've been talking about this for a long time, you know. And I haven't said a lot about this over the last few years because I was naive. I assumed that facts and information would prevail, right? I just assumed if we put facts out there and got them out there, they would prevail. And I was naive in thinking [26:18:18] that because that wasn't true. You know, I remember when I was first sitting in my office and I had someone who is often an opponent of this call me up and say, you know, hey, why are you going to vote for the CPA or why are you going to vote to initiate the CPA? And I said, because, you know, they were, the investment in the county was $10 billion. And to not even just consider that was, you know, fiscally irresponsible from a governing standpoint, you know, irresponsible governing. Little did I know that we're really at $40 billion, $40 billion of investment in this county which would be transformational um and and i guess you know [26:18:56] people can't sort of even wrap their heads around that but you know most places would kill for that kind of investment in in the county you know you know after that i i i'm sort of going through a timeline i had a meeting in my office where we we talked about the the overlay district and people are like oh just put it in the overlay district and there was some contentions around that so we had staff look at the overlay district and there was no room in the overlay district for this people are still saying put it in the overlay district. And, you know, the fact that there weren't any large lots left or that you couldn't parcel them together didn't seem to matter. The facts didn't seem to matter. And I was naive. I'm like, oh, well, you know, this, you know, eventually the [26:19:35] truth will come out. We can talk about the revenue. The revenue, you know, there were some questions about the revenue. So staff actually, we usually don't even care about revenue. We don't analyze said as part of a rezoning. But we did, and staff came back and said it was, what, $467,000, $67 million at full build-out. You know, when someone pointed out that was at a higher square footage rate, but I will point out that that was at a much lower tax rate than we currently have. So it's never been adjusted for the fact that we've raised the data center tax rate 70% [26:20:13] over the last few years. But people still say, oh, the revenue isn't there. The facts don't seem to matter. And it's really frustrating for someone like me, you know, and I'm naively thinking that the facts will matter. We could talk about the watershed, you know, from the very beginning when Fairfax Water said, hey, you want, we want to take a look at this. It was an offhand letter from the executive director. And we had a whole evening talking about the watershed, whole evening, you Now, basically, the four experts, even Fairfax Water, got up there and never said that the digital gateway was going to hurt the Occoquan watershed. [26:20:51] Two-thirds of Prince William County is in the Occoquan watershed. Heritage Hunt's in the Occoquan watershed. My development's in the Occoquan. Two-thirds of Prince William County is in the Occoquan watershed. But it didn't seem to matter. The facts just didn't seem to matter, the fact that this isn't going to affect the watershed. [26:21:07] They said that. They said that that night. We talked about salinization, but not in respect to the digital gateway or even development. Because we've been doing development for 20 years in Prince William County, and it has gotten better. You know, maybe I should have said these things more forcefully over the last few years, but, you know, once again, I was naive. [26:21:25] I assumed that facts, that the fact that it's not going to affect the watershed, might prevail. You know, early on, I was at an event at Heritage Hunt, and a woman said, oh, I'm against that. And I said, do you drive up and down Pageland very often? And she said, no, I've never been there. [26:21:44] But she was from Heritage Hunt, and she was scared, which gets me to a great, you know, we've never really talked about this. But this is a presentation, and no one will ever sort of, it was shown to Heritage Hunt. And I don't know who put it together. People wouldn't own it. But if you look at it, it has, you know, it was December 2021. [26:22:02] It has horrific pictures of what the digital gateway was going to look like. Huge trenches through Heritage Hunt being dug up for the sewer. You know, and this was shown to the people at Heritage Hunt. But, you know, I kept thinking naively, oh, that's all right. They're going to let the applicant in and talk and dispute some of these really horrible images. [26:22:25] And that never happened. They never let the applicant in to talk to the community, which is amazing when you think about it, the fact that there was a huge project and they were never allowed to present it to the community. And we sit here today and we listen to hours on end of people. [26:22:43] My time's up. I'll wait for my second five. Next up is Supervisor Weir. I'll keep this relatively brief, and it's the last word I'm going to say on it. I'm going to keep it brief, and it's probably the last word I'm going to have to say on it. [26:23:02] Although the county's had the application for quite some time, the board's only had it a month. There's been a lot of consideration given to Manassas Battlefield Park, Heritage Hunt, a few sheds on that, but I need to apologize to some people. [26:23:20] I need to apologize to those other close-in neighborhoods, people like Lawnvale, Oak Valley, at Harpin Estate, Sudley Mountain, who've been largely ignored. I didn't see any viewshed studies for you guys. I haven't seen any consideration for construction noise, towers, anything else. [26:23:45] We talk about truth. If you