Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Business Meeting and Public Hearing, Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Place: Board Room, First Floor, Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg, Virginia
Length: 7h 24m (video)
Official meeting video (county, Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/7909
Meeting page: https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/7909

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-11. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:11:02] Well, good evening, Supervisors, good evening, Staff, and good evening, Loudon. I'd like to call the order of the March 18, 2025 Loudon County Board Supervisors' Business Meeting. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please switch your hearing aid to the telecall mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well.

[00:11:19] Please see the clerk to request one. This evening, Mr. Letourneau is going to lead us in words of inspiration, our prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Letourneau. Thank you, Chair Randall. Heavenly Father, we pray for peace throughout the world. We ask you to protect our brave men and women in our military.

[00:11:39] We ask you to protect those that are vulnerable around the world. We give special thanks for our first responders here in Loudoun County, for all of our hardworking employees that helped make this a great place to be. And we ask for your wisdom as we continue to try to make this the best county that it can be.

[00:11:56] Amen. Okay.

[00:12:22] All right. I'm going to read the proposed agenda, and then I'll say some other stuff. The proposed agenda is as follows. Proclamation to recognize gift Tuesday. That's for approval and presentation. Mr. Turner will join me down front for that.

[00:12:39] Proclamation to recognize March 2025 as Women's History Month in Loudoun County. That's also for presentation. Ms. Umstead, Ms. Glass, Mr. Crony, and Ms. Bixman will join me down front for that. Number three, to resolution to honor life in service of Wilto Victor Brick.

[00:12:59] As for approval only, Mr. Turner and I will be presenting that to him at another time. Resolution to recognize 2025 best workplace for commuters, that's for approval only. I will be going over there. R5, proclamation to recognize March 21st, 2025 is safe soil day.

[00:13:19] That's Ms. Brickson's, it's for approval only. Item number one, contract renewal, public safety, two-way radio and related equipment. 1B, contract renewal, day support, and employment services. 1C, contract award, roadway, and transportation design services. 1D, Laudan Museum memorandum of agreement.

[00:13:37] 1E, beneficial use of landfill gas. 2A, appointments and confirmations. 3, administrative items report of March 18, 2025. Four, proposed traffic calming measures in the Waterford Ridge community.

[00:13:53] Number five, LEGIE 2023-0109, NOPEC, South Fork substation, special exception 2024-0033, and special exception 2024-0034.

[00:14:10] Item 10, board member initiative defined the established performance criteria for microgrids and other on-site power generation uses. Item 11, Board Member Initiative, proposed changes to the Board of Supervisors, rules of order, last consent agenda. I will move this motion. Is there a second on the motion?

[00:14:27] Motion seconded by the Vice Chair Turner. Discussion on the motion. Ms. Brixman. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to draw my colleagues' attention to the beneficial use of landfill gas, which came through Finance Committee unanimously.

[00:14:43] It's really a unique project if you get a chance to take a look at it, initiated by Supervisor Sainz a couple years ago to look at how we could use our landfill waste to generate energy. And so what we did is we're going to send out an RFP and build, hopefully, something at our landfill which will capture greenhouse gases and convert them to energy.

[00:15:08] and we'll be able to put it on the grid for credits and also be able to power our buses. So it's a really unique project, and kudos to Ernie Brown and Mark Avini and their team for putting these ideas together.

[00:15:27] Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Supervisor Glass. Yes, Madam Chair. I would like to suspend the rules. I have a motion to approve a nomination. okay that's we're not we're not there yet not there that's additions and to deletions we'll get there in a sec okay thank you all right mr. mr. Turner Richard Turner thank you madam chair I just a couple of comments about the told Victor brick if you look at his history in the resolution he at 16 years old the Nazis invaded Poland and he joined the Polish underground and he fought with the

[00:16:03] Polish underground for three years before he was captured sent to a prisoner war camp just treated brutally um and was uh released by the allies and then uh joined the allied forces i believe and ultimately came over to america as an american citizen it's an amazing history i'm really really honored and proud that we he's 102 years old we're going to honor him with a resolution the second one is the board member initiative on establishing performance circuit criteria for microgrids this is pretty straightforward microgrids are the wave of the future for the data center community in one form or another some variation there's absolutely

[00:16:39] nothing in our zoning ordinance about microgrids right now um and i think it's really essential that we begin to examine what kind of performance standards and what kinds of regulations and managerial control do we want to assert over microgrids and so i've included this it's pretty straightforward but i appreciate uh our approval thank you um my motion um on number i mean my yeah the motion number 11 um to change this to the board's resolu rules of order will go into effect the next meeting. We could go into effect this meeting because we're passing it right now, but I will hold it to the next meeting because I think people might not be prepared to do some of these things yet, but on April 1st, we will start to use the new rules of

[00:17:19] order. A motion was made by me, seconded by Supervisor Turner. All the people who say aye. Aye. Any opposed? A motion will pass 7-0-2. There's an addition to the agenda. Ms. Glass, your addition to the agenda will be -- Madam Chair, I'm sorry, point of clarification, There's someone else off the dais, so I think it's 6-0-3.

[00:17:38] He was just there. I have no idea, but I just noticed. She was just there, right? I know. She was just there, right? She wasn't there for the vote. She was, but she wasn't there. 6-0-3. Okay, are you saying yes on the descendant agenda? Are you yes for the descendant? Okay, 7-0-2.

[00:17:54] All right. All right, Ms. Glass, we're going to do the actual item when we get to confirmations, but if you'd like to make an addition to the agenda right now, you can go in and do that. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the Board of Supervisors approve the nomination of Mr. Cliff Kearse to an at-large seat on the Board of Equalization for term expiring March 17, 2028.

[00:18:20] So the addition to the agenda is that we will have that, we will have Mr. Kearse, Mr. Kearse, this motion, when we get to confirmations, the addition to the agenda is we're adding the motion to A under confirmations, and we will do that when we get there.

[00:18:35] Thank you. Yes. It technically requires a suspension of rules. When we get there. Yeah, when we get there. We're not going to do that right now. We'll do that when we get there. Okay, supervisors, I have decided that this evening I'm going to go, I'm going to forego my voice for a cause and my chair's comments. And I'm doing that because tonight's agenda is so busy. We're going to be here. If we're out of here by 11 o'clock, I will be very, very happy. It's a very busy agenda.

[00:19:05] it's also because the information I have both from being at NACO and from being at COG is so important. It is all the information about how the executive orders are impacting Loudon and Northern Virginia and all that I've learned, all the numbers, all the nuances, and it's so much.

[00:19:28] I want to be able to walk us through it kind of slowly, and I can't do that tonight because the agenda is so full. So I'm just going to forego those things tonight. Expect at the next meeting I'm going to take a little bit of time to talk about my chair's comments, and I'll have a voice for a cause back at that next meeting. But I just want to forego it this time.

[00:19:45] Sylvester, I will say this. It's going to be a very long meeting. It's going to be a very hard meeting to chair because there's motions on this day as right now that literally are conflicting motions. And so how to put motions out there and win, it's going to be lot so i'm asking you all i am i am begging you all no side talks tonight um no unnecessary talking tonight just in general because this is a tough meeting to get through and we have um all of our speaking slots are full with 21 people um on the wait list and so just that alone is going to

[00:20:23] make it a a longer meeting so i'm just going to say all that tonight and so please please begging you please to be aware of how how involved this meeting is. Mr. Hemstreet do you have any comments for this evening? Yes Madam Chair. I have four comments for this evening. The first is that the upcoming Northern Virginia Housing Expo on April 12th at Meridian High School in Falls Church will showcase affordable home ownership and rental opportunities in Loudoun and the region. Loudoun

[00:21:00] County is one of several jurisdictions that work together to coordinate the annual event which will feature workshops and exhibit hall and one-on-one financial coaching sessions. The expo is free. Details about the event can be found at loud.gov slash housing. Second, renewal applications are due April 1st for participants in the county's tax relief programs for older adults and those who are totally and permanently disabled. Qualified applicants may be relieved from paying real estate taxes on their home and may be eligible for a reduced vehicle tax. The filing deadline for first-time applicants for vehicle tax relief is September 2nd, while first-time applicants for

[00:21:37] real estate tax relief have until December 31st to file. More information is online at loudon.gov slash tax relief. Third, Loudoun County and the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District are partnering in a program to provide funding to homeowners interested in implementing water quality improvement projects on their property or in their neighborhood. An informational meeting about how to apply for grants for the projects will be held Monday, March 24th at 6 p.m. at Rust Library in Leesburg. More information is online at loudon.gov slash water quality grants. And then finally, just in time for spring cleaning, one of Loudoun County's most popular services makes its

[00:22:14] seasonal return this weekend. The first household hazardous waste collection event of 2025 will be held this Saturday, March 22nd, at the Leesburg Park and Ride. The service is free for Loudoun County residents who are encouraged to bring their household hazardous waste items for safe disposal. The complete schedule as well as information about acceptable materials can be found at loudon.gov slash hhw. Those are my comments this evening, Madam Chair.

[00:22:40] Thank you, Mr. Hemstreet. So advisors, we're going to do the information item on broadband implementation right now, and then we're going to jump to item number nine, which actually is an action item. It's a Dominion Energy Tree Clearing item. I'm going to go on when we get to that item and put a motion on the table and we can talk about this item through the motion.

[00:22:59] I know there's somebody from Nova Parks who will join us. I think there's somebody from Dominion who will join us and be on the phone. But I think we might be able to get that item done before we get to the first round of public comments. And so we will do that one next. However, we'll do the broadband implementation item first. So will the staff please come to the table for the broadband

[00:23:16] implementation item?

[00:23:41] Good evening. Just give me one second. Good evening. Good evening, Madam Chair.

[00:24:06] ready when you all are. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on some of the broadband initiatives that are going on in Loudoun County. I'd like to first introduce the other folks that are up here with me. First, my name is Dave Frederick. I work in the Department of Information Technology, and I am working solely on all things broadband for the county.

[00:24:25] On my right is Nate Wentland, who is the CIO of the Department of Information Technology at Loudoun County. And next to him is the Deputy CIO, Brian Kimberly. On my left, far left, is Kathleen Leonard and Ed Diggs from Dominion Energy. They are one of the partners of the project. And then to my direct left is Tom Ennis. He is Vice President at All Points Broadband, who is our partner for the initiative. I'll start off by apologizing for all the acronyms that are in the I'll do my best to extrapolate them as much as possible.

[00:25:04] I'm gonna start with the non-Virginia telecommunications initiative efforts that are going on. The first is the RFQ. You may recall a couple years ago, the county set aside a million dollars of ARPA funds that were dedicated to addressing residents in the western part of the county that were deemed unserved and weren't included as part of the VATI initiative.

[00:25:32] You may remember VATI, it was a moment in time, a year later there were other homes that we knew of that were unserved, so those were included in this. It's roughly just over 200 total homes. So that RFQ was awarded to All Points Broadband as well, and their design construction activities are moving in parallel with the VATI initiative.

[00:25:55] We do need to be careful from a funding perspective that the VATI, any remittenances for the VATI project don't coincide with this RFP. There's two separate buckets of money. And so staff who are managing it ensure that there's no overlap and all points can't serve homes under the RFQ that belong in VATI and vice versa.

[00:26:20] So we have to, it's a concerted effort to keep those monies separate. But all in all, there will be residents who are part of that project that are served during the VATI phase as well.

[00:26:36] It may extend a little beyond VATI once VATI is complete, but you will see a mixture of VATI and non-VATI homes get turned up as part of the RFP. So I just wanted to clarify that for you. The second item to discuss is the new initiative that's being managed by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

[00:26:58] It's called BED, Broadband Equity Access and Deployment. This is a federal program managed at the federal level. Funds were given to the state of Virginia.

[00:27:13] The Department of the DHCD in Virginia is also managing that. This is also for unserved homes that do not have broadband today. The difference between, There's a couple of main differences that we just need to point out.

[00:27:30] Staff will continue to monitor it. Staff will continue to report on it. However, Loudoun County is not the applicant for BED funding. That comes directly from broadband providers.

[00:27:45] So think of your Comcast, Verizon, all points of the world. They will actually, they have actually applied directly for funds from the VADHCD. And we're waiting to see the results of those bids. The bids are done at zip code level rather than individual homes.

[00:28:05] So the awards will be done in more of a larger swath than we've seen with VATI. The other component of that is that Loudoun County's role in that is limited. We had the opportunity as a county to provide letters of support for any applicants that requested it.

[00:28:25] We had three providers, the ones I just mentioned, that all requested a letter of support, and they were provided to them for their application, which was due March 1st. We're awaiting the results of that, and we will continue to work closely with DHCD to get answers once those are awarded.

[00:28:46] The timeline on BEAD is really kind of unsettled right now, but as dates firm up, we'll be sure to make sure the Board is fully aware of that, as well as any awards that are given for Loudoun County. So the other key component to that is if you're in the BEAD program, you're not in VADEE and you're not in the RFP. So, you know, the Virginia DHCD is really making a concerned effort to ensure that monies don't get reallocated once they're allocated

[00:29:21] once um that and that we get a larger group of homes to be served uh the county does not know staff does not know how many homes were still deemed unserved but as we've discussed in other meetings there's everything is a moment in time right so vadi was a moment in time the rfp was a moment in time and there's always more growth and more homes that get uncovered that are considered unserved so now they're eligible for bead so lots of opportunities a lot of exciting stuff going on and we'll keep you abreast of that.

[00:29:54] Okay, so now to VATI. This is the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative. We've been discussing it a lot. So this is the 8,629 homes that cross both Little River and Catoctin districts. Started in, it was a 2022 grant award.

[00:30:12] This is the project that the county is the applicant and the awardee for between finance, budget, grant department planning and zoning we all have and dit we all have a small role but not from a construction perspective so there's permitting that's involved there's fun you know no funds are ever dispersed until you know we have the say from a county perspective and so the full construction effort are done by the people on our left and they'll have an opportunity to kind of just give

[00:30:48] you a quick quick view shortly the progress we've made since we last updated you has been excellent dominion energy is the middle mile provider so they're the ones laying the fiber that kind of gets closer to the homes and they're nearly 80 complete with their efforts over 130 miles of fiber which is no small undertaking the last mile fiber is completed by all points broadband and and their subcontractors, they've begun that effort.

[00:31:23] While the number is still small, it's huge progress. And to that end, in February, Loudoun County, or I guess the first Loudoun County address as part of the VATI project was launched for service.

[00:31:41] A communication went out. The link to the communication is in your packet as well. So great news that number one, we've gotten there for number one, right? There's still 8,628 to go. And it seems like a big number. However, the swath, the way that Tom will discuss the construction, you're going to see larger chunks get turned up in larger groups rather than onesies, twosies.

[00:32:10] - That's good. - If residents and constituents in the county aren't seeing trucks out there doing work there in the western part of the county, then they're missing it because there's a ton of activity going on, trying to think of this.

[00:32:28] There is some additional funding that the county was awarded. I just wanted to touch on that, it is in the item. The Virginia Make Ready initiative was an opportunity for make ready costs, so getting poles ready and things of that nature, utility poles, For this initiative, Mound County was awarded an additional $380,000, which we've accepted and will be spent based on the efforts that these individuals, their companies have undertaken.

[00:33:01] So everything looks great. I will say just, I know people are concerned about deadlines and things of that nature. Our current deadline for the project is October 31st of 2025 everybody continues to march forward towards that date from a funding perspective the arpa dollars do not expire until december 31st of 2026 so we still have a large amount of time to get to that point the vmri funds actually expire in june of 2025 and we will have

[00:33:35] no problems getting those remittances in and the money will be spent so things look good from from funding perspective and from timeline to meet those funding requirements so i'd like to just hand it off to to tom ennis from all points broadband to just give you just a couple of key points and and things and then we'll open up to questions it's good to see you tom thanks for being here yes ma'am thank you madam chair members of the board thank you for this opportunity to provide an update also appreciate the time from staff on our weekly meetings and monthly with

[00:34:12] staff from supervisor to Kearney's office and supervisor Kirshner's office a lot of good information exchanged in those meetings I wanted to add to Dave's comments about the make ready construction process we're about 75 percent of the way through between Dominion and Novak poles at the end of the day we will have gone through engineering on about 13,000 poles across western Loudon in the days before these broadband projects that would have been about a full year for dominion across their entire territory so it is a substantial amount of make ready

[00:34:47] and now that we're at that 75 threshold we can really accelerate our release to construction until that happens we can't attach to electric poles owned by dominion or novec so very good progress there in addition to the fact that we do have our first customer up i wanted to draw your attention to the the two maps in the the presentation here the first map is of our fiber service areas there are five across the county this is how we divide up our network design and how we release to construction and then the second map is a zoomed in version of fsa2 this is in the

[00:35:25] northwest quadrant each fiber service area is split into a fiber distribution area and you can see in the text there they all have a different hub number so right now we're working in hub number seven that's where the dukenny winery is and so when we turn on customers it'll be by that that second set of colored polygons in batches of between 65 and 150 at a time supervisor kirschner had asked a question about the the process for new new customers signing up they go to our website

[00:36:01] apbfiber.com they put in their address if their address is on our list and in a hub area that is active, then we will schedule them for a drop or an installation. That process will start at the end of March for the homes in Hub 7, 6, 9, and 8. And we will be notifying homeowners in those areas by mailer and by email if they've pre-registered on our website. So about 10 to 12 more days before folks in those areas can sign up. Closest to the Ducani Winery, that's where our active cabinet is.

[00:36:38] The next fiber service area that we will begin construction in is Loudoun 4. Thank you to county staff. We got our electric and building permit back within the last week, and that is for Loudoun 4.

[00:36:53] We have an active cabinet on Harmony Church Road, which will serve all of Loudoun 4. So that is the next area for construction, and then 1, 3, and 5 will follow in the next quarter. We are working extensively with VDOT on aerial and underground permit approvals, and we're going to add a tracker to our next monthly meeting with county staff and the supervisor staff for the status of VDOT permitting.

[00:37:21] That is a step in the critical path that we're going to provide more details to staff as we enter April. A lot of other information in the item that I'm happy to drill down on as needed and happy to answer any additional questions.

[00:37:36] Well, thank you. And I'm so sad that Professor Kirshner could not be here for this update. I know he would want to. But I will ask a question to Professor Krohny. Yeah, thank you so much for that update. So I see a lot of your hubs are mainly in the Catoctin District. Do you know when you'll be getting into the Little River District? It's Southern Loudon.

[00:37:56] yes ma'am we'll be starting in the area four starting construction there in april um and i don't even know if that's my district okay uh in the southern portion of fsa four it should be in little river district is that st louis by any chance yes ma'am and the st louis area and banneker elementary has been a known focus area of the county and a known priority for us since we started the program in order to get to the unserved areas we have to start close to a served area but that that's a known priority from okay and that's in four hub hub four or i believe it's in

[00:38:35] four okay yeah and i wanted to ask so segra i guess is doing banneker elementary school so i was wondering if if um if there was a kind of a slowdown with getting the vadi if we could go with if we could hook up with some of the segra connections we we have access to all of segra's lit areas in the county including banneker elementary and their paths to and from all those served locations i believe that our loud and for cabinet we do not need to rely on any third party provider but we could look at banneker as a as a secondary route if needed yes

[00:39:15] right so when when would st louis when's your estimated delivery for st louis so if we start construction in april it would it would be at least eight weeks after that okay and then what happens if the october 31st deadline is not met what what's the plan there so uh what we would have to do so we're constant staff is always constantly working with our partners here to evaluate the schedule and see where things stand there are certainly some lost time towards the the end of last year with some franchise agreement negotiations between towns and Dominion Energy.

[00:39:51] The weather wasn't particularly wonderful for us in January either, but we continue, we meet weekly, we're constantly looking at kind of timeframes. If a new, if an extension would be required, this county would be required to apply for that with DHCD, Virginia DHCD.

[00:40:12] They granted us the previous extension. Their goal is to make this happen, so they would have every intention to extend us, as long as we stay within the time frames of the funding requirements. - Okay, okay.

[00:40:28] And then do you know-- - Thank you, nope. - Oh, that's it, okay. - No, go on, you still have time. - Okay, so the bead areas, do you know where the bead areas we're looking at there? I know it's more by provider, but do you know what areas might be in the BED program?

[00:40:44] - So the county doesn't have access. We have, the data is extremely convoluted. The format that DHCD gives it to us in is not something that we can easily put into a map. We've got something, we did work with mapping to try to put something quickly together that I could share with you, that you'd be able to see that.

[00:41:03] But until the awards are given, we won't know exactly. - Okay, thank you so much for all your effort. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Turner. Thank you, Madam Chair. There's a donut hole around Percival and Round Hill. I assume that's because they have their own fiber already laid. That's because they're served by Comcast and or Verizon.

[00:41:20] Okay. That was my next question. So presumably maintenance issues are taken care of by Comcast and Verizon. That is correct. Okay. Thank you. Only question. Do you say the BEED grants have already been received? No. So the BEED applications were due on March 1st of 2025, and we're awaiting the results of -- Given that the B applications is actually called Broadbrand Equity Access and Deployment, do you have -- and they're federal grants, right?

[00:41:50] Correct. And we expect to -- The money is funneling from the federal to the state to then the providers. It's not coming to Loudoun County. No, I understand that. Okay. I'm saying they're federal grants with the word equity in them.

[00:42:06] Yes. you and when will this happen I'm hoping it's happening soon we expect that by summertime that we'll have the answers from DHCD on who was awarded contracts okay all right please let us know yes absolutely thank you very much thank you all for all you do we appreciate you thanks to from from mr. Kirsten who I'm sure wish you could be here right now appreciate you all being here thank you very much supervisors we're going to go to item number nine the Dominion Chi clearing on the WOND Park. I don't know if Dominion is on the line or I don't think they're

[00:42:45] here in person. I know Nova Park says Dominion is, okay, wonderful. Supervisors, I know we know this item and I know everyone's read this item. I'm going to go straight to a motion on the item, okay, because we're going to be doing those a lot, straight to motions. I move the Board of Supervisors direct staff, and by the way, this is the motion, this is the draft motion, I'm sorry, this is the motion on the supplemental. I move the Board of Supervisors direct staff to draft communications, informing Dominion Energy of the Board's position regarding their project and expressing support for the continuation of Dominion Energy's past vegetation management practices, ensuring alignment with the established selective trimming approach

[00:43:23] to the 2005 memorandum of understanding between Dominion Energy and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. It's made seconded by Vice Chair Turner. Discussion on the motion. So Dominion Energy, how's it going?

[00:43:39] What's going on? Is this discussion because of power lines? Is this discussion because it's just too much to scale back and to trim the trees? Why are we doing this now?

[00:43:55] And why did we learn about this in such a short amount of time? Madam Chair, we should have Rob Richardson, their communications manager on. Mr. Richardson, can you hear me, sir?

[00:44:15] I can hear you. There we go. Chair Randall, can you hear me okay? We can hear you just fine. I apologize for not being able to be there in person, but it's nice to be with you. Thank you for making this meeting link available.

[00:44:32] To answer your question, we are working on a transmission project on the Clark to Idlewood section of the trail. It's in Fairfax and in Vienna. It's about a four-mile section.

[00:44:48] And we were working on a project there, and we noticed that the trees in that area had grown up and were causing some reliability concerns for us. And so during that time, we decided to look at the rest of the trail, about 36 miles or so, and we've identified, you know, what we think are reliability concerns for the trees along the trail.

[00:45:20] These reliability concerns cannot be addressed by the trimming of the trees. They have to be cut down. They have to be clear-cutted. Well, I wouldn't say they have to be clear-cut, but some of the trees are going to have to be removed. We've got about two more weeks of work along this four-mile section in Fairfax.

[00:45:39] And then what we're going to do is we're going to pause our work, and we're going to continue to look span by span at the rest of the transmission lines along the W&OD Trail. And we're going to do a couple of things.

[00:45:55] We're going to, as I said, analyze span by span what trees are causing problems, what trees we think need to be removed. We're also going to delineate the 100-foot right-of-way easement that exists along the trail.

[00:46:12] And then we're going to also continue to work with Nova Parks and continue to keep the Fairfax and Loudoun County updated on our plans. We have a more than four decades relationship with Nova Parks.

[00:46:27] It's been an excellent relationship over those four decades. It continues to be an important relationship to Dominion. Make no mistake, we understand how important the W&OD Trail is to Northern Virginia, how many thousands of people use it and support it.

[00:46:45] We certainly respect all of those people who do that. We understand how important the trail is to the community. And so we're going to pause our work after we finish the work along this four-mile section. And then we're going to take what I think what you'll see is a more thoughtful approach to identifying the trees that need to be removed.

[00:47:06] We have a lot of tools that are available to us to bring back potentially pollinators and other vegetation along the trail you know that we wouldn't be concerned that it's going to grow into the power lines and cause cause concerns down the line okay thank you miss rixman thank you madam chair what i'm hearing by the span by span process that is a different process than you're doing right now it is okay okay thank you and from my understanding um nova parks was surprised by the cancellation of the

[00:47:45] mou so will dominion be considering a new mou whereby there's a more selective process for trimming the trees what i would say to you supervisor brisbane is that we uh we are going to continue working with uh nova parks um i think can can i my time be stopped since he's gone is you is he gone can we stop your time is he gone can we figure out i've stopped your time is is he

[00:48:17] gone it sounds like we should be having a eulogy right now like he's gone can anybody else there you're back. You're revived. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm going to let Ms. Bricksman ask her question again, and then we'll start her time after her question is asked again. Ms. Bricksman.

[00:48:39] Thank you. I guess my question was, will you consider a new MOU with Nova Parks whereby you have a more selective trimming process rather than clear cutting? What we would like to do with Nova Parks, Supervisor Bricksman, is continue to work with them and update them and talk with them about. Okay so that that's sorry sir I'm on a I'm on a clock so that sounds like a no but a maybe. I would say I would say we want we want to continue working with them. Okay maybe in a different fashion than the than the MOU. Okay okay okay so you know it takes 20 to 30 years for a tree

[00:49:16] to mature. I lead a bike ride on the W&OD just about every Sunday in good weather and I will tell you from my experience over the last 20 years when that W&OD is not shaded it is brutal. It is absolutely brutal and unhealthy. And I know folks might not believe it, but there is a lot of wildlife that you see when you're on that trail. There's turtles, there's snakes, there's deer.

