Fairfax County board approves new data center regulations, promises further review

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.

“What we’re doing here is taking a quantum leap forward to put in place restrictions on data centers that come close, as close as we can, to meeting the concerns that people have raised with us about data centers,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said during the Sept. 10 meeting.

Key provisions of the new ordinance include:

A minimum distance of a mile from any Metro station

A 200-foot setback from any residential areas

An 80,000-square-foot size limit most industrial zones

Noise studies required upfront before site plan approval and occupancy permits

Enhanced screening and equipment enclosure requirements to reduce visual and noise impacts

The ordinance also includes a “grandfather” clause allowing data center projects already in the pipeline before July 2024 to proceed under the previous, less restrictive rules.

According to county staff, there are currently six data center applications that have been accepted by the county for review but not yet approved.

Of those six applications, one wouldn’t meet the proposed 1-mile setback requirement from a Metro station, and another would require a special exception or redesign due to its proximity to residential areas.

The nearly five-hour public hearing was a repeat of one held on July 16 after a notice requirement error forced the county board to reschedule or postpone several hearings. Most of the 60 attendees voiced opposition to the revised ordinance, but there were some notable differences in their perspectives and recommendations.

Some speakers, particularly those representing the data center industry, argued the proposed amendments went too far in restricting development and would make Fairfax County less business-friendly.

They warned stricter rules could drive the data center industry to build elsewhere, potentially costing Fairfax County millions in tax revenue that could benefit schools, property owners, and local businesses.

“Data centers generate high paying jobs which don’t just benefit the people who earn those wages, but help other businesses in the area that have to have people frequent them, that have resources,” Chantilly resident George Landrith said during the meeting.

In contrast, many residents and community groups supported stronger regulations but argued that the the revised data center zoning ordinance doesn’t go far enough.

Specifically, they called for applying the new standards to all pending applications, extending setback distances from residential areas to between 500 and 1,000 feet, increasing the distance from Metro stations from the half-mile proposed by staff to a full mile, and setting tougher noise, environmental, and equipment enclosure standards.

“Tonight, we your residents and constituents of the county over which you preside, need protective measures to shield us from data centers being able to build without public discussion in our backyards,” said Ridges at Edsall Homeowners Association President Tim Pendergrass, a strong critic of the proposed Plaza 500 data center.

“We ask that you please not abdicate your responsibility,” he added. “We ask you to set an applicability date in the best interest of the residents that achieves the goal and purpose of the data center zoning ordinance amendment…respects each of your districts as well as the benefits and interests of the county.”

Speakers were split on whether existing data center applications should be reviewed under the old or new regulations, with some backing exemptions to provide fairness to developers, while others advocated for compliance with the new standards.

Additionally, some speakers questioned how factors like carbon emissions and water usage could be effectively regulated through the zoning process alone, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing the environmental impacts.

“Data centers currently threaten to destroy the carbon goals that we’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS) Board Chairman Scott Peterson said.

Although supervisors were sympathetic to residents’ concerns, the majority ultimately supported the revised ordinance, with Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) and Andres Jimenez (Mason) as the two dissenters.

The supportive supervisors described the regulations as a “balanced” approach to mitigating data center impacts while recognizing the industry’s economic importance to the county.

“When you look at the comparison to what the value was for the office building versus the data center — and that value has gone up more than five times — and then what you’ve seen with the value from a taxing standpoint, that’s gone up over 10 times,” Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said. “It just helps us kind of understand the value of these economic development opportunities with data centers. And I’ll say we have to appreciate the balance that has to be struck here.”

Still, supervisors emphasized this is an ongoing process, and data centers will continue to be a focus for them going forward, directing county staff to further study their environmental impacts, including by reviewing energy commitments, monitoring wastewater issues and considering additional policy guidelines.

“We have more work to do,” Sully District Supervisor and Board Vice-Chair Kathy Smith said. “We’re not done today.”

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James Jarvis

James Jarvis