On Oct. 7, Loudoun Now reported that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors tabled, indefinitely, a push to revoke or independently audit grandfathering for pending data center applications. Director of Building and Development Betsy Smith told the board at its Oct. 6 meeting that 15 applications totaling 10.5 million square feet still meet the grandfathering rules. County staff said pulling those protections early would likely bring litigation that could cost up to $60 million.
What happened
Supervisors Laura A. TeKrony (Little River) and Juli E. Briskman (Algonkian) had wanted to end the March 2025 grandfathering resolution before its sunset and force those files through the newer special-exception rules. After staff laid out the legal exposure, TeKrony shifted to an independent audit of 30 projects — 15 approved since March 2025 and 15 still under review — with up to $200,000 authorized for an outside reviewer and a report due by April 2027.
Loudoun Now reported that Chair Phyllis J. Randall called a motion to table the item indefinitely before a vote on the audit. That motion passed 7-2, with TeKrony and Briskman opposed. The grandfathering resolution stays in place until Feb. 12, 2028.
Outlets do not describe the night the same way. Bisnow, in a story published Oct. 7 at 7:33 p.m., said supervisors tabled the discussion without a vote because support did not extend past the sponsors. DC News Now, updated Oct. 6 at 11:03 p.m., reported that the audit motion was not formally submitted in time and was expected back on Oct. 20, and put the staff liability range at $45 million to $60 million. The shared facts are the 15 applications, the 10.5 million square feet, and the decision not to strip the old rules on Oct. 6.
Smith also said four applications totaling 1.8 million square feet have already lost grandfathering since February 2025, and that another file of just under 100,000 square feet missed the cutoff because it sits within 500 feet of residential property. Those counts can still change before the 2028 sunset.
Bisnow identified the largest remaining file as Digital Realty’s Digital Dulles Phase 3, a seven-building expansion near Dulles International Airport that would take that campus to 7.8 million square feet. Loudoun Now did not name that project in its Oct. 7 account.
Why a buyer or seller cares
Grandfathered files can still be built under the older staff-level path, including sites near homes in Ashburn, Sterling, Broadlands, and the Dulles corridor. That is the difference between a neighborhood that expected a board hearing and one that may not get one. A speaker at the meeting, Patricia Gallardo, told the board Broadlands residents still cannot tell whether a nearby site is three buildings or five. The tax base those projects support is also why the county administrator, Tim Hemstreet, told the board that rating agencies will watch how the county treats the industry.
The separate idea of a board pause on new legislative data center and substation cases is still scheduled for Oct. 20. That pause, if adopted, would not unwind the grandfathered files.
What is still open
Whether any of the 15 files lose status before Feb. 12, 2028. Whether the audit idea returns on Oct. 20, as DC News Now reported it might. Whether the board adopts the up-to-12-month pause on new legislative applications at that same meeting.
Sources
- Hanna Bloom, “Effort to Audit Loudoun Data Centers Dies During Board Meeting,” Loudoun Now, Oct. 7, 2026.
- Dan Rabb, “Lawmakers Punt On Stripping Approvals From 15 Projects In Data Center Alley,” Bisnow, Oct. 7, 2026, 7:33 p.m. ET.
- DC News Now, “Loudoun delays data center review as county warns of up to $60M in legal risk,” updated Oct. 6, 2026, 11:03 p.m. ET.
- Washington Business Journal social post, Oct. 8, 2026, noting supervisors had backed away from eliminating the protections for now.
If you want the distance from a specific Ashburn, Sterling, or Leesburg address to one of these files, send the address and we will check the public record with you.
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