Loudoun County Board Approves Temporary Pause on Data Center Applications

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a plan during its September 15, 2026, meeting to temporarily pause final action on data center and electrical substation applications requiring legislative approval.

The majority vote supports pausing board decisions for up to 12 months, the maximum period allowed under Virginia law. This follows advice from the county attorney that an outright moratorium on approvals would not be legal. The pause is intended to provide time for completing a review of existing data center policies and regulations.

Loudoun County is governed by its Board of Supervisors including Phyllis Randall as Chair At-Large, Michael Turner as Vice Chair representing Ashburn District, Juli Briskman of Algonkian District, Sylvia Glass of Broad Run District, Caleb Kershner of Catoctin District, Matthew Letourneau of Dulles District, Kristen Umstattd of Leesburg District, Laura TeKrony of Little River District, and Koran Saines of Sterling District.

The ongoing Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Zoning Ordinance Amendment project will examine data center standards and suitable locations. Outcomes from this effort could influence both current and future applications. The project is projected to finish in the summer of 2027.

Under the approved terms, final board votes on affected applications will be delayed for one year from the point applications reach Planning Commission public hearing status. Applications may continue to be submitted and proceed through earlier review stages. The board's stated goal is to defer final decisions until after the policy review concludes or the legal deadline nears.

The pause does not render any applications inactive. Provisions exist for potential exceptions in cases of grid reliability concerns or when statutory decision timelines are about to expire. Applications handled through administrative processes remain unaffected by the board's action.

The board had previously required all data center projects to seek special exception approval rather than proceeding by right. Separate amendments to grandfathering provisions for data centers are scheduled for board consideration on October 6, 2026. A resolution formalizing the pause policy is set for discussion on October 20, 2026, with retroactive effect to September 15.

Additional details on data centers and related transmission line proposals are available through county resources. The action aligns with efforts to update regulations amid significant development activity in the region.

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Email the Leesburg City Council at: council@leesburgva.gov,
Mayor Kelly Burk — kburk@leesburgva.gov,
Vice Mayor Todd Cimino-Johnson — tciminojohnson@leesburgva.gov,
Council Member Zach Cummings — zcummings@leesburgva.gov,
Council Member Nicholas Krukowski — nkrukowski@leesburgva.gov,
Council Member Kari Nacy — knacy@leesburgva.gov,
Council Member Neil Steinberg — nsteinberg@leesburgva.gov,
Council Member Patrick Wilt — pwilt@leesburgva.gov,

Email the Board of Supervisors at:
Phyllis J. Randall (Chair, At-Large) – Phyllis.Randall@loudoun.gov,
Michael R. Turner (Vice Chair, Ashburn District) – Mike.Turner@loudoun.gov,
Juli E. Briskman (Algonkian District) – Juli.Briskman@loudoun.gov,
Sylvia R. Glass (Broad Run District) – Sylvia.Glass@loudoun.gov,
Caleb Kershner (Catoctin District) – caleb.kershner@loudoun.gov,
Matthew F. Letourneau (Dulles District) – Matt.Letourneau@loudoun.gov,
Kristen C. Umstattd (Leesburg District) – Kristen.Umstattd@loudoun.gov,
Laura A. TeKrony (Little River District) – Laura.TeKrony@loudoun.gov,
Koran Saines (Sterling District) – Koran.Saines@loudoun.gov

Email the Loudoun County School Board:
April Chandler, april.chandler@lcps.org,
Anne Donohue, anne.donohue@lcps.org,
Deana Griffiths, deana.griffiths@lcps.org,
Ross Svenson, ross.stevenson@lcps.org,
Kari LaBell, kari.labell@lcps.org,
Jon Pepper, jonathon.pepper@lcps.org,
Lauren Shernoff, lauren.shernoff@lcps.org,
Sumera Rashid, sumera.rashid@lcps.org,
Amy Riccardi, amy.riccardi@lcps.org,