stitch the parcel diagrams together like that one, and they do fit together like puzzle pieces, you get a real sense for what's really, what the layout really looks like and what the density looks like. This isn't a bucolic data center campus. It's not. It's very crowded together if you stitch the parcels together. And that layout does severely restrict transmission line location. There's no way around it. It's a question of what are you going to [26:24:18] violate? Are you going to violate an RPA? Are you going to go through an open space? A variety of places it can go through. And quite frankly, I'm going to lay a lot of this on the applicant. This was first rejected in August of 22. The applicant took till January to respond. The application was incomplete, numerous back and forth between then and now, and here we are 11 months later, almost 12, and they're finally giving information that the staff has requested [26:24:56] not once, not twice, not three times, but four times or more. I just want to remind everybody of the danger we're looking at here from a ministerial standpoint. I don't envy Ms. Roble. [26:25:17] If we approve this, she's going to have to defend that approval, despite planning commission recommendation to deny, planning staff recommendation to deny, various agencies recommending deny, and that doesn't mention the third parties, and then there's the little issue of the amendments we accepted today. Staffs already admitted on the record haven't been vetted. It's not the way you [26:25:45] do land use. Supervisor Bailey. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to make note of two things. One is going back to something that one of my colleagues said about the cultural piece of it. [26:26:06] And I think that the applicant has gotten us there by the commemorative piece that they introduced and making sure that we're looking with Justin to make sure that there's nothing that we haven't overlooked as it relates to cemeteries. [26:26:27] And so I think the commemorative piece complements the Manassas Battlefield as well as it relates to this project. I think that's very important. The other thing that I want to address is the site locations. The applicants have explained that they cannot say exactly where the locations are. [26:26:51] And quite frankly, I think that has thrown the community and certainly thrown the board. But I really think that if we stay within the parameters, as the applicant has designated, we stay within the parameters and there's no changes, then I think that that's very doable. [26:27:12] Even if we have to make, and you had an illustration of making the longer building two buildings, we have to stay within the parameters because we have to protect the sites around, especially the Manassas battlefield. So I think that's something that you really have to focus on. [26:27:30] And that was a tough one for me, because that's something out of the norm, and I understand why staff rejected that. But that's something new as it relates to a project of this magnitude. The other thing is I do want to compliment Supervisor Bode about the things that he denoted. [26:27:56] That's his subject matter expert. The resilience piece, sustainability piece, is very key in taking us in the next trajectory to where we want to be as it relates to sustainability. So I appreciate my colleagues trying to negotiate for a higher percentage, but we'll start with 10. [26:28:17] We'll start with 10. And again, Bob, all deference to you and it's your district. I understand your concerns, and I understand why you're doing what you're doing. [26:28:39] And, you know, my thing, again, is collaboration. I don't ever want us to keep sitting up here looking like we're not getting along. That's not going to happen on my watch. It's not going to happen on my watch. It's just not. No matter how much you insult me or try to or devalue me, it's just not going to happen. [26:28:58] Because the community also, I know you love me, Bob. He's looking over his glasses. No matter what you say, how loud you say it, and I'm not a sellout. I ain't done nothing no more than anybody else up here ain't done being on this board. So I appreciate what you did and how you did it. [26:29:15] It's okay. It's fine. But I wanted to say that to my community, though I'm in the Potomac District. You're still my community. I don't want to say that to my colleague because I'm not going to name call. [26:29:31] That's beneath us. Y'all want us to elevate. So we're going to elevate. I promise you, Elena, we're going to elevate. Okay. That's all I got, Madam Chair. Thank you. Supervisor Lawson. Thank you. [26:29:48] I don't represent Heritage Hunt. Supervisor Weir does. But I certainly want to defend them. I've gotten to know a lot of Heritage Hunt folks, and I really like them. And they were without representation on this monumental case for several months, and I had the opportunity to get to know a lot of them and learn from a lot of them. [26:30:17] Man, they're smart people, and I've learned a lot from them. And what's great is it's just, it's a broad political spectrum of folks in Heritage Hunt. And I've thoroughly enjoyed my time working with all of you that this case brought us together. [26:30:40] But Chair Wheeler, your comments regarding, you know, that Heritage Hunt wouldn't even let the applicants present. Based on what I know, it's because the applicants wouldn't agree to the terms that the Heritage Hunt board set. [26:30:57] And frankly, I can't blame them. I mean, one of the applicants made a lot of news when they thought it was a great marketing tool to send glossy flyers, propaganda, I would say, to a low-income elementary school pushing their project. [26:31:17] and it backfired on them, made the news. Certainly got the superintendent's attention and the school division's