On Sept. 10, 2024, the Fairfax County, Virginia Board of Supervisors approved a zoning ordinance amendment that creates new restrictions for data centers. The amended ordinance permits by-right data center development in...more
Demand for data center development opportunities remains at unprecedented levels across Virginia. But how the industry is regulated by Virginia’s diverse cities and counties is not uniform....more
Loudoun County, Va., joins a growing number of northern Virginia jurisdictions taking affirmative steps to restrict data center development. As the first part of a two-phase process, the board of supervisors voted to advance...more
On March 19, 2024, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed Department of Planning and Development staff to update the county zoning ordinance with additional regulatory guidance for data center development. It is...more
Prince William County in Virginia has launched a Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) initiative to incorporate recommendations from the Community Energy and Sustainability Master Plan into its comprehensive plan. The CPAM...more
On May 21, 2024, the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) held an initial public discussion to consider opportunities, issues and the evolution of possible incentives and regulations pertaining to...more
Fairfax County, Virginia, recently released draft zoning ordinance text amendments to provide new regulations for data centers within the county. A link to the draft zoning ordinance amendments may be found here....more
On March 19, 2024, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed Department of Planning and Development staff to update the county zoning ordinance with additional regulatory guidance for data center development. It is...more
Over the past year, local governments in Northern Virginia — including Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Caroline County and Spotsylvania County — have taken steps to enact, or begin the process of enacting, new and generally...more
Fairfax County, Virginia, recently released updated recommendations for data center development in the county, including potential changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance standards for data center development....more
The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors adopted guidelines to control new data center developments on Dec. 14, 2023. The policy is the product of collaboration between the county’s planning staff and a committee that met in...more
The growing demand for data center space in Virginia increasingly has led the industry to locations outside northern Virginia. As a result, many central Virginia jurisdictions recently revised their planning and zoning...more
Like many Virginia jurisdictions, Fairfax County is reevaluating how it regulates data centers. As part of the zMOD readoption, the Board of Supervisors authorized an evaluation of Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan and...more
On July 11, 2023, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan to incorporate long-term planning goals for data center uses....more
As highlighted in McGuireWoods’ May 10, 2023, alert, Fairfax County is undertaking a review of its data center regulations. On July 18, 2023, the Fairfax County Land Use Policy Committee added data centers to the FY 2024...more
Changes are coming to Fairfax and Loudoun counties’ public hearing processes after state-level changes to notice requirements became effective on July 1, 2023.
The changes impact land use cases when the planning...more
On June 20, 2023, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 to allocate $90,000 and to direct staff to start the process to amend the comprehensive plan and maps to reflect direction from earlier this year related...more
As part of Fairfax County’s re-adoption of zMod, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a study of its data center regulations....more
On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced it has officially withdrawn a proposal for a variance to a state law regarding the use of diesel generators as backup power for data centers...more
On March 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of Virginia invalidated the Fairfax County, Virginia, Zoning Ordinance commonly known as z-Mod.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted z-Mod in March 2021, but the state...more
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) modified its original proposed rules designed to handle potential stress of the electric grid during the spring and summer months. This proposed backup generator rule...more
At its business meeting on Sept. 20, 2022, the Loudoun County Board moved forward with staff directives to amend Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan language to change regulations and policies affecting data center...more
The commonwealth of Virginia plans to reset how data center equipment, fixtures and supporting supplies are taxed throughout the state. Given that Northern Virginia, also known as Data Center Alley, is home to the largest...more
As 2022 unfolds, data centers continue to be a critical component of forward progress for tech-related cloud services, 5G, construction, infrastructure, real estate, energy and other industries, while also trying to...more
Loudoun County staff and the Loudoun County Economic Development Authority will present recommendations to significantly alter how data centers are developed in the county. The presentation, scheduled for the Transportation...more