Lawmakers in Virginia's Loudoun County have voted in favor of removing data centers as a by-right use on all properties in all zones.
The county's Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 in favor of the language change at a meeting on July 2, reports the Washington Business Journal and Loudoun Now.
The decision means that all data center proposals in the county will require the board's discretionary approval, rather than being allowed by default under planning regulations.
The board also voted to replace Urban Employment Place Types with Urban Transit Centers, where the policies do not permit data centers, as well as revising the Suburban Policy Area, Joint Land Management Area, and the Urban Policy Place Type maps.
Among the areas identified as potential place type changes are Belmont Ridge, Rt. 28, Nokes Boulevard, Arcola West, Arcola East, and Metro Area, taking into consideration current data centers and data center developments in the pipeline.
The key reason for the removal of data centers from by-right use is the desire to increase economic diversity and development in the county, the board said.
“We are turning away other businesses, other commercial entities, in Loudoun County because they cannot afford to land here, because data centers are buying all the land up,” board chair Phyllis Randall said at the meeting. “If we do not make an absolute effort to allow other businesses in Loudoun County, we will be reliant on one source of commercial revenue [which] is never a smart thing.”
However, those who voted against the move have raised concerns. Supervisor Kristen Umstattd, who opposed the plan, argued that there is not a huge demand for other types of developments, and suggested that they would more likely see increased building of residential properties.
Umstattd added that the move may discourage the data center industry too much.
Other concerns noted that property taxes - which have been reduced by the high concentration of data centers in the county - could increase, placing more tax burden on residents.
Supervisors in Loudoun County are also set to look into other data center regulations surrounding building design, environmental sustainability, and noise limitations, all of which are regularly brought up by opponents of new data center developments.
Regardless of the vote, there are several data center developments still in progress in Loudoun County. Supervisor Matthew Letourneau argued that these will continue to bring in a growth of revenue from the industry for the next few years.
Loudoun County supervisor Mike Turner presented a whitepaper at a June 20 meeting encouraging the county to tighten regulations on data center developments citing power capacity concerns.
Turner is the politician who spearheaded the campaign to remove data centers as a by-right use, beginning the legislative process in February. The change is still subject to a public hearing in September and a final board vote later this year.
