LETTER: Report on Land Needs Shows County has Enough Acres Zoned for Data Centers
June 30, 2022
I
applaud Peter Cary’s thorough analysis of the recently released Targeted
Industry Land Needs Analysis from Camoin Associates in your June 23rd edition. Advocates and opponents of data center
development will try to cherry-pick aspects they believe will support their
case, so it’s extremely helpful to have it all laid bare.
My
main gripe is with the land availability section, which does little more than
parrot back false and subjective assertions from the County that have been
repeatedly disproven. The author concurred:
“Two-thirds of its cited references are Prince William County land-use studies,
and the first listed reference is the controversial May 2021 Data Center Market
Viability Review prepared by the economic development office.”
One
finer point that may be lost on some readers is the concept of floor area
ratio, or FAR. The Camoin report based
its projected buildout capacity on an assumed FAR of 0.2. But the average FAR (density) of most recently
approved projects in the County is closer to 0.5. The article cites that if a
more realistic FAR assumption was used “the county’s buildout capacity in
square feet would be doubled.”
So,
by approving the Prince William Digital Gateway, we could be developing data
center capacity in excess of what the market can support. Are we really going to wreak such extensive environmental
havoc to build white elephants?
The
correct answer hasn’t changed. Develop
data centers in the designated overlay district and resist the contrived arguments
of financially conflicted proponents for unnecessary and irresponsible
development.
Bill
Wright
Gainesville
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