Loudoun Officials Seek Public Input On New Data Center Rules

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County residents will have two opportunities in September to weigh in on proposed policies and regulations aimed at limiting the impacts of existing data centers and managing future development.

The county will hold identical drop-in open houses from 6-8:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Broad Run High School, 21670 Ashburn Road in Ashburn, and Sept. 30 at Douglass Community Center, 407 E. Market St. in Leesburg.

Rather than traditional public meetings, the events will allow residents to come and go throughout the evening and speak directly with county staff. Attendees can also participate in brief surveys and polls and see noise-metering demonstrations.

The county is considering changes related to data center noise, on-site energy generation, battery energy storage systems, substations and data center design and locations.

Related:

• Loudoun County Supervisors Try To Close Lingering Data Center Approval Loophole
• Emails Show VA Officials Rushed To Defend Data Centers Over Health Concerns: Report
• Loudoun Economic Development Director Questions Decades-Old Data Center Ordinance

The effort is the second phase of Loudoun's Data Center Standards and Locations project, which the Board of Supervisors launched in 2024. The first phase ended in March 2025, when supervisors eliminated most by-right data center development by requiring that facilities obtain conditional or special exception approval.

Feedback gathered during the September open houses will help shape recommendations expected to go before the Loudoun County Planning Commission in February 2027.

Residents who cannot attend can submit comments through the county's online Data Center Standards and Locations project page.