Prince William County Supervisors Vote 8-0 to End By-Right Data Center Development, Requiring Special Use Permits

On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, the Prince William County (Va.) Board of County Supervisors voted 8-0 to adopt a zoning text amendment ending by-right data center development countywide. Future data center projects must obtain a special use permit and come before the board. The Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District, established in May 2016, will be drastically reduced; existing and under-construction data centers, and projects whose site plans have passed quality control, have a 90-day window to remain in the overlay. Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy initiated the directive in March. Chair Deshundra Jefferson said she “felt the need for the board to seek legal guidance ahead of the vote.”

Prince William is one of Northern Virginia’s two principal data center counties, so a shift from permission to discretion here is a change in kind. By-right zoning let projects proceed on staff review without a public hearing; a special use permit puts each one in front of elected supervisors, with conditions and a record. That is a procedural lever, not a moratorium — its effect depends on how the board uses it.

It is also a lever Virginia counties can actually pull. Neighboring Loudoun’s attempt at a moratorium ran into state law (2026-07-22–loudoun-county-va-moratorium-blocked-by-state-law); rezoning a county’s own overlay district is squarely within local land-use authority. The move sits in the broader local turn against automatic approvals, alongside Montgomery County, Md.’s 18-month moratorium (2026-07-28–montgomery-county-md-final-vote-18month-datacenter-moratorium), while federal ratepayer legislation stayed advisory (2026-09-16–house-passes-ratepayer-protection-act-417-3-consider-not-mandate).

Open: the special use permit review criteria and timelines; which pending projects qualify for the 90-day window; whether Loudoun follows.