[00:49:43] The daffodils this time of year are unbelievable. So my heart is breaking right now. I've been running and biking on that trail from Reston to Percival for the last 20 years. And I will tell you the difference between being on an unshaded trail and a shaded trail is drastic i actually i don't know if i want to say this but i guess i will i actually nearly like killed my dog when i ran on that trail in 80 degrees one year and we only ran three miles and he couldn't finish because of the heat and i took him to the vet and the vet was like your dog is completely

[00:50:19] dehydrated what the heck did you do so it is dangerous not to have shade on that block top trail and i really hope that um that you guys can figure something out i'll also say for staff and my colleagues i sent an email you may or may not know my pros board appointee from algonki and jimmy o'connor works for rails to trails he's happy to be a resource for us as we as we think about our documentation our letter our resolution or whatever we're going to do to advocate for a different process from clear-cutting. I also forwarded some materials from Mr.

[00:50:54] O'Connor to everyone to county staff and my colleagues today that also talks about the benefits the health benefits of shade and floral and fauna on on those trails that are blacktop. I'm out of time right now happy to support the motion. Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you Mr. Turner. Thank you Madam Chair. Thank Mr. Richardson for being here. What day did they start clear-cutting this four mile section of the trail without without knowing exactly it was several several weeks ago is my understanding okay in the item it says that on march 12th the executive director of nova parks

[00:51:30] received the communication that you plan to cut all or portions of the 33 miles of the wnod trail and you made a comment that you cut you clear cut four miles and now you're going to assess the proper procedure or the way you'd rather go in the future that seems sounds an awful lot like fire ready aim to me and and I'm really concerned let me ask the elephant in the room question are you clear-cutting these because you realize you don't have enough power for Loudoun County and you're gonna clear-cut these so you can pave the way for transmission lines down the W&OD trail expanded in the

[00:52:05] future absolutely not that's that's 100% not what we're what we're planning to do I think to be clear supervisor Turner I think what we have identified is that we We should have been doing a better job of maintaining our right of way along the WNOD trail.

[00:52:24] We have no plans to expand the right of way and add additional power lines along the WNOD trail. No plans at all. What our plans do involve is making sure that we don't have a tree in the right-of-way that can fall and take out one of those very important circuits along the WNOD trail.

[00:52:51] That is our plan. The pause is simply because we felt sort of a wave of opposition and concern, and we are responsive to the community. And so the way that we can be responsive is we can say, let's take a pause, let's take another look, let's make sure that we're doing the best job that we can, as Supervisor Brisman said, to make sure that we're not removing trees that don't need to be removed.

[00:53:21] And that is absolutely 100% our attention. Well, I appreciate that. And I appreciate that Dominion's now on the record stating that this is not being done to pave the way for more transmission lines. That's helpful. to have an MOU in place for 20 years without any hint that there was a problem and then suddenly wake up and three weeks after the fact and find out four miles of the trail has been clear cut and then and have Nova Parks informed it seems to me very very very unfortunate thank you before I do my closing take a vote Nova Parks would you like to say anything you have anything you'd like

[00:53:58] to add or say or thank you for having me madam chair and members supervisors I wish I was here under more pleasant circumstances but i really do appreciate the the support for the trail the trail is one of the most visited and loved parks in all of virginia and yes i think we need to have i'm hearing tonight a pause and a more thoughtful approach that's fantastic i think we need selective cutting like there has been for the last many decades and where there is cutting

[00:54:35] that is necessary we need a robust replanting plan with a wide variety of of native plants we're also concerned that dominion was saying that no trees or vegetation that could potentially grow over 10 feet would be allowed on the trail that seems like an arbitrarily low number that doesn't really allow for very very much that you might consider a tree so we're concerned about that but we'd like robust replanting and minimal cutting thank you so is it mr robinson's name

[00:55:10] mr robinson i you don't know me and i don't know you but let me just tell you two things about myself one i'm from denver colorado and two i really don't go outside that much i don't want to hike i don't want to camp i don't want to i don't want to see critters i don't want to be bit i don't want to sweat i don't want to be outside at all in denver colorado as a child I heard about the W.O.N.D. Trail. Somebody that doesn't even want to be out there in it.

[00:55:37] We learned about the importance of the W.O.N.D. Trail. When I came here, I actually wanted to one time step my foot on the W.O.N.D. Trail. And as a matter of fact, Mr. Turner took me. I saw a squirrel go by and I said, wildlife, cool. And then I left. But the importance of this trail is not just important to Loudoun or Fairfax or Percival or Alexandria, it is important to the country. When a small child who doesn't want to go outside knows about this trail and they live in Denver, Colorado, that tells you the importance of this piece of land to the entire nation. So

[00:56:17] please do not think that you're doing something that impacts Northern Virginia or any one locality. What you're doing impacts the country and that is so important to know. I would ask a couple of things from Dominion. I would ask for better communication, earlier communication.

[00:56:36] I would ask that before anything else is cut, you do talk to Nova about the robust planting that you're going to do post-cutting so that they know what's about to happen next after something does get cut down. I would ask that in every way possible, you instead do trimming back instead of cutting i have seen some pictures already of what has come out of fairfax it is it is pretty bad already and we don't want to see any more of that ms brixman is correct it takes years and years and

[00:57:11] years for these trees to come back and the amount of damage to wildlife that you will do is is hard to overstate and so please please take every effort to do this with care um and and please know that i can't speak for any other county but loudon county is not happy about this moment and we are certainly hoping that you take more time and the input and advice um and thoughts of nova parks as you're doing this so thank you very much for being here we really do appreciate that

[00:57:45] thank you for your comments i made the motion second by supervisor uh turner all in favor say Aye. Opposed? That motion will pass 7-0-2 with Mr. Kirshner and Mr. Sainz being off the dais still.

[00:58:01] Subvisors, it's not quite 5 o'clock yet, so it's not quite time for 5 o'clock public comments. So what I will do right now is, Ms. Glass, let's go on since your item is in addition to the agenda and they have to have a suspension of the rules, let's go on and do confirmations right now.

[00:58:18] but let's let's do confirmations and nominations right now but let's go on miss glass and make a motion to suspend the rules and so you we can we can consider your confirmation in this discussion thank you madam chair I move to suspend the rules most information to suspend the rules seconded by miss Brixman discussion on the motion of suspension on people say aye aye any opposed that motion will pass 7-0-2 um miss glass why don't you go on and make your motion

[00:58:57] thank you madam chair i move that the board of supervisors approve the nomination of mr cliff kears to an at-large seat from the board of equalization for a term expiring march 17th 2028. motion is made second by miss brixman discussion on the motion miss glass i just wanted to say that uh it was during the time that we went to naco and

[00:59:22] With me being late, I meant to make this motion back then, and I wanted to suspend the rules so that Mr. Kearse, if he is nominated, to be able to go to the meeting that will be held, I believe, at the end of this week.

[00:59:38] Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to vote against this motion, and please know, I think Mr. Kearse is doing a great job on the Planning Commission, and he's a fantastic human being. I'm going to vote against this motion for the same reason that I one time voted against a motion for an appointment with my good friend, Dory O'Brien, who just came into the room.

[00:59:55] I'm going to vote against this motion because it feels like we're using the same people all the time. Mr. Kearse is a wonderful man. He's a great public servant. He's also on the planning commission right now. And I have worked really hard over the past year since I've been on this board to get more people involved in our commissions, committees, and boards.

[01:00:14] It's not that the people who are doing it are, there's nothing wrong, they're doing a great job. But whenever I put out a call for other people to be on commissions and committees and boards, I get an overwhelming response of yes, oh my gosh, I will do it. And I remember a long time ago when I put Bernard Mustafa up for the EDA, and I got some pretty big pushback on this board.

[01:00:36] It turns out Bernard Mustafa did a great job on that board and actually became the chair for two terms. And he was just a name that we had never heard before. And so it's my goal all the time to involve more people in Loudoun County on these commissions, committees, and boards. This has nothing to do with Mr. Kears, who's a great planning commissioner right now and have served on many boards already.

[01:00:57] It is just my effort to say that we don't have to always use the same people and we can try to have a diverse group of people. So nothing against Mr. Kears, just like there was nothing against Ms. O'Brien when I did the same thing when her name was put up for something. So for that reason, and only that reason, I'm going to be voting no on this motion.

[01:01:16] Would you like a closing, Ms. Glass? No, Madam Chair. All right. Motion's been made and seconded by Supervisor Brixman, I believe. All people say aye. Aye. I would be opposed, and we have two people who are not here, so that motion will pass, 6-1-2, with me opposed, and Supervisor Sainz and Supervisor Kirshner off the dais.

[01:01:38] um uh glass uh uh actually let's do this um do we have any other nominations for today yes madam chair i nominate ms naruti shastri for appointment to an at-large seat on the family services advisory board anybody else i have four i nominate sherry commodish to an at-large seat on the community services board i nominate dr elsa high senate to a seat on the at-large seat in the Community Services Board. I re-nominate Scott Hamburger to the Economic Development Authority

[01:02:16] and that's after I called Buddy Roger to see how many terms he had already served. And I re-nominate Angela White to the Economic Development Authority. That would be their second term as well. Any other nominations? Okay. Any other motions needed for this, for this moment? Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone.

[01:02:39] All right, supervisors, we are at 5 o'clock, so we can go on and do the speakers we have at 5 o'clock. When I call your name, please come to the podium closest to you. You will have two and a half minutes. You must have signed up in advance to speak. When your name is called, please state your name.

[01:02:55] And if you'd like to state where you live, you can do that as well or who you are representing. I will call your names two or three in advance so we know that we have everybody so you know that you're up next. Supervisors, before I start calling these names, let me also remind you all, if you have not yet signed proclamations, those will be done.

[01:03:11] We're going to start those at 530, so if you've not signed them yet, please make sure you do that right now. There are quite a bit of them. They're probably, they should be over here on this table, so if you're not done that yet, this is a great time to do it when we have a little break to do that. All right, our first speaker is Theo Stamatis, followed by Bill Junda, followed by Casey Fizzle.

[01:03:31] Good evening, Mr. Stamatis, how are you? Good evening, Madam Chair. and for the record i apologize fairfax county president speaking in front of you this evening good evening madam chair members of the board for the record the ostomatis latin county chamber of commerce thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening regarding the day center zoe mc pam i would like to address the actions taken not just on the fourth but of course the actions being taken this evening 15 years ago loudon had virginia's highest real property tax

[01:04:04] rate at roughly $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value. Today, the board is considering the county's administrator's plan to set the FY2026 tax rate at 80.5 cents, the lowest in Northern Virginia. This budget also proposes a 67-cent reduction on the tax for vehicles. We're fully funding the school board's budget and request future county priorities. None of this would be possible without the nearly 1.2 billion in county revenues, roughly 38% of all county funding

[01:04:40] produced by the data center industry in fiscal year 2026. This figure does not include the tens of thousands of well-paying jobs I see my friend Don Slaman behind me from IBW have created in Loudoun, spanning from construction to services and data center operations. We would like to express, madam chair our thanks to the county staff and this board for supporting the implementation of the footnote which you'll hear this evening in phase one which will further protect existing investments made by the data center industry the chamber also supports the board's endorsement of

[01:05:17] a grand filing resolution for administrative applications that were officially accepted by the county on february 12 2025. a reasonable grand filing standard sends a powerful message the entire market respecting the investment that has been made in loudon while we share our concerns on having data centers as a specs in every zoning district and caution this board the provision excluding applications for structures within 500 feet of residential parcels again want to greatly appreciate the board and the county staff for incorporating this footnote and drafting a

[01:05:53] grant filing resolution to protect existing investments in loudon county as always we are here to help in any way madam chair and are committed to working with the county to ensure that we achieve the best outcomes for all stakeholders thank you for your service thank you to the board for their service and thank you for giving me the time to speak today thank you thank you sir bill agenda followed by casey fiesel followed by don slayman good evening Good evening. My name is Bill Junda. I'm a Loudoun resident in the Catoctin District, and I'm a civil engineer with Gordon. Tonight I'm speaking on behalf of NAOP regarding the

[01:06:29] data center CPAM-ZOAM. First, I want to sincerely thank staff for their willingness to meet and work with industry on the footnote text that will allow existing campuses to make minor modifications to their sites. But I really wanted to talk about the importance of the grandfathering resolution that you all will be considering tonight. I wanted to share with you what it actually takes to get an an administrative site plan submitted and accepted, and why a grandfathering resolution is so important?

[01:06:53] 1,256. That's the number of hours that my firm spent on its last Loudoun County Data Center site plan application to get it in the door and accepted. 1,256 hours. The administrative site plan process has become so complicated. It requires three times the number of plan sheets that it used to. It requires more stormwater management, more off-site improvement design, more zoning compliance, more everything. 1,256 hours we spent on our last plan. But it's more than just the engineering that went into that plan. Those hours included the two weeks spent in the field by my field surveyors. And we hired a plane with a million dollar camera on it to fly the aerial

[01:07:32] topography. And another week locating all the wetlands flags so that we could avoid those wetlands. And let me tell you, as someone who started their career in the field as a surveyor, there are about three good weeks in the spring and three good weeks in the fall where the weather is perfect the rest of the year well it's either really cold or it's really hot and there are bugs and ticks and poison ivy those are some really hard work hours and that last submission we made likely meant that some of my folks missed family dinners or a kid's soccer game or maybe a band concert so those hours mean something to me on top of that we had nearly 500 more hours from the other consultants on our team for the preparation of the geotechnical report and the drilling the

[01:08:09] wetlands consulting the environmental and habitat surveys the newly required sound studies land use attorney involvement the floodplain study the architect to show compliance with the new chapter four data center building standards and the archaeological study cemetery walkover all of which are required for that first submission so that's more than 1700 hours total just to get the first submission that's almost 42 weeks of work if one person were to do it and all those hours cost well north for quarter million dollars plus the twenty thousand dollars or so that the applicant had to pay for their application fees to loudon water esi and loudon county so

[01:08:45] thank you for your efforts to protect not only the financial investment that's been made, but the investment of the time. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Jendon. Thank you. Casey Fiesel, followed by Don Salaman. Good evening. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Casey Fiesel, and I'm a business development executive for Mountain View Solar and Energy Management Solutions. Ironically enough, I would not be able to read my speech off here if it weren't for data centers. And being a sustainability expert, I didn't want to take the time and waste the paper or the ink to print it off. First, I want to express my sincere thanks for you all giving us the opportunity in the platform to speak tonight. I also want to thank county

[01:09:23] staff for the tedious and I'm sure grueling hours they spent preparing this evening's discussions. And finally, I want to thank all those who have been involved in helping us provide some high-level thought and discourse for a fairly controversial topic. Regarding the Data Center Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Zoning Ordinance Amendment, I would like to strongly and respectfully urge the board to vote for a grandfathering resolution that would protect administrative applications that have been accepted by the county by February 12th of 2025, and I would further like to urge the board to consider or reconsider the

[01:10:02] provision they have for excluding applications that have structures within 500 or 1,000 feet of residential ordinances or property, and for two main reasons. First, the environmental impact, which we know what the hyper-local environmental impacts have been because they've been laid out clearly for us by the PEC.

[01:10:20] And finally, workforce development. But first, let's talk about the environmental impacts. We spent quite a bit of time during this last hearing discussing power, and it was made very clear that that's not a topic of discussion that the board can vote on. So I would like to talk to you about the environmental impacts.

[01:10:36] If data center developers are driven out of this county, then we can expect to see a huge influence of infrastructure including HVDC lines including fiber optic fiber optic networks and also peaker plants which all might I add have a much greater environmental impact than keeping data center development in Loudoun County where sustainability has continued to be a top priority it makes no sense to drive these folks into the backyards of our neighbors when we have the opportunity to make them more sustainable here in Loudoun County and continue to be pioneers for this industry and finally workforce development. I've got 22 seconds left, so I'll sum it up for you. Third-party energy contractors,

[01:11:14] construction workers, electricians, and a lot of your blue-collar workforce that exists here in Loudoun County would not exist without data centers, and we cannot make them sustainable without those folks. So I urge you to vote for those reasons, and I thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you very much. Don Sleeman, followed by Brian Clifford, followed by Matt Leslie. Ms. Sleeman, am I looking at Local 26 out there? Yes, you are. Okay, so I just need to say this for the record. I don't have to say this, but I'm saying this for the record. I have a son who's an electrician, who's a member of Local 26, and just for the record, I needed

[01:11:48] to just say, disclose that. He is not here this evening. And my disclosure is made. Thank you, sir. Ready when you are. Thank you, Chair Randall. We appreciate the time to speak tonight, and thank you, board members. I asked some of my members who all live in the county here to come tonight. And I was hoping to have them state where they live and their name and address so that you wouldn't have to have three minutes of 30 people speaking. And so just to try to save the board. But I was unable to do that. But if they could all stand, if all the IB26 members

[01:12:25] who live in Lowndes County, please stand up. And we'd just like to thank the board for attracting this wonderful industry to your county and for being the epicenter of the data center industry. It has provided wonderful careers for our members and a great path to middle class. And we just can't say enough about the cooperation we have with this industry and how they deal, mitigate all their environmental problems.

[01:12:46] Most of all, what we know is how they mitigate their problems with their workforce. And they're helping us to clean up the wage staff, which is bought on our job site by the general contractors in the region from other aspects of the construction industry. They're helping those other trades that are not licensed to deal with that waste theft.

[01:13:06] We don't experience waste theft in the data industry. We experience it in other segments of our construction market. But we really are looking for them to help us clean the top end of the construction industry, and they've been good partners. I just want to say that we support a clean grandfathering tonight and also would really like to have utmost flexibility on the existing facilities.

[01:13:30] You know, AOL's first hyperscale, the first hyperscale data center was built by AOL quite many years ago. Stacks Infrastructure bought that property, doubled its capacity, and we had over a year's worth of work doing that. And, you know, the equipment and components in the data centers, because of NVIDIA and other, and because of AI and other factors, we will have a chance to retrofit all these data centers that haven't in the near future.

[01:13:59] And so we'd rather have them retrofit the data centers here than build some other ones elsewhere in the country. We want to keep that work in this market here so that these folks can have careers for many years to come. They really appreciate being able, there's a lot of overtime in this industry, so the shorter their commute, the more time they can spend with their families.

[01:14:19] And that's what it's all about, is nurturing careers that give you a time to spend with your families and the retirement and security and some leisure. And so this has been a great opportunity for us, and we really thank you for helping attract this industry.

[01:14:34] Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Seymour. We appreciate you. Brian Clifford, followed by Matt Leslie, followed by Samantha Mezzo. Good evening, sir. Good evening. My name is Brian Clifford here speaking tonight on behalf of the Data Center Coalition or DCC, a membership organization headquartered in Loudoun that includes many of the county's leading data centers, owners, and operators.

[01:14:57] Josh and Kate couldn't be here tonight, so I beg your indulgence for this humble resident of Sully District in Fairfax County. Throughout the deliberations of the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance amendments before you this evening, DCC and its industry partners, including various trade groups in the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce have enjoyed working collaboratively with the county staff, members of this board and the Planning Commission, not to oppose the vast majority of changes before you this evening, but to help implement them in a way that recognizes existing businesses and investments in the county and does not substantially impair their economic viability.

[01:15:32] To that end, we are very thankful for the proposed footnote to the use table that provides flexibility needed to protect existing and partially built campuses. We hope that you will adopt that footnote as part of tonight's proceedings as changes are often required to update and modernize facilities. DCC believes the adoption of a grandfathering resolution is needed to protect that investment made by the industry with applications under review. We might prefer a resolution tied to the setback approved with the zoning ordinance rewrite some 16 months ago rather than some of the larger setbacks that have been discussed in recent weeks but regardless we are very thankful for the support shown to date for a grandfathering resolution and we hope this board adopts provisions this evening along those

[01:16:09] lines. Regarding the urban employment place type, which may have gotten lost in some of the back and forth in the past couple weeks, we would ask that due to the unique circumstances of the airport noise contours that cover the bulk of the area, the board might consider retaining the urban employment place type and rather changing the use of data centers from core to conditional rather than replacing it outright with urban transit center. The majority of this place type area is within either the 65 LDN airport noise contours or the floodplain, which for the foreseeable future preempts the development of meaningful residential densities required to adequately support the transit-oriented mixed-use development contemplated in the urban transit center.

[01:16:48] This unique circumstance was the main justification for creating this place type six years ago with the 2019 general plan. It's mostly zoned OP, so you need a special exception there anyway, so this would really kind of line up the comp plan and the zoning ordinance, and would mirror what you're proposing in some of the other place types here this evening.

[01:17:06] With that, I thank you for your opportunity to offer comments on behalf of the DCC and the coalition very much appreciates their collaborative relationship with you all. Thank you, appreciate it. - Thank you, Matt Leslie followed by Samantha Mazo followed by Anthony Soils. Good evening, Mr. Leslie.

[01:17:22] - Good evening, Chair Randall and members of the board. For the record, my name is Matt Leslie and I'm speaking tonight in my personal capacity as a proud resident of the Catoctin District. I appreciate the opportunity to address you all regarding the data center CPAM and ZOAM. Loudoun County has earned its reputation as the world's data center capital, a distinction that has not only strengthened our local economy, but has directly benefited our residents.

[01:17:42] The data center industry has been and is an irreplaceable source of revenue, keeping property taxes rates among the lowest in the region while fully funding essential services like schools, public safety, and infrastructure. The prosperity and stability we enjoy today, in large part, is a result of the historical and continued investment from data centers.

[01:18:03] As you consider updates to policies and regulations governing data centers, I specifically urge you to uphold the principle of grandfathering for projects that are currently in process. Grandfathering is a fundamental commitment to fairness, ensuring that businesses that have invested in good faith under existing rules can proceed with certainty.

[01:18:22] These existing rules, I might add, were not written decades ago, but were adopted a little over a year ago and were the framework with which countless investments were made that are now potentially at risk without grandfathering. By adopting a straightforward, clean grandfathering resolution, this board has the opportunity to maintain a reputation for predictability, a reputation that residents, businesses, and investors rely on, and reinforces Loudoun's status as a stable and reliable jurisdiction for continued economic growth and investment.

[01:18:52] Looking ahead, any changes to zoning and planning should carefully balance community priorities while maintaining the economic engine that has allowed this board to pursue its ambitious vision for the county. Given that data centers provide approximately 16 times more value than the next viable commercial use, their continued presence is not just beneficial, it is essential to funding the priorities that matter most to our community.

[01:19:17] Thank you for your time and for your leadership in shaping Loudon's future. I deeply appreciate your thoughtful approach to these critical decisions and appreciate the opportunity to speak before you tonight. Thank you. Samantha Mazo followed by Anthony Soros. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Samantha Mazo and I am the East Region Vice President for Entitlements at Prologis. My Dulles office is located on Executive Drive in Sterling and I'm here to speak on the data center CPAMZOAM.

[01:19:50] While Prologis may not be a household name, we have been in Loudoun County for more than 25 years where we have 51 existing buildings and we are continuing to commit to the county through a recent acquisition of a new warehouse building, and we are planning to start construction on four new warehouse buildings near the airport. Prologis is a proud member of the Loudoun County Chamber, the Data Center Coalition, and NAAP. Like other chamber and DCC members, Prologis is also continuing to support the county through processing legislative applications to allow for future FAR, height, data center, substation, and other industrial uses in portions of our Loudoun portfolio.

[01:20:29] These actions would allow for density and uses in the future when sufficient power becomes available. Prologis is excited to continue to invest significantly in Loudoun County because of the expertise and professionalism of the county's elected officials. Ma'am, can you just hold a second? Okay, thank you. Yeah, no problem. And appointed officials and dedicated staff.

[01:20:56] Prologis recognizes that Loudoun County's policies provide property owners and developers with certainty and consistency. As such, we support grandfathering in-process applications. However, we would request that footnotes 7D and 7E be deleted from what qualifies as a substantive modification for legislative applications. We have some applications where we'd like to add battery storage to the use and others where land use areas and land may need to be changed to facilitate more efficient floor plans and developments. These are normal changes that

[01:21:32] occur during the legislative review process, and this board would continue to see and evaluate the entire application during that process. With removing footnote 7D and 7E from the substantive modification list, the revised grandfathering provisions would allow those legislative applications to continue in process in a manner that furthers the county's commitment to consistency and certainty.

[01:21:55] Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Before I call my last speaker, Mr. Rogers, do you mind grabbing me for resolutions, please? Thank you. our last speaker is Anthony Anthony soils are you there you are hi how you doing sir pretty good evening chair Randall the members of the board my name is Tony Solis and I'm a Lisbon resident I'm a business editor of plumbers and gas feeders local five local five is part of the United associations and plumbers and steams feeders in the mid-atlantic pie trade associations along

[01:22:31] with our sister local steam feeder 602 sprinkles feeder 669 the three locals represent over 9,000 plumbers, pipe feeders, and welders, HVAC techs, and sprinkled feeders who live and work in the D.C. metro area. For our members, data centers represent jobs.

[01:22:49] Some jobs are in construction, while others are in service and maintenance. Our members contract them and regularly visit the facilities to maintain the essentials plumbing and mechanical systems. Thousands of the members work in data centers, providing current and new members the chance to receive training in skilled trade and earn good wage and benefits.

[01:23:11] As a county resident, I appreciate another aspect of the data center. Their revenue support excellent schools and provide outstanding public service, including parks and food responders. Ensuring the data center's development continues is a key keeping these benefits, which makes Laron County a great place to live and raise a family.

[01:23:33] Thank you so much. - Thank you, sir. Thank you. So that is all of our speakers for the 5 o'clock time period. It's a little early to start resolutions, but in fact, I actually see everyone who should be here for the women's history resolution. So if somebody could grab the women's history resolution, I'm going to go on and do those right now.

[01:23:53] I would ask that, along with Ms. O'Brien, I'm going to ask if Erin McClellan, if Erin McClellan will come down to the front for the women's history resolution. Supervisors, Amstead, Tocroni, Bricksman, and Glass.

[01:24:11] Would you all please join me down front?

[01:24:26] I'm going to read the resolution.