attention. People are skeptical for valid reasons because they have these beautiful marketing plans, illustrative, with little to no commitment that we can actually put our teeth into and enforce. So proffers are great when they're enforceable. When you have [26:31:51] planning staff that are raising red flags and telling you that a lot of it's subjective or that they're not proffering to things that are required in the zoning ordinance and then they even ask the zoning administrator for backup and she agrees then you have these corporate attorneys that are coming in here into this board chamber and taking you know soft pot shots at at our planning staff who are young professionals who i commend like supervisor bode said they need to be celebrated [26:32:29] working for this board whether it's mr shorter or down to planning staff folks it's not easy working for the eight of us it is not an easy job uh i mean poor mr shorter he has eight bosses imagine that you guys put yourself in his shoes um but i do take offense when when people want to [26:33:01] criticize the objective staff that are sitting here doing their job everybody needs to be respectful for each other but when we have corporate attorneys that are in here and they they started it so you bet i'm going to defend chris and emily and everyone else sitting down there they work their tails off they've been through pressure we can't even imagine you guys know what the planning department's been through they make the news mass exodus makes the news [26:33:38] this project has turned this county upside down this is an evolving industry that I once used to work with on rezoning cases for the union folks you're you're building data centers all over the Brentsville district what a farce to think that there aren't data center job construction jobs here right now. That's baloney and you know it. Drive down Hornbaker. Drive down Wellington. [26:34:04] Heck, we just approved projects in the overlay. Iron Mountain. I just went to a wedding this fall with a construction manager of a hit project over there. He married my girlfriend's high school friend. So it's baloney that there aren't jobs here. That's one of the reasons I'm not a big union person because I think you guys are usually spinning misnomers and half-truths. I don't trust you I certainly am not going to trust you with land use projects last thing I'm going to say [26:34:40] Miss Marianne Gabin talked about the power lines coming in how it affected her horses and she had to move into Fauquier why in the world would we put horse trails around a whole bunch of data centers which you know are going to bring more power lines to this corridor thank you ludicrous supervisor Lawson your time is up supervisor Bodie thank you madam chair um I I talked about this a little bit earlier. One of the things that really concerns me about the QTS, the Digital [26:35:15] Gateway South piece, is that FAR. So Mr. Calabrese, can you commit to doing a .25 FAR in that landway that's currently .36? Give me one moment, Mr. Bodie. I'll be back at the podium. And while that's going on, I did want to talk about a little bit of a few other things. I know that the temperature has been turned up on this project for a long time. I know that a lot of people said this has put neighbor against neighbor, segments of the same district against each other, parts of the county versus other parts [26:35:54] of the county, a lot of personal and character attacks on members of this board from all sorts of different kinds of people those before, those that have been against, what have you. I just want to make it very clear that my votes with Supervisor were earlier, had nothing to do with any of those kinds of tactics, whether it was the racist cartoons or the character assaults or the hours upon hours that folks, some folks, I'm not going to attribute to all the opposition, but that some folks have put into demonizing [26:36:31] and undermining the character of any member of this board. You know, there was one constituent back during the Devlin case who even went so far as to talk about my dead mother to me that's irreprehensible that someone would do that so i hope that this moment here can be a turning point or to the point of my my colleague sir as bailey said we can turn down the temperature and and rise above those kinds of tactics because frankly i know that we as a as a community whether we disagree on these issues or not are better than [26:37:08] been going down that low we can disagree on these projects but i just want to make that clear that those tactics don't work on me and frankly i have a hard time a much harder time seeing eye to eye with folks that engage in those tactics thank you madam chair vice chair bode i wouldn't say this is lowering my temperature but i have authorization and approval to drop land base c in the south to [26:37:39] 0.25 thank you what is it at now 0.36 okay we're in discussion you finished up your remarks I'm going to take my next, nobody else. [26:37:55] I'll take my next five minutes if you want to start the timer, Ms. Madden. Let me just start my own. You know, thank you, Supervisor Lawson. You reminded me of something. You know, I was naive. I thought when there was a digital gateway working group at Heritage Hunt that they were supposed to be working with the applicant. [26:38:16] Like, you know, it sounded like they were going to be evaluating proposals and working with the applicant. And someone showed me a letter recently. I don't have it, but it basically said that the Digital Gateway Working Group at Heritage Hunt was put together solely for blocking and fighting the project, and that they had legal bills, and they had hired lawyers. [26:38:35] And, you know, I was naive to think that a working group was people who actually worked together or actually had