Loudoun to Consider Data Center Pause, Removing By-Right Grandfather Clause

Loudoun County, the epicenter of Data Center Alley, is set to take up two amendments that would curb data center development, at least temporarily, and permanently end by-right development of the power-hungry data warehouses.

A view of a data center in Loudoun County next to Chick Ford & Ryan Bickel Fields. (Photo courtesy of Karen Graham/Loudoun Times-Mirror)

Led by the county board member Juli Briskman, who is running for board chair, the amendments could pause the processing of all new data center applications while the county revisits its comprehensive plan’s zoning ordinances for data centers.

County staff has been directed to develop a plan detailing what a data center pause would look like while the ordinances are being crafted. That report will be presented at Tuesday’s board business meeting.

“I decided it was time that we actually just pumped the brakes, listened to the community, and just put a pause on all of it until we can get our arms around some of these other standards that we’ve been working on,” Briskman said in a July interview.

Additionally, Briskman and board member Laura TeKrony have advanced a resolution that could reshape existing data center applications.

County staff are drafting an amendment to end the grandfather clause, which allows data center applications filed prior to the adoption of the March 2025 change that ended by-right permitting for data centers to keep the by-right status.

That change to the application process came about after the first phase of reviewing the comprehensive plan.

The newly proposed amendment would require data centers in the previously grandfathered group to obtain a special exception that includes public hearings and a vote by the full board, steps that are already required for all new applications.

The revamped process would give the public more opportunity to weigh in on the permitting process for data centers in their county, TeKrony said.

“Data center applications should never be approved by-right without a public hearing and Board review. I did not support the grandfathering resolution in March 2025 and believe we need to do the right thing for the community and expire this resolution now,” TeKrony said in a statement.

“We’ve given the data center industry 25 years to build by-right. There is no legal requirement for grandfathering. It is a choice,” she added.

In Loudoun, several neighborhoods butt up against under-construction data centers, which has led to the rise in concerns around sound, backup generator use, and other complaints for the fence line communities.

The grandfather amendment report will be presented at the Oct. 6 board meeting.

This comes as other localities such as Suffolk, Chesapeake, Front Royal, and others are also hitting the brakes on approving new data centers and taking a closer look at their zoning ordinances for the controversial projects.

As election season ramps up, political ads have hit the airwaves from state Sen. Glenn Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, calling for a statewide moratorium on data center development.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has repeatedly said she believes the state should honor its commitments to the data center industry, which self-reported a total contribution of about $40 billion to Virginia’s economy in 2024 and 2025.

However, she has pushed for more regulations on the industry, including ones to bolster environmental policies and require the industry to pay more for their energy infrastructure.

Lawmakers have pledged to sponsor legislation in the General Assembly session that starts in January to continue cracking down on data centers’ environmental impacts and improve siting policies to aid localities in making application decisions, among other ideas.

Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, said earlier this year that the legislature could address potential loopholes in the Virginia Clean Economy Act, as the push for behind-the-meter power generation for data centers is leading to more gas turbine proposals.

Bills for the 2027 regular session are starting to trickle in as part of the pre-filing process. More legislation proposals will flow in towards the end of the year.

By Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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