[01:25:08] I'm going to talk a little bit. Whereas, since Loudoun County's founding in 1757, women of every race, class, and creed have made historic contributions to our nation in various aspects, including their service in the armed forces, healthcare, science, technology, business, education, arts, agriculture, and policies, and whereas women continue to play an essential economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of American life by comprising a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home, and whereas women have been leaders

[01:25:47] not only in the fight for suffrage and equal rights, but in social movements key to making America, the place it is today, such as the abolitionist movement, the labor movement, and the civil rights movement, creating a more just and equitable society for all.

[01:26:03] And whereas Susan Carroll is the president of Inova Loudoun Hospital, the largest private employer in Loudoun County, and is the only executive within the Inova hospital system to have served as president to all five Inova hospitals.

[01:26:37] And whereas Loudoun County government relies on the dedicated work of many talented women to best-served constituents, including Senior County Administrator Erin McClellan, Deputy County Administrator Monica Spells, and Deputy Clerk to the Board Jennifer Grimmett, who refuses to come down front with us, and in addition, 10 department heads. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby recognize March 2025 as Women's History Month in Loudoun County and recognize the vital role women have played in Loudoun County's past, present, and future prosperity.

[01:27:03] Jory, in just a minute, Ms. O'Brien, in just a minute, I'm going to have you talk about Ms. Carol. But before I do that, I do want to talk about the women in county government in this building.

[01:27:20] And I want to especially say to Erin, you know, I've said this to you privately, but I've never said it to you publicly. I'm extraordinarily proud of you. Your grace, your intelligence, in fact, your brilliance, your dedication to constituents in Mellon County, it is just unmatched.

[01:27:38] people really don't know the staff of our county and how hard you all work. We have never called you about something that you either didn't know the answer, and you usually do, or you get back to us right away. You are phenomenal in so many ways, and I saw you trying to run out the room.

[01:27:58] I saw you trying to run out the room, but that was not going to happen. Jenny Grimmel will not come down, although I'm not going to make her, although I could make her, but I'm not going to make her. Will you just stand up for me for just a second? Can we give her a hand? Jenny Grimmel is kind and organized and wonderful and the funniest person you will ever spend time with.

[01:28:26] And when you need someone just to be with that you know is going to be there for you or pray with you or talk to you or whatever, she is the go-to person, and she is just phenomenal. Monica has left already, Monica Spells, but if you don't know, is she here? Seriously? Seriously?

[01:28:43] even my glasses are not on my face if you don't get yourself up here right now I did not see her back there this is what happens when I have my glasses on she was hiding she was you didn't see her either wow okay Monica has one of the hardest jobs and that she does a lot of the behavioral health things in Loudoun County over the behavioral health departments and if you understand how hard that lift is right now for behavioral health for mental health for social health it is very

[01:29:13] difficult and she does a phenomenal job every single day and so yes for a clap so we really don't talk about I don't think enough the powerful women in this county and what a magnificent job for the county staff I mean the county staff does but I did want to stop today and highlight you the three of you and all of the department directors as well and now I'll let you talk about Susan while I hand out these proclamations well Susan really regrets that she couldn't be here today. She's actually in London, or she would have been here. And she is incredibly honored

[01:29:52] to be recognized for this. And one thing I'll say about Susan is she's an incredibly empowering leader. I can look out to Stacey, who got to work with her for a long time as well. Regardless of who you are, she's there to uplift you and to encourage you to do your best. I'll also note that of the five care sites that we have throughout Inova, three of the presidents of those hospitals are women. So ANOVA does a great job in all ways with diversity, and we still take diversity very seriously, regardless of the political climate, and are very, very thankful

[01:30:25] for this resolution. If I just like to say anything, Jenny, you're going to come down here for this picture. Mr. Hamstreet, tell Jenny to come down here for this picture. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that one thing that we need to recognize is you, And the fact that you are the first African-American voted person of color, voted chair at large in any county in the state of Virginia.

[01:30:56] And I know that we have had women chairs of the county before, but I don't know that we have had women chairs of the county at large who served three terms. And the fact that you've been reelected twice is a testament to your leadership and something that we all could aspire to.

[01:31:15] One thing I say every year during Women's History Month, the best thing that we can do for women in this country is pass the ERA. And the last thing I will say is that I'm really proud of us for recognizing women's history and keeping that on our agenda when we are facing at the national level an erasure of history of so many things, including women's history.

[01:31:37] So I just want to put that out there. Loudoun County is going to continue to recognize women's history. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Jenny Kimbell. We're going to take a picture. You're going to stand right by me while we do this. We're going to take a picture. Not really.

[01:32:01] I actually don't. I'm sorry, but I really don't. How about we can, we can, I don't. I don't. I apologize, but no.

[01:32:14] I don't think you have a choice right now.

[01:32:59] She trying to come in this picture with us? I bet you do. I bet you do. I think you do. I think you do. But Erin's down here and Jimmy's down here, and so I think you do. Mr. Chemistry, come join us in this picture.

[01:34:00] Can I have my gift shoes proclamations? They're up here, too? No, they're not. They're up over here because Mr. Sains is signing them. Is that what you're telling me? Okay, just give them to me as they are, then.

[01:34:17] Mr. Kirsten, they're right there. Can everybody who's here for gift shoes come down, please? Yep, those are them. Thank you. I have a lot of them today. Hey, everyone. yes i do how's everybody doing wow got the gift shoes yeah hi paul hi hey hey hey how's it going you would not miss this i want to drive you want to go okay so i always look at this this is the

[01:34:55] whole room or nothing but non-profit people so what i always do and i know it takes a little while but it's okay because it's so important i'm going to have every um organization have at least one person and introduce your organization and then i will read the proclamation and then we're going to figure out how to take a picture. Right, Glenn? I'm going to start down here and just pass the mic down, introduce your organization, and then pass it down. Hi there, Lisa Max with the Arc of Loudon. Trish McNeil, Loudon Hunger Relief. Ron Bozowskis, Loudon Chamber Foundation.

[01:35:29] Doria O'Brien, Loudon Chamber Foundation. Susanna Lee, Tree of Life. Carolyn Hazlett, Tree of Life. Stacey Metcalf, Morphin Park. Christine Meyer, Morphin Park. Carrie Murphy, Loudon Education Foundation. Kathy Farmer, Master Singers of Virginia. Damon Moore, master singers of Virginia. Erin Gulick and Ashley Honeycutt with Loudoun Free Clinic.

[01:35:59] Cole Acosta with the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties. Tammy Carter with the AACA. Tammy Carter with MLK Diversity Engagement Foundation. John Wheeler, Loudoun Serenity House. Pam Smith, Loudoun Breast Health Network.

[01:36:23] Alicia Gronke, Keep Loudoun Beautiful. Katina Franklin-Sweetie, Embark Center for Self-Directed Education. Kevin Pullen, AACA and Joyce Gillespie-Harrington Educational Foundation. Manuel Vasquez, A Place to Be.

[01:36:41] Kurt Nguyen, Bridge Feeds Food Pantry. Jennifer Montgomery, Loud and Hunger Relief. Samantha Clark, Laws, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Assault Services. Carrie Christofferson, Loud and Museum.

[01:36:58] Helen Dyke, Spark. Sean Flaherty with Spark Sport. Debbie Alexander, Specially Adapted Resource Centers or Spark. Alonzo Patterson with Spark. Karen Grant, Dulles South Food Pantry.

[01:37:19] Tanya Adkins, HealthWorks for Northern Virginia. Darren Marquardt with the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Peer. Brian Amaya with Liberty's Promise.

[01:37:36] Leah Bansleyman-Spark. Thank you, ma'am. This is so cool.

[01:37:55] So I'm going to turn my back on just a second before Mr. Turner reads the resolution. I say this all the time. Our nonprofits are a force multiplier. Government cannot do and really should not do everything. And what you all do is you take up what we can't do.

[01:38:12] And I know that there are times that you're going to get a phone call at 2 in the morning, and you all are going to be there, and you're going to go out. And so I say this all the time on behalf of the board. We say thank you, but right now, especially with all this going on and what we know is coming for the Northern Virginia area, we really cannot thank you enough.

[01:38:33] You all are incredibly, incredibly, incredibly important. non-profit community, our faith-based community. We're just bar none, and that's proof by what we see here today. I'm going to have Mr. Turner, who has lots of experience with non-profits, read the resolution. While I try to make sure everyone, well, not everyone, but from every organization, you have a resolution in your hand, I'm pretty sure we have enough, we actually did enough this time to have every organization have one, and if you don't, let me know.

[01:39:03] I also may have you sing later on. No, I'm just kidding, not today. Have you heard this man sing? But we'll be back here. We'll be back here. Will you please reach a resolution while I pass them out? Whereas countless Loudoun residents benefit from programs provided by local nonprofits, including human services, educational opportunities, animal welfare, nature preservation, and celebration of arts, history, and culture.

[01:39:31] Whereas our community's nonprofit employees and the people they serve are an integral part of Loudoun County's economic development, contributing jobs, income, residents, services, and tourism opportunities for those who live, work, and play in Loudoun, and whereas the Give Choose initiative organized by the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Falkier Counties is a day of online giving that has raised over $5.1 million for local organizations since 2014, And whereas GiveChoose will begin at midnight on March 25th, 2025 and end at 1159 p.m. with the option to participate in the early giving period beginning March 11th, 2025.

[01:40:10] And whereas Loudoun residents can learn more about GiveChoose and donate to Loudoun's community nonprofits by visiting www.givechoose.org. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors does hereby recognize March 25th, 2025, as Give Choose Day to recognize the invaluable efforts of our local nonprofit organizations and encourage Loudoun residents to be active supporters by contributing to the Give Choose initiative.

[01:40:42] Seriously, if you don't get one of these, please let us know and we will make sure that you get one. There's one here.

[01:41:15] Why don't you guys join us and be behind us.

[01:41:47] I know we have a lot to do. tonight, so I won't take long. I'll just encourage the public to visit givechoose.org to see all 178 nonprofits we have registered. Our goal is raise a million dollars this year. We'll see if it's the year. I have a good feeling. But truly, these organizations here are just a sample of what you'll find. You'll find, I promise, you'll find a cause that speaks to your heart if you just visit the site. And March 25th is the big day. So our nonprofits have challenge gifts from donors, and we We also have $40,000 worth of financial prizes thanks to generous corporate sponsors through the Community Foundation.

[01:42:27] And matches? We have lots of matches. We have almost $200,000 in matching gifts already and more coming in. So thank you. It should also be said the Community Foundation is, would you guys consider this like a clearinghouse of nonprofits? How would you say that? Clearinghouse of nonprofits.

[01:42:44] Okay. That's important to say that. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. There you go. All right.

[01:45:18] Okay.

[01:46:23] We're running a little bit early for speakers right now, and let me say this. Normally I don't like taking up items before speakers who are here to speak on those items, but we have a full list of speakers, and we have a wait list.

[01:46:43] So I could do item 12, which is the item for funds to go to the community foundation, although there are people who are here to speak on that item.

[01:47:00] But the truth is, when I looked over the list, everyone here to speak on that item, you're on the wait list. You get pushed to the wait list because we have a full 36 speakers, and so there's no one to speak on that item who we might get to.

[01:47:19] And so I think I'm going to go on and do this item, understanding that there are people in the room to speak, I believe, just in support of the item. I understand that. But we can probably, even though people are here, go on and push that item out right now.

[01:47:34] It's my item. It's a BMI. Mine's in Mr. Turner's. It's a BMI. I'm going to go and do that right now. And I do understand because you have sent us emails and all those things, but you're on the wait list, and so we probably wouldn't get to your name anyway. So if you would go to item 12, supervisors, I'm going to make a motion.

[01:47:53] I move to the Board of Supervisors appropriate $5 million of real property tax revenue in FY25 and provide a payment in the same amount to the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Farkir. Mr. Turner?

[01:48:09] Second. Okay. I bought this BMI for a reason. First, let me say, I had a very -- I have talked to -- I don't even know how many nonprofits and faith-based organizations in the county right now a lot, as you saw all the ones that were here today.

[01:48:28] There was a meeting that was held not too long ago with a lot of people, a lot of non-profits, representatives of non-profits, Loudon Human Services Network, some faith organizations, and the discussion was how bad things have gotten and are getting.

[01:48:44] I know that everyone got two emails this week from Nicole Acosta from the Community Foundation that detailed the increase in needs that we are seeing both for food assistance, for rental assistance, for domestic violence, everything across the board, we're seeing an increase in the need.

[01:49:05] The reason this motion is for the Community Foundation is because Community Foundation in and of itself is not, well I mean they are a non-profit, but they're like a clearing house, so they actually meet with and provide money to other non-profits. When we had the meeting, everyone in the room, all the other nonprofits and faith-based agreed that this was the best way to do that was through the community foundation.

[01:49:29] So I didn't so much choose this community foundation as much as the other nonprofits chose the community foundation. I have talked to Nicola Costa many times since then. I know the Community Foundation has put together a separate kind of subcommittee to talk about how to and how fast they can get this money out and by which criteria they will use to do it.

[01:49:56] If you know the Community Foundation, you know they have a long and solid history of having criteria and objectives and measurements before they either help a nonprofit stand up or give money out. And with the need that we're seeing right now, not later, but this moment, and with the need that we believe we're going to see coming, county government is able to do this right now. We have had more funds come in than we expected to come

[01:50:31] in. We had some unanticipated, unbudgeted money. So this will not disturb the tax rate at all, this will not disturb either the real property rate or the personal property rate. We can do this and we can do it and give this to the non-profit so they can help people in ways that we cannot.

[01:50:51] And so I ask that you support this motion tonight. Mr. Letourneau. Thank you, Madam Chair. So this caught me a little bit by surprise. We have our non-profit grant funding process that's coming back to the Finance Committee next month. My understanding from talking to staff is that we are short in terms of our available funding. We fund that entire program at two and a half million dollars, which is half of this amount. And we were not able to meet all of the requests as part of that program. I believe we're going to end up being somewhere around a million dollars or a little bit less short. So I am a

[01:51:30] little concerned about just simply allocating five million dollars immediately to an organization, albeit an umbrella one, when we have not necessarily addressed our own program, I want to make it very clear that I am supportive if there's a need out there of increasing our funding.

[01:51:49] And I'm not even opposed to doing a specific grant to one organization. But should we do that, I think it's important that the funding be within the county's identified established areas of need, which is our policy, and that we potentially pursue an MOU to ensure that the funding is going to be provided as we intended to. And I'm not suggesting in any way that it wouldn't be from that organization, but once the money leaves, I think we still have some degree of responsibility for it since it is taxpayer dollars that we're expending. And so my preference would be to hold

[01:52:24] on this until we get the non-profit item to us at a minimum to ensure that we are putting parameters that this goes to the county's established areas of need. I don't know that there's going to be much appetite to do that, but I would perhaps at least suggest a friendly amendment that as the funding's provided, it would be within the county's established areas of need. I will take that friendly amendment because I met with this, I'll take that, I'm in your time i will take that friendly amendment okay thank you madam chair i i still wish we kind

[01:53:03] of would do this differently but i want to clarify just to make it very clear it's not that i'm against doing this i just i i need to understand through conversations i've had with staff and others that through an mou i'd just be more comfortable getting to it in that way and also with the overall funding amount perhaps holding some back in reserve once we have very clearly identified some specific needs that we may need to fund that are even outside this network thank you miss rixman thank you madam chair um i did have a long conversation with madam chair and with

[01:53:38] ms acosta this week about this item and i am comfortable with it i think that i think the one thing that might be missing is that this is pretty much an emergency that we're trying to to prepare for um and so that i think that might have been helpful if it was in the item because we are watching what's happening and we are getting ourselves prepared for emergencies and that we know that are coming down the road um so that that that was my only comment and also i know that um rental assistance is is one of the priorities here um i'm not sure uh what's going to be an

[01:54:15] upcoming item as far as the non-profit applications and those sorts of things but um as we think about this I know that we already have a rental assistance program um which is you know a little bit more restrictive than than what um what what uh the community foundation might be able to do but I think we should also looking at look at supplementing that program um as people are losing their jobs and uh inflation rises and you know egg prices are not going down although it was promised. So I think that we should also look at our rental assistance program that we already

[01:54:51] have set up. But otherwise, happy to support. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Mr. Kirshner. Yeah, just briefly, I'd associate my same concerns that Supervisor Letourneau has expressed. I mean, generally, I'm very supportive of our non-profits. This did, again, take me by surprise, $5 million to, yeah, an umbrella organization. And I appreciate, Madam Chair, adding the friendly that it would be within the kind of the confines and parameters of what we generally would but supervisor brisman says well we have an impending emergency i i think that's one of that is actually

[01:55:25] an argument for sending it to finance and having having a little more thorough discussion on how this is going to be used and and and for what i don't see the emergency yet i see that there are are concerns about it, and I think we can move fairly quickly as a board if we needed to. I'm a little concerned that if the emergency, as we are calling it, doesn't accumulate to the degree that now we've appropriated $5 million and we really wasn't kind of vetted

[01:56:00] through. So I don't, again, I'm a huge supporter of our nonprofits. I'm glad, I agree with Madam Chair what she said earlier, that government is not the answer to many things, maybe even most things that are nonprofits play a very valuable role but I'm not sure I think we have a responsibility for the taxpayer dollar and I'm not sure that we've fully vetted this out the way it really needs to be and I think I'd be far more comfortable with a process to send this to finance to go through our normal process and to be a little more deliberate than a motion on the dais without discussion to send it to our loudness nonprofit committee thank you so first of all this is not a motion on the dais without discussion we're

[01:56:39] discussing it now. So we're literally discussing the motion. And I'm a little confused when people say that they're taking this by surprise. I have said this. I said this two meetings ago on the dais. It's on camera that I was going to be doing this. And so if you all were surprised, maybe I'm just not worth listening to, but I've said this. This is not new. So I have said this already. And I've told people that I've been having these meetings.

[01:57:02] None of this is new. If you don't see the emergency yet, then I'm imagining you have not read all the emails that have come in from from our nonprofits that show the increase in need in the county right now and and I don't know how you don't see that as an emergency now Mr. Mr.

[01:57:24] Laterno normally you and I are on lockstep with doing this thing in in the ways that we have done it but I also think that when you have a situation you can't do you can't act as normal when things are not normal. And when you see the numbers from Loud and Hunger Relief, when we see your numbers from the Community Foundation, when you see the numbers from Women Giving Back, when you see the numbers from laws, when you see these numbers come in, we're not in a normal space right now.

[01:57:52] Whatever the reason, we can figure out the reasons later. Maybe we have some control over those, maybe we don't. But we have, and you have, over the past week, in your emails, received the uh increased numbers i know you have i've seen those numbers come in and so one you did know about it and two you've seen the the numbers and three i've said this so with respect um when we get to the um to the non-profit i don't we also know how much unallocated unassigned money we still have so i'm not convinced we won't have money when we get to that place but this is we

[01:58:31] We are in a bit of break glass moment right now with people in need in our county, and I don't believe the beloved county that I know we are should wait and do things as we always do when we're in the middle of an emergency with respect to my two colleagues, who I do have a lot of respect for.

[01:58:51] So I made the motion on my BMI. The BMI was co-sponsored by the Vice Chair, and all in favor, please say aye. Opposed? That motion will pass 7-0-2 with Mr. Kirshner and Ms. Letourneau voting against the motion.

[01:59:09] Thank you very much. Guys, it is 6 o'clock. It's still a tiny bit early for comments, and so this is what I'll do. I'm going to start going through public comments, and if you're not here, because it's not quite 6 yet, I will go back to you.

[01:59:24] But at 6 o'clock, I'll go back to you, and if they're still not here, then let's keep moving on because they started at 6 o'clock. So that's how I'll do that. I will call you in advance. When I call your name, if you come to the podium closest to you and tell your name and maybe tell us, if you'd like to, where you're from.

[01:59:43] You have two and a half minutes, and I will call your name three people in advance so that you know that you will be up next. Our first speaker is Chris Kim, followed by James Russell, followed by Colleen David. Madam Chair, while they're coming up, do you want to do the public hearing after public input is done?

[02:00:03] Oh, I forgot about the 6 o'clock. No, I'll, yeah, yeah, I will do some speakers first. If they're here, I'll take some speakers first. Yeah. Mr. Kim? Good evening.

[02:00:25] Hold on one second. There you go. My name is Chris Kim. I'm Senior Vice President of Global Customer Care and Experience at Equinix. Equinix are long-standing residents of Loudoun County. We opened our first data center here in 1999. We now employ, at the end of last year, 482 people in Loudoun County, 376 employees and 106 contractors who provide security at our facilities.

[02:00:48] I'm also chair of the data center coalition, an industry group who I think you've heard from earlier. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening regarding the data center CPAM. There is no question that the data center industry contributes significantly to the prosperity and viability of Loudoun County. I'm proud to be a member of the business community and the industry that helped start and sustain a powerful economic engine here, and to be part of Equinix, an organization that is very active in community service in Loudoun. Board members, you have been clear in your desire to mitigate the effects of data center development, particularly where residential properties are in proximity, as well as to continue efforts to reduce environmental

[02:01:26] and power-related impacts. However, it is counter to your intent to reduce environmental impacts by adding unnecessary burdens to any business seeking to modernize and update existing facilities to meet those goals. When a campus is developed over time, it is not uncommon for more efficient solutions and designs to be developed and preferred later in the process, necessitating modest changes to site plans, requiring a special exception to update existing buildings or change the layout of an approved future building would discourage innovation and the resulting environmental and efficiency benefits you, and in fact we, are all striving for.

[02:02:05] Also as you move to Phase 2, I would ask that you support the concept put forward by the Planning Commission of developing a set of criteria encouraging additional environmentally sensitive and energy efficient development which, if met, would permit a data center to be approved on a buy-write basis on appropriate parcels.

[02:02:22] Finally, I would respectfully ask that you adopt a grandfathering resolution to protect the investments made by the industry with applications under review. In the case of Equinix, our land holdings in Loudoun County are all in the places where this body most supports development of data centers. Our sites are far from residential properties and already have more than one data center on them and have multiple data centers as adjacent neighbors. We believe these properties should be zoned for data center use. Thank you again for your time. I welcome the opportunity to answer your questions and engage you further with you or county staff on these issues pertaining to the continued success and growth of Loudoun County.

[02:02:58] Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Supervisors, Mr. -- and I'll get to the second person. Mr. Empty just asked me about this. We have to have a public hearing tonight on the property tax increase that we did when we went through the budget process, and that has to be done this evening.

[02:03:19] So we -- I have to at some point recess this meeting and go into a public hearing and then come back to this meeting. I'm not going to do that until about 6:30, I'm going to try to get through some of these speakers and then I'll stop and do that. But I'm trying to get all this done before we leave the dais for our dinner break.

[02:03:36] So there's a lot to do, there's a lot to do. And so right now there's nobody that I see that has signed up to speak on that public hearing, which is why I feel comfortable keeping on with the people who have signed up to speak on what's on the agenda tonight.

[02:03:54] but we will have to do that before we take our dinner break, okay? So the next speaker is James Russell, and it is 6 o'clock now, and you'll be followed by Colleen David, followed by Thomas David. Good evening. Good evening. First, they came for the asylum seekers and the immigrants, and now they come for the Palestinians.

[02:04:18] About two weeks ago, a permanent resident of this country, a green card holder, was kidnapped by ICE with no explicit criminal charges provided. It was over a week until before he got to consult with a lawyer.

[02:04:42] It was not until he was taken across state lines to Louisiana before his eight-month pregnant wife knew where he was. I maintain, despite how it may sound, that we are months or less, weeks even, away from such situations reaching the residents of Loudoun County.

[02:05:11] Within these immigrant communities and marginalized communities of various kinds, the confidence of there being any kind of prevention of such cruelties and tyrannies in their life is nonexistent.

[02:05:30] There is no confidence. A lot of people here are talking about the data centers, many of them for environmental reasons, which I thought was prescient years ago to be bringing up.

[02:05:47] But I wonder if these people who I admire very much for raising these concerns, I wonder if they are aware of the questions myself and my Palestinian friends and neighbors have been bringing to these meetings about whether or not these data centers are utilized in military actions around the world that are considered by most of the global community and the international legal system to be war crimes, genocide even.

[02:06:20] We have not gotten a clear answer as to whether or not these data centers, which are a military asset that we must shoulder, whether or not they are used in the commission of genocide.

[02:06:37] The next speaker will be Colleen Davis, followed by Thomas Davis, followed by Maria Saab. Good evening. Colleen David, and I'm a Leesburg resident, Board of Supervisors.

[02:06:55] Good evening. I'd like to briefly address three topics related to the number of data centers that may permanently alter the county's beautiful landscape and the ability of residents to enjoy a place they call home. First, the adverse impact of data centers on public health is real, but not yet completely known or quantified.

[02:07:16] Some of the developers have tried to mitigate some of the most obvious concerns, but the studies they rely upon regarding the long-term impact of electric and magnetic fields on individuals are often outdated and inconclusive at best.

