Loudoun's Board of Supervisors has adjusted rules in the commercial and light industrial zoning district along Route 50 to impose more stringent regulations on data centers interested in locating along the corridor.
Proposed data centers will now go through a special exception process, which requires public hearings before both the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. Prior to the shift, data centers were a by-right use in the district.
The Loudoun board approved the changes during a Sept. 14 public hearing.
The change comes following a long fight between Loudoun County and Dominion Power, which was looking to locate power lines along Route 50 to serve a new data center. After lengthy negotiations and lobbying, the county and Dominion recently reached a deal to place the power lines on an alternative, less intrusive route.
