The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has postponed all public hearings set for today (Tuesday), including a pivotal vote on proposed data center regulations, to Sept. 10 due to a staff error.
The delay will also affect public hearings held at the board’s last meeting on July 16. It stems from a “regulatory oversight” related to new rules for advertising public hearings that the Virginia General Assembly passed earlier this year, the county announced.
The changes intended to standardize notice requirements for public meetings and hearings took effect on July 1.
“Unfortunately, due to staff error, the advertisements for public hearings on July 16 and for those scheduled for today did not meet these new requirements,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said during the board meeting. “Therefore, the public hearings for today must be rescheduled to Sept. 10 and the public hearings held on July 16 will need to be held again, also on Sept. 10.”
The board’s July 16 meeting only had a few public hearings, but they included a zoning ordinance amendment that could change how the county regulates data center developments and proposed revisions to the county’s workforce dwelling unit (WDU) program.
The data center hearing in particular was heavily attended by residents and other community members. Some advocated for tighter restrictions, especially for sites near residential neighborhoods, while others worried about the potential economic impacts of stricter regulations.
After the hearing, the supervisors deferred a decision to address concerns raised by speakers. Testimony from July 16 has been entered into the official record, so there’s no need for anyone to testify again, though individuals can if they desire, McKay clarified.
However, any data center applications submitted to the county after July 16 will still be subject to the new regulations, if they’re approved, as directed by the Board of Supervisors after the original public hearing.
“That remains unchanged with this need to re-hear the zoning ordinance amendment,” McKay said.
Public hearings that were scheduled for today included ones on increases in taxicab fares, polling precinct name changes, and several land use cases, such as a proposal to partially redevelop the Park East Corporate Center in Chantilly with housing and the first phase of a Fair Lakes planning study.
Those hearings will be formally deferred when the board reconvenes at 3:30 p.m. today.
“This is a really unfortunate circumstance. I’m not happy at all about it,” McKay said. “In fact, I’m angry about it, and we’ll get to the bottom of what happened with the staff clerical error.”
As chairman, McKay has the authority to convene a “special meeting” during the board’s usual August recess, but he expressed concerns about that also creating transparency issues.
“I do not want to call a special meeting in the dead of August when nobody’s paying attention and have somebody come forward and complain that the board acted on items out of order, during a recess without a lot of notice when we normally, historically, have never done that,” he said.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity echoed McKay’s disappointment and frustration, agreeing with the decision to delay any action until September.
“I share your concern with doing it in the dead of summer,” he said. “To me, it’s the impact on our customers and residents that bothers me the most.”
The county’s Office of Public Affairs issued a statement apologizing “to anyone impacted” and confirming that staff “will conduct a complete review of our public hearing advertisement process moving forward.”
