A growing number of prominent voices are showing their support to protect the Rural Crescent, Occoquan Reservoir watershed, Manassas National Battlefield Park, and Prince William Forest Park from poorly sited data centers. Click on their names to read the full comments. It makes us smile, and we hope it does the same for you.
Ken Burns
Florentine Films
Letter to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors
I learned while making my documentary series The Civil War in the late 1980s-and again when I made my 2009 series on the history of the national parks-how crucial the preservation of our historic landscapes is, and I fear the devastating impact the development of up to 2,133 acres of data centers will have on this hallowed ground.
Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton
Letter to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors
I share the Superintendent's concerns regarding the welfare of the Park, and the surrounding environment, ecosystems, and communities, and I urge you to judiciously and cautiously take the potentially irreversible negative effects into consideration when examining this proposal.
Delegate Dan Helmer
Virginia House of Delegates, 40th District
Letter to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors
I hope that the Board will proceed extremely cautiously, fully understanding the impact that such development would have on the environment, traffic patterns, real estate prices, and the rural character of Northwest Prince William County.
Delegate Danica Roem
Virginia House of Delegates, 13th District
Op-ed, Prince William Times
As I've stated for years now, I oppose all data centers being built north or west of Innovation Park in Manassas, and especially data centers being built near either Conway Robinson Park or Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Brandon Bies
Superintendent, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Letter to Prince William County Planning Office
In conclusion, we oppose the drastic and adverse change in the land use adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park proposed in this application.
Brandon Bies
Superintendent, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Letter to Prince William County Planning Commission
I believe that the intensive development of the Pageland Lane corridor is the single greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades.
Tanya Gossett
Superintendent, Prince William Forest Park
Letter to Prince William County Planning Commission
Prince William Forest Park's Congressionally-authorized boundary is coterminous with the Rural Area boundary...the precedent of opening the Rural Area to more intense development could affect the park for decades.
Kimball Brace
Chairman, Prince William County Historic Commission
Letter to the Board of County Supervisors
...the Historical Commission desires to voice its opposition to any non-residential development adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park, such as data centers, industrial uses and large-scale commercial ventures, that may directly or indirectly negatively impact battlefield resources.
Deshundra Jefferson
Montclair resident and former co-chair for the Potomac Magisterial District Democratic Committee
The deeper one dives into this proposal, the less equitable it appears. Buzzwords like equity and inclusion are clearly being tossed around to make this more palatable – and easier to silence those in opposition.
Joseph Eaves
President, Manassas Battlefield Trust
Opinion, The Washington Post
[Rezoning this land] is a grievous insult to those who sacrificed - particularly when there is available land in Prince William County that is already allotted for data centers.
Kim Hosen, PW Conservation Alliance, Max Hokit, American Battlefield Trust, Dan Holmes, Piedmont Environmental Council, Pam Goddard, National Parks Conservation Association, and Nancy Vehrs, Virginia Native Plant Society
Letter to the community, Prince William Times
The prospect of undermining the county's comprehensive plan with piecemeal and unnecessary rezoning, especially when more appropriate and less historically sensitive properties are available, is problematic on many levels. Once these lands are developed, they are lost forever.
Sarah Parmelee
Forestland Conservation Coordinator, Virginia Dept. of Forestry
Letter to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors
The proposed amendment does not describe how the project will avoid or mitigate the potential loss of key ecosystem services provided to Prince William County by both forested lands and open space agricultural land in the Proposed Study Area.