[02:07:33] Moreover, the studies most often cited by the data center proponents did not assess the long-term health consequences of EMF. One thing is certain, a residential neighborhood emits far less EMFs than a collection of giant data centers. Second, the residents of the county rely on you to serve as our representatives and advocates. It is my firm understanding that the data centers developers have engaged highly paid representatives and advocates that have one goal in mind, gain the approval for the projects by

[02:08:08] whatever means possible. Therefore, if the majority of the county's residents believe we have more than enough data centers, why are the individuals who are chartered to represent our interest entertaining exceptions and waivers agreed upon zoning assignments already agreed upon? Lastly, if someone moved here today and bought a home near Dulles Airport and started complaining about airplane noise. That individual would not gain much sympathy. However, an individual would be

[02:08:43] rightly upset if they moved to an area where the accompanying land was zoned for residential use, but the county did a U-turn to obtain a few more dollars and allowed a massive industrial park to be located next door. Hence, this board should not be viewed as a rubber stamp to approve exceptions to pre-existing zoning classifications. In closing, I come to you not simply as a resident or a property owner. I am here in an attempt to save my home. My home is where memories have been

[02:09:19] built, where my children and my grandchildren have laughed, cried, and learned about a concept called community. Ms. David, thank you. You're very welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you. thomas david followed by maria saw followed by scott pedowitz good evening sir good evening if it please please the board thank you for allowing me to come before you tonight to briefly address three issues regarding the avalanche of data centers that have encroached on areas that were and are officially designated for residential use number one as you may know a

[02:09:58] request for an exception or variance to a described zoning classification must be supported by a high degree of proof that objectively addresses the benefits that would be stowed upon the public's health and welfare if the waiver is granted according to controlling legal authorities in the commonwealth if the competing viewpoints of the out-of-state developers versus their current homeowners would leave an objective third party to conclude the issue is fairly debatable the request for the exception should be denied number two if a developer wish to gain an exception to a current zoning

[02:10:33] residential classification to build, say, a mega prison or a landfill for hazmat. I suspect the board would look at an application of that nature with a high degree of skepticism. It is universally accepted that prisons and hazmat facilities are not desired by potential neighbors due to their substantial risk. Therefore, prisons are placed in remote areas where maybe they're financially distressed. I submit that the application for the construction of additional data centers in the tpa should be viewed under the same well-focused lens finally appears from

[02:11:08] public reports that the advent of data centers in areas have populated the county county's bank accounts with a sizable weight additional funds nevertheless excuse me nevertheless the county's i'm sorry i lost it there it reminds me it reminds me though of an extremely wealthy man who is constantly asked how much more money do you need he said one dollar more one dollar more may the the county not be known to say one dollar more. In sum, I present these issues for your consideration

[02:11:43] neither as an attorney, neither as a taxpayer, or an investor that's out of state. I'm here for one reason only. I come to you as an individual who has also chosen Loudoun County as my home. My hope and my prayer is that the board will not irreparably alter that equation. Thank you. Thank you. Maria Saab followed by Scott Pedowitz followed by Roger Smith. Good evening. Good evening Madam Chair and members of the board. My name is Maria Saab and I'm here on behalf of Amazon Web Services. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight about the data center zoning amendment and the comprehensive

[02:12:22] plan amendment. I'm here to specifically address some of the actions from March 4th. AWS is proud to have made significant long-term investments in Loudoun County contributing substantially to making this region a leading data center market and also leading county in the nation. Our existing infrastructure represents billions in investments, thousands of jobs, and critical digital infrastructure that powers both the regional and national economy. Through strong collaborations between Loudoun County leaders and the business community, Loudoun has established

[02:12:56] itself as a positive and globally recognized reputation for business investment. In fact, from 2011 to 2023, AWS has invested over $46.5 billion in the construction and operation of data centers. These investments benefit local businesses and support over 8,800 full-time equivalent jobs annually. These investments are responsible for the strength of Loudoun's economy, the leading education and constituent services it provides to its residents, and

[02:13:29] unprecedented relief that residential taxpayers have enjoyed in 2023 alone aws added 333 million dollars to the county through property taxes and fees we're also proud of our partnerships as part of the community for example in addition to our popular aws girls tech day we've launched four amazon think big spaces in county schools to help students get hands-on steam education and we've We've also partnered with George Mason University to advance four-year degree programs related to cloud computing and enhancing local talent pools.

[02:14:03] We appreciate the county staff's collaboration on protecting the existing investments. This sends a crucial signal about Loudon's commitment to business certainty and investment protection. As we look forward to the future, flexibility in zoning regulations is essential to enable continuous modernization of facilities and implement cutting-edge sustainability initiatives including evolving energy efficiency measures. Zoning laws have a direct impact on commercial real estate values by direct -- by influencing supply and demand dynamics, development potential and marketability. We remain committed to Loudoun County to ensure that the zoning amendments

[02:14:39] support both community interests and continued growth and modernization of the country's digital infrastructure. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Scott Pedowitz, followed by Roger Smith, followed by Mary Terpak. Good evening.

[02:14:55] Good evening. Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the board. I am Scott Pedowitz with the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington. Our members provide nearly 12,000 housing units and 2 million commercial square feet here in Loudoun County. I endorse the position articulated by the chamber, the data center coalition and others supporting the adoption of the grandfathering resolution for data center applications without the proposed exclusion based on structure setbacks.

[02:15:27] I want to reflect on some of the comments made about how collaborative this process has been and really highlight the key benefits that Loudoun's robust data center presence has for the workplace and housing, the two areas that my members most directly impact.

[02:15:43] The JLARC study that was released late last year noted that there are about 74,000 jobs in our commonwealth contributed directly and indirectly from data centers, predominantly here. And, you know, if you think about that in the context of Loudoun having an office vacancy rate of only 6.8%, more than 10 percentage points below Fairfax, and let's not even get to Arlington and D.C.'s, This is a tremendous benefit to have this employment here at a time of increased regional uncertainty.

[02:16:15] It is a benefit and a robustness we want to maintain. We were talking taxes. We are contemplating tax rate decreases with service increases in Loudoun. We hear the envy of the rest of Northern Virginia as I go around the region. That is a tremendous benefit.

[02:16:32] Fairfax and Arlington are contemplating additional meals taxes just to make their budgets work.

[02:16:46] And to try to maintain their key investments in areas like housing, whereas here in Loudoun we are contemplating dedicating one penny of this lower real estate tax rate to affordable housing creation, which I know is a shared priority of all of us because that is something we have discussed often and we look forward and our members look forward to continuing to bring in this community. So, taking advantage of all these benefits, maintaining this flexibility allows Loudoun to remain the strongest economy in our region, if not in the whole Commonwealth.

[02:17:09] And so, I encourage the board to ensure that we maintain this flexibility for all these benefits going forward. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Pedowitz. Roger Smith, you will be followed by Mary Tarpak, followed by Mario Zapiello.

[02:17:26] Good evening, sir. Good evening, Supervisors. Chair Randall, I'm Roger Smith, a resident of Waterford. I'm here to address three related agenda items. Agenda item seven, the phase one data center standards make a lot of sense.

[02:17:44] So why exclude any recent applications? Grandfathering is a very blunt tool. Picking a date is a bad idea. Developers say they want predictability and stability. So do residents.

[02:18:02] I don't want an 180-foot tower appearing in my front yard, and that is a consequence of building too many data centers. Some believe that having no grandfathering would be unfair to developers who have already incurred significant costs.

[02:18:20] But should we not consider equally the unfairness of significant costs incurred by Loudoun residents due to the additional data centers and the resulting transmission lines that will negatively impact the whole county.

[02:18:37] On Agenda Item 8, Phase 2 work plan is ambitious, but still does not seem to address how many new data centers are appropriate. It's a claim that data centers are necessary to fund future budget growth.

[02:18:53] This isn't true. In fact, if the trends continue, taxes on equipment in existing data centers are likely to exceed the total county spending increases speaking for myself i believe we should cherish relationships with existing operators of data centers in louden but we should dissuade new applicants even helping them to locate in places that would welcome them and finally on agenda item 10 micro grids certainly belong in the work plan for phase two costly legislative

[02:19:32] action may be needed but it will pay off handsomely in the long run thank you very much thank you mr smith um mary turpak followed by mario zampiello followed by mark pontelio i am not mary turpak however she asked me to deliver her comments to you for her mary turpak of lovitzville tonight you're posed to take poised to take multiple actions that will help the county gain greater control over data center growth. Thank you. That's good news. But I don't understand why you would

[02:20:09] support grandfathering the 22 administrative applications in the system. By doing that, you are giving up the right to review those applications that still have not received final approval for their site plans. The state's vested rights law gives you the authority to change the rules for applications that have not been approved with very specific criteria as you consider each application. Going through the review process, you would be able to decide on a case-by-case basis the details that govern vested rights, what the status of each individual

[02:20:45] situation is, and you would have the ability to negotiate better conditions through the special exception process than the limited issues that can be considered during administrative review. Residents in both Eastern and Western Loudoun have now experienced firsthand that data center approvals come with many land use impacts that may be far from the actual site of approved data centers, and these impacts are within your right to consider, whether it's new power lines and substations and how they impact neighborhoods, or any health impacts from the air pollution from their diesel or natural gas generators.

[02:21:23] These are real considerations of fairness that Loudoun communities are facing, no matter where they're located, and we need you to take care of us, your constituents, since we will have to live with the many negative impacts. Whatever reason brought residents out tonight, no one wants transmission lines and transformer stations opportunistically placed throughout residential areas and the countryside.

[02:21:48] Nobody wants power shortages, water shortages, rate hikes, noise, air pollution, or fossil fuel plants eroding Virginia's clean power goals. And it's up to you to help manage this. So to the audience if you support more control and do not want the board to grandfather these applications Please stand up. Thank you. Thank you on behalf of mr. Pack miss bingo Mario Zampiello followed by mark Pontellio followed by Patricia

[02:22:22] Stegs Stegardia with these good evening. Good evening chair Randall and members of the board of supervisors My name is Mario Zampiello and I'm the vice president of business development at William A. Hazel Thank you for allowing me to address tonight regarding the data centers OAM and CPAM.

[02:22:43] I specifically want to discuss the actions taken by the board on March 4th, 2025. A strong reputation is a cornerstone of success in business. Loudoun County has built a globally recognized reputation for business investment through collaboration between county leaders and the business community.

[02:23:03] These investments have strengthened Loudoun's economy and provided significant relief to residential taxpayers, with data centers playing a pivotal role in this process. We appreciate the county staff's efforts in incorporating a footnote provision that safeguards existing investments in Loudoun County.

[02:23:22] Additionally, we support the board's tentative endorsement of a grandfathering resolution, ensuring that new zoning rules do not apply to administrative applications submitted by February 12, 2025. This sends a positive message to the data set industry and the broader business community about respecting investments in Loudoun County.

[02:23:42] We at William A. Hazel welcome and support responsible construction, responsible development, such as the well-maintained ENS measures, safety aspects, and good membership of the community devoted to these projects. Thank you for your time this evening.

[02:23:59] Thank you. Mark Pontiello followed by Patricia Steggerdia followed by Jeff Tara wait no I'm sorry he's on the phone that person is that person here or is he on the on he's on the okay on the Webex okay I'll go to him good evening sir good evening chair Randall and members of the board my name is Mark Pontello I'm a resident of Loudoun County more specifically the community of South Riding I'm also the Deputy Director of Organizing for the IBW Local 26 and the Chair of our Examining Board.

[02:24:35] Over the past year, I have had the privilege of recruiting more than 550 electricians to join our union, a majority of whom are working right here in Loudoun County's data center industry. This sector has provided incredible career opportunities for these workers, allowing them to earn family sustaining wages and benefits under our collective bargaining agreements. These are generational changes for some of these folks who start working as a union electrician may put their first child of that family through college. As a Loudoun County resident, I have personally seen the

[02:25:14] positive economic impact of this industry, not just for the workers and their families, but for our entire community. The data center sector has created high-quality jobs, strengthened our local economy, and helped keep our tax rates lower, a benefit that every resident, homeowner, and business owner in the county can appreciate.

[02:25:39] I cannot overstate the importance of this industry in shaping the future of our workforce and ensuring that skilled tradespeople have the opportunity to build lasting careers. I urge the board to continue fostering an environment where this industry and its workers can thrive together.

[02:25:56] Thank you for your time and your commitment to supporting working families and economic growth in Loudoun County. Thank you, sir. Patricia Steggertia, followed by Jeff Tara, followed by, I think Nicole Acosta has left.

[02:26:12] She's left, I think she left the room. So we're going to go to Ram Rupaditi, who's on the call. Good evening. Hello, good evening, Chair Randall and the members of the board. My name is Patricia Steggertia, and I'm a resident of Ashburn.

[02:26:27] I've lived there for 23 years. I worked at Loudon Hospital before it was a NOVA for 20 years in the NICU. i raised my kids in my house in ashburn my husband and i paid over paid off our mortgage after 20 years of very hard work and now my home value is about to be destroyed here's a picture this is a pending by right application that is in the pipeline right now you're going to have to stay on the mic if we can't hear you this i'm sorry this will be the data centers within 500

[02:27:05] feet of my home right here. This distance will be barely 500. It won't be 500 feet. That is very detrimental to all of our homes and to our health, to the noise, to the light, to everything. Having it so close. This is one of the closest applications of the county that are going to be near the residents' homes. It's not right. Here is the effect of the board's actions to have those data

[02:27:38] centers so close to residents' homes. That is what the 500 feet looks like. This will devastate my home value, and it's going to devastate my retirement. As to that civil engineer that spoke earlier today, he was advocating to protect the financial investment at those data centers. He kept repeating 1,256 hours of surveying and engineering fees that the data centers have invested. I wish he would have spent 1,257 hours, just one more hour, to come to my house and sit on the back deck and understand what the financial impact of my home is and my neighbor's homes my

[02:28:17] impact he didn't look at that the investment in his work is probably going to be in his company a hundred thousand dollars by the data centers we will lose five times that and our lives and our retirements who will protect the residents financial investment how can we let this happen And it is essential that the Board of Supervisors assert greater oversight.

[02:28:42] And at the Board's meeting on March 4th, we could have gone against and voted against the grandfathering exemption. And it undermines everything the Board in the county has done. I'm sorry. Your time is up. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

[02:29:00] Is Jeff Tara on the phone? The next three people are on the phone. is Rahm Rupparetti and Raj Patakar. The next three are on the phone, so we can just go right through those three. Yes, hi. Good evening, Madam Chair, Board of Supervisors.

[02:29:17] Thank you for letting me speak this evening. My name is Jeff Tara, and I'm a commercial real estate broker who has worked with companies and developers to place investments in this county. I'm also a 20-year resident of Loudoun County, and while I support adopting a grandfathered policy for data centers, I strongly oppose the proposed 500 setback requirement.

[02:29:43] As a real estate professional, I see firsthand the challenges this creates. My clients have invested heavily in this county and continue to seek new opportunities here, are now facing uncertainty. The proposed setback directly conflicts with existing zoning ordinance, creating confusion and hesitation among investors.

[02:30:03] This board spent years developing a comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance, only to revise it multiple times. Now, yet another change is being introduced. Investors require consistency and clarity to make informed decisions. Frequent policy shifts create a conflicting message, discouraging future investment and development.

[02:30:21] Loudoun County has benefited tremendously from the economic development driven by data centers. Changing the rules midstream jeopardizes that progress, progress that benefits all of us as residents and business professionals. I urge you to provide a stable and predictable framework that fosters confidence in the development community and shares continued economic success.

[02:30:38] Thank you for all your work. Thank you, sir. Can we go to the next speaker, please? Good evening, members of the board. My name is Ram Rupadi. I am resident of Loudoun Valley 2 community in Ashburn. I completely agree with the speaker who spoke before me.

[02:30:56] Fifteen years ago, my family and I invested in this community, paying a premium for privacy, safety, and a promise that the wooden land behind our home would remain untouched. We built our lives here, believing in the stability of this neighborhood. Now the promise is being broken, And we are being treated as if our voices do not matter.

[02:31:16] The proposed high-voltage power lines will destroy our privacy and put our children in harm's way. Why is our community being sacrificed? Would you be willing to live with these power lines towering over your backyard, humming day and night, risking your family's health?

[02:31:31] The choice to run these power lines through routes 3 and 4 is not just irresponsible, it is deliberate and unjust. Why were these routes selected while others were spared? Did both assume that we wouldn't fight back? My home is less than 50 feet from this line.

[02:31:47] I can literally dry my clothes on these power lines. Our children at Rosalie Carter and Rock Edge High School will be exposed to electromagnetic fields every hour of every day. If these lines are safe, why aren't they running along other routes? Why weren't alternative routes through industrial zones prioritized?

[02:32:04] This decision reeks of carelessness, favoritism, and a blatant disregard for our well-being. This is not an industrial corridor. This is our home. If you are determined to turn our homes' community into an industrial calder, then buy our homes at a fair market price. Do not expect us to silently accept having power lines forced upon us while corporations profit.

[02:32:26] If data centers require more power, find responsible solutions that do not endanger residents. Many countries, including India, are investing in underground power lines. Why can't one of the richest counties in America do the same? Or is it easier to cut corners when it is not your family at risk?

[02:32:41] We do not want tax breaks in from data center revenue. This is nothing less than a blood money. We refuse to be sacrificed for corporate interest. Stop all power lines. Stop routes three and four. We demand underground alternatives. The future of our families and community depends on it.

[02:32:58] Thank you. Thank you, sir. Can we go to the next speaker, please? Supervisor Sains and the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County. My name is Raj, and I am from the Sterling District.

[02:33:13] And myself and all the families of 2,400 students who voted for you to protect everyone, not just some, are here to urge you to take back your recommendation to the school board. And please, please stop pressuring them to allow blue or green routes on school grounds.

[02:33:33] Mr. Sains, you sent us an email and you told us that you absolutely hate the Loudoun County Parkway option. Why don't you also hate the blue and green option too? Don't our lives matter? All lives matter. Those of you who are mothers and fathers should know that what you have done is equivalent of sacrificing one child to save another child.

[02:33:58] Which parent would do that? We all woke up one day to see your recommendation to the school board to sacrifice the health, safety and lives of 2,400 students and hundreds of families. It's not just us.

[02:34:15] Everyone in Loudoun County is watching that you willingly told the school board that it is okay to allow high power voltage lines 50 feet, just 50 feet over where these children are going to walk to school and 300 feet from where elementary school kids will be studying and setting a precedent here that exposing every other school in the county.

[02:34:38] If tomorrow they want to build another school, through another school, what will you say? Say no now. Resign your recommendation. You need to go back to them. You have taken Dominion's word on face value. We have sent you a lot of information that we, as citizens, were able to dig up, which shows that clearly that there are partial underground route options which have been rejected by Dominion because they don't want to work hard.

[02:35:06] And they have deadlines. Please work with them. help them solve those problems where there is a will there is a way have the will to fight for 2400 students and hundreds of families like us that will be affected data centers may be good for our economy but please stop these impacts on communities like ours otherwise we will all start hating them we need to have a third-party independent review of dominion's report to ensure that the community's best interests are met undergrounding may be expensive but we are the richest county in the U.S. today and the need for power will keep growing. Thank you. Your time

[02:35:44] is up. We have one more speaker online. Can we go to that person? And then after that, we'll go to Hassani Kay and Jagadash Shineri. We have one more person on the phone. Oh, no. No? Okay, we're ready. We are ready. Good evening. No, no, no. Just give me one second. I'm sorry. I think there was

[02:36:22] somebody on the phone. Is he there? Okay, just tell him to hold up and try to fix what's going on And then I will go to, are you Ms. Hassani King? Yes. Okay, and after you, we'll go back to the phone. We're ready when you are. Yes. Good evening. My name is Hassani.

[02:36:38] I'm a junior at Rockridge High School, and I'm an alumna of Rosalie Elementary, both schools that will be impacted by the power lines. And I volunteer at Rosalie every Thursday. And a couple weeks ago when I walked through the doors and I smiled at these third graders, I realized that they don't know that 369 feet away, there will be power lines.

[02:36:59] that can hurt them so much. We don't even allow cell phone towers near our schools and I don't understand why a 720,000 volt power line is even an option. I've lived in this neighborhood my whole life.

[02:37:15] I've seen little kids take their first steps and moms nurse their kids in homes that will be in the shadows of these huge power lines. And this is unacceptable because it's not just about power lines. Children who live near high voltage power lines have double the chance to get leukemia.

[02:37:34] That means two times the chance of kids to spend their childhood in wards for chemotherapy instead of playgrounds. Is this a risk you're willing to take? This isn't something that you can undo. Please reject this plan.

[02:37:52] Demand answers. Demand real research. And demand that every possible alternative be explored. Because years from now, when people look back at this, they're going to remember who fought for us and who didn't. Thank you. Thank you. So that was, she was amazing.

[02:38:13] and I love to have young people talk. However, we do not clap in this room. We don't allow our rules of order, do not allow neither cheering or jeering because both those things can get out of line really quickly. So you can do jazz hands, but I would rather you don't cheer or jeer when we are in the room.

[02:38:29] And that's not my rule, it's the rule of the board. It's in our rules of order. That young lady was an amazing speaker, but if we can do that, that would be preferred. Can we go to the phone? Are we ready? Okay.

[02:38:47] Good evening. My name is Shravan Dugaraju, and I am resident of Loudoun Valley Estates II. I am here today to strongly oppose the overhead power lines, particularly around our school systems. By selecting one option over another, you have divided our communities.

[02:39:05] As elected officials, your responsibility is to protect and unite the entire community, not to favor one over the other. Supervisor Sains, I understand that you have worked with a member of our community in the past.

[02:39:23] However, that individual has since resigned and our HYA board is now forming a new committee to represent everyone in our neighborhood. We know that partial underground grounding is possible in 2025.

[02:39:40] Dominion has claimed that they were unable to engage with EMWA, but that is not accurate. EMWA has allocated approximately 800 acres of land to Dominion and additional parcels also available near the schools to accommodate transition stations to enable the undergrounding.

[02:40:04] Now is the time to make things right. Loudoun County is known as one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. Please act before it becomes known as the county surrounded by power lines and cell towers around the public properties. Thank you.

[02:40:23] Thank you, sir. If I mispronounce your name, I am sorry. And if when you come up, if you pronounce it correctly for me, I'd appreciate it. After you, sir, will be Sam Matroja, followed by Mala Kaba. Good evening, sir.

[02:40:39] Good evening, Board Chair Randall. My name is Jagdish and I'm from Loudoun Valley 2 County. I'm living in this community from last 10 years. I'm here to urge you to not pursue installation of any high voltage power lines near our children's elementary and high schools.

[02:40:59] What you are proposing are not standard residential lines. These high-voltage lines carry 50,000 times more capacity and cannot be assumed to be harmless. Any overhead route preference should be least impactable to the community, right?

[02:41:15] Before making your recommendation, did you consider the safety and health of 2,000-plus young children from pre-K to high school that attend these high schools every year? Your recommendation directly contradicts the documentation facility, documented facility safety guidelines.

[02:41:32] Virginia Department of Energy guidelines for school facilities in Virginia's public schools, page number 16, item 9 states, quote, location of schools near electric power transmission lines or other environmental hazards should be avoided. Yes, these are just guidelines, but they are created for a reason.

[02:41:50] Please, please respect them. Chair Randall, we urge you to use your influence to amplify the voices in your community which are being ignored. Mr. Sainz, we need you to ensure that pressure from developers who want to full sell future lots should not outweigh the current community of actual homeowners.

[02:42:14] Our communities are rallying to legally appeal any installation near schools and children, effectively disrupting plans to meet the project schedules. Instead, we request you listen to the community and work in tandem for a better solution. Thank you so much.

[02:42:30] Thank you, sir. Thank you. Sam Machorza, followed by Mala Kaba, followed by Shayes Chamida. Good evening, sir. Good evening. Good evening, everyone. As you know, LCPS is weighing a lot of information to make recommendations on the proposed routes for Golden to Mars.

[02:42:53] I just want to point out a few points so you can make an informed decision. The first one, the impact study that Dominion has shared with all of us is deeply flawed. It only considers physical structures like homes and schools, not the number of people affected. If the number of people impacted were factored in, the green and blue routes would rank among the worst options.

[02:43:13] The proposal for partial or full undergrounding of the lines has not been thoroughly researched either by Dominion. Other communities like in Chino Hills, California, have forced utilities to go underground. Black and Veatch, that is a contractor that designed and implemented the 3.7-mile line in California, is also a contractor for Dominion.

[02:43:37] Dominion has said that they need about six to seven acres of land to install substations to be able to do undergrounding. That is false. Ten years ago, in California, the same contractor did it on three acres of land. So that's incorrect information as well.

[02:43:53] Dominion has repeatedly said that there's not enough land to build substations. They have said so without exhausting all options. For example, one of the land parcel in question in Sterling, Virginia, on Pebble Run Road, is owned by Microsoft.

[02:44:11] I personally work at Microsoft, for Microsoft. So I went ahead and talked to our Director of Environmental Sustainability, as well as America's Lead for Land Development. I can connect Dominion with Microsoft if they really need to pursue and look at this option. Finally, I know that data centers, tax revenue is important to the county.

[02:44:31] We are not talking about data centers right now. We are only talking about the routes and how the power is applied to the data centers. So do not take the money part and make that the big deal over here. Make the health issues that kids are going to suffer be the main reason why you pick one route or the other.

[02:44:50] I know these schools are really close, about 300 to 400 feet from these lines, that 2,400 students, by picking one set of kids over another is just wrong. I mean, how can you pick favorites amongst your own kids? I sincerely hope that you make a choice and side with the kids and pick routes away from schools.

[02:45:11] No more routes on the school grounds now and forever. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Mala Kalva, I'm sorry, Followed by Shreyas Comedia, followed by Dorna Trainter.

[02:45:27] Good evening. Good evening, Board of Supervisors. I am Malakalwa, resident of Loudoun Valley 2 in Ashburn. I'm here to convey the community disappointment that the Board of Supervisors has picked the recommendation option that will impact the safety and health of our children who attend Rosalie Carter Elementary School and Rockridge High School.

[02:45:52] I want to just highlight some of the points here. Health risk of high-voltage transmission lines, Virginia Department of Education guidelines, inaccurate impact assessment, and proximity to the homes, homeschooling, independent review, and re-signed recommendations of explore alternative activities, alternate use.

[02:46:18] So I want to just a little more deep into these bullet points, the highlighted points. My kids currently walk to the both schools. The proposed lines go right above their sidewalk the way they walked under. The project proposed the construction of double circuit, 500 kilowatts and 230 kilowatts overhead transmission lines, which can result in severe health issues for our children and the staff members. Research proves that this will increase the risk of cancer, especially for younger children. And there There is also a Department of Education Guidelines, according to the Department of Education Guidelines,

[02:46:58] as one of my neighbors said, guidelines of school facilities, the location of the schools near the electric power transmission lines, and the other environmental hazard should be avoided. The guidelines supports our argument against the placing high-voltage lines near the existing schools.

[02:47:16] The Rockridge already has a big cell phone tower. The school board does not allow cell phone towers. How can we allow high voltage transmission lines in the school ground? I think if the snow accumulates more than in the western part of Loudoun County, the school board may decide to close schools.

[02:47:37] In addition, if a power line is approved on one school ground, it could extend to another school. So, inaccurate impact assessment. The table submitted by the Dominion is inaccurate and incomplete because it must include number of students, staff, and families affected by the school route.

