Demand for data center development opportunities remains at unprecedented levels across Virginia. But how the industry is regulated by Virginia’s diverse cities and counties is not uniform....more
Loudoun County, Va., joins a growing number of northern Virginia jurisdictions taking affirmative steps to restrict data center development. As the first part of a two-phase process, the board of supervisors voted to advance...more
On June 6, 2024, the Fairfax County, Virginia Planning Commission recommended approval of zoning ordinance amendments that will create new restrictions for data centers. The proposed ordinance will permit by-right data center...more
Fairfax County, Virginia, recently released draft zoning ordinance text amendments to provide new regulations for data centers within the county. A link to the draft zoning ordinance amendments may be found here....more
On April 20, 2024, the Arlington County Board considered several policy changes designed to address the rising office vacancy rate in the county. The board’s attempts are part of the county’s efforts to revitalize the...more
On March 19, 2024, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed Department of Planning and Development staff to update the county zoning ordinance with additional regulatory guidance for data center development. It is...more
Over the past year, local governments in Northern Virginia — including Fairfax County, Fauquier County, Caroline County and Spotsylvania County — have taken steps to enact, or begin the process of enacting, new and generally...more
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz announced on Jan. 23, 2024, that Arlington County will draft and potentially adopt office conversion regulations in the first half of 2024....more
Fairfax County, Virginia, recently released updated recommendations for data center development in the county, including potential changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance standards for data center development....more
The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors adopted guidelines to control new data center developments on Dec. 14, 2023. The policy is the product of collaboration between the county’s planning staff and a committee that met in...more
On Nov. 11, 2023, the Arlington County Board adopted Plan Langston Boulevard (PLB) after a nearly five-year planning process. PLB establishes long-term planning guidelines for the Langston Boulevard corridor, and includes...more
On Oct. 26, 2023, Arlington County released the final version of Plan Langston Boulevard (PLB) and scheduled public hearings for potential adoption in November. The final plan, which incorporates a few changes to certain land...more
The growing demand for data center space in Virginia increasingly has led the industry to locations outside northern Virginia. As a result, many central Virginia jurisdictions recently revised their planning and zoning...more
Like many Virginia jurisdictions, Fairfax County is reevaluating how it regulates data centers. As part of the zMOD readoption, the Board of Supervisors authorized an evaluation of Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan and...more
As described in more detail in McGuireWoods’ June 20, 2023, alert, Fairfax County, Virginia, continues to propose major changes to its sign approval process that will add another public hearing and impose new requirements for...more
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted “Parking Reimagined” on Sept. 26, 2023.
The adopted ordinance includes significant parking reductions for commercial and multifamily uses, although the final multifamily...more
On July 11, 2023, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan to incorporate long-term planning goals for data center uses....more
As highlighted in McGuireWoods’ May 10, 2023, alert, Fairfax County is undertaking a review of its data center regulations. On July 18, 2023, the Fairfax County Land Use Policy Committee added data centers to the FY 2024...more
Fairfax County has proposed major changes to its sign approval process that will add another public hearing and impose new requirements for properties seeking additional signage....more
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to re-adopt the Zoning Ordinance Modernization effort dubbed zMOD, based on recommendations from the Planning Commission....more
As part of Fairfax County’s re-adoption of zMod, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a study of its data center regulations....more
Fairfax County, Virginia, has announced plans to re-adopt the z-Mod zoning ordinance at its May 9, 2023, Board of Supervisors meeting.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision in Berry v. Board of Supervisors of Fairfax...more
On March 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of Virginia invalidated the Fairfax County, Virginia, Zoning Ordinance commonly known as z-Mod.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted z-Mod in March 2021, but the state...more
At its business meeting on Sept. 20, 2022, the Loudoun County Board moved forward with staff directives to amend Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan language to change regulations and policies affecting data center...more
Arlington County, Virginia, recently launched the Future of Outdoor Dining (FOOD) Study to examine current outdoor dining regulations and develop guidelines for outdoor dining areas on private property and in public rights of...more