Prince William County Approves 62% Reduction in Data Center Overlay

New rules shrink the county’s designated data center area and require many future data center proposals outside the remaining area to go through public review.

2-Minute Brief

WHAT HAPPENED: The Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved changes reducing the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District by about 62%.

WHAT CHANGES: The revised overlay is approximately 3,641 acres, down from about 9,698 acres. About 232 parcels identified in the latest County staff analysis qualify to remain.

WHY IT MATTERS: Many future data center proposals outside the remaining overlay will have to go through a public approval process rather than proceeding under existing zoning rules.

WHAT’S NEXT: The County has not yet posted its formal written record showing the final vote and amendment language. The Manassas Journal will update those details when they are available.

Prince William County has approved a major reduction in the area where data centers can qualify for development without going through a separate public approval process.

The Board of County Supervisors approved changes to the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District following its Sept. 22 public hearing.

The overlay is a designated zoning area where qualifying data centers can receive specific development rights. Under the revised rules, that area is about 62% smaller than the previous 9,698-acre district.

County staff’s latest analysis identified approximately 3,641 acres and 232 parcels that qualified to remain in the overlay.

The Manassas Journal first reported the proposed 62% reduction when County staff released the revised boundary and eligibility framework and continued following the proposal through the Sept. 9 Planning Commission review.

The change also closes the overlay to future expansion.

For many new data center projects outside the revised boundaries, the approval process changes significantly.

Instead of qualifying for by-right development, meaning a project can proceed under existing zoning rules without a separate land-use approval, projects in specified business, office and industrial zoning districts must now seek a Special Use Permit.

A Special Use Permit requires additional County review and public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of County Supervisors.

What Remains Inside the Overlay?

The new boundary generally preserves properties where data center development has already reached specified points in the County approval process.

County staff’s latest evaluation identified approximately 232 parcels totaling 3,641 acres that met at least one of five eligibility pathways.

Those include certain properties with previously approved development conditions, approved site or development plans, formal County zoning decisions, and some qualifying applications already moving through the review process.

Earlier Planning Commission materials identified approximately 237 parcels totaling 3,654 acres. The later Sept. 22 Board materials reduced those figures to 232 parcels and approximately 3,641 acres.

The County says the revised overlay is limited to parcels meeting one or more of five defined eligibility pathways and is closed to future expansion.

Planning Commission Recommended Additional Changes

Before the proposal reached the Board, the Prince William Planning Commission voted Sept. 9 to recommend approval.

Commissioners also recommended extending a transition period for certain qualifying applications from 90 days to 120 days and requiring a minimum 500-foot setback between data center structures and existing homes and schools for projects qualifying through that transition period.

The County has not yet posted the final written record showing how the Board handled those recommendations.

What Happens Next

Prince William County now describes the revised overlay as adopted and states that the new framework closes the overlay to future expansion while shifting new projects outside it into the Special Use Permit process in specified zoning districts.

The formal Board brief had not been posted as of Sept. 23. The Manassas Journal will update the exact vote and final amendment language when the County publishes that record.

Sources / Reference Links

Prince William County Planning Office: DPA2026-00006, Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District
https://www.pwcva.gov/department/planning-office/dpa2026-00006-data-center-opportunity-zone-overlay-district-dcozod

Prince William County Board of County Supervisors: Sept. 22, 2026 meeting archive, agenda, agenda packet and official recording
https://pwcgov.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=23

Prince William County Planning Office: Sept. 22, 2026 Board staff report and proposed ordinance for DPA2026-00006
https://eservice.pwcgov.org/planning/documents/bocs//DPA2026-00006.pdf

Prince William County Planning Commission: Sept. 9, 2026 staff report and recommendation for DPA2026-00006
https://eservice.pwcgov.org/planning/documents//DPA2026-00006.pdf