The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday night to pause new data center development.
The vote directs board staff to draft a resolution that would pause data center applications for 12 months.
It passed 7-1-1, with Supervisor Kristen Umstattd of the Leesburg district voting against it and Supervisor Caleb Kershner of the Catoctin district abstaining.
The board chair made it clear the measure was not a ban or a moratorium, describing it as a way to give the county time to craft new laws concerning the facilities and how they affect nearby communities.
Data center development has been an incredibly contentious issue in Loudoun County, which is home to 233 data centers, the largest concentration in the U.S. A tremendous amount of the world’s internet traffic goes through there due to the long-time ties of the area being home to AOL’s original headquarters.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Jackie Bensen over at NBC 4 Washington
