The Virginia Pulse
← All stories
LOUDOUN COUNTYOctober 21, 2026

Loudoun pushes data center pause vote to Nov. 17

Loudoun supervisors delayed their final vote on a 12-month pause on data center and substation applications from Oct. 20 to Nov. 17 after the county attorney asked for more time.

Loudoun County's final vote on its Data center application pause will wait another four weeks. The county announced on the morning of Oct. 20 that the resolution, agenda item 14p, was moved from that night's Board of Supervisors business meeting to the Board's Nov. 17 meeting. The county said staff needed more time to develop information to inform the Board's decision.

Board Chair Phyllis Randall told the Loudoun Times-Mirror that County Attorney Leo Rogers requested the deferral after the county received questions from attorneys, and that he wanted more time with other lawyers as "just kind of a check and double-check." Randall said she generally grants first deferral requests. A county spokesperson said there were no more specifics about what information was being researched.

The pause would hold the Board's final votes on data center and substation applications that require legislative approval, such as rezonings and special exceptions, for up to 12 months, the most Virginia law allows. It would be retroactive to Sept. 15, when supervisors voted 7-1-1 to have staff draft it. Applications could still be filed and move through the Planning Commission, and administratively approved applications would not be affected. The Board could still act on projects tied to grid reliability or facing a legal decision deadline.

The county attorney had previously advised that an outright moratorium on data center approvals would not be legal, which is why supervisors chose a time-limited pause. The pause is meant to let the county finish its data center standards and locations review, a set of Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance amendments expected to wrap up in summer 2027.

Residents who signed up to speak on the item could still do so on Oct. 20, and the county says the public can also comment at the Nov. 17 meeting. The delay comes two weeks after supervisors tabled a separate proposal to end grandfathering for data center applications already in the pipeline, following a county attorney warning of up to $60 million in litigation risk.

The Loudoun debate is unfolding alongside a statewide one. Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudoun, has filed SB 843, which would bar data center approvals statewide from July 2027 to July 2030, and other legislators are drafting their own moratorium bills for the General Assembly session that begins Jan. 13, 2027.

Why it matters

Loudoun hosts the world's largest concentration of data centers, and whether it formally pauses final approvals will signal how far Virginia localities can go to slow the industry while state law is debated.

What's next

  • Nov. 17 Loudoun Board of Supervisors business meeting: vote on resolution to pause consideration of data center and substation applications
  • Jan. 13, 2027 General Assembly session opens; SB 843 and other data center moratorium bills

Sources

Get stories like this every week.