Gardner Property data centers (former Hillwood campground, Gainesville)

❓ Still unanswered

Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?

• When will the Planning Commission and supervisors vote? 🙋 I'll find out
• Who will use the data centers? 🙋 I'll find out

🗺️ Zoning change

Supervisors unanimously shrank the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District from about 9,700 to 3,500 acres. Most new data centers will now need a special use permit with a public hearing. Projects already filed get a 90-day grace period.

✋ Turned down

Supervisors voted 8-0 to reject a land-use plan change for the Dulles South Innovation Center, a proposed campus of about 43 million square feet of data centers on 1,940 acres of homes and farms near Sanders Lane (Gainesville District).

⚖️ Court case

Neighbors sued over the county's December 2023 rezoning for the 2,100-acre Prince William Digital Gateway. A judge voided it because the newspaper notices were not spaced far enough apart, and the Court of Appeals agreed on March 31, 2026. The county stopped defending it in April, and QTS dropped its last appeal on July 2, 2026, ending the project.

📜 Data center rules

Supervisors voted 5-2 to update the noise law so data center cooling systems must meet noise limits around the clock: 73 decibels by day and 68 at night, measured on the 'C' scale that captures low hum. Residents and the county's advisory group had asked for a stricter method.