The United States has more data centers than any nation on earth. Virginia has more than any state. And Loudoun County is home to the most data centers in the state. This makes the consequences of Tuesday night’s action by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to “enact a temporary pause on Board consideration of certain legislative applications for data centers and substations,” per a county press release, an action that is attracting attention far beyond the Northern Virginia locality.
Virginia law does not allow localities to enact blanket moratoria on either legislative or administrative applications. Tuesday’s ruling is instead a 12-month “pause” on legislative applications, which include rezonings and special use projects. Under Virginia law, Boards have 12 months “to act on pending legislative land-use applications
… from the date the case is first presented to the Planning Commission,” according to the press release.
The Board is taking the pause while it continues work on Phase 2 of the Data Center Standards and Locations initiative, an ongoing review of policy and development standards for data centers and utility substations.
The press release also said that the Board asked “County staff to identify the applications that could reach their 12-month deadline before completion of the regulations,” and to “ask those applicants to voluntarily delay their cases until the related Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan amendments are complete.”
The pause, which passed with 7 yeas, 1 nay, and 1 abstention, is being pushed by Supervisor Juli E. Briskman of the Algonkian District. Briskman has announced that she will primary current Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall for her seat in 2027, principally over the issue of data centers.
Briskman told NBC News 4 in August that “I think that having a pro-data center chair in Loudoun County is not working anymore.”
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