[02:47:57] When this is considered, it becomes clear that green and blue lines are not the most impacted. We cannot consider the school building distance from the power line, but we need to consider the students on the football field, baseball field, and the soccer field, which are less than 500 feet.

[02:48:14] Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Um, I think the next person is on the phone, um, Shreyas, um, Comedia, then a Dorna Traitor, then a Iran Subramani. Good evening, Madam Chair, and all the members of the board here.

[02:48:34] My name is Shreyas Chamedia. I'm a software professional. I'm a father of two young children, aged two and five, and I'm a concerned citizen, concerned resident of Loudoun Valley 2 in Asheville. I'm here to represent the voices of thousands of children and teachers whose health and safety are at rest due to the proposed overhead high-voltage power lines by Dominion through our community.

[02:48:55] These overhead lines, particularly the blue and the green routes, will pass dangerously close to Rosalie Carter Elementary School and the Rockridge High School, and some homes will be as close as 25 feet from these lines. Our primary concern here is the severe health hazards associated with prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines.

[02:49:17] Numerous studies have linked EMF exposure to increased risk of childhood leukemia, cancer, and serious neurological illnesses. Our children, teachers, and families should not be subject to these dangers simply because Dominion prefers a cheaper, faster option.

[02:49:32] Secondly, the catastrophic risk posed by proximity of these suggested overhead lines to heavily wooded areas and existing Columbia gas pipelines on blue and green routes cannot be ignored. A single incident could lead to devastating consequences. Prioritizing cost over community safety is not a responsible decision.

[02:49:52] Moreover, the decision to recommend these routes violates Virginia's own guidelines, which advise against locating schools near electric transmission lines. New schools cannot be building a such hazard, yet existing schools are being disregarded. Why should our children's safety be treated with less care?

[02:50:10] Additionally, Dominion has demonstrated a lack of transparency. The justification for dismissing underground alternatives is flawed. Partial undergrounding remains a viable and safer option. Other developed regions worldwide have implemented underground solutions to mitigate health and safety risks.

[02:50:25] Why can't we do the same in our own wealthiest counties in the nation? I also urge you to consider the unequal impact of this decision. While the Loudoun County Parkway auction was rejected, our community has been unfairly burdened. Every child's safety matters equally. Sacrificing one community for another is unacceptable.

[02:50:45] Please protect our children. Prioritize their health and safety or corporate convenience. Say no to blue and green routes. We deserve a solution that safeguards our future. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you, sir. Dorna Tainter, followed by Aram Subramoni, followed by Shrikar Saurabhanihe. Good evening.

[02:51:10] So I'm Dorna Tainter from Waterford, speaking on behalf of the Loudon Transmission Line Alliance. We're here tonight to express our enthusiastic support for the CPAM-ZOAM amendments, but we do not support grandfathering. We've been advocating for responsible, least-harm transmission lines, but that's becoming impossible.

[02:51:28] I know that there are members of this board who have said, and I'm paraphrasing slightly, they want the data center industry to know that some members of this board recognize that everything they do is fundamentally dependent on the industry's willingness to give us over a billion dollars a year in revenue. But we are struggling with the damage from data centers and the transmission lines that are needed only because of the data centers, and want to remind you that our quality of life is your first primary responsibility oops we need standards and transparency and the agility to keep up with the rapid changes the ltla is asking what the final vision is for build out

[02:52:07] how else can we plan how many more data centers substations and transmission lines what happens as data centers get built outside of existing transmission corridors two years ago there was speculation that loudon might exceed 40 million square feet we are currently close to 50 million with close to 60 million more in the pipeline.

[02:52:28] The current data centers will continue to upgrade to faster, hungrier computer chips, even more power. We're looking at 50 new substations, some of which will require the board's approval, effectively deciding the route of the transmission lines and the fate of Loudoun residents.

[02:52:44] At these meetings, we hear about the good jobs that data centers create. They are good jobs. Unions have made America great. But the JLARC points out that these jobs are largely during construction, which we knew. We've loved getting revenue without putting many cars on the roads and kids in schools. Loudoun has had at least one data center under construction every day for the last 14 years, creating demand for these jobs. But infinite growth is simply not possible. There's already concern that AI may not be economically viable. What if the AI bubble bursts? Here in the data center nexus of the world, and I quote another member of this board, we have both a

[02:53:22] profound responsibility and a historic opportunity to redefine and permanently reshape the digital world and the power infrastructure it relies on. And we must act now. Thank you. Thank you. Aron Subramani, followed by Shrikar Sopanani, followed by Sridhar Sondra. Listen, seriously, Please correct my pronunciation of your names when you come up, and I am really sorry if I am mispronouncing your name, so please correct them when they come up.

[02:54:00] Yes, sir. Thank you. Good evening. Tonight, I stand before you as a concerned parent and a member of this community, a community that values the health, safety, and future of our children above all else. The proposed high-power transmission lines near Rosalie Elementary and Rockridge High School are not just an infrastructure decision, they are a moral one.

[02:54:21] This decision will impact thousands of students, teachers, and families for generations. We cannot afford to get it wrong. The scientific evidence is overwhelming. Peer-viewed research studies show that these EMFs and high-voltage power lines increases the risk of childhood leukemia, cancer, and psychological harm.

[02:54:40] The WHO classifies these EMFs as Class B carcinogen. Yet, we are being asked to accept these power lines less than 50 feet above sidewalks our children use daily. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an Erin Brockovich moment.

[02:54:55] If we proceed with the green and blue lines, we will someday have blood in our hands. Some argue that these routes affect the fewest homes. That impact study is deeply flawed as suggested by some of the other speakers. Why is this board comfortable playing guard with the lives of over 2,000 children, teachers, staff, and other families?

[02:55:16] Virginia Department of Education prohibits EMS near new schools. If it is unsafe for new schools, How can it be safe for existing ones? When cell phone towers are rejected, why are power lines acceptable? This isn't about statistics. It is about real lives.

[02:55:32] The decision will have national repercussions. If we allow these power lines near schools, we set a dangerous precedent that compromises the safety and health of millions of children across the country. Hence, it is not a local issue. It is a national one.

[02:55:48] You are being watched for the, you are the custodian and the guardians of the citizens of this county. Our community has identified a viable solution. As our friends spoke before, the blue route option one with partial underground. When Microsoft is willing to work with the county and allow us to use their land to use these underground options, why can't we, the richest county in the U.S., do the same?

[02:56:11] This is not about a solution. It is about setting a precedent. Allowing these lines near schools will endanger our children's health, and that is not negotiable. Humbly request you to the Board of Supervisors and the LCPS School Board, please have accountability, transparency, and a thorough review of all the alternatives, including all underground options.

[02:56:34] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. The next two speakers are online, are on the phone. And then after the next two speakers will be Racheca Junkunala. Junkunala. Hello.

[02:56:52] I am Shriker Serapanini of 6th grade, and I'm a former student of Rosalie Carter Elementary School. So basically, I live right behind Rosalie Carter Elementary School, same as my other friends who live right across Bay. I feel like the power lines will greatly affect our community, and it will destroy the ecosystem.

[02:57:13] and I'm here to request to reject the green and blue lines proposed in the Dominion Project Golden Mars. It has around like 500 kilowatt substations and it's a near school property where tennis courts are there and around 2,500 students will be affected. It also sends electromagnetic waves which will lead to cancer and it affects again 2,500 students in the school zone and i thought that if you also walk to school which most people do

[02:57:50] if you walk near the power lines the effect will be harmful and is also devastating so i humbly request that you don't do and reject the green and blue lines proposed and thank you for your time thank you thank you young man the next speaker will be on the phone as well and then you and

[02:58:19] then you will call you up sir we have one more speaker on the phone do we have one more speaker on the phone no the call just dropped okay so we'll go back to that person um you will be next sir are you um roshika okay and then after you we'll go back to the phone and then we will go to um um see rasha broom boomer ready good evening good evening ma'am good evening madam chair and

[02:58:55] Board of Supervisors. My name is, my name is, sorry, my name is Raju Kanula, and I'm a resident of, you know, Loudoun Valley 2 in Sterling District. So I'm here today to, you know, voice my concern and oppose the recommendation that was given by Board of Supervisors, you know, to allow construction of double-circuit transmission lines near school premises, which basically the schools are Rosalie Carter Elementary and Rockridge High School.

[02:59:31] So kids currently, you know, they also walk to both the schools and the proposed line will go directly above the sidewalk which they will be walking under them. Some studies have also related several health issues uh especially you know among children with this high power transmission lines uh so it uh this pro this proposed high voltage transmission lines it it uh it may impact both children as well as the school staff too so the the research shows that you know some of the

[03:00:10] research done on this topic shows that uh this can increase the uh the cancer uh uh in in the in the children and some neurological disorders also even though this may be inconclusive but i mean they said that too uh also according to the uh according to the virgin department of education the guidelines for schools for school facilities clearly says you know the high power transmission lines cannot be cannot be near the school premises uh and um and you know and also the table of

[03:00:45] impact that was submitted by dominion they're not they're not all factual factual uh and they are incomplete too uh the report did not take into consideration the number of students that get impacted and also their families and the staff uh needless to say the staff too uh so please uh resign this uh recommendation i urge you to please recommend uh resign this recommendation thank you everyone thank you thank you is he back on the phone okay let's go back to the phone

[03:01:32] ready when you are okay i'm going to come back to you all over there and we're going to go we're going to go to uh sirisha um rumirati and then we'll come back to the phone are you here good evening ma'am hello can you hear me we can hear you just fine good evening board members my name is sirisha and i have been a loud and county resident for the past five years Like many of you, I moved here seeking a spacious, green, and family-friendly environment.

[03:02:11] My family and I spent a year searching for a perfect home, and we finally settled what was once considered the richest and most beautiful county in the nation. But today, that beauty is disappearing.

[03:02:27] My morning walks with my children and my pet along Loudoun County Parkway, a place we once cherished, are now clouded by the fear of what is coming. The Dominion Energy Golden to Mars project threatens to bring 500 kilovolts power lines along the Loudoun County Parkway route within 5,200 feet of thousands of homes, Stonehill Middle School within 500 feet, Moorfield Middle School within 500 feet, Primrose Daycare where you see infants and toddlers within 50 feet,

[03:03:05] Inova Medical Center within 50 feet, where the patients can even touch from the Inova Medical School the power lines that go along the Loudoun County Parkway. There are many schools along Loudoun County Parkway, and this will hit 17 communities in total.

[03:03:24] I am afraid there is a right-of-way Route Orange 5 along Loudoun County Parkway, which is the most disastrous route, which will impact 17 communities, thousands of families, with a ripple effect of a few more thousands of families along the Loudoun County Parkway.

[03:03:42] Please take care of that. Do not give permission to go to the right-of-way Route Orange Line. Please look for possibility of partial undergrounding in the proposed five routes if that goes near the schools.

[03:03:58] Please look for partial undergrounding, if at all, if there is a possibility within the five proposed lines, if that goes near the schools. Please take care of that. This project will directly impact thousands of families in our community. Forget walking along Loudoun County Parkway.

[03:04:15] Soon, I won't even feel safe letting my kids play in our backyards. Stop the Golden to Mars project from coming onto Loudoun County Parkway. This county is rapidly turning into an industrialized zone at the cost of our homes. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[03:04:31] Thank you. Want to try the phone again? Okay, let's try it again. Good evening, everyone. My name is Sridhar Chanda. I live in Hashburn, Loudoun County, Loudoun Valley 2. I'm a father of two kids going into a school of Rosalie Carter and Rockridge.

[03:04:53] I grew up with a saying, health is wealth. When being an esteemed committee knows that we are doing this project of dominion for creating wealth by losing the health.

[03:05:09] When the health is not considered for the kids who are the future leaders, future economists, future businessmen who are there to create the wealth. If we stop their growth by creating such a project where it is an electrical hazard for young children growing in that environment, we'll create problems to their health where we are stopping wealth generators who are the future investment of this country for growing in a safe and secure healthy environment.

[03:05:43] We dream about kids. When the dream shatters because of creating our investments, for them, the future of the kids, we are generating investments by losing the health. It's not right decision.

[03:05:58] I request the esteemed people over here to make right decision and that to create the safety and healthy community where the kids can grow in safe and health without electrical hazards or EMF area. And one more thing, financial guarantee Loudoun County is giving to the residents who use the guarantee of health. What happens to the kids who grow under these electromagnetic fields?

[03:06:29] So I request everyone to oppose the 500 watt power line near to schools and please create a health and safe environment for kids to go and learn and become a rightful citizen of this country.

[03:06:44] Thank you. Thank you, sir. Our next speaker is Envita Gandari, followed by Sandra Madapalia, followed by Colleen Gillis. My name is Envita Gandari, and I'm a 15-year-old freshman at Rockridge High School.

[03:07:07] My family moved to Loudoun County five years ago, and I missed my home in Massachusetts, where I had a big backyard filled with flowers. I loved spending my days surrounded by nature, and I was excited to have a similar experience in Loudoun County. but with the power lines that feels impossible instead of nature and open skies thousands of families along Loudoun County Parkway may soon be staring at massive power lines there are thousands of homes schools daycares and hospitals along this road I started a change dot org petition to oppose the Golden Tamar's power lines along Loudoun County Parkway and 600 people from 17

[03:07:44] different communities have already signed it I would like to submit this petition on behalf of hundreds of both students and their parents who are deeply concerned about this project loudon county parkway is home to thousands of families who chose this area for its peaceful environment open spaces and strong sense of community now this is uncertain loudon county is meant to be a place where families can thrive where kids can have a happy and healthy childhood and where communities can grow not an industrial zone filled with data centers and high voltage power lines but if this project moves forward it threatens to take that

[03:08:20] away so I'm asking you to think about the thousands of families along Loudoun County Parkway the ones living here now and the ones who will grow up here in the future please don't let Loudoun County become a place where families lose their homes to industrialization thank you thank you thank you okay Sandra Madi Madi popular followed by Colleen Gillis and then we'll go back to the phones for shush maluka good evening good evening chair randall and the board of supervisors i'm a resident of lordon valley 2 community i'm here to urge the board to take care to take back

[03:09:00] your recommendation to choose the blue line or green line that is roads four and three i was appalled to know that the board thought roads blue and green are the least affected roads among the proposed uh routes the roads four and three are the most jeopardizing routes for the children of rosalie codder and rockridge high school for the health and well-being it's so scary and insane hearing about the impacts of emf from these mammoth power lines on our children i wonder if the board would have approved the 500k with transmission lines to go around the schools if you if your

[03:09:35] sons or daughters are studying the school which already has a cell phone tower in its premises i want to know if if there was if there was ever a study done on the combined effects of radiation from the existing cell phone tower near the rockridge high school and the emf from the new proposed transmission lines i completely understand that the data centers are essential infrastructure for the businesses and i'm not against the progress and development but definitely not at the cost of our children's health i request the board to reject the lines blue and green which immensely impact the schools and puts the health of 2 400 students at risk i asked the

[03:10:12] dominion to go partial underground i've been talking to my fellow community members and the The parents and all the parents are losing sleep over this issue Please reject these power lines to force the Dominion to go partial underground and keep the children safe. Thank you. Thank you, sir We're going to go to Colleen Gillis Miss Gillis hold on just yeah, all right. Miss Gillis. Thank you for holding and then you'll be followed by

[03:10:53] Shishma Loka followed by Zebulon trained tainter. Good evening. Good evening chair Randall members of the Board of Supervisors My name is Colleen Gillis. I'm an attorney with Curata Partners, and I'm here this evening on behalf of my client Yonder. Yonder has made significant investment in Loudoun County and started developing in an industrial area of Arcola.

[03:11:12] Throughout the years it's built in Loudoun County, it has sought to be a responsible and responsible developer of data centers. In fact, in meetings I've had with some of you prior to me being retained by Yonder, You've commented and remarked to me that Yonder's data centers are some of the most attractive, well-designed, and well-cited data centers in that part of the county.

[03:11:33] You may have driven by Yonder's campus on North Star Boulevard near the interstate overhead power lines that traverse Loudoun County and near a slew of other data centers. For all intents and purposes, Yonder's properties are surrounded by industrial development and data centers. Yonder purchased the land in reliance on the belief that it was buying land in an area that was appropriate for data centers and zoned accordingly.

[03:11:53] and after closing on the property it submitted a site plan at a cost of between a quarter of a million and a half a million dollars no small or inexpensive task unfortunately the administrative plan kick out for data centers within 100 feet of existing residential if that's approved tonight yonder will be forced to shelve that site plan for 12 months or more while it seeks special exception approval we understand the board's reason for this however the property that is subject to this plan that I'm speaking of tonight is literally the hole in the donut surrounded by properties that are zoned and site plan approved for data centers but also by homeowners that have

[03:12:33] been before you seeking the rezoning of their property for industrial development because of the proximity to data centers. It is these residents that want to rezone to IP and do not want to remain residential that would trigger that 500 foot kick out for yonder. If these homes are as the homeowners have claimed, and it seems some of you have agreed, too close to data centers to remain residential. We suggest that requiring Yonder to seek a special exception for data center use and causing a 12-month delay is unnecessary. Tonight, we urge you to reconsider the 500-foot kickout because the drastic effect it will have on the investment that Yonder has made and hopes to continue to make in Loudoun County. This property is exactly where you want data

[03:13:11] centers. Yonder wants to work with Loudoun County and will continue to work with Loudoun County in developing its campus responsibly as it already has but please don't put a wrench in the development of our program by requiring yonder to get a special exception in an area that is planned for transforming and developing as a fully industrial area thank you thank you miss gillis um sushma loka followed by zebulon trainter followed by shetan doma okay zebulon uh tainter i don't think

[03:13:47] There you are. Followed by Shetan Doma and Srinivas Dekonda. Good evening, sir. Good evening. By now, you have heard a lot of arguments against grandfathering data centers, and I agree with those points.

[03:14:04] And I oppose more data centers. I'm not for tearing any down. But if build, you must, and I think you will. There's a study that's going to be published in two weeks that looked at growing up, specifically adverse and positive childhood environmental experiences, and the authors considered 2,246 articles, 87 met full criteria for reviewing environmental influences, and community level variables were often measured as deficits or risk factors.

[03:14:36] Most of those studies were conducted in North America. Relationships between community variables and individual well-being showed mixed results for social characteristics, probably because humans are so variable and unpredictable. But more consistently, positive associations for strengths-based measures of natural and built environments.

[03:15:00] Key findings were access to green spaces and walkability, that a lot of talk about walking tonight. There's a robust study, body of research supporting the mental health benefits of children being in nature. Numerous studies have found that kids living in greener environments have better moods, higher self-esteem, and more resilience.

[03:15:22] Research has also found that long-term exposure to nature reduces stress and anxiety in children and lowers their levels of aggression. Nature time can also lead to cognitive improvements. One systemic review looked at various nature-based interventions in five to 18-year-olds.

[03:15:41] Researchers found that engaging in nature can improve kids' working memory and attention. One small study even found that children who grew up in greener spaces had increased volume in the areas of the brain that deal with memory and attention. Socially, a systematic review found that time outdoors can improve pro-social behaviors including sharing, cooperating, and comforting others.

[03:16:06] Nature can be particularly helpful for those who have had adverse childhood experiences. Making art and nature affected about 100 children in a low-income neighborhood in England. Their confidence, self-esteem, and agency all improved. Maryland is increasingly having kindergarten outdoors.

[03:16:25] Most of us accept the growing evidence that nature promotes mental health. My purpose here as you prepare to build things is to ask whether sacrificing more green space or access to it can benefit our children as much as leaving it there. Mr. Tainter, thank you very much. Your time is up, sir.

[03:16:42] Shaitan Doma, followed by Srinivas Dekonda, and then we will go on the phone for Pradeek Jaw. Good evening. Good evening, everyone. My name is Shaitan Doma, and I'm a sixth-grade student at Stonehill Middle School, and my sister studying at Rockridge High School. I'm here today to talk about address this situation about the 500 kilovolt power lines near our schools. I'm worried about the impact it could have on our health, safety and education. These power lines create something called electromagnetic fields that are harmful to our health, especially kids such as like me are still growing. There's

[03:17:22] studies show that being near these power lines for a prolonged time might increase the chances of getting a sickness such as cancer specifically leukemia as children our bodies are more sensitive to stuff like this and we need to be safe while we grow and learn these power lines can also create a disruptive hum that can distract us while we are in class it would be hard to concentrate if we hear constant hum while we're trying to learn we also spend lots of our time outside for recess sports and field trips and we want to enjoy a peaceful environment not one that's impacted

[03:17:59] by loud power lines the towers holding up these power lines are really tall and could potentially be dangerous if something goes wrong with the power lines it could be dangerous for students teachers or anything nearby even birds and other animals could get hurt by the electricity in the lines we know that power lines are important for electricity but we believe there are safer ways to do this maybe the lines can be moved further away from the schools or we could use an underground power line so they're not a problem we hope the school board will think the supervisor board will think about our safety and make the best decision for all

[03:18:37] of us thank you job young man thank you Srinivas de Khanda followed by pladeek jaw thank you madam chair thank you honorable board members friends I will be describing briefly tonight but my intent like what I'm speaking so So basically I'm talking about the proposed Dominion power lines in our neighborhood within like Laudan County.

[03:19:06] So there are like numerous studies which have proven that like there is a direct correlation between the high-voltage proximity to the childhood leukemia. So this has been proven in numerous studies basically, it's not one study.

[03:19:24] So I have actually given the handouts to each board members. So within those handouts, there is a link. There are numerous studies among those cancer rates and all that. So also there was another study conducted in Colorado, the school children who are impacted.

[03:19:42] So the children who live near to the proximity of high voltage power lines, not just like voltage power lines, like very high voltage power lines. They had like, it has been proven that they had two to three times of developing this cancer is more real.

[03:20:01] And also, not only that, not only the children, the workers who worked on the power lines, as well as the workers who worked on the buildings and all that, they were affected. Also, they were affected and also they reported the breast cancers.

[03:20:17] So imagine, so it's not only for the children, it affects everybody, and these are the fundamentals I'm just trying to put forward to you. And also, the high-power voltage power lines like still effective, macro level, micro level, but like these power lines proposed by Dominion are very high power, high voltage power lines, EHPs they are called, extra high voltage power lines.

[03:20:42] So imagine like these power lines will be basically like not even like 10 times or 100 times, thousands of times of effect will be there with the radiation. So I would urge honorable members and the chair please please reject these high voltage power lines near the proximity of the schools where our children should go in a healthy environment and even the staff like as my friend spoke like about 3 000 people getting affected within the school area and imagine nearby neighborhoods there will be a lot of people getting affected and also like imagine like 20

[03:21:20] years ago i think like most of you are like sir at the same age sir the industrial parts for like uh out of the city sir thank you thank you thank you very much please oppose these uh power lines the next person is um online um pradik jaw followed by um um uh rotom castoriri is he in line okay we're ready greetings respect greetings respect to chair randall and esteemed member of the Loudoun County Board. My name is Tateek Jha and I am a long-term resident

[03:21:58] of Loudoun Valley 3 in Dallas. I appreciate the opportunity today to address the board. First, I'd like to compliment the board for their leadership in making Loudoun 1 one of the best places to live in the U.S. Today, however, I come to you to register my grave concern with the proposed Golden to Mars project that seeks to put overhead power lines very, very close to our schools and our communities. As a father of three children that attend Rockridge and Rosalie Carter School, I can't even envision my kids being exposed to these over-the-ground high-powered electric

[03:22:36] lines multiple times a day. Also thousands of kids that live in my neighborhood and hundreds and thousands that attend the school every day. The long-term safety and health concerns of these high-powered electric lines are well documented, and many studies have been already shared with you.

[03:22:57] If there is any doubt in anybody's mind, or even a question, it should be laid to rest by seeking independent advice from an expert in this field. The impacts of these high-powered lines to neighborhood and property values are also well documented.

[03:23:16] Today I seek your unconditional support for voicing complete opposition to any proposal that seek to build overhead power lines close to our schools and neighborhoods. Number two, seeking alternatives and finding solution to undergrounding them near the schools and neighborhoods that are in proximity.

[03:23:40] None of our residents should be impacted for the sake of greater good. Least impacted option is not an option, Because if one of us is impacted, all of us are impacted. We also cannot accept a response that undergrounding these power lines is not feasible or very expensive.

[03:23:57] I can't imagine this project is more complex than putting a person on a moon. The richest county in the USA can solve both of these things. Yes, we benefit from the business. However, that cannot be the reason to compromise health and safety of our residents or turning our beautiful Adjunct Sterling into a series of box buildings and power distribution lines everywhere we look.

[03:24:23] Thank you for your kind consideration on this topic. Thank you, sir. So we have one more speaker before we go to the waiting list of speakers, and we will have speakers into 727, but we have one more before we go to the waiting list. Good evening, sir. Hello, everybody. I think the speakers who spoke covered most of the effects of the power lines and everything.

[03:24:48] but i'll keep it brief i lived in virginia for the past 25 years the first five years i was in mclean then i moved to loudon county sterling and 15 years ago i moved to lordon valley villages when i first moved to loudon valley village 15 years ago when i was used to drive on loudon valley except for one horizon and a gas station there was nothing else and when i was driving i used to see There's a lot of animals crossing the Loudoun County Parkway.

[03:25:19] Now it feels like as if we are the animals, like the data centers are pushing us out. That's how I feel. Looking at the data centers that they are building every day and coming to the lines that are proposed on the Loudoun Valley or whatever the two transmission lines that they're trying to connect, they're going through the school property.

[03:25:44] And every time somebody brought up the blue and recommendations by blue and green line by the committee, I saw it, Ms. Randall, you were like shaking your head, what are they talking about or whatever. But I saw this is from your website on January 22nd. It said, after evaluating the potential community and environmental impacts of each proposed alignment, the Board of Supervisors identified Route 4 as a preferred alignment, Route 3 is the Board of Supervisors' second preferred alignment.

[03:26:11] This was what was sent to school board to pick or whatever. This reminds me of my kids when they were young, as soon as they come back from school, me and my wife used to ask them, do you want apple or orange? Not do you want a fruit? They say no.

