by Chap P. Petersen

My legal team appealed the October 31, 2024 decision of the Prince William County Circuit Court, dismissing our suit against County Board of Supervisors, for approving Digital Gateway Project and allowing 37 massive data centres in the piece of agricultural land adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield.

The clients of our firm are the Prince William County residents, as well as American Battlefield Trust that fights for preservation of historic sites. The appeal has many different themes, but they all share certain commonalities:

1. The County Board did not enforce its own Zoning Ordinance. By requiring that the developer identify lot lines, transmission facilities, building heights and locations, as well as the location of the buildings, in their application.

2. The County Board did not require a Special Permit even though the project was located outside of the County’s Data Center Opportunity Zone.

3. The County Board did not properly advertise the hearing, and refused to postpone it after it was brought to their attention on December 12, because that was the last time the “lame duck Board” could act.

All of these issues were presented to the Circuit Court Judge. The Court in each case ruled that a Board’s decision is “fairly disputable”, and any errors or omissions can be ignored.

The Court took a further step in its decision on the notice: On October 31, it issued a “factual finding” that the failure by the County to publicize the hearing was the result of an The Washington Post error. The County and the Post did not provide any evidence to support this claim. The FOIA records that we found showed that, in fact, the notice was prepared but not purchased.

Who is at fault? Who knows?

The Circuit Court made an error by “finding” this issue without sworn evidence and a court record.

I will present my case before the Virginia Court of Appeals on June 24. If we win, the Third Battle of Manassas will not be over.

Chap Petersen, an attorney from Northern Virginia, has written this column with permission. This column was republished from his Substack page, the Virginia Attorney.