The world’s largest data center hub is headed for a pause on some facility applications.

Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday night voted to direct staff to prepare a resolution that would halt consideration of legislative data center applications for up to 12 months. The 7-1 vote, with one supervisor abstaining, came during a five-and-a-half-hour board meeting and after more than an hour of debate on the data center motion.

The move is a setback for developers looking to build new projects in the data center capital of the world, and it could set a roadmap for other localities to work around a legal doctrine in Virginia that effectively does not allow for moratoriums. 

“For too long, data center development has moved faster than our land use policies and our ability to address the impacts,” Algonkian District Supervisor Juli Briskman, who originally proposed the motion, said during the meeting.

“Loudouners have repeatedly raised questions about noise, air quality, water, all the new substations and power lines that are encroaching on our schools and our communities, our public spaces, our parks, and the data centers are doing that as well.”

The board would still need to vote on the staff's resolution before the measure takes effect.

“A moratorium is not allowed in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” County Attorney Leo Rogers said during the meeting, adding that the rule applies to both administrative and legislative applications.

But legislative applications, which include rezonings and special exceptions, go to the Board of Supervisors, which has one year to make a decision.

Rogers said that under Loudoun’s zoning ordinance, the clock starts when it goes to the planning commission, and that the board can pause its consideration for “good reason.” The purpose in this case would be to allow the board to complete Phase 2 of its data center standard amendments, a process that kicked off last year.

In July, the board approved a motion directing county staff to present an item at its Sept. 15 meeting that would establish a pause on applications along with a legal analysis from the county’s attorney. That move sparked a debate over whether Loudoun could legally implement a data center moratorium, given that Virginia is subject to a legal doctrine called Dillon’s Rule that says localities can only do what the state expressly allows. 

The board on Tuesday voted to make public the county attorney’s legal memo regarding the proposed pause. Supervisors also approved a separate motion that would ensure the upcoming resolution allows supervisors to take up any application during the pause if it involves a “grid reliability substation or if the statutory period is about to expire.”

Loudoun’s proposal is one of several efforts across Virginia and the country to rein in data center development. It comes amid growing national public backlash over the digital infrastructure.

The wealthy Northern Virginia enclave's move carries added weight because of its importance to the global market. A large chunk of the world's internet traffic flows through Ashburn in the county's eastern edge, a cluster known as Data Center Alley.

Tax revenues from the county's more than 250 data centers have allowed it to make large investments in new schools and parks. But residents have begun to rail against the developments, which have popped up in large numbers behind homes, shops and along highways.

Loudoun County said in an FAQ on its website last month that the board of supervisors “does not have the legal authority to implement a moratorium on new data center applications.” That webpage has since been either taken down or moved.