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Zoning administrator reports Board approved repeal of data‑processing facility use; field trips planned
Summary
The county zoning administrator told the Planning Commission that the Board of Supervisors approved the planning commission's recommendation to remove data‑processing facilities from several zoning sections and that staff will organize field trips (including to Loudoun County) before the commission decides on any alternative regulation.
The zoning administrator reported that following last month's public hearing, the Board of Supervisors approved the planning commission's recommendation to repeal data‑processing facilities from multiple sections of the county zoning ordinance. The administrator said the motion to approve the recommendation — moved by Supervisor Courtney Weiner and seconded by Supervisor Billings — "passed unanimously," according to his report to the commission.
The administrator framed the issue as twofold: one option is repeal of the land‑use classification; the other is to allow data‑processing facilities as a special‑use permit under specified conditions. He said staff and commissioners had undertaken a field trip to view an existing data center and that a second trip to Loudoun County is being planned for August to gather more operational context. "We were able to talk to the county administrator, and we were able to learn a lot about... how data centers have worked in that locality," the zoning administrator said.
No ordinance language was adopted by the Planning Commission at this meeting; the administrator recommended tabling the matter and returning after the planned field trip and further committee review.
