Info for public for Prince William County Digital Gateway Rezoning Hearings Dec. 12

Prince William County government has issued the following1ogistical Information for the 2 p..m. Board of County Supervisors Meeting for the Digital Gateway Rezonings - on who may speak,  and for how much speaking time will be allocated and where and how to sign up.

The Board of County Supervisors will hold public hearings for the three rezoning cases for the Prince William Digital Gateway on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at the James J. McCoart Building, Board Chambers, 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, VA 22192. Please see map for public parking, media parking and staging areas.

For those members of the public wishing to speak on any of the rezonings, signups will begin in person at 8 a.m. in the atrium of the McCoart Building. The building will open at 8 a.m. and members of the public will not be allowed to sign up before 8 a.m. Those wishing to speak remotely may sign up online and must sign up before 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023.

Please note that those who sign up to speak in person will be given a number. That is the official order in which speakers will be called to speak. One must have an official number provided by county staff in order to speak during the meeting. If the speaker is not present when their number is called, they will have to wait until the end to speak. Also, those speaking in person will speak before those speaking remotely.

Members of the public will not be able to access the Board Chambers until 9:30 a.m. There will be some seating available in the atrium.

Once the meeting commences, the Board will hear presentations from the applicants and staff on all three rezoning applications (one presentation after another) and then have an opportunity to ask questions. All three public hearings will then be opened at the same time and run concurrently, not consecutively. This means that members of the public who have signed up to speak will have up to three minutes to speak for each public hearing, for a possible total of nine minutes if they choose to speak on all three. Those representing an entity/organization qualified under the Board’s Rules of Procedures will have up to five minutes to speak for each public hearing, for a possible total of 15 minutes. Speakers will be asked to identify their name, generally where they live, and the public hearing they are speaking about. If speaking on behalf of an organization, the speaker will need to request five minutes when it is their time to speak and share the name of the organization.

Once everyone who has signed up to speak has spoken (both in person and virtually), the Chair will ask if anyone else who is present would like to speak that has not already spoken. After any individual who hasn’t spoken has the opportunity to do so, the Chair will close all three public hearings. The Board will then have a discussion on any motion(s) for action on the applications.