Amazon's Ashburn Data Center Plans Must Face Public Review: Loudoun Zoning Chief

ASHBURN, VA – Amazon can’t build new data centers on a former George Washington University campus without approval from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, according to a new report.

Loudoun Now reports that Loudoun County Zoning Administrator Theresa Miller told the board during their Tuesday meeting that Amazon will need explicit permission to build data centers on the former Ashburn campus.

The property is in the Route 28 Tax District, a special tax overlay that allowed properties within it to remain under a flexible 1972 zoning ordinance rather than later updates. It was created to fund improvements to Route 28 infrastructure, payments that will be completed in December.

The 1972 zoning ordinance was understood to allow data centers to be developed by-right, with only staff-level approval and no public hearings or votes, following a 2000 Zoning Administrator advisory opinion that equated data center development to "office uses." In July 2026, however, the county’s zoning administrator issued a revised advisory opinion finding that data centers are not permitted as a principal or primary use under the 1972 Zoning Ordinance.

The outlet explains that, according to Miller, data processing services are only permissible as secondary or subordinate components of other principal uses in the relevant zoning district.

Miller said some parts of Amazon’s property are also subject to further restrictions the county put in place when it acquired the land, limiting its use to processes needed by an institute of higher learning. Any changes to those covenants would also require board approval.

County Attorney Leo Rogers said he agreed that the 1972 zoning ordinance rules and additional regulations attached to some areas of the campus mean Amazon would need board approval before building data centers on the property, according to the report.

In July, Amazon applied to build more than 800,000 square feet of data center complexes on the 122-acre site it bought in March.

See more from Loudoun Now here.