some input, you know, and I didn't realize it was a just-say-no group, you know, naively. You know, I went out to the battlefield in May of 2021, I remember, because I had the flu when I went out anyway, and I was walking around the battlefield. [26:38:54] And I walked on Brunner Farm, and it was okay. And all of a sudden, I came upon the transmission lines, which are like hundreds, like 150 feet tall. And I'm like, so we're worried about a viewshed when these towers just towered over everything. [26:39:12] And I'll tie that into the viewshed analysis that the applicant did for around the battlefield. You know, I don't know about you, but I couldn't see those buildings in the distance. I thought the viewshed looked okay, and it was even in the wintertime. You know, and so at what point, you know, do we, you know, is the bar a little too high if you can't see the buildings from a distance? [26:39:35] You know, the Manassas Battlefield is 5,000 acres, 5,000 acres, and it has roughly a 13-mile perimeter. This is one mile of the 13-mile perimeter, you know, when you look at it, what it butts up. Because the battlefield is huge, and this is only one small corner of it. [26:39:54] The idea that this is somehow going to become a travesty at the battlefield when they're off in the distance and you can't see them, I just, I don't accept. You know, but it was one of those things that, you know, people, we all saw the same pictures, and I know that no one else could really see them in the distance either. But somehow it was going to be in people's backyard. [26:40:15] I'm trying to think of what else. You know, there were just, there were so many things, you know, they often say when people fail on policy, because people started failing on policy, they start attacking the process. You know, I don't remember about a year ago when we were talking about the CPA, it was all about the process, about the CPA, and the CPA had been rushed, and we shouldn't be hearing it yet, and it was all about the process. [26:40:39] And, you know, we went ahead and passed that CPA, and I'll tell you, you know, when people lose on policy, they go to process. And when they lose on process, they start attacking people. And I think someone, you know, the attacks that we have seen, you know, not only me personally, but my seatmates and the cartoons and the disrespect over the last year. You know, the question is, when do you stop listening to people when they start acting like that? [26:41:11] When do you stop hearing them? You know, when you have someone who is out there who says silt is going to run wild and ruin all the streams, and the staff does an analysis and says, oh, there were some problems with that silt, and it really isn't going to be a problem, and then they continue to talk about the silt. I stop listening when people start acting that way, and maybe that's me, but maybe it's just because I'm humid. And lastly, I'll talk about the 30 groups that are against the digital gateway. You know, I looked at those groups and, you know, [26:41:49] it's not 100%, but almost without fail, those are conservation groups that tend to oppose almost all building, all projects. That's what they're designed for. That's what they're hired for. That's what they were formed to do. You know, I had one group in my office talking about, you know, what do you want to see there? Do you want to see houses? And the idea is it's really, they don't want to see anything. They're conservation groups. And I respect that. [26:42:14] That's how they're formed. But to take them as an opinion of 30 groups are against this, well, yeah, I'm not surprised that's what they do for a living. And I understand that people don't want data centers. And I'll end with that. In terms of electricity, if they aren't built in Prince William County, they will be built somewhere else in Virginia. [26:42:35] They will be on the PJM transmission lines. It's not like they're going to go away just if we say know i would actually i often say would rather have them here where we do stormwater management and so many protections so much better than other places than have them somewhere else that's using the groundwater up you know it doesn't have the surface water and and the construction and the the things in place but you know um i'm almost out of time on my second and with that i will stop madam chair supervisor franklin so we have a motion on the floor for supervisor angry which [26:43:15] as a substitute. Madam Chair, if I may, I was going to clarify with the board to make sure that you knew precisely what you were voting on. Currently, there is the vote by Supervisor Angry to approve all three applications as was previously amended. It appears that there was an attempt for another amended proffer. I do not know if that proffer has yet been initialed and signed and dated as today and if that would then be the motion on the floor for the board madam chair i was actually going to ask if i could do a friendly amendment and i wanted to make sure [26:43:51] that the applicant signed and dated it it needs to be in the director's hands before the board votes on that you want to make a friendly minute you accept that modification okay and that is [26:44:15] okay supervisor angry you it's signed so you're accepting that friendly that that you're mending [26:45:23] your motion to include the lower far for land bay c 0.25 correct and you're okay you were the second okay any further discussion seeing none please vote motion passes supervisors lawson vega and [26:45:58] we're voting nay supervisor bode abstaining from vote with that motion to the chairman motion made by supervisor we're singing it by supervisor angry i see no discussion please vote okay Thank you. [26:46:24] We are adjourned. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting · aguyonx.com