Loudoun County residents will have two chances later this month to talk directly with county staff about the next round of rules governing data centers — an industry that has transformed large parts of eastern Loudoun and remains at the center of the county’s debate over growth.
The county will hold open houses Sept. 28 at Broad Run High School in Ashburn and Sept. 30 at the Douglass Community Center in Leesburg. Both will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and will cover the same material.
This time, county officials are looking beyond the basic question of where data centers should be allowed. The discussion includes some of the issues residents are increasingly likely to notice outside the walls of the buildings themselves: noise, electrical substations, on-site power generation and battery energy storage systems.
County staff also are considering changes to standards governing the design and siting of data centers.
The meetings are part of the second phase of Loudoun’s Data Center Standards and Locations project, which the Board of Supervisors launched in February 2024.
The first phase produced a significant change in March 2025, when supervisors moved away from allowing data centers as a by-right use. Data centers are now generally subject to a conditional or special exception process, giving the county and the public greater scrutiny over proposed projects.
Phase two turns to the rules that will shape future projects and address the effects of the data center development already on the ground.
That matters particularly in eastern Loudoun, where massive data center campuses, transmission infrastructure and substations have become increasingly prominent parts of the landscape. Ashburn, once known largely as a suburban community surrounded by remnants of Loudoun’s rural past, is now internationally associated with the infrastructure that keeps the internet running.
The Sept. 28 and Sept. 30 events won’t operate like the typical government hearing.
There will be no formal presentation or opening remarks. Residents can arrive at any point during the two-and-a-half-hour window, speak individually with employees from the Loudoun County Department of Planning and Zoning and participate in short online surveys and polls. County Zoning Enforcement staff also plan to conduct noise-metering demonstrations.
The format could give residents an opportunity to get into the details of proposed regulations without having to wait for a turn at a public hearing microphone.
What residents say at the open houses will become part of the record county staff use in developing their recommendations. The second phase of the project is currently expected to reach the Loudoun County Planning Commission in February 2027.
The first open house is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 28, at the Broad Run High School cafeteria, 21670 Ashburn Road in Ashburn. The second will be Wednesday, Sept. 30, in the main gym at the Douglass Community Center, 407 E. Market St. in Leesburg.
Residents don’t have to attend either meeting to weigh in. Loudoun County is also accepting comments through its online form throughout the process.
The county’s decisions in this phase could have consequences well beyond individual data center applications. After years in which data center construction reshaped the eastern end of Loudoun, officials are now working out how much control the county should exercise over the industry’s noise, power infrastructure, building design and location — and what protections should be in place for the communities growing alongside it.
