Virginia Court of Appeals Deals Blow to Data Center Complex Threatening Manassas Battlefield

(Arlington, Va.) — The Virginia Court of Appeals has rejected the rezonings approving the world’s largest data center complex alongside Manassas National Battlefield Park, upholding a lower court ruling that found Prince William County had improperly fast-tracked the votes without properly advertising the proposal or making its text available to the public.  

In a major victory for county residents and the region’s irreplaceable historic landscapes, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Virginia Court of Appeals sided with the American Battlefield Trust, the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, and local landowners who challenged the rezonings. Finding numerous violations of Virginia Code and Prince William County Ordinances, the Court stated that “we affirm the trial court’s judgment declaring the [Prince William Digital Gateway] rezonings void ab initio.” 

American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan praised the ruling: “The Court of Appeals agreed with the position we have taken for years: the County did not properly advertise this nightmarish proposal or make its text available to the public, despite the extraordinary public impact that the project would have. Instead, the County rushed to judgment, because they knew support on the Board for this mega-project was eroding.” 

“This is a great victory for every citizen in Prince William County who can now trust the county must strictly adhere to legal processes put in place,” said Mac Haddow, president of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, which led one of the two lawsuits against the Prince William Digital Gateway rezoning. “It is also a signal of what will happen to these predatory data center developers who abuse power to get their way.” 

Today’s ruling is a long-sought victory in the 26-month legal challenge against the Prince William Digital Gateway. However, deep-pocketed data center companies are expected to appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. Prince William County has gone along with these appeals to date, racking up more than $1.6 million in legal fees to support a project its citizens fiercely opposed and do not want. 

“While heartened by the Court of Appeals’ ruling, we know we must stay in the fight and pursue every angle to ensure this project does not come to fruition and desecrate the hallowed ground of the Manassas Battlefield,” added Duncan. 

The Virginia Court of Appeals decision addresses two parallel suits challenging the December 2023 rezoning vote. Those rezonings were hastily pushed through by a lame-duck Board of Supervisors as the terms of two pro-data center members were about to expire. The rezonings were approved with a 4-3 vote, and one abstention, amid overwhelming public opposition and against recommendations from county planning staff.  

In one suit, a Prince William Circuit Court Judge agreed with the Oak Valley Homeowners Association that the rezonings were void because of improper public advertisement, prompting appeal by the County and developers. Meanwhile, in the separate Trust-led case, a different judge ruled that the project could advance, without hearing the evidence, a decision that the Trust and its allies appealed. 

Because of similarities in the cases, notably the issue of improper public notice of the vote — primarily that newspaper advertisements of the rezonings published on December 2, 5 and 9 did not adhere to Virginia or Prince William law, requiring them to appear six days apart for two consecutive weeks — the Virginia Court of Appeals chose to combine oral arguments into a unified hearing on February 24. Today, it made a unanimous decision to set aside the rezonings. 

The Prince William Digital Gateway — with 37 proposed data center buildings, roughly the equivalent of 144 Walmart Supercenters — would require 14 on-site electrical substations for operation. These data centers are expected to consume up to 9 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power over 2 million homes, and to stretch miles of high voltage transmission lines over the hallowed grounds and private homes of Prince William County.   

Six leading national and regional conservation organizations with more than 1 million combined members and supporters filed amicus curiae briefs in support of the American Battlefield Trust and Oak Valley Homeowners Association lawsuits. Those briefs voiced their organization’s and allies' concerns that the project “would inevitably lead to the irreversible and irreparable desecration of hallowed ground and the despoiling of the natural and cultural resources” in historic Prince William County. 

Manassas National Battlefield Park commemorates two critical battles of the American Civil War, the Battles of First and Second Manassas (a referred to as First and Second Bull Run). Together, the two battles resulted in nearly 27,000 casualties. While the presence of a national park demonstrates the significance of these battles, important historical events occurred beyond its modern boundaries, some of which are slated to be the site of the Prince William Digital Gateway. Additionally, the proposed complex threatens the remains of those who fell and were laid to rest in unknown, unmarked graves.  

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 60,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 160 sites in 25 states, including 387 acres at Manassas. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.