[03:26:27] When you say do you want an apple or an orange, they're forced to pick one. This exactly reflects like that. You're not telling them, okay, do you want high-powered lines that they are planning in school property, which could have adverse effects, long-term effect on kids?

[03:26:44] Then you will get 100% votes to say no. but here you already gave them options at the same time this is the preferred one this is one only two options that would put them in a situation they have to pick one and both of them are not good that's what my suggestion i'm already done though sorry so and dominion they have they have so much money they can easily do underground and if possible push them for underground lines please thank you sir thank you very much you are our last speaker before we go our waiting list, and we have two minutes for the waiting list. Ms. Montgomery has

[03:27:22] left the building. The first waiting list person we have is Todd Stegertia. Are you here, Todd? Okay, wonderful. You will be our next and our last speaker, sir.

[03:27:38] Good evening, again. Madam Chair, thank you for your leadership on this issue. My name is Todd Stegertia. I've been up here before. My wife, a long-standing nurse in and Loudoun County is now the easel in a reverse role.

[03:28:05] I'm a Navy veteran. I did the entirety of my 20s in the Navy. I served my country, settled down in Ashburn. 23 years, I raised my kids. I invested in my home. Our home is our future. To put it most succinctly, when I saw what had been happening, I was shocked.

[03:28:32] I was horrified. And I think it is outrageous what this board has done with respect to grandfathering. The effect of grandfathering to allow these by-right pending applications to get approved and allow something like 60 million more square feet of data centers in this county is irresponsible.

[03:28:58] And the effect of it on the homeowners is being completely ignored, completely ignored. board. This is what occurs by this strategy, by this board. This right here is my house.

[03:29:16] These are massive data centers with refrigeration units. Does anybody want to buy my house? You want to buy my house? Does anybody here want to buy my house right now? Do you live next to one of these things? Where's the compassion for the residents? This is too close, and

[03:29:48] you all know it. And you hide behind a zoning ordinance from 2003. The developer that's proposing this didn't even live in Loudoun County in 2003. They just bought this to flip it. And here I am 500 feet from a data center. My kids won't even want to inherit this house. They won't want to live here. We will have to move. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Okay. That was our last speaker.

[03:30:26] So let me just say what we have to do, just very quickly, I need to recess this meeting. Everyone just stay where you are. And I need to call to order the public hearing for the notice of proposed real property tax increase.

[03:30:44] As of now, I don't see anybody on a list that wants to speak on that issue. So let me just ask right now before I go through everything else. is there anyone who wants to speak on the issue of the real property tax increase is there anybody on the phone who wants to speak on that item there is not there is not okay then i'm going to um uh adjourn that item and go back to our meeting then okay um we need to take a break because we've been on the day since seven o'clock um supervisors we are going to do one

[03:31:22] closed session in break. When we come off a break, what is going to happen if people want to kind of stay here is this. We're going to come off break, we're going to do board comments, which means if supervisors choose to, they can respond to any of the statements that were made during public comment, and then we're going to take the two items that are about -- they're the two data center items up. Those are the two -- after break we do closed session I'm sorry after closed session we'll do board comments and then

[03:31:57] we'll take these two items and so if you'd like to stay here we will try to get these done now these items are going to take a long time there's a lot of there's a lot of motions on this days and they're complicated I am so gonna take a long time but we do invite you to stay if you would like to arm if not go home and watch us on television or something else but we are going to take take a break. Mr. Turner, would you please read us into the first closed session or the closed session that regards the county administrator. That's the one we're going to do right now.

[03:32:32] I move the Board of Supervisors recess this public meeting and enter into closed session pursuant to sections 2.23711A7 and 2.23711A8 of the Code of Virginia to consult with legal counsel and staff members pertaining to actual or probable litigation involving the county and the architect for the animal services facility no no no no no sir we're going to closed session about the county administrator number two okay everything i just said never mind

[03:33:08] closed session number two i move that the board of supervisors recess this public meeting and enter into closed session pursuant to section 2.2 3711 of the code of virginia to consider personnel matter involving the annual performance review of the county administrator I will second that discussion on that motion. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[03:33:29] Okay, we are in closed session. Mr. Koran Sains to the dais. We cannot read out a closed session

[04:06:17] without you. Mr. Sains. Yes, Madam Chair. I'm sorry. I fell asleep there for a second.

[04:06:51] I move the closed session be adjourned, that the Board of Supervisors reconvenes its public meeting, that the minutes of the public meeting should reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed session, and further move that the resolution certifying the closed session be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting. Second discussion on the motion. All people say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passed 9-0. Would everyone please affirm. Affirm. Affirm. Affirm. Affirm. Affirm. Affirm. Affirm. And I affirm as well.

[04:07:21] Thank you very much. All right. Supervisor, let's do board comments right now before we take up the next item. So the board comments. Ms. Umstop. And disclosures yes thank you all right uh thank you madam chair on disclosures um on march 7th i met with ben wales on the magnolia rose application also on march 7th i met with john

[04:07:52] cox chuck coon and charles yudd on the cross mill center application and on uh march 15th i had a phone call with charles yudd on the cross mill center application i have no board comments thank you uh miss glass thank you madam chair uh for disclosures on wednesday march 5th i met with representatives from peterson to discuss the commonwealth center setback application thursday

[04:08:27] march 6th my staff met with a representative from equinix to discuss several of their upcoming applications monday march 10th my staff met with representatives from jk land holdings to discuss the cross mill center application i just want to thank everyone for coming out today and speaking on uh speaking to and speaking to us about your concerns thank thank you madam chair thank you um mr latourno thank you um i actually meant to cover this earlier when i was opening

[04:09:06] the meeting but i just wanted to take a moment and reflect on um sudishka kanaki who was a resident of my area and loudon who tragically went missing in the dominican republic on march 6th we have been praying and hoping that she would be found unfortunately she hasn't been and her family now believes that she may be deceased so i certainly just wanted to express my thoughts and prayers with the community a really promising young woman university of pittsburgh student just just a total tragedy as a parent every every parent's worst nightmare to

[04:09:44] hear something like that so i know all of us you know we've been thinking about it and praying for her so i just wanted to express that tonight um otherwise i know we have a long meeting i have some comments on certainly some of the issues and items coming before us but i won't take up time here during a comment thank you thank you um mr crony thank you chair randall and um i want to thank um i think supervisor letourneau i have been thinking about that family so i'm glad you brought that up but i want to thank everybody who came to speak tonight um i heard you about the transmission

[04:10:19] lines and the impact to your quality of life unfortunately i think more transmission lines are coming uh the morrisville to wishing star um transmission line is a wreck and rebuild that will impact my district district and and the dullest district we heard about that from dominion the other day so that'll be um coming uh to the public so the public can have a voice uh probably in may i think they're doing outreach dominion to um different communities along that line um but i i hear you i hear all the residents um there are impacts and it does affect your

[04:10:59] quality of life on a positive note today is my daughter's sweet 16 birthday so my daughter is turning 16 today um yeah so i'll be taking some cake when i get home but um i know that uh you You know, she's really growing up, and I'm sorry I'm going to miss her birthday tonight, but I'm going to take her out Friday night.

[04:11:23] I want to mention that on Friday I attended a COG farm meeting in Montgomery County, and we talked about the need to have a farm-to-food bank program, especially with some people losing their jobs, the federal workers and contractors, and also how we can capacity build with infrastructure like cold storage, so I'll be looking for ideas to help our farmers get the infrastructure they need and also maybe come up with a farm to food bank program.

[04:11:57] Brambleton office hours are March 25th from four to seven at the BCA, the Brambleton Community Association office on Ryan Road and I just wanna throw out, the Scrape for the Grape is coming up on Saturday, March 29th from 10:00 to 1:00 and Saturday, April 12th from 10:00 to 1:00 and that is an opportunity for people to come out and get rid of those invasive spotted lanternfly eggs on grapevines and fruit trees.

[04:12:28] So I will be going on the 29th and I'd love to see people if you want to join me. Thanks. Bye. Mr. Sains. Thank you, Vice Chair Turner. I'll start with disclosures first on March 7th. My staff met with the applicant team for cross mill center on March 10th My staff met with the applicant team for Magnolia Rose 1880 Thank you to everybody that came out to speak Today as I normally say you could have been anywhere, but you chose to be here to speak your piece on issues that are near and dear to your heart So we really appreciate you taking the time to do so

[04:13:08] Just want to clear up a few things regarding, you know, the Golden to Mars power lines. As it's been mentioned a few times tonight from the speakers, yes, the board did endorse routes three and four for the transmission lines, tramway submission lines, excuse me, for Golden to Mars.

[04:13:31] Reason being, if you look at all the routes that Dominion says they're going to file with the SEC, and disclosure here, the Board of Supervisors does not make the decision on where the power lines go. If it was up to us, we would be voting for the lines to be buried, but that's with the SCC. And so we took the, made the decision to vote for three and four of those routes because those are the routes that are most, less impactful to all the residents that are in, that are on the Loudoun County Parkway corridor. There's

[04:14:08] thousands of homes that potentially could see those power lines. So when you look at it from that perspective that's why those routes were selected but it I think is what's been missing from the conversation is I'm going to read the full motion again so everybody hears it the board approved identifying route 4 of the Golden to Mars transmission line alignment as the county's preferred route and route 3 of the Golden to Mars transmission line alignment as a county secondary route preference we will also advocate I'll say that again advocate to have Dominion Energy bearing any transmission lines plan to pass closer than 500 feet from any

[04:14:47] residents or public school and direct staff to continue to work with property owners, Loudoun County Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and Dominion Energy develop the proposed route. So within our motion that we passed a few weeks ago, in there what I just stated, again we are still going to advocate and work with all those stakeholders to try to get the power lines buried either by the schools 500 feet or 500 feet in close proximity to the residents in that neighborhood or to the schools and we're also going to be working as

[04:15:24] we've stressed and I've talked to the Loudoun Valley State's residents numerous times that we will continue to stress and advocate for burying power lines on a different route along 606 on NWA property but again that's going to take a lot of effort which we're up to the challenge to do so because as Chair Randall likes to say Loudoun County we do hard things and this is a hard thing to do but we are taking up that challenge we'll continue to advocate for those lines to be buried and all looking at alternative routes so I want to make sure that is not missed to the residents that spoke here today and has been emailing us I think that has been missed during during the discussion so please

[04:16:00] take note of that but again if we choose not to pick some pick some alternative routes the SEC could potentially pick the route that's going to impact thousands of residents who drive up and down that Loudoun County Parkway corridor every single day because that's one of the routes again that Dominion is asking for and I want to stress again that these lines unfortunately do not fall in our preview we do not make the decision it's the SCC and we will continue to give updates we will continue to meet with the residents we will continue to meet with Dominion we will continue to meet with the public school system here in Loudoun County we will continue to meet with

[04:16:37] EMWA and advocate and see if we can get these power lines buried but the Dominion has told us they will be looking to file by the end of March early April we're trying to ask them to do an extension of that and hold off but we will continue to have this fight in these conversations so I want to make sure to stress that point that again the board has taken a position yes on routes three and four because they're less impactful and we will continue to advocate for burying the power lines and also want to stress that you know I know it's been mentioned numerous times that you know yes the power lines by schools is not the best option I would admit that but we hate to say it but it's true we do have

[04:17:12] power lines by numerous schools right now there has not been any issues as far as I know my son's attended one of the schools that has been has power lines since 1997 there's been power lines at one of the schools and there's not been any issues so I just want to point that out there and home values as far as I know I did some research there's actually one home in the last six months that's by power lines by the school that i'm talking about that sold for one point almost 1.4 million dollars so home values in loudon county are going up thank you thank you miss brixman uh thank you madam chair i will associate myself with many of the comments

[04:17:49] from supervisor sayings oh first by the way of disclosures um today i met with chuck coon and charles yud from jk holdings about the data center standards location cpm zoeum on march 11th i had phone calls with Ben Wales and Colin Gillis of Curata concerning Magnolia Rose and and yeah I'll echo a little bit of what Supervisor Sainz said and it's I do appreciate folks coming out and telling us their concerns but I think there's a misconception out there that we have the power to reject certain routes that Dominion is proposing we don't have that power we have the

[04:18:28] power of our voice. And, you know, as Loudoun County, the entity, as Loudoun County, the jurisdiction, and we have been working really hard to use our voice and to enter into the cases with SCC. We always advocate for undergrounding the power lines, but SCC makes the decisions. And those who have petitions or want to engage, I strongly recommend you engage with SCC on this case, just like we are. As far as the earlier discussion about the emergency funding to

[04:19:03] Community Foundation, I just want to point out that there was an article in Axios, I guess, last night that said, first-time unemployment claims filed by Virginians surged in the first full week of March. It could be the first data-driven look at the impact of Trump administration's federal spending and workforce cuts on local jobs by the numbers the 4,000 initial unemployment insurance claims filed for that week is 40 percent higher than claims filed in the previous week and 81 percent higher than the same week in 2024. So I'm really proud that we are actually

[04:19:40] preparing ourselves you know having gone through COVID we know what the community is going to need and we're getting prepared to do that. On some happier news, we will be celebrating Trails Day in Algonquian District with a Biking with Briskman event, partnering with Bike Loudon, Rails to Trails, Route 7 Brewery, Arthur's Ice Cream, and Maverick Bikes for a casual eight-mile bike ride starting at Route 7 Brewery. So all of the information is up on my page and in my newsletter. If you would like to join us, we would love it. Since we're doing a little mom bragging

[04:20:14] tonight. I want to publicly congratulate my daughter Jordan who is graduating from University of Delaware this May. She's actually finished but oh I'm gonna get verklempt. She has been accepted and has put down a deposit to attend graduate school at UPenn. I took the day off yesterday to go tour UPenn with her and oh my gosh I never knew that there was such a beautiful campus up there in Philly. And so just extremely proud of you, Jordan. I know you're up for the challenge

[04:20:47] and congratulations to you. As far as the Gun Violence Archive reporting, this year there have now been 2,900 total gun deaths and 50 mass shootings in our country. The deaths include 52 children under age 11 and 194 teens ages 12 to 17. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Mr. Crony miss class did you guys do your um disclosures you did okay i'm sorry i missed that mr kirschner thank you madam chair welcome everybody thank you for coming out thank um thank you to my fellow supervisors and the staff for being here and for all the hard work that you do as always um first

[04:21:27] of all disclosures on march 6 i met with my staff met with the applicant for magnolia rose application um that'll be coming up in april um i have kind of three updates from catoctin the first I got to attend a very important groundbreaking ceremony, which this board had a lot to do with, the Round Hill's new Aramont water tank on Friday, March 7th.

[04:21:46] I very much needed improvement, so thank you to my board for helping to fund that. We had some folks from the community, the mayor, some of the town elected officials were out there, as well as those working on it. They just poured the concrete for the base. A very important day and really important for that area.

[04:22:03] So thank you. Second, Morvan Park is holding its spring horse trials later this month, and then in April they'll have equestrian events almost every week, including but not limited to schooling days in the park, Nova Spring Show, and the Loudoun Hunt Pony Club horse trials.

[04:22:19] And then third, I have really good news about Sweet Run State Park. Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation is holding a virtual meeting about the park on Wednesday, March 26th from 6.30 to 8 p.m. Members of the public can sign up for the meeting, hear a presentation about the draft plans for the park, and give their input on these plans.

[04:22:40] If you can't attend the meeting or you have more thoughts to share, the department has set up a survey to collect feedback about the park and about their proposed plans for it. And I wasn't here for the consent agenda, so there was a couple things on the consent agenda that I wanted to mention.

[04:22:56] On item 1D, the Loud Museum, I'm really glad. I appreciate my supervisors for voting on this. It's a cornerstone to our county's history, and I'm glad that we are supporting this great museum. Also, item 2A, Nancy Nicholson is incredibly well qualified for the role on the Commission of Aging, so thank you for placing her.

[04:23:16] I'm assuming it passed. That was on the consent agenda. We are honored to have her serve as the Catoctin District Representative on the advisory body. And then on item four, I want to thank DTCI for working with the Waterford Ridge community to make this happen.

[04:23:31] My office was glad to initiate this request, and we appreciate it being put on the consent agenda. As far as nominations are concerned, I'd like to make a nomination since I wasn't here as the chair and she said it was okay. I nominate Scott Hamburger as the at-large representative on the Economic Development Authority.

[04:23:48] he was actually he was that nomination was made okay well then i withdraw that nomination um the uh the other thing i want to mention it's kind of a personal note my son braden josiah kirschner he's eight years old he won the um the big tournament of the year the mason diction wrestling tournament at a whole a whopping 53 pounds um he cut a little bit of weight to make that just a pound or two and he pinned every single person that he wrestled all the way up to the championship bracket.

[04:24:19] What's really cool about it is as a young wrestler his age, I also had won the Mason-Dixon five different times, and his grandpa, who he was never able to meet because he passed away, who was an NCAA All-American wrestler, he did it on his birthday. So it was a pretty awesome day.

[04:24:36] Needless to say, Daddy cried just a little bit. I will have further comments about some of the data center issues when we get to that. I will have some opening comments, I think, in the motion, but I really appreciate everybody that came out. And whether you agree or don't agree with the positions that we take up here, I do think that this is not an easy issue.

[04:24:57] It's a very difficult issue, and we've all struggled through it. I do believe that we've probably gone far too far on this, but obviously this is a corporate body, and the majority will rule on this. But I will have some further to say about what the ultimate impact, I think, on Loudoun County will be when we get to the motion.

[04:25:16] you madam chair thank you mr turn vice chair turner thank you madam chair um i would like to nominate i forgot to nominate someone i'd like to nominate vena agarum to the family services board to fill the at-large representative seat um on march 5th 10th and 12th my staff and i spoke with ben wales from curata to discuss the magnolia rose application on thursday march 6th tuesday march 11th my staff and i spoke with emmanuel williams from coulee to discuss the digital dulles application on wednesday march 12th my staff and i spoke with todd house from cyrus one to discuss the cyrus one broadlands data center application on thursday march 13 my staff and i met with chuck

[04:25:54] kuhn charles yud and john cox from jk moving and steve kuhn from jk land holdings to discuss the samuel mills assemblage and clintmar applications on thursday march 13th my staff and i met with colin gillis and molly novotny from curata to discuss the applications for global plaza north Global Plaza South Trans Dulles and Cochrane Tech on Friday March 14th and Tuesday March 18th I spoken there in Switzerland from Walsh Kalushi to discuss the zebra East application since everybody's talking about their children I'd like to announce that my little Scottish black dog Maggie received a new

[04:26:27] toy on Wednesday and she's very happy with it so I have thank you okay on 2:21 I met with the applicants on Zebra East on 226, applicants on Magnolia Rose on 3/7, applicants on the Blue Mont Monopole on 3/14, I spoke with Charles Yead and Chuck Kuhn on the Data Center CPAM discussions.

[04:26:56] I want to first say that the astronauts are back on the ground. After nine months in space, the astronauts are back on the ground. Kind of puts things on lots of perspective, doesn't it? I mean, that's just absolutely phenomenal.

[04:27:12] I also want to say that yesterday was Ms. Bricksman's birthday. Happy birthday, Ms. Bricksman. Happy birthday. Sunday was her birthday. She is 39. She is 39, yes. All of us are 39 except for Koran and Matt. They're actually their age.

[04:27:30] Everybody else is 39. No, that's right. Koran and Matt, everybody else is 39. I will talk about the issues when we get to the items, when we get to the issues. There's two things I want to say first.

[04:27:46] There are times that on a regular basis, this board says to our state delegates and state senators, if you have any questions about what's happening at the county level, please give us a call. And we mean that because we have very different jobs. What it is to be a state legislator and what it is to be a supervisor or a school board member is very different.

[04:28:08] Today, our state senator, Ms. Perry, put up a post that said that we have not had transparency around the CPAM data center item. There can be nothing further from the truth. We have had years of discussions, multiple, multiple, multiple public hearings and chances for people to speak.

[04:28:29] Not to mention every time somebody walks into this room, if they want to speak on anything, they're welcome to speak on anything that they'd like to speak on. And that doesn't even count all the emails and phone calls we get in other ways. As we talk about things that are grandfathered, I'm sorry, not grandfathered, that are by right, by right applications have always been administrative.

[04:28:51] They've never been something that's come to the board. And so if that wants to be, if somebody wants to change that, we can. But that has been across the Commonwealth how that has, how those applications have been processed. And I don't remember Ms. Perry putting any legislation forward to change how that is processed.

[04:29:10] And so to make any statements that we're not literally the board that has the most chances for public comment and public hearing, we literally are. We have public hearing, I mean, public comments at every single business meeting. And so I personally take offense to that.

[04:29:28] I am chair of this board, and I take transparency and public comments very, very seriously. And if somebody wants to have a discussion about how by-right administrative applications are done, we can have that discussion. But to say we're not transparent is just wrong on its face. And I wanted to say that publicly.

[04:29:46] Finally, I want to say something completely different. There's a man named William Ferguson Reed. He was born in 1925. He was the first African-American elected to the General Assembly in the 20th century, and he just celebrated his 100th birthday.

[04:30:02] He's a medical doctor. community leader, especially in Richmond. He was one of the co-founders of Crusade for Voters, which was organized in 1955, and it was one of the more formidable political organizations in the state. It lobbied for voter registration, especially for African Americans. He conducted get-out-the-vote drives. He drove people to the polls, and he did so much that he was actually able to win a seat in the House of Delegates in 1967. He won on his second try. He served three terms in the General Assembly. After he served in the General Assembly, he was

[04:30:41] a regional medical officer for the United States Department of States. When he was elected to the General Assembly, in 1963, he was the only African American member of the General Assembly. Today, there are 31 African-American members of the General Assembly. There are two people of color who have been elected chair at large in Virginia. There have been two African-American lieutenant governors. None of us get to these places by ourselves.

[04:31:15] None of us. We get to these places because of the shoulders we stand on of other people. i stand on the shoulders of dr william ferguson reed i want to say to him happy birthday i spoke to him today he was he is incredible clear-minded strong man i want to say to him publicly happy birthday and say to him publicly thank you okay supervisors let's get to it all right hey staff how's it going all right um all right so supervisors i'm going to have staff i know we've

[04:31:52] We've seen the presentations, I realize that, but there's so much going on, and there's so much, some misinformation, and there's just so much. I'm going to actually have staff, and we don't normally have them do the whole presentations, doing the business meetings, but we are going to do that today.

[04:32:11] And then what I'm going to do is I'm going to put on the table a motion to start the conversation. It doesn't mean in the end I'm going to support the motion I put on the table, but we need to start the conversation somewhere. So I'm going to place a motion on the table to start the conversation, and then we will go from there and try to get through this the best we can.

[04:32:31] So good evening. Thank you for being here. Mr. Glendo, thank you for all of you and your staff have done. It has been a lot, and we're not even halfway through it yet. So we recognize that. So thank you very much, and we are ready when you are. All right.

[04:32:48] Good evening, Madam Chair and Supervisors. My name is Abdul Jaffrey, Project Manager for this project. I'm joined here with our department director, Mr. Dan Galindo, and Carlos Teran from the county attorney's office, and Ryan Reese, the deputy zoning administrator.

[04:33:05] I'm here this evening to present item number seven, data center standards and location CPAM and ZOAM phase one. Tonight, we will discuss the board's motion from March 4th board business meetings, along with staff's analysis in response to each motion, and we'll conclude with a recommendation.

[04:33:29] - So the purpose of tonight, we're here to seek board's action on two items, the proposed amendments to the Loudoun County 2019 general plan and Loudoun County zoning ordinance and the grandfathering resolution.

[04:33:45] At the board business meeting on March 4th, the board passed three motions related to grandfathering resolutions, along with an additional motion recommending further amendments to the zoning ordinance. The next four slides will provide an overview of each motion and a staff's analysis.

[04:34:03] In motion number one, the board directed the staff to return to March 18 board business meeting with a grandfathering resolution. This resolution would allow administrative applications to be grandfathered if they meet the following conditions. The application was officially accepted for review on or before February 12, 2025.

[04:34:25] The data center use is located more than 500 feet from a residential structure, and the applicant is diligently pursued to approval without major modification. To assess the impact of this motion, staff created a 500-foot buffer around properties with active administrative applications.

[04:34:44] The distance was measured from the proposed structure and external mechanical equipment of the data center to the nearest existing residential structure. For applications without prior legislative approval, that is your middle column, three applications are within 500 feet residential structure and would not be grandfathered 19 applications are outside the 500 foot buffer and would qualify for grandfathering and now if i can draw your attention to the last column

[04:35:19] applications with prior legislative approval four applications are within 500 feet of residential structure and would would not be grandfathered five applications are outside the 500 foot buffer and qualify for grandfathering resolution the board directed staff to return to the march 18 board business meeting with a grandfathering resolution this resolution would allow legislative applications to be grandfathered if the legislative application is officially accepted on or before

[04:35:53] february 12 2025 and the legislative application is diligently pursued approval without substantial modification the staff analysis includes that recommend the recommended grandfathering date for February 12 2025 aligns with the Planning Commission's recommendation which proposed using the board's public hearing date as the effective date this date also is also consistent with the board's directions given at the February 12 2025 public hearing in process legislative applications for data center use would be eligible for grandfathering under the

[04:36:32] terms of the grandfathering resolutions if approved by the board motion number three the board directed staff to update the grandfathering resolutions specifically revising paragraph 6 to clarify that a substantial modification includes changing or adding proposed uses or changing or increasing the land area subject to such such applications the grandfathering resolution has has been updated to reflect these changes the revised language now in paragraph seven and eight defines a substantial modification as any changes or addition to proposed use

[04:37:12] or any increase in the land area subject to the application the board directed staff to revise attachment 2 to specify that legislative applications approved after december 13 2023 are deemed to include an approved special exception for a data center use to implement this direction table 3.0205-1 has been updated with an additional footnote as shown on this slide.

[04:37:44] This footnote clarifies that some legislative applications approved on or before March 18, 2025 are deemed to have an approved special exception for data center use. This footnote ensures that development with a detailed data center use approved by the board as part of the zoning map amendment, zoning concept plan amendment, or zoning conversion in the Route 28 tax district will not require a separate special exception for site plan approval.

