Developers Urge Loudoun County To ‘Slow Down And Get It Right’ As It Advances Zoning Rewrite

For the first time in two decades, Loudoun County is overhauling its zoning map that guides what can be built in the county and where.

The updated zoning policy, guided by the comprehensive plan the county passed in 2019, will override the 2003 guidelines used to determine what type of development is allowed on a site. The Board of Supervisors is set to hear public comments Wednesday on the draft passed by the county Planning Commission earlier this month, before they complete their own revisions and move to adoption. 

But the rewrite on the table is causing some developers to push back, asking for the county to reconsider some prescriptions they deem restrictive and imploring officials to take their time and “get it right.”

The issue was top of mind for developers and city officials at Bisnow’s Future of Loudoun County event at Ashburn's Loudoun Station on Thursday.

“If you’re a landowner in the county … you should be concerned about what’s being proposed and how it can and will affect your property and the property values,” said JK Land Holdings owner Chuck Kuhn, whose firm has been growing its pipeline of data center projects in Loudoun County.

The ordinance seeks to, among other things, protect historic areas, reduce congestion, protect against overcrowding of land, promote health and safety, encourage development that provides jobs and enlarges the tax base, and promote attainable housing.

In general, developers are worried that the new regulations are too prescriptive and restrictive about assets that would be deemed nonconforming under the proposed zoning. 

“The risk is that you have existing buildings that are by-right and they could change if there’s a casualty, if the building collapses, if the building burns down, you can’t restore it,” said St. John Properties Regional Partner Matthew Holbrook, whose firm owns a large portfolio of office, industrial and flex properties in the area. 

“So how do you finance a building in the county if you can’t restore your building? It’s things like that that are really important to work out for data centers, for grandfathering or a host of other really important issues.” 

Buddy Rizer, executive director of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, who is helping rewrite the ordinance, also pointed to concerns around the data center industry. Loudoun is the largest digital infrastructure hub in the country, with 25M SF of data centers and 4M SF in development, but the industry has faced increasing local pushback in recent years.

“Making sure that zoning ordinance is right and something that protects our community but enables our future growth — all of that is going to be vital," Rizer said. "We want to protect our data center industry. Even here in Loudoun County, even $750M in yearly revenue is a big deal right?” 

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall said her main priorities for the new ordinance is to allow for more flexibility, include more areas for adaptive reuse and improve access to affordable housing in the county. 

County officials are pushing to get the ordinance through swiftly, before the board’s term is up in November. 

“I want to try very, very, very hard to get the zoning ordinance through this term,” Randall said. 

She noted that the current board members were the ones involved in creating the 2019 General Plan, on which this ordinance will be based, and that they and their staff should thus be involved in creating its practical prescriptions.

Randall also argued that if the ordinance doesn’t get passed during this board’s term, it likely won’t get passed for another 18 months. 

“Which means the zoning board and the comprehensive plan are out of alignment for at least another 18 months,” she said.

Developers, on the other hand, are pressing the county to take its time.

“You heard Chair Randall talk earlier about the need for speed and the importance of getting the zoning rewrite done fast," Kuhn said. "I understand a lot of her concerns. I am much more concerned for all of us in the county for it to be done right than done fast."

“If we can do it right and fast, that is great. Otherwise, I strongly ask the county to slow down and get it right."

The ordinance has been in the works for the past three years, during which time it has received thousands of comments, according to the county. In the past year, the Planning Commission held two public hearings and 20 work sessions. 

Holbrook, too, implored the county to take its time with the difficult issues. 

“What's been tackled so far is a lot of the low-hanging fruit and some of the complicated issues. What's left? Complicated issues with real nuance,” he said. “I hope they slow down. I hope they pay attention to detail.”

The one multifamily developer on the panel, Comstock Vice President of Leasing Jessy Toor, said she’s looking forward to increased flexibility that could come from the zoning rewrite. 

“The one highlight that I personally found in the ordinance is the expansion of uses,” Toor said. 

Comstock developed Metro-adjacent Loudoun Station, which has around 1M SF of development already built and another 1.5M SF planned. 

Toor said there have been instances when the company couldn’t add the amenities for office and residential tenants, as well as the greater community, because they weren’t permitted under the county's zoning. 

Kuhn emphasized the overarching importance of the document at hand that’s setting a new precedent for the region. 

“It is a huge, huge concern that’s touching all aspects of land zoning, land development, land value, land potential value in the county.” 

CORRECTION, AUG. 2, 2:45 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated the size of the Loudoun Station project. This story has been updated.