At its March 18, 2025, business meeting, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 to approve a Zoning Ordinance amendment making data centers a special exception use in zoning districts in which they were previously a by-right use. By-right applications are approved administratively through the county’s site plan process, whereas special exceptions require a legislative process involving staff review and public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
The board also approved a grandfathering resolution that exempts legislative and administrative data center applications submitted before Feb. 12, 2025, for projects that are more than 500 feet away from residential units, provided the projects are “diligently pursued” through the review process with no “substantial modifications.” “Substantial modification” is defined, in part, as an increase by more than 5% of the square footage of a proposed data center. The percentage engendered significant discussion among board members, and the figure will be reevaluated during Phase 2. The board also approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment that makes data centers a conditional use, rather than a core or complimentary use, in several planned place types throughout the county.
This vote represented the first of a two-phase approach to reviewing how data centers will be approved in Loudoun County. A vote on the work program outline for Phase 2 was tabled until April 15, 2025. Staff anticipates that Phase 2 will take approximately 14 months to complete and will likely include new use-specific and performance standards for data centers and possibly new definitions for data centers, utility substations and accessory uses.