[04:38:16] This approach eliminates the need for developers to seek a vested right determination, thus streamlining the approval process. It is important to note, to distinguish this footnote from the grandfathering resolution. This footnote applies to approved application, whereas the grandfathering resolution applies the applications under review. Finally, staff recommends that the board approve the proposed amendments as presented in Attachment 1, 2, and 3, and the grandfathering resolutions

[04:38:52] in Attachment 4. This concludes our presentation. Staff is here to answer any questions. Thank you. Okay, Supervisors, for weeks now I've been screaming, I'm going to go straight to a motion and I'm not going to have any discussion before the motion, but I think it's almost impossible to do that on this one because there's so much going on on this. So I am going to do one round of questions and then go through the go to emotion so if you have questions for staff right now on this item please put your light on miss briggsman thank you madam chair could you please

[04:39:21] go back to the slide that had the chart with the numbers of their uh yes okay so um these applications right here suppose they could move the buildings around on their site plan to accommodate the 500 feet is there do they have to go through a specs to do that would they have to come back through a specs to do that or is there an administrative way they could do that so with the the way that

[04:40:00] the resolution is written right now they would have to come back and get a special exception okay okay the ones that aren't grandfathered correct okay and then these as well yes would have to even if they had room they'd have to come back for specs yes okay okay

[04:40:24] thank you mr. letourneau how do we define residential structures the way we looked at residential structures is a property with a residential building on it using the available information basically home does the home have to be

[04:40:56] occupied yes yes however through our analysis did not knock on the doors well yeah and i don't know that the home should have to be occupied because it could be for sale it could be vacant but it could still be a home that's an active home how do we determine when a home is sort of no longer a home so we actually ran into two that are down either on or near the noah property near the airport that still show up in our records as residential but there's nobody living in them they've just been sitting there and those records haven't changed for years so in those cases we did not include that but for the most part the the ones we're looking at are near standard subdivisions

[04:41:35] there's not really any question about it we don't really need to clarify the word occupied in the in this then that's how you're already interpreting it it could be helpful especially if there's something that's in the process what i don't want to run into though is if we did do that and a home happens to be for sale or vacant or someone's moved out but it's still a home it's not occupied at that moment right yes uh we actually i discussed this with mr rogers earlier so i i think the way we have it worded we would look at it as if it's something that has been issued an occupancy permit or otherwise had someone living in it to avoid that kind of

[04:42:10] language then occupancy permit not necessarily occupied possible okay i would just mention one thing because the building code was adopted in 1974 there's a lot of residential structures who do not have a certificate of occupancy because they predated the building code that's why occupancy permit was not mentioned in the grandfathering resolution it's something that was considered okay um and then we're having this discussion about the place type um the urban

[04:42:48] employment place type i think the concern is which i think is valid that we are we end up putting in a a designation that permits residential into an area that's in the 65 ldm that doesn't allow residential so what is the staff's opinion on on trying to fix that and change that i know you've looked at it so the original impetus for that uh back in 2018 2019 was specific that that place type was created by the different boards that we were going through at the time to allow data centers there period because we knew there were a lot of a lot of interest in it um staff did not support that at the time and we're trying to figure out ways to allow that to be a more mixed

[04:43:28] use environment even if you couldn't have residential under those contours at this point because of how much has been built there it does not it doesn't trouble us if we do keep it or if we make the change i think there's pros and cons both ways given the number of approvals and active applications in that area leaving it has definitely has some merit but i will say the other we did discuss this way back when we were going through tluck about this at the time and whether it made sense to do it or not and the consensus then was to go ahead and pursue this path. Mr. Letourneau

[04:44:05] a little bit of point of I guess information what was the name of the ordinance that you brought to us about the houses when they fought they were falling in disrepair? Blight ordinance. Blight blight okay yeah that okay well I'll have that question thank you. Mr. Sains. Thank you Madam Chair and good evening staff and thank you again for all your work on this exciting topic.

[04:44:32] Alright, so we got a request in regards to urban employment, it's being requested to make a data center a conditional use in the urban employment rather than eliminating the place type and replacing with residential heavy designation, are you familiar with this one?

[04:44:52] Yes, we are. Right. So highlight for me, I don't know if you can on the map there on the display, is it only for the area where the metro station is called Loudoun Gateway or is it for Loudoun Gateway and for what used to be Loudoun Station when they changed the station name to Ashburn Station?

[04:45:11] The place type is mapped north of Loudoun Gateway and east of Loudoun County Parkway. So would that include Loudoun, the Ashburn Station location as well or no? It does not go that far. So just primarily the Loudon Gateway area? Yes. Okay, and that?

[04:45:27] Just make sure that's over by Prentice, Lockridge, over by the One Lifetime Fitness, the post office facility. That's correct. I believe we have QTS data center, and there's a whole bunch of other data centers being built under construction right now.

[04:45:43] Is that the area? Yes. Okay, and so in staff's interpretation, do you feel the suggestion is valid or? I think the suggestion is valid. It's a matter of preference and the board deciding if they want to set a path for the long-term future.

[04:46:00] Nothing is going to change there in the next five years, ten years. If the board wants to make that policy change now to show where we want what this area to look like 20, 30 years from now, we can do that. But understandably, given everything that's actively going on there, if they also want to reflect the facts on the ground, that definitely makes sense, too.

[04:46:17] But it wouldn't change or stop anybody, say, 10, 15, 20 years from now, if you make this change or do the suggestion to bring application, it would most likely come in front of us to go from industrial to, say, hypothetically, mixed use or a mixture of nice design.

[04:46:39] Because I know before some data center companies have said, oh, we can do data center on the bottom floor, you know, the very, very bottom floor, retail, our office, and then housing on the top. Would that prevent anything like that? it would not prevent it um the the place type again looking at the the fact that the contours were over it isn't oriented in the same way towards mixed use that the urban transit center place type is but no it would not prevent somebody from proposing that in the future coming in front of us okay all right thank you mr kershner thank you ma'am chair and thank you staff for being here i've got a can you go back to the chart where it was showing the number of data centers that would

[04:47:17] not be grandfathered under the current proposal um so the can you tell me how many of these are within 400 feet or what the distance are what the range are on these i mean is one of them at 490 feet i mean do i mean we kind of get this if you could while you're looking that up um let me ask another question while you're looking that up if you happen to know it how did we come up with the 500 feet was that something the board just came up with or is that something staff developed or where did the 500 feet kind of number was it random so we did not measure specifically the distance between all the buildings and capture that's where we can repeat it back to tonight we

[04:47:57] We could figure that out using GIS, but we did not do that. We just did the 500 feet and saw what was affected. The 500 feet initially was from a board motion. However, staff has looked into the reasons why that is a good distance to use, and we've put that into the item.

[04:48:14] Okay. You want to elaborate on why that's a good distance to use? I mean, if you don't want to, you don't have to. I'm just curious. I mean, I know this has been kicked around a little bit, but it has occurred to me that we're choosing a 500 feet.

[04:48:31] Why not three? I mean, when I look at it, 300 feet's a football field, 400 feet's a football field in the core, that's pretty long distance, 500 feet's even further. - Yeah, so I think what we wanted to do to justify that 500 feet is that, I think we found also state legislation that are currently approved that consider high energy uses to be within 500 feet.

[04:49:00] So there's linkages with some of the legislation at the state level, but other than that, this is just from a noise perspective, from a livability perspective, this distance is appropriate from a good zoning and planning practice to have a noise generating use, have the appropriate separation distance from residential areas.

[04:49:23] - Let me switch questions. This is probably for Dan since he sent the email. Dan, one of the questions that you just, I think, reached out to us a little bit ago at 8:10 p.m., Thank you for doing that, is the question about, there's I think an application or a few, maybe at least one that I know of that's come in with a ZRTD, they've been approved and accepted, and there was a question and I have a motion on here and I think it'd be helpful for my fellow supervisors.

[04:49:49] That would, the way I understand your email is under the current grandfathering provisions that we have on the dais, that would not, that would not be considered grandfathered, correct? And my understanding is unless, of course, it specifically cites data centers as a use.

[04:50:08] So my question is, if it doesn't cite data centers as a use, it would then be essentially have to come back for a special exception, correct? And isn't it true that staff is telling these applicants don't put in specific uses?

[04:50:26] So I feel like perhaps you can address that. So if an application does not reference data center at all in its application, we have not captured that in our analysis. The applications that we have been looking at when we provide these numbers to you and to the Commission has been applications that either obviously show a data center or it's referenced in their statement of justification or there's some linkage to them having an intent to put a data center on that site.

[04:50:56] an application does not provide that we have not considered that in our analysis nor do we think that it that kind of application would be very likely to be granted the kind of vested rights that would allow them to move forward with data center without having to pursue a special exception so some of the language that's been proposed in alternative motions would adjust that slightly to make it a little bit easier for an application that's in that maybe is not showing that level of specificity to go ahead and provide that at their selection if they choose to, to address

[04:51:33] that concern so they could be considered grandfathered as part of their active application process. And there was a second part of the question. The last question was, can I repeat it since he's forgotten it? I did ask the question. Yes. Whether these applicants or at least one particular has told me they were told by staff not to put in data centers as a specific use when they came in for their conversion.

[04:51:56] So I heard that today too for the first time. I can tell you that three, four years ago that was probably absolutely true. I'd say in the more recent past we have been more open to applicants providing more detail partly at the board's request and considering the RTDs to see what actual uses might be intended.

[04:52:14] Again, we have not required that, but it is something that we've been more likely to encourage. I couldn't speak -- if someone heard that a month ago, I can't disprove it and I can't really speak to that if that did happen on a one-off. But generally, I would say our guidance of staff has been for them to be open to that kind of consideration because the board has encouraged us to have them provide as much detail as possible.

[04:52:36] All right. Well, that's not the word I'm getting. Thank you, Mr. Kirshner. Mr. Crony. Mine won't be as long. Thank you, staff. So I want to go to footnote number four. So footnote number four is a legal mechanism that allows approved data centers to not have to go through a special exception.

[04:53:00] So that's footnote four. I'm just questioning, it says here in footnote four, ZMAPs, ZCPAs, ZRTDs are deemed to include a spec approval for that data center use. So that's footnote number four. So if that's the case, if they're deemed to have a special exception approval, then couldn't they make those minor changes that are in section 10.11.OH.01.H of the zoning ordinance?

[04:53:33] So the section you just referenced is actually in footnote 3, not 4. So is it 3 that you're asking about? No, well, 4, it says at the end it's deemed to include a spec approval for that data center use. So if it's deemed to include that, then it would, because the zoning ordinance already allows that.

[04:54:05] Stop for time, please. So Dan asked me to take this question. There wouldn't actually be a specs with standards or any sort of conditions or anything else in it, and they can't go back and amend the ZMAP, ZRTD, ZCPA, without doing a ZCPA itself.

[04:54:29] So there wouldn't really be a way to do any of those modifications because there's no specs plat or nothing that is a specs. It's just, it's sort of a legal fiction. That's why it's saying it's deemed to include rather than saying that it is a specs approval.

[04:54:46] Okay, so it wouldn't apply anyways, what you're saying. No, it wouldn't apply to be able to do minor changes under that. If they do eventually get their site plan approved, then they could use footnote 3, but that's a different matter.

[04:55:06] Yeah, and I'm, okay, and I have a motion for that one. Okay, thank you. Excuse me, if I could elaborate on that. The board has seen these applications, and so what we're trying to do is make sure that they don't have to go through the process again. Mr. Vice Chair Turner.

[04:55:27] Thank you, Madam Chair. Can I get a clarification? It's on the, what, now infamous section, 10.11.01H. It allows the zoning administrator to approve realignment of principal buildings and parking areas provided that the building and parking remain within an approved building envelope.

[04:55:45] If you've got a legislative application, then that building envelope is pretty clearly approved. But if you have an administrative application, you may not have a precise building envelope. So my question then is, if it's an administrative application, can the buildings be aligned as a minor change?

[04:56:06] And how would you define improved building envelope for an administrative application? So actually, in both cases, you could have a building envelope, although for an administrative application, the building envelope is likely just to be the site you're expecting to build. Because, to what Carlos was just referencing, because there's not actually a special exception application that's been approved, that tangible specs platter or what have you is not there, Staff has determined that we would be interpreting that as any land within the required setbacks.

[04:56:38] So as long as it's not in conflict with some other portion of the ordinance that prevents building there, they have flexibility within that remaining space. That would be a minor change. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Back to Mr. Letourneau's question, because it's a great question.

[04:56:55] I really hadn't thought about it when I think residents, I think it's a home with somebody there. But he makes a good point. Is it possible that we could, the reason I asked him about the blight, is it possible that we could say what is a residence? And if it's not something that the blight, it's not now being reported as blight, then it's a residence.

[04:57:16] Because, you know, people, you know, your home is your home. And it might, you know, you could have a home if somebody, say, in the military, and they could be gone for a year or so or whatever, and their home might be sitting empty, or they could be renting it out for some amount of months.

[04:57:32] It's not unusual for a house to be sitting. My mother's house just sat empty for a year while we moved her from one place to another. Literally, we went in, and we mothballed her house, and it was still her house, but it sat empty for a year. Is it possible to say, like, if it's a blighted property or something like that, so we have some ideal of what a residence means?

[04:57:55] I think that's possible. I would say that if, for one, the applicant would be showing their distance as part of their application. They'd be proving to us whether they're in or out of this area we're talking about. And from those I've seen... I don't think the question was the distance.

[04:58:10] I think the question was, what are we deeming as a residence? Right. So you can correct me if, since you've been more intimately involved in this. Is that what you're trying to ask, Mr. Luchero? I don't believe that there are many applications in the, what, seven that are on that table that have dozens and dozens of homes around them.

[04:58:29] It's a small number of homes that any one might be within 500 feet of. So it would be simple enough to go and actually do a site visit on those sites to see if it's something in use or not to confirm it, to have your staff just go and confirm it in those instances. All right, back to this question. Now I'm a bit confused as well.

[04:58:47] Are you saying that if a data center is, first of all, I don't think, I think any distance we choose can be said to be arbitrary. We have to choose a distance, 500 feet makes sense, 750 makes sense, I mean like, you know, maybe 492 doesn't make that much sense to me, but any distance we choose is a distance we choose, and that's a decision of the board.

[04:59:13] But you're saying if a data center is sitting at 300, 480 feet, and they change the, how it how how it's sitting and they and and and changing that moves it back to 500 feet we'd have to come they'd have to come back for specs at that point no they would not they would not okay all right I don't think so all right supervisors I'm going to make this first motion but I will tell you supervisors to crony bricksman and glass I am going to deem the the motion you all have I'm I would deem that motion in in direct conflict of the motion in the package

[04:59:49] And so that motion would only move unless the motion in the package doesn't pass. Because that motion is in literally direct conflict, in my opinion. It is.

[05:00:08] It just, I don't know how anyone gets to any different, it is. It's in direct conflict. Point of clarification, then those of us who are okay with grandfathering legislative applications, but not okay with grandfathering administrative applications have to vote against grandfathering altogether.

[05:00:27] Well, we could do that, or you can make a motion. The smartest thing to mind is you all make the motion first. Okay. That might be something. But this right here, but these two motions are in conflict. Perhaps I can, yeah, I can do that.

[05:00:48] Yeah, I know that. Maybe that's what I'll do. I'll split the main motion, because otherwise they are in conflict. So I'll move the first part of the motion first. attention. I move, and again, I'm moving these motions because I'm the chair of the county and we've got to start somewhere. Not because I may or may not support the motions, just so you know, because I'll just move to the conversation. I'm going to do the second part first because I think it might be just easier to get through this one. I move the board of supervisors to adopt the grandfather resolution for SOAM 2024-0001 and provide an attachment for to the March 18, 2025

[05:01:24] board supervisors business meeting action item motion made and seconded okay so the grandfather grandfathering resolution is a resolution that says it's 500 feet everybody agree with that yeah anybody disagree with that what no it was a rhetorical question so if i'm sitting if you if for everyone sitting in this room right now if you imagine that you you can walk that way and walk through walls at 500 feet you hit fireworks pizza that's how far

[05:02:03] that's exactly 500 feet from this day is is fireworks pizza if I am a homeowner that is a very close that's very close for a data center to me and I think the thing that's being lost in this whole discussion is if we're doing a specs we're not saying no we're saying they have to come back to talk to us. Because some data centers may say, you know, we're going to do this landscaping and this birming and all those types of things, and you may not even notice there's a data center over there. Others may not do anything at all, and there's a data center sitting where that

[05:02:42] fireworks pizza sits. That would be awful close if it was nothing done as far as birming and things like that. So that makes sense to me to have it at least 500 feet. Quite frankly, I was really close to making a motion to go further than 500 feet, to be honest, because if it's my house, fireworks pizza is closed. Now, if it is, let me choose Visa data center, beautiful data center that looks like an office building. I would have that there with no trouble

[05:03:18] at all. That'd be fine with me. But there's also a data center that sits at Route 7 in Belmont that is a monstrosity of a data center. That 500 people in my house, I would be very upset by that. The other thing is this, and I think that this has to be said. I've said many times, data centers are a double-edged sword, and all the things they do for our economy have been said and are very, very, very, very appreciated. However, homeowners have also spent money on their homes. Homeowners are living in their retirement. We can't simply say data centers

[05:03:57] bring lots and lots of revenue, and so that's what we're going to do. It doesn't mean we don't appreciate our data center community. We do. It doesn't mean we don't know what they do for our tax rate. We do. It doesn't mean we don't understand what a good community partner some of them are. We do. But at the same time, there has to be some type of restrictions on what we will allow. And the fact that we're talking about data centers this close to houses, we're already in a place where we shouldn't be having, in my opinion. Anybody else on this item?

[05:04:34] I have an amendment, Madam Chair. You have an amendment? A friendly? Yeah, I propose it as a friendly. Okay. Oh, I'm sorry. What am I doing? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She's calling right. You're the Vice Chair. I don't go to the Vice Chair first. My bad. This right here.

[05:04:56] i'm sorry okay i i okay i'm just a little confused about the process tonight because if this just passes right now then we don't have an opportunity to make amendments to the grandfathering clause so are you saying madam chair that you want us to make our amendments during our comment propose amendments during our comments on this motion right now because i have we we have a couple amendments well except well not one that would be in in the in the opposite amendment no that i would deem opposite you can make it i won't accept it right but there's a couple other amendments that people should make those during their comments yes make them now

[05:05:35] point of parliamentary okay one of the amendments is to not approve the grandfathering clause so if this passes that amendment becomes moot so shouldn't she make the motion to not approve the grandfathering clause first just give me a second you stop miss briggsman's time and put it back where it was. I understand what you're saying, and I appreciate it, but Ms. Bricksman is still in her time, and you— The point of parliamentary takes priority.

[05:06:05] But only when it's recognized, and it wasn't. Ms. Bricksman, continue, please. Okay, so I have a proposed amendment pertaining to the 500-foot clause. I think I also—three of us would like to be able to exclude or at least vote against grandfathering of the administrative applications so and we can't split the motion because of the way it was written so I have a motion here to delete all provisions from the grandfathering resolution pertaining to

[05:06:40] grandfathering of administrative applications which you won't accept but maybe I make an alternative motion right now and then if it doesn't pass then your motion stands if I make this this is an alternative motion I don't know that it's in direct contrast well that's the decision of the chair to be honest it doesn't it's a decision of chair um and then and then i did have the 500 foot amendment i was working with with um i want i basically want to save those four applications that are legislatively approved and allow them not to have to go back through

[05:07:19] specs that that would be my other amendment is but i think it is but i'm still going to allow the amendment right now which one the one you want to make that you're in your time you want make an amendment make an amendment right now okay my first amendment would be to to uh delete all provisions from the grandfathering resolution pertaining to the grandfathering of administrative applications and my second amendment that needs that needs a second okay that needs a discussion so that's an alternative motion that's an alternative motion okay all right then i didn't say i moved because i thought it was okay no that's an alternative motion okay that's my

[05:07:56] alternative motion so hold on that motion and no no it's been made in seconded do you want to do opening on that motion I do thank you madam chair thank you sorry everybody so the point to this motion is that there are 22 applications in the administrative process quote-unquote by right applications and I am uncomfortable with basically allowing those by right applications to be grandfathered in because it's basically in my mind and some of my colleagues

[05:08:30] minds it's basically approving 22 new data centers to the tune of i think it's about 61 million square feet of data centers when we all when right now it's it's more than doubling our data center square footage in the county i know the department of economic development doesn't think that they will develop all 61 million square feet but that's what they would be approved for And so I think that the board should be reviewing those 22 applications, and they should not be able to continue through the by-right administrative process.

[05:09:05] I think the community has said to us, we want you to have review of these applications. We want you to be voting no on more data centers, and we want our county to go on a different trajectory and this is our opportunity to go in that different trajectory by reviewing 22 data center applications instead of letting them sail through and be grandfathered through thank you madam chair thank you and this is just for the administrative not the legislative this is mr. administrative mr. crony

[05:09:39] yeah thank you chair Randall and I want to I agree with supervisor briskman I do I do support the grandfathering resolution for legislative, but not for administrative. I don't support grandfathering administrative or buy-write applications because they have not been reviewed by the board to minimize impact, and they do not include public input.

[05:10:04] And I believe there's actually 24, so I think there's 24 administrative applications. have been asking for transparency and higher performance standards, and I believe we need to be accountable to residents to protect their quality of life. Requiring a special exception for administrative or buy-write applications gives us an opportunity to really protect our residents. Applications will then be carefully reviewed to ensure they fit within the desired character of the area and do not negatively impact surrounding properties.

[05:10:42] um, spec applications are reviewed for impacts to public services, utilities, and infrastructure, and mitigation of impacts. This is what residents are asking for who are impacted by transmission lines and substations. And I believe a balance is providing grandfathering to, uh, legislative applications that have been accepted for review. But I do want to make the note that, um, the board does not have to grandfather. Most zoning ordinance do not, most zoning amendments do

[05:11:15] not have grandfathering. The 2023 zoning ordinance grandfathering resolution was very generous, and a lot of the data centers were grandfathered to that zoning ordinance and would not be impacted by this CPAM and ZOAM.

[05:11:35] So I do appreciate the data center industry. I want to take care of our existing data centers. I know they provide a lot of revenue, and I really appreciate it, but I think even Buddy Reiser is saying that we've kind of met our goals, and he wants to focus on limiting the location of future data centers and achieving better balance of commercial uses.

[05:11:57] Thank you. Thank you, and I think we should be really careful about using Mr. Reiser's name one weird another in these conversations. That's what I think. Mr. Laterno. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not supportive of the motion. I think there's a fundamental fairness that goes into what we have to do. And one of those kind of bright lines is not changing the rules in the middle of the process.

[05:12:24] So for any applicant, and I don't care if we're talking about data centers or housing or any other type of application that is following the process that we have established under a zoning ordinance that we have established that we did see fit to have a grandfathering resolution into because of fairness issues um it's very difficult for me to to say sorry like you may have been into this for over a year or two years you may be going through this process but you have to start over you have start over with different rules completely different rules um i understand the discussions

[05:13:04] i'm going to be careful how i word this but i really believe it leaves the overall not having a grandfather ordinance clause leaves the overall ordinance much more vulnerable at least to delay of implementation which quite frankly could be all it takes to have it be ineffectual um that's all i'm going to say on that but i think we would be wise to adopt a reasonable grandfathering clause um you know we could argue about exactly what the date it should go in effect is um we do have a carve out and it's it's kind of interesting when we listen to the speakers because we had a whole

[05:13:42] lot of people who frankly weren't happy with us regardless we had people coming in and saying we shouldn't have this 500 foot rule for residential we should have no rule and then we had a lot of people saying don't do grandfathering at all sometimes when no one's happy maybe you've actually gotten it right i don't know um but what we are trying to do here is strike a compromise And the carve-out here on the grandfathering is to get at the exact issue that the residents have been the most concerned about and that the board hasn't wanted, which is data center, residential, too close together.

[05:14:13] I understand 500 feet is more than the zoning ordinance, and that's been the complaint. And that's kind of unfair. It's seen by industry. At the same time, this is a unique situation, and there's not a lot of these involved in this that's caught up here.

[05:14:28] So I think that 500 is sending the message to residents that we are really trying to look out for that issue. But it's also saying to industry, look, you know, we're not going to make everybody start over because we've now put new rules in place. So for that reason, I'm not going to support the amendment.

[05:14:46] I will support the base resolution on this. And I'd like to thank Mr. Turner in particular, who did a lot of work to get to this and some of my other colleagues. Thank you. Turner absolutely did. Mr. Kirshner. Thank you, Madam Chair. Quite frankly, I'm shocked we even are discussing this motion.

[05:15:05] It is, quite frankly, a complete property rights attempt at a complete property rights snatch. What we are basically saying is we're going to come in at the end of the process after you as a developer have come in to the industry. You've done everything we've asked you to do. You've met with staff and you've spent somewhere between, in some cases, over a million dollars go through the whole process to get approval.

[05:15:28] Because remember, all the engineering has to take place. You've sunk all this money, and now we're going to say, sorry, you're not getting any grandfathering. You want to talk about a massive chilling effect that that would have on every single industry, the fact that Loudoun County went and did this?

[05:15:44] They wouldn't want to come to Loudoun County anymore. Now, I understand a lot of my colleagues are kind of trying to split the baby here. I appreciate the thoughtful process, but this motion is the most egregious of all the motions that we're going to look at here tonight. Can you imagine as a homeowner, you buy a piece of land, you have the right to build a home, it's your dream home, and you go through the process, you spend all the money at the county, you hire engineers, you get the permits to drill the well, and you sunk all this dollars, and all of a sudden the county, the government, comes along and says, sorry, you can't build your house.

[05:16:16] That's exactly what this motion is asking to do to this particular industry. And mind you, the industry that has allowed us to cut the tax rate this year to $309 on the personal property car tax, that's exactly what this motion does.

