After a lengthy and contentious debate, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a revised zoning ordinance that imposes strict regulations on data center development in the county.
Yesterday’s 8-2 vote followed over a year of community input and revisions to the proposed ordinance, which tightens restrictions on where and how data centers can be built in Fairfax County.
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 future of data center development in Fairfax County remains in limbo after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last night (Tuesday) to delay their decision on a contentious zoning amendment another two weeks.
The supervisors said they needed more time to consider the input provided by 65 residents, attorneys, environmental activists and other community members during a public hearing that lasted nearly five hours.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is gearing up to vote on landmark zoning regulations for data centers, potentially making this a pivotal week for the industry’s future in the area.
The board will hold a public hearing tomorrow (Tuesday) on zoning ordinance amendments that, if approved, would bar data centers from being built by-right in commercial and medium industrial districts and remove over a dozen heavy industrial districts from potentially allowing data centers.
One of the top data center construction firms in the nation recently opened a new office in Fairfax County.
Last week, Suffolk Construction announced the relocation of its data center construction management team, Mission Critical, to 2303 Dulles Station Blvd in Herndon, positioning them near the Innovation Center Metro station and the heart of the world’s largest data center market.
New regulations on the construction of data centers in Fairfax County cleared their first major hurdle last week.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously endorsed zoning amendments on Thursday (June 6) that aim to restrict the size, location, equipment screening and design standards of any new data centers in the county.
Google plans to invest $1 billion to expand data center campuses in Northern Virginia this year, including two Loudoun County sites and a newly opened site in Prince William County.
Ruth Porat, the president, chief investment officer and chief financial officer of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, announced the funds on Friday (April 26) at the company’s Reston headquarters. They will bring Google’s total investment in the state to more than $4.2 billion to date.
Amid a surge in digital storage demand in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County is drafting stricter zoning regulations to enhance oversight of data center projects.
On Tuesday (March 19), the Board of Supervisors directed staff to update the county’s zoning laws to include new data center development criteria, such as increased residential buffers, size limits, energy efficiency standards and a mandatory noise study in the site plan.
A committee in the Virginia House of Delegates on Friday advanced to the House floor a bill that would require localities to conduct water studies prior to approving data centers.
The bill, introduced by Del. Josh Thomas, a freshman Democrat who represents western Prince William County in the 21st District, would encourage local governments undergo site assessment to examine the effect of data centers on water usage, carbon emissions and agricultural resources.
Fairfax County is getting a new warehouse or data center next to the Chantilly Auto Park — though unhappy residents and local stakeholder groups say they may take the issue to court.
After a lengthy public hearing on Tuesday (Jan. 23), the Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 to approve a rezoning of a 12-acre plot off Route 50 for industrial use. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity was the sole dissenting vote, and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn was absent.
