Data center regulations in Virginia evolved further with the veto session of the 2025 Legislative Session, March 24, 2025. Gov. Glenn Youngkin elected to not sign HB 1601/SB 1449 — which would require data center site...more
At its March 18, 2025, business meeting, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 to approve a Zoning Ordinance amendment making data centers a special exception use in zoning districts in which they were previously...more
On Feb. 20, 2025, the Arlington County Manager approved a significant update to Administrative Regulation 4.1, which governs the submission and review process for most real estate development in Arlington County....more
For the first time since 2009, the Virginia General Assembly has not extended the validity periods for all approved site plans, special permits and special exceptions. Under Code of Virginia Section 15.2-2209.1:1, all valid...more
Understanding the history of data centers in Virginia provides insight into how the General Assembly may manage the industry going forward, says McGuireWoods Consulting senior vice president Preston Bryant in an article...more
Fairfax County, Virginia, will hold a series of sessions to provide additional information about the upcoming site specific plan amendment (SSPA) cycle in early 2025. This is Fairfax County’s process for reviewing proposed...more
On Oct. 1, 2024, Arlington County released the draft County Board Policy on the Transformation of Commercial Office Buildings and draft zoning ordinance amendments for adaptive reuse projects....more
The Arlington Circuit Court struck down Arlington’s Missing Middle policy, also known as the Expanding Housing Option development policy, on Sept. 27, 2024. Judge David Schell ruled that in adopting the policy, Arlington...more
On Sept. 10, 2024, the Fairfax County, Virginia Board of Supervisors approved a zoning ordinance amendment that creates new restrictions for data centers. The amended ordinance permits by-right data center development in...more
On July 31, 2024, Arlington County previewed upcoming policy changes for adaptive reuse projects. The county’s current intent is to limit the policy to projects that change the principal use (such as office to residential)...more
In 2020, Fairfax County, Virginia, adopted an Economic Incentive Program (EIP) that, among other incentives, provides for a partial real estate tax abatement equal to the difference in value between the base value...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
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 Oct. 10, 2023, the Arlington County Board held a working session with economic development staff to discuss potential policy changes to facilitate office-residential projects....more
Fairfax County, Virginia’s Parking Reimagined project moved closer to adoption after the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted Sept. 13, 2023, to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors....more
On June 20, 2023, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 to allocate $90,000 and to direct staff to start the process to amend the comprehensive plan and maps to reflect direction from earlier this year related...more
On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced it has officially withdrawn a proposal for a variance to a state law regarding the use of diesel generators as backup power for data centers...more
Fairfax County’s land use systems — including zoning, site plan, permitting and inspections — will be offline from Oct. 21-31, 2022, for a major system update. This also could impact functionality in the weeks after the...more
Fairfax County, Virginia, planning staff recently released a report recommending changes to the current comprehensive plan Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process. The proposed changes are intended to make the overall...more
Changes are coming to the Fairfax County Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission held a joint meeting Oct. 12, 2021, to discuss the SSPA process for...more
The Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors recently approved an extension to the emergency ordinance that permits flexibility for uses impacted by COVID-19. This includes extending temporary approvals for outdoor...more
This alert was originally published Sept. 16, 2020. New information has been added. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently moved forward in its consideration of a new Economic Incentive Program (EIP) that would...more
Arlington County, Virginia, announced in mid-October 2020 that it would develop administrative guidance for office building conversion site plan applications. In the last few weeks, Arlington County officially implemented...more
The Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors recently approved a 60-day emergency ordinance that permits flexibility for uses impacted by state or federal COVID-19 requirements. The ordinance suspends any proffer,...more
In response to the impact of COVID-19 on the office real estate market, Arlington County, Virginia, recently announced it is pursuing new administrative guidance to increase flexibility and support for repurposing existing...more