On Sept. 10, following extensive community engagement efforts that helped shape the final recommendations presented to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, the Board approved the long-awaited Data Center Zoning Ordinance by a vote of 8-2.

“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 Chairman Jeff McKay said.

The amendment revises the permissions and adds or revises the use-specific standards for data centers to address issues of compatibility with surrounding uses, noise, and aesthetics while introducing stricter standards.

At the board's March 5 meeting this year, the board approved advertising a 4-cent FY 2025 real estate tax rate increase for the County Executive's FY 2025 Fairfax County Advertised Budget. The board enacted a budget that raised the tax rate by 3 cents.

State law restricts how localities can raise revenue. As the county’s commercial tax revenue has declined, Fairfax County supervisors realized the county needed new tax revenue to help fund community services.

In this high-tech region, there is demand for more data centers and a growing number of applications to build them in Fairfax County. Meanwhile demand for commercial office space is shrinking.

The board supported data centers despite resident concerns about noise, property values, and environmental impacts during the Sept. 10 public hearing. The Planning Commission recommended a 200-foot setback from residential areas and Metro, and the board debated whether to treat data centers as by-right uses or require special exceptions. Discussions highlighted the need for balanced regulations to protect residents while fostering economic growth.

Supervisor Pat Herrity (Springfield) said data centers must be “properly located and screened to reduce the impact on our residents.” Although the ordinance was not exactly what Herrity wanted, he “supported the motion as a step in the right direction to achieve that balance.”

In his statement released after the vote, Chairman Jeff McKay also used the word “balanced.” McKay said the board took "a balanced approach. … The board based its action on public input with aggressive but fair standards, which made a quantum leap forward in modernizing our zoning ordinance.”

Two supervisors, Andres Jimenez, representing the Mason District, and Walter Alcorn, representing the Hunter Mill District, voted against the amendment regulating data center placement in Fairfax County. 

Jimenez said this is county-wide ordinance, his focus is on the unique challenges Mason District residents are facing. He noted that “added measures would be critical in addressing concerns specific to our community.” 

Alcorn said his vote was in the spirit of compromise to try to “protect some of the Hunter Mill residents.” Some residents voiced concerns regarding noise, building design, the environment, and proximity to residential areas.

Alcorn proposed an amendment that could have required some data centers in the pipeline to comply with some of the new zoning ordinance, but it was defeated 8-2. This was a bitter setback for some residents who have been fighting data centers proposed in their areas.

In his statement, Herrity outlined the new Zoning Ordinance. It restricts the right to build data centers by-right (without a public zoning process) to parcels zoned heavy industrial (I-5 and I-6), requires a 200-foot setback from residential lot lines; it requires a noise study, and sets height and size requirements by zoning classification without a special exception process.

According to Herrity, the new zoning amendment grandfathers applications that were in process at the initial public hearing on July 16 into the old ones, as is typical with new zoning rules.

However, like Alcorn and Jimenez, Herrity expressed concern. In his statement, Herrity addressed the new requirement to "locate data centers outside of a one-mile radius around Metro." Herrity said that certain Metro areas, such as the Franconia-Springfield Metro, “contain heavy industrial land that is not suitable for residential development within that radius.”

Tyler Ray, President of the Bren Pointe HOA Board, a coalition of Bren Mar residents who have opposed the Plaza 500 data center for two years, said the board favored deep-pocketed data center developers over residents by approving the proposal. The board approved “denying residents the basic right to a public hearing on massive data centers that will be placed next door to them.”

Video of the Public Hearing on the  Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment Re: Data Centers is available at https://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/player/clip/3475?view_id=7&redirect=true. It begins at time stamp 4:32:55.

Key Changes for Data Center Approval

Source: Fairfax County

The previous zoning ordinance permitted data centers in various commercial and industrial districts, with specific standards for equipment enclosure and building size. However, the newly approved amendment introduces stricter guidelines, including:

• Equipment Enclosure: In all districts where data centers are allowed, all equipment must be enclosed or screened by a wall or similar barrier to reduce visual and noise impacts.

• Size Thresholds: Limits on the size of by-right data centers are retained where they previously applied and now the I-4 District has a size limit as well. Larger developments require special exception approval, except in the I-5 and I-6 Zoning Districts

• Residential Setback: Data center buildings must be at least 200 feet from the lot line of an adjacent or abutting residential district or property. Equipment such as back-up generators must be 300 feet from the lot line of residential property or separated from the lot line of a residential district or residential property by the data center building. Lesser distances may be allowed with special exception approval.

• Distance from Metro Stations: Data centers must be at least one mile from a Metro station.

• Noise Studies: Pre- and post-construction noise studies must be submitted to ensure compliance with the Noise Ordinance.

• Building Design: Main entrance features, façade variations, and other architectural elements are required to enhance the visual appeal of these industrial buildings.