Planning commission sends complex Concord Industrial Park data‑center proposal to work session; raises timing and vesting questions

The Planning Commission voted 8-0-1 on May 27 to forward the Concord Industrial Park application (LEHI 2020-042) to a work session for more detailed review. Commissioners said the project is complex and raised unresolved legal, policy and technical questions about time-limited proffers, traffic-study validity over extended timeframes, compatibility with surrounding land uses and the proposed substation location.

What the application proposes: The applicant (Prologis) seeks to rezone a 17.2-acre site from the 1972 PDGI district to Industrial Park (IP under the modern ordinance), and asked for a special exception to increase the FAR from 0.6 to 0.8 for data-center use only and a special exception for a major utility substation. The applicant provided seven possible development “options” on the concept development plan (CDP): four are variations of data-center layouts (including a substation in the west portion), two are industrial/warehouse/flex layouts, and one is a “bubble” IP option that would allow any IP uses after a time-limited period.

Primary outstanding issues: Staff and commissioners raised several unresolved items: - Time-limited vesting: The applicant proposed a 12‑year window during which the specified layouts and use limitations would apply (after which the site could be developed for any IP uses subject to the zoning ordinance in effect at that later time). Staff recommended a shorter timeframe (5 years) to reduce uncertainty; commissioners asked legal staff for guidance on vesting/diligent-pursuit standards. - Transportation and the traffic impact study (TIS): The submitted TIS modeled trip generation based on certain uses and an assumed horizon year; staff noted a TIS loses accuracy as the analysis year moves farther into the future. The applicant offered proffers to limit trip generation to the TIS totals; staff requested a revised TIS or clarified mitigation tied to specific uses or square footage. - Substation location and buffers: The proposed substation would sit near the Sterling Boulevard extension. Staff flagged reduced setbacks (35 feet vs. a more common 75-foot policy guidance) and recommended a 10-foot screen wall with 95% opacity and 50% evergreen plantings in buffers. Commissioners asked that the County Attorney provide written guidance on vesting before the work session.

Applicant rationale and commitments: Prologis said the site is near existing industrial uses and Dulles Airport, and argued the PDGI-to-IP rezoning and the limited FAR increase for data centers are appropriate in the suburban industrial/mineral-extraction place type. The applicant proposed the 12‑year approach to allow customer accommodations and staged energization of substations, citing the time needed to relocate tenants and build replacement industrial capacity elsewhere.

Public and commissioner reaction: Commissioners asked for additional detail on cumulative effects across several Prologis applications in the Route 28 corridor (other Prologis applications were referenced by staff), and requested Economic Development brief the commission on local demand for warehouse/flex product versus data centers. Several commissioners asked staff and the county attorney to clarify whether the 12‑year limit is legally defensible and whether proffering specific layouts to preserve vesting is acceptable.

Motion and outcome: Chair Keirce moved to forward the application to a work session; the motion carried 8-0-1 (Commissioner Jasper absent). Commissioners requested staff to bring additional materials for the work session including cumulative square-footage summaries across the related Prologis applications, County Attorney analysis on vesting, and Economic Development information on market demand and vacancy for warehouse/flex product in Loudoun County.

Quote: Applicant representative Molly Novotny said the 12-year window aims to balance market realities and vesting needs: “We've chosen 12 years because there are several applications we'll be bringing forward to you and we thought it would be awkward to have different years for different ones.”

What’s next: The commission set the item for a work session before returning a formal recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Commissioners asked staff to invite county attorneys and representatives from Economic Development to the work session to address legal vesting questions and market-supply concerns.