Data Center Among Ashburn Proposals Headed To Board

ASHBURN, VA — Several notable proposals are headed to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Wednesday, including a data center, drive-thru restaurant and residential development.

One of the notable actions will be on a data center campus on about 70 acres west of Belmont Ridge Road south of Route 7 in Ashburn. Loudoun County is home to the largest concentration of data centers, earning it the nickname of "Data Center Alley."

The proposal up for board review calls for rezoning about 70 acres to allow development of a data center. The data center campus would be across Belmont Ridge Road from homes to the east and borders Goose Creek to the west. Data centers are considered conditional uses in these suburban employment place type areas due to impacts on surrounding residences.

During a Jan. 10 public hearing, nine of 13 public speakers were opposed, citing concerns like noise, visual impacts power line locations, power requirements and infrastructure requirements for data centers. The remaining speakers were supportive, pointing to protection of Goose creek, surrounding buffers and removing the Gloucester Parkway extension.

Since the public hearing, the applicant submitted a revised proposal to accommodate the future Gloucester Parkway extension, decrease the density of the data center campus by 20 percent, increase use of glass for exterior building facades by 10 percent, and commit to 10,000 square feet of solar panels per data center building.

SEE ALSO: Loudoun's Data Center Process Setting Standards, Locations To Begin

Here are the other proposals in Ashburn the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will consider Wednesday.

Goose Creek Village Drive-Thru Restaurant

The board will consider approval of a drive-thru restaurant at Goose Creek Village, a mixed-use community in Ashburn. The applicant, Goose Creek Retail, has not named a specific restaurant that would open in the drive-thru restaurant space at 42810 Creek View Plaza. The space is currently a vacant open lawn.

The restaurant would have a dual drive-thru lane and outdoor seating area. The drive-thru entrance width was previously revised to ensure handicap accessible parking spaces have enough room to exit. During a Feb. 14 board public hearing, three opposed public speakers raised concerns about trash control and traffic circulation in the shopping center.

Tillett's View Residential Development

A proposal for a residential development at 42550 Waxpool Road in Ashburn returns to the board. The Tillett's View proposal calls for rezoning of about 49.6 acres to allow up to 397 homes. This includes 103 single-family homes, 184 single-family attached homes and 110 multifamily stacked units with a density of 8 dwelling units per acre.

The proposal is recommended to be rejected by the Planning Commission and county staff. County staff said the proposal's "proposed transportation commitments do not align with the Loudoun County 2019 Countywide Transportation Plan." Public speakers at Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meetings shared concerns about impacts on surrounding residential areas, traffic and walkability.

The Board of Supervisors will meet for a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the Board Room at the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison St., SE, Leesburg, VA.