Board advances Phase 1 of data center standards and locations; asks staff to return with grandfathering options

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors heard a detailed staff presentation on Phase 1 of the Data Center Standards and Locations comprehensive plan amendment (CPAM‑2024‑0001) and zoning ordinance amendment (ZOAM‑2024‑0001) Feb. 12, 2025, then voted to forward Phase 1 to the March 18, 2025 board business meeting and to direct staff to return to the board on March 4 with draft grandfathering options and guidance on limited, evolutionary administrative changes for existing data center campuses.

Staff presentation and data: Abdul Jaffrey, Loudoun County project manager, joined by Department Director Dan Galindo, presented Phase 1 text and map amendments. Staff said Phase 1 would designate data centers as a conditional use in play types where they were previously core or complementary uses and would change three cells in the zoning use table to require special exceptions in the three zoning districts where data centers were permitted by right. Staff described both text and limited map amendments that would redesignate some areas (for example, Arcola from suburban employment to suburban neighborhood and portions of the Leesburg JLMA employment to residential place types). Staff emphasized that Phase 2 would address broader policy updates, site and building design, sustainability, energy, water, noise and landscaping standards.

Staff presented multiple data points used to illustrate growth and scope: as of Feb. 2024 the county approached about 45,000,000 square feet of data center development; in 2024 the county received applications for roughly 26,000,000 additional square feet and…