Loudoun County leaders acknowledge mistakes in data center development
Loudoun County leaders acknowledge that past land-use decisions helped drive rapid data center growth and are reconsidering how to regulate projects already in the development pipeline. Supervisors remain divided over ending grandfathering protections, auditing existing projects and adopting a noise ordinance, while residents raise concerns about noise, land use and affordable housing.
Loudoun County supervisors acknowledged that earlier boards made mistakes in allowing the county to become a global data center hub. The board previously required public hearings and votes for new facilities but allowed projects already in the pipeline to proceed under older rules. A proposal to end that grandfathering stalled after county staff warned of developer lawsuits and as much as $60 million in potential county liability; a proposed $200,000 audit of grandfathered projects was also voted down.
Supervisors Julie Briskman, Caleb Kirschner and Chair Phyllis Randall presented competing concerns about the county's roughly $1.3 billion in annual data center tax revenue, which supports schools and public services, while Briskman argued that existing and permitted facilities would continue generating revenue for years even if new construction stopped. Supervisor Caron Saines is advancing a noise ordinance that would prohibit data center noise audible inside nearby homes, with a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 12. The report said Loudoun has 233 operating data centers, 116 more under construction or in the pipeline, and 15 additional projects under discussion, totaling about 10 million square feet.