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 amendments to the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan that would effectively eliminate by-right zoning for data centers. 

Initial consideration of these amendments by the planning commission is scheduled for September 2024, with the county board’s first public hearing occurring in December 2024.

As part of the second phase of this regulatory effort, the county announced an intention to evaluate new or additional regulations pertaining to data center development and the electrical substations associated with data center uses and potential issues of compatibility, aesthetics, infrastructure, and natural/environmental policies and standards. The county’s schedule has the second phase starting in 2025.