Data center approvals in Prince William County, VA

Updated October 2026

Data centers need a special use permit: a discretionary vote after public hearings, won or lost on compatibility, noise, power and water. Hearings: Planning Commission → Board of County Supervisors.

What the timeline looks like

Step	Typical duration or status	What drives it
Pre-application	15 working days (about 1 month)	Staff scheduling and completeness of the concept package
Discretionary approval	220 working days (about 10 months)	Hearing calendar, notice compliance, opposition, conditions
Site plan	90 working days (about 4 months)	Review cycles, utility availability letters, stormwater design
Grading permit	20 working days (about 1 month)	Erosion and sediment control, stormwater permit coverage
Building permit	45 working days (about 2 months)	Phased permits, fire marshal review, third-party review where available
Certificate of occupancy	15 working days (about 1 month)	Inspections, commissioning, phased occupancy plan
Whole chain, unappealed	405 working days (about 19 months)	The steps above run partly in parallel; appeals, utility studies and air permits are not included

working days; discretionaryApproval is the midpoint of the county's published 'nine (9) to twelve (12) months' for rezoning/SUP review (FY2027 Reference Manual); sitePlan is the midpoint of the county's published 'approximately three to five months' for final site plan approval; fire protection plan review is a published 20 business days; the rest are estimates from the published process

What slows projects here

Data centers need a special use permit: a discretionary vote after public hearings, won or lost on compatibility, noise, power and water.
By-right data center development ended countywide by DPA2026-00006 / Ord. No. 26-67, adopted 8-0 on Sept 22, 2026. The Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District (Sec. 32-509.01 et seq., created May 17, 2016, standards amended June 18, 2019) was cut from about 9,700 acres to roughly 3,504 acres (214 parcels, staff count June 30, 2026) that meet one of five eligibility pathways (approved proffers, approved preliminary or final plan, final zoning determination, or a data center rezoning / SUP / proffer amendment / substation public facility review / final site plan accepted for quality-control review by 11:59 PM Dec 21, 2026). Those parcels keep by-right use in O(L), O(H), O(M), O(F), M-1, M-2, M/T and designated PBD/PMD land bays. Everywhere else a new data center needs an SUP from the Board of County Supervisors in B-1, O(L), O(H), O(M), O(F), M-1, M-2, M/T and designated PBD/PMD land bays (Sec. 32-509.05), or a rezoning with proffers where the district does not list the use. Final overlay map publishes after Dec 21, 2026. Countywide performance standards (Planning Commission recommended a 500-ft setback from homes and schools) are targeted for a November 2026 Planning Commission hearing and a January 2027 Board hearing. By-right remains only on parcels retained in the reduced DCOZOD (O(L), O(H), O(M), O(F), M-1, M-2, M/T and designated office/industrial land bays in PBD and PMD); vested rights under Va. Code § 15.2-2307 protect approvals that pre-date the ordinance. Fees (FY2027): Data Center SUP $19,790.40; Electric Substation SUP $11,473.85; CPA $3,370.65 + $163.80/acre; Public Facility Review $1,685.35; computer and peripherals tax $4.50/$100.
Notice rules are a veto point: Two newspaper ads (first no more than 28 days and second no less than 5 days before the hearing, § 15.2-2204(A) as amended through 2025, confirmed on LIS 2026-10-31; the county's Sept 30, 2026 schedule runs Planning Commission ads on Tuesdays two weeks and one week before the hearing), written notice by registered, certified or first-class mail to owners within 500 feet (Sec. 32-700.60) at least 5 days before with an affidavit, at least one sign posted at least 15 days before with a posting affidavit within 3 days, documents available for inspection when the ad runs. Planning Commission and Board notices may run concurrently or the bodies may hold a joint hearing. (Va. Code § 15.2-2204(A)-(B); Prince William Zoning Ordinance Sec. 32-700.60). A defective notice can void an approval after the fact.
Prince William Digital Gateway: CPA2021-00004 adopted Nov 1, 2022; three rezonings (REZ2022-00032, -00033, -00036; ~1,790 acres of a 2,100-acre, 23 million sq ft plan) approved Dec 12-13, 2023 after a 27-29 hour hearing; voided ab initio by the Circuit Court in Aug 2025 because the first of two required newspaper ads never ran (§ 15.2-2204(A); ZO 32-700.60); affirmed unanimously by the Court of Appeals Mar 31, 2026 (order July 29, 2026); Board declined further appeal Apr 14, 2026; Compass and QTS withdrew; zoning reverted Aug 2026; the Comprehensive Plan amendment survived.
DPA2026-00006 (DCOZOD): the Planning Commission's July 15, 2026 vote was voided for a defective advertisement and re-heard Sept 9, 2026 (5-3); Board adopted Sept 22, 2026 with a 90-day window (substitute motion for no window failed 3-5).
Dulles South Innovation Center: Board declined 8-0 in 2026 to initiate a Comprehensive Plan amendment for ~2,000 acres outside the overlay, citing piecemeal development.

What to do about it

Run the utility large-load study, the state air permit and the land-use approval in parallel from day one; they are separate authorities and nothing requires them in sequence.
Lock the generator count, size, tier and classification before filing: a density change reopens the air permit, the noise study and the utility load letter together.
Treat every statutory notice as a checklist with evidence (advertisement text and dates, mailing receipts, posted signs) reviewed by counsel against the statute in force on the hearing date.
Carry the 30-day appeal window after the approval on the schedule; lenders and tenants will not close across it.
Use third-party plan review where the code allows it to take plan check off the critical path.
File complete so the 40-day review clock starts; most delay in review is correction cycles, not review time.

Plan this jurisdiction with the register already loaded

PowerPMIS's entitlement gate builds the full requirements register for one live project in two to three weeks, puts every hearing, review and utility step on your critical path, and lists what you can challenge. Fixed fee by project size.

Book a requirements audit

Sources

DPA2026-00006 Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District (county project page; Ord. No. 26-67; Res. 26-125 and 26-374) — accessed 2026-10-31
Planning Commission staff report, DPA2026-00006 (July 15, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
Venable: The Window for By-Right Data Center Development in Prince William County is Closing Quickly (Sept 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
WTOP / InsideNoVa: Prince William supervisors vote to end by-right data center development countywide (Sept 23, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
Prince William Times: Commission again votes to end by-right data centers (Sept 13, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
Prince William County Zoning Ordinance Article VII (Sec. 32-700.05 to 32-700.61), third-party mirror — accessed 2026-10-31
Planning Office: Special Use Permits (FY2027 application package, fee schedule, reference manual) — accessed 2026-10-31
FY2027 Reference Manual for Rezoning, Special Use Permit and Proffer Amendment Applications (July 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31
FY2027 Fee Schedule: Special Use Permits — accessed 2026-10-31
FY2027 Fee Schedule: Countywide Planning (CPA, PFR, TIS, cultural resources) — accessed 2026-10-31
Planning Office: Planning Commission (schedule, 90-day recommendation) — accessed 2026-10-31
Planning Office: Land Use Application Due Dates for Public Hearings (ad timing changes, Sept 30, 2026) — accessed 2026-10-31

Timelines are general information drawn from the sources listed, not advice on a specific project. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the authority.