[05:16:34] It's egregious. Quite frankly, it's anti-American to do what we're doing, quite frankly, here, because we are built on property rights. And yeah, I'll say it. It largely is. Now, I understand what the board is trying to do in terms of the 500 feet and the grandfathering. I think we've done a lot of good work. don't agree with all of it i'll probably i'm still looking at the base motion here i want to hear some of the discussion but this motion saying sorry you spent all this money go away that is just egregious and i cannot support this mr saints thank you madam chair i wasn't going to speak on

[05:17:06] the motion but after those uh very spirited conversation from mr kushner i'll just say um i think i've said this before let's all take a breath let's literally relax i think some of the you know mr kutcher some of you know i understand where you're coming from but some of your your language was a little little well i'll just say way off base um over the top off base inappropriate

[05:17:40] whatever you know yeah let's just let's just take a breath guys um let's be respectful everybody has a difference of opinions that's why we're elected we have all different types of land in our districts and whatnot you heard a lot of different uh you know commentary from the residents this evening so let's let's just calm down and let's be respectful for everybody's opinions and the motions that we have all right thank you thank you mr saints miss um mr turner no so um i would say there's a lot of things happening in this country right now that's anti-american this is

[05:18:17] not one of them. I'll just say that and leave that right there. There are times I feel like that I am, with respect to my colleagues, almost sitting in the center of these discussions, which is what I feel like right now. I understand why some would say no administrative applications should be allowed. I get that. But I also don't think that's reasonable. I think it end us up in court. And I know some of my colleagues are itching to go to court. I'm

[05:18:53] not one of them. I'm not. And if we did have to go to court, I want to win. So I want to be real careful about putting us somewhere we don't have to be. Staff, let me ask you this. Of the, I believe it's 21, Mr. Crony, I could be wrong, but I don't think it's 24, 22. Okay. Of those, how many would you say of those right now, if you've done these numbers, are in areas that are appropriate industrial areas.

[05:19:21] Because if we do what this motion says, it kicks all of them out, even ones that are actually in appropriate areas. How many of them would you say are in completely appropriate areas? And I know that's a hard question to put you on the spot with. I'm going to stop my time for just a second while they get me close to that answer.

[05:19:44] So just looking at the analysis we did for the 500 feet, There are 24 that are outside of that, and quite a number of those are well outside of that, those that are surrounded by other industrial lands.

[05:19:59] So you're correct that if we absolutely strike grandfathering, they would all have to come back in, too, which seems like it's likely unnecessary. Seems like it's likely unnecessary to make data centers that are in appropriate places that we know we should put them in industrial areas where other data centers are, that know what their power usage is going to be.

[05:20:20] that it seems not wise to make all of them come back in, and not because of the money. I mean, you know, I know that these numbers are big, and I know money matters, but people's houses, money matters too, so it's not, you never hear me talk about the money. It's just because it's not a logical thing to do.

[05:20:37] And so I'm going to vote no on this amendment, on this motion, and then I'll let other motions be made, and we'll get to where we get. but on this motion i i don't think it's a i don't think it's uh with respect logical motion i also don't think it's an anti-american motion i just don't think it's a very logical emotion is is our motion is is how i would say that so mr brixman would you like a closing uh thank you madam chair um i just want to say a couple things um about some of the commentary tonight the uh it's not

[05:21:16] fair to compare the data center industry to other more intense industry which was which was happening tonight by our speakers data centers are not incinerators they're not landfills um they are not prisons okay so and also the idea that the nine of us up here are just seeking the dollar or maybe have personally benefited from data centers, I think is also completely offensive

[05:21:52] and is completely false. So let's just set those two things aside, okay? It's an industry in our county that has been very successful and we're very proud of, and it's also an industry in our county that our residents are suffering from fatigue over. They are not happy about the power lines and this we're talking about a zoning ordinance here not a land use application so i will talk about the power and the power lines and the recent our ledge meeting dominion said we need

[05:22:24] 50 more substations in loudon county 50 if we're going to continue to grow the way we grow asking these applications to go through specs is not a denial and while staff may be saying that they are in appropriate areas guess what there's nine of us up here who get to decide that if they come back into specs there may be a difference of opinion up here as to whether they actually are

[05:22:52] in appropriate areas for data centers um and as supervisor to crony said um they they they don't have vested interest until they have an approved site plan they just don't so we don't have to have a grandfathering clause we just don't and we are in my opinion i believe uh leo's opinion will win a lawsuit if they don't have an approved site approval if they don't have that's the line

[05:23:27] that's the vested interest line so we are not required to grandfather by any stretch of the imagination our residents are begging us to slow it down they're begging us and that's why i brought the motion i don't think it's going to pass but um i had to make the effort because of what i've been hearing in the community and about what the community is feeling about the industry thank you Madam Chair. Thank you. The motion was made by Supervisor Brixman and seconded by Supervisor to Crony, I do believe. All in people, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Aye. That motion will

[05:24:05] fail, 5-4. With Supervisors to Crony, Brixman, Kerner, and, I'm sorry, Ms. Glass, you voted, yes, how'd you vote? You voted aye. That's right, so it's a 5-4. Thank you. Okay, we can go back to the base motion but if there's other but there's others on on the dais let's go let's hear them now if it's if it's connected to this motion is there are there well you're well that's why I'm asking because mother I'm about to go back to the base motion mr. I have another one you have another one

[05:24:44] that's connected to the base motion the first one first motion first is it connected to the base motion are you want it would what are we doing mr. crony mine is connected to motion one i mean that's what yeah that's the base motion yes yeah yes okay it's a friendly it's a friendly yes okay it's a friendly i'm ready okay okay so mine is i move that wait if it's a friendly you don't have to move it just tell me what it is and i'll

[05:25:15] see if i accept it or not okay that the board of supervisors um uh i guess i'll go through the thing adopt cpam 24001 zoam 24001 data center standards and locations phase one is provided in attachment one two and three to the march 18th 2025 board of supervisor business meeting action i didn't accept with the deletion of footnote three and attachment three okay so would you what the friendly is that we delete footnote three and attachment three i don't think anyone you want to say what footnote three and attachment three are okay yes it is let me get a second does she need

[05:25:53] a second no no it's a friend no we don't need a second she's accepted it yeah okay so uh footnote three madam chair you only moved the grandfathering resolution right yes yes so this footnote is not in the grandfather right i said was it connected to the to the and she said yes okay it's connected to the base but i didn't make that part that part of the motion yet okay okay sorry so you'll come back to that. Ms. Vixman, you have something connected to the grandfathering and not something

[05:26:25] else. Madam Chair, I'd like to get advice from council real quick. I'm being told that the four applications I'm concerned about on that chart are not required to have the 500-foot buffer or separation. I believe the four applications that are legislative, the The grandfathering resolution does not require 500-foot from a legislative application.

[05:26:58] The 500-foot is only part of the grandfathering for an administrative application. Because legislative applications come to us anyway. So the issue is that up there, all the numbers up there are administrative applications. There are nine of them that are administrative applications in that have come after previous legislative approvals.

[05:27:17] The other 22 have not. So we've got two buckets partly because the board's been talking about those. So the four number, those four applications are attached to a prior legislative approval, but they are still within 500 feet. So they would not be grandfathered the way it's written right now.

[05:27:35] Those administrative applications, we would need a motion to allow them to move around the data center buildings, which you could also do for administrative. But that would have to be previously approved legislative motions that are now seeking administrative approval.

[05:27:55] I understand what you're doing. I understand what you're saying, and I understand what you're doing. Will you accept that as a friendly? Okay. I would. But do you want to actually say it so we don't know what's going on right now? I don't have.

[05:28:08] Okay, so I am offering a friendly amendment that allows previously legislatively approved applications that have come back into the administrative process for a change to be exempt from the, if they only have a 500 foot issue, to be exempt from the 500 foot distance rule.

[05:28:36] That's not what I understood. I'll try to elaborate if I can. So when it says administrative application with prior legislative approval, it means there was a rezoning. It could have been done in 2018.

[05:28:52] It could have been done in 1993. All right, I strike my motion. I strike it then. They're only coming in to do their site plan now. So the rezoning, it could have been a rezoning just generally to IP, and they're only coming in now to do a site plan.

[05:29:07] So it could also be very specific and say, we will do a data center right here, and it shows you everything about the data center. Okay, so that's not, yeah. So what this is, is the administrative application refers to the site plan. You can do that at any time after a rezoning has been approved.

[05:29:25] I would do that. Just give me one second. Can I have a computer guy down here? Because my laptop, I mean, my iPad's doing all kind of ridiculous stuff. All right, Madam Chair, I'm going to withdraw my friendly. yeah you did but point clarification yes you were correct clarification let me clarify okay all right clarification i believe and i'm not i'm not trying to put words in supervisor brisbane's mouth but i'm trying to clarify it in my own mind my understanding of what she's saying is for those four applications that are legislatively approved that are inside of 500 feet what her motion i

[05:29:59] believe says is if they now choose to modify their site plan so that they're outside of 500 feet so they don't trigger the specs to come back to us, that's correct. We want them to be able to move those around to stay out of the 500 feet so they don't get a spec to catch them.

[05:30:17] That's why I was going to accept the friendly. Yes, okay, I put it back on the table. That's more or less correct. There's like a couple steps in there, but I think everyone got the gist essentially. And I would accept that as a friendly. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Would you accept that as a friendly?

[05:30:33] yes but what language do we need because that's what i was i agree yeah so what language do we need so so it would go towards the part of the grandfathering resolution that addresses administrative applications okay but only for those four yeah i just think madam chair we

[05:30:51] probably need a motion that's okay okay okay okay okay let's give the language to him and i will accept that mr mr letourne will accept that is anyone have issues with that okay okay would you Would you like to read the language and so we can know that we're saying what we're saying?

[05:31:31] Thank you, Mr. Turner, for helping with that. For an administrative application with prior legislative approval, add a new paragraph 3 to read as follows. If an administrative application meets the requirements in paragraph 2, other than the 500-foot standard clause, and such administrative application is revised to comply with the 500-foot standard in clause of paragraph 2, including by a revision that requires changing a site plan amendment application into a site plan application, then such administrative application shall be treated as if it met all of the requirements of paragraph two

[05:32:08] and will be considered a grandfathered administrative application. Period. Don't read the end. Yes. You guys got that? You're good? Yes. Okay. It's basically B. Okay. It is B. It is exactly B.

[05:32:25] And that was accepted as a friendly, and we're going to move on. Thank you, Ms. Brickson. Thank you, Mr. Turner, for helping with that. Are there any other motions on the DAIS to the base motion, which is just about the grandfathering right now?

[05:32:42] Yes, okay, Mr. Potentially. Potentially. Okay, Mr. So, Supervisor Brickson's motion just covered legislative application. I think there's still a question about whether an applicant with an administrative application should be able to modify their administrative application to get outside the 500.

[05:33:06] Can I ask staff if that's the case, Madam Chair? Yes, please. Well, she covered administrative applications with prior legislative approval, so not a legislative application. This would be an administrative application. Okay. That has a prior legislative approval.

[05:33:23] Right. But what about just an administrative application without a prior legislative approval? Those are the three. Those are the other three. So those would not be grandfathered. Okay. So then I think we should at least discuss doing that to get those out of the 500.

[05:33:43] So I think that would be a motion. I think that has to be a separate motion, which is fine, which is, if you want to make that motion, I'll be happy to second that motion. Yeah. All right. So I think it would say, at this point, aren't we modifying the new paragraph on paragraph three to read, if an administrative application meets the requirements in paragraph two other than the 500 foot standard clause and such administrative application is revised to comply with the 500 foot standard in class two of paragraph two including by a revision that requires changing a site plan amendment application into a site plan application and such administrative application should be treated as if it met all the requirements of paragraph two and will be considered grandfathered

[05:34:21] administrative application and i that's that has to be a separate motion that i will accept that i was second rather okay any discussion on that motion mr yeah i think um i mean the goal is to get these out of right away from being 500 feet so if these three are able to move outside of 500 feet and i honest to god have no idea what they are and whether they can be or not so i'm not doing this to benefit any particular one of them i don't know but if they can be then i don't see any reason why they should have to go back through a specs process which would be a long journey for them when we could achieve you know i think you want to say the opposite the goal is to

[05:34:55] let them do 500 feet yes yes what i'm saying if they can do it then i don't see you know why why would we make them then yes yes that's correct anybody else mr turner no sure okay i was just going to say from a policy perspective that's exactly what we're doing with the base motion which is what the base motion is more than 500 feet on the grandfather so to say that you it is the base motion says so so to allow an applicant to change their application so that they meet that That standard seems to be consistent with the policy that's trying to be set by this board.

[05:35:35] So it seems very just and very fair, quite frankly. So basically you're saying you agree. Oh, okay. I was talking to him. Okay. The motion was made by Mr. Laterno, seconded by me. You want to be on closing?

[05:35:50] All people say aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass 8 to 1 with Supervisor Bricksman disagreeing we should let people go to 500 feet if they want to. Okay. Okay, yeah, but we'll pass that discussion at this point.

[05:36:10] Okay, so back to the base motion. Are there any other, Mr. Turner, you have an amendment or an alternate motion on the base motion? Actually, I think it's a friendly. Okay, let's see. Let me propose it as a friendly.

[05:36:27] The friendly is to amend the grandfathering resolution in accordance with the red line detachment that you guys have at the bottom of your motion. packet and let me just briefly review those in my comments so that you understand them basically all of these changes simply tighten up the language so if you go to page 10 and then in the handout you have paragraph 7 then we add the words that we're saying for a it would be considered a substantial modification to a legislative application if it would require and it would

[05:37:03] require new special exception in order to increase the floor area ratio I've added the words that exceeds the maximum allowed in the district for the second one it would be substantive if they increase the height of the building and then the new words are that exceeds the maximum allowed in the district and then the last red line is it decreases the setback and then the added words are to a point less than the minimum required by a district so for this part what I'm saying is We're just being more precise.

[05:37:34] If somebody wants to go to a .4 FAR and they're allowed a .45 FAR, we shouldn't trigger a specs because they're going up to what's allowed by right in that district. So that's all those words do. The next set for a legislative application, we strike D and E, which says changes or adds proposed uses would trigger a specs or changes or increases the permitted use of the uses on the application would trigger a specs.

[05:38:00] These are legislative applications. We're going to see them anyway. We don't need to trigger a spec to see them. We're going to see them anyway, so the legislative, so those two things probably shouldn't apply. And those are the changes, so they are just minor word changes. Finally, I have absolutely no idea where this grandfathering resolution is going to pass.

[05:38:19] I haven't whipped the vote, and I don't know whether it's going to pass or not. However, this language tightens up the language to make it a better grandfathering resolution if, in fact, it passes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Okay, so you're offering all those things as a friendly? Correct. I have no issue with any of those.

[05:38:35] Mr. Letourneau? I accept. Okay. So since they're friendly, there's no discussion needed. They're friendly, and unless somebody opposes and wants to make a motion, we accept those as a friendly. Okay. Are there any other motions or alternate motions on the main motion?

[05:38:59] Mr. Kirshner? Thank you, Madam Chair. The main motion is still about the grandfather resolution. Yes. Okay. It is. So now I'm working off the substitute, which is Mr. Turner's, which was confusing me from the very beginning, plus all the amendments that are made.

[05:39:14] So I had originally introduced a motion to include some of the red lines that Mr. Turner made, and that is my draft motion. As you can see, there's A, B, C, and D. C and D have been answered by Supervisor Turner.

[05:39:30] There have been technical fixes in Supervisor Turner's second motion. Wait, wait, you gave these to us? Yes, we handed. Oh, I said, I have it, I have it, I have it, yes. So what I want to move is to make a correction based upon my questioning of staff previously on the ZRTD.

[05:39:49] Are you asking for a friendly right now? I can ask for a friendly or I can make a separate motion. Okay, let's see what it is and then we'll see if the friendly is allowed. So essentially, and if I can speak to staff, Dan, correct me if I'm wrong, What my motion attempts to do is strike the language for data center use on the 8th whereas and also to delete for data center use within Section 1, and here's the reason why.

[05:40:22] What that will do is for those who have come in with the ZRTD and were either misinformed or misunderstood, whatever the case may be, thinking that they were doing a conversion but they didn't specifically list a data center use. And remember, this is the 28th district, so I don't want them to have to come in for another special exception.

[05:40:47] They're still going to have to go through a certain approval process. I think it will still ultimately come to the board. Am I correct on that, Dan? Yes. Okay, so it will be somewhat like, but it will not be as, I guess, a slow of a process. So we'll still have a level of oversight, but it won't set them back a whole year to go back through the whole process.

[05:41:02] Is that a fair statement? Okay. So what this is, is really a technical fits. If you did not put a data center use in your conversion, either because you didn't understand or because you were following status direction or whatever the case may be, this will still allow you to follow the normal process by striking those few words. Is that correct?

[05:41:22] It will allow them to amend it to fulfill that without having to add any special exception or anything of that nature. First of all, you guys should know that the ZRTDs, that whole taxing district will be gone by 2027. I understand.

[05:41:38] Six years, no, no. Eight years before we -- Well, that's if everything gets paid off, right? It will be by 20 -- I'm on -- yeah. So before I say yes to a friendly, are you saying that if they didn't put a data center use in, it now just adds a data center use? I'm not sure which -- I don't know -- So my understanding from a couple of the applicants that I've spoke with, when they They came in and they did the zoning conversion, and they've been accepted by staff.

[05:42:00] For a data center? Well, it was just a zoning conversion from the, I think, the, yeah, 72 to 93. They just converted it thinking they had that right to put a data center in. But because they didn't specifically list data centers of use, now they won't be grandfathered.

[05:42:16] The way the language literally reads, because the language literally says, and I can find it, I think it's under the 8th, whereas. That's a lot of your district. I would recommend, Madam Chair, this get made as a motion.

[05:42:34] I think so too because, yeah, that's fine. I'll make it a separate motion. It's a lot of his district. So go on and make the motion. All right. I move the Board of Supervisors to adopt the grandfathering resolution for Zone 20-24-01 as provided an attachment for to the March 18, 2025 Board of Supervisors business meeting action item with the following revisions. Delete, quote, for a data center use, end quote, from the eighth whereas clause and then secondly, delete for a data center use within Section 1.

[05:43:02] Motion's made, sir. Second? Second. Motion's made, second by Supervisor Brick. Point of water, Madam Chair. Yes. By Supervisor Umstead, I'm sorry. Go on. He's making a motion to adopt the grandfathering resolution. He's amending it, but he's making a motion to adopt the grandfathering resolution, and we already have a base motion on the floor to adopt the grandfathering resolution.

[05:43:20] And he said that's starting, and he did say that. Well, I can strike that portion of the motion. Yeah, because you can say it. I just moved to amend the present grandfathering motion that's on the table, as previously stated. Is that sufficient for staff? that's sufficient that's fine is it your second still for fans okay would you like an opening on that i mean basically i just think this is in an abundance of fairness and i'd like to hear what mr sane has to say but quite frankly if an applicant came in in good faith did a zoning conversion thinking they had this right and then we we've now at the at the last hour put this language in that technically could exclude them from their ability to grandfather to be grandfathered

[05:44:00] and that forces them into a special exception process, I think that will lengthen the process for them. And even if we do adopt this, they still have to come through for an approval process. We will still have oversight on this, and we could still say no.

[05:44:19] Okay. Thank you. Mr. Sains. Thank you, Madam Chair. All right, Steph, can you clarify for me, with Mr. Turner's motion, what he was doing, wasn't that already solving some of this issue, or was some of still left uh it's addressing some of it so the the cons as i understand it at least the concern from industry is that by having that quoted for data center use language in is that if you have a zrtd that is not mentioned a data center at all in that application thus far that application currently is not for data center use so it gives them the ability to go and amend that application to clarify their true intent if a data center is their intent to provide that additional specificity

[05:44:58] all right so in staff's opinion you're fine with mr turner's motion what he was doing and that takes care of most of it and i believe that mr turner's motion would take care of c and d from this motion from mr kushner so that only leave a and b to uh i guess tighten up i guess does that that be accurate to interpret and he did not read c and d for that reason so the previous okay all right i just want to make sure we're all on the same page okay i'm fine with that so we're taking care of a and b for mr kirschner's um amendment and then adding in from what mr turner did originally and taking out c and d from mr kirschner's original motion but he didn't read it is that

[05:45:38] correct yes okay all right i'm fine miss brooksman thank you i'm confused to staff as to how this relates to zrtds so is this basically saying anything that's a zrtd that came into the new zoning ordinance would be allowed to add data center use as a use data centers as a use but if we didn't do this they'd have to come in for a special exception so because i think i would

[05:46:13] mention if you make this change it's not just limited to zrtds it'd be any z map because it will play where where it's placed in the grandfathering it's not specific to crtds So it would allow anybody who has some sort of ZRTD, ZCPA, ZMAP, and it didn't already specify data center use, they would have the opportunity as they're going through the review process to add a data center use and show it in more detail so that when that legislative application comes in, you can see what that data center use consists of.

[05:46:50] But it's only for legislative applications that we're going to see anyway. Yes, and the other option would just be they'd have to add a specs and do more or less the same thing, but with the specs. If I could follow up on that, I mean, I really see the only application happening with the ZRTD, because the ZRTD is a legislative approval, and it's a legislative approval to convert from the old ordinance to the new one, and where the staff is in a normal rezoning, they're going to talk about changing to the district and the uses.

[05:47:20] In this one, we would have to have a specific proffer and a specific concept development plan be included as part of the ZRTD. So it would no longer be your standard conversion, which the board would have to consider that approval, but you would also have to consider the use approval.

[05:47:40] And so this allows a ZRTD applicant to do that, to make proffers, to put in a specific concept development plan. and the board would have to approve that use okay thank you you can speak it's your turn it's your turn yeah thank you can I just clarify what you said Mr. Rogers so in the past if a ZRTD comes to us to update from a prior ordinance to the current ordinance which is what a ZRTD is correct okay in the

[05:48:17] past if that's all we got was a ZRTD then there are significant implications for us with that application i won't go any further than that now we're saying if they did this and they suddenly added data center use on top of the zrtd we could deny the zrtd with the added use based on the added use that is correct thank you well then first of all i can't imagine anyone doing the zrtd that would want a data center that didn't put that down i'm not sure i'm not sure i want that person in my county anyway if you don't know what you want to do

[05:48:56] I think that's un-American. What? Un-American? That's the first thing. So I think I'm voting against this. So we're saying that somebody came in and they wanted to do a conversion, but they never said they wanted a data center as part of their conversion.

[05:49:18] Now we're saying they get to add a data center as part of their conversion? Is that what we're saying right now? What staff has done, and this has been inconsistent, is we have said to data center applicants, you're not supposed to identify use. In a legislative application, they can identify use, they can submit proffers, they can submit a concept of development.

[05:49:39] So staff has said to them, you're not supposed to identify a use before, so they didn't based on direction. I'll mention something. I believe that's correct. I think part of it is when we adopted the ZOR, they kind of changed a little bit what was allowed in a ZRTD based on the language that was insorted in ZOR. And that language that sort of opens up the possibility for these specific development proposals, I don't believe it was in the revised 93.

[05:50:02] One more question. This area where somebody would be doing a conversion, are there residences in this area, down this area, or is it all kind of industrial, light industrial use? It's largely. There are some residences in the 28 tax district or right along the borders of it, but it is largely commercial industrial.

[05:50:23] I really can't think of, I'm looking at Mr. Sanders, I really can't think of any areas that are residential. There's some of Ross Davis Drive, a few by the closer to the mall, but there's not many. Okay, and this would, if this was the pass, it would come back to the board no matter what.

[05:50:42] Because the ERT will always come in front of the board, no matter what. And the grandfathering, well, actually that wouldn't even be applied right there. So the board could say no to that when it came back, just in period. Well, if it includes the additional detail that we're discussing.

[05:51:00] Okay. Yeah. So the board is, a board is still allowed to say no if that additional detail is in there. Yes. Okay. I feel good about, better about that. You want a closing? Do you have a point of clarification? I was just going to say in our second board term.

[05:51:18] No, that's not a point of clarification. Well, never mind then. You just want to say some stuff. That's not a point of clarification. Mr. Turner, would you like a closing? I don't need a closing. That's fine. Okay. Motion was made by Supervisor Kershner, second by Supervisor Umstead.

[05:51:35] I'm able to say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass 9 to 0. Okay. Mr. Turner, did you have a motion? Yes? You had something else? We both have motions. You both have motions. Related to the original motion.

[05:51:51] Holy smokes. I'm going to his first because I just did you. This is a recommendation from staff. I think I'm making it because I happen to be sitting closest to staff. I move to authorize staff to update the grandfathering resolution to allow cross-references, renumbering, and correct any technical issues related to the motions approved by the board.

[05:52:13] I think that I can take that as a friendly. Yeah, that's a friendly. Okay, fine. That's fine. Any issues with that? No. Okay, fine. All right. To the original motion. You have, okay, Ms. Bricksman. Well, this maybe could be a friendly, but I'd like to amend the grandfathering Zoam to insert the word occupied before both instances of residential structures in paragraph two.

[05:52:43] Why would you do that? Why would you do that? Because there's some places where there's just like an abandoned building. And so, I mean, it gets back to the conversation we had a little bit ago about what does residential mean?

[05:53:04] so the point is if it's not occupied why and they're going to tear it down i'm not going to take that as a friendly you have to make a motion on that one because because not occupied doesn't mean because not occupied is too vague like i don't know what not i just said that all that stuff that i said yeah so i won't accept that as a friendly that's why i don't know how to get to that's why okay i'll withdraw thank you madam chair yeah yeah so that's too vague okay we are back to the original motion no madam chair what i asked you this earlier i said i didn't hand out the motion but it was simple i know it's going to go fast i'll have one comment if it's simple it

[05:53:44] may be it may be a friendly no you're not going to accept this uh i move the board of supervisors adopt the grandfathering uh well i'm going to move remove the adopter but amend this grandfathering resolution has provided it in amendment four to the march uh 1820 board of supervisors business action with the following revisions change the effective date from february 12 2025 to march 18 2025 no yeah that's a that's a motion so yeah no that's all right a motion has been made and seconded by miss um um staff discussion on the motion yes thank you madam chair um i we've had some of the discussion in the previous meeting i think quite frankly today is the better date

[05:54:20] uh there are i think in some ways by choosing the february date we are picking winners and losers um that is my personal opinion and i think there is some data to back that up Obviously, I think there's going to be say, well, we didn't know who was going to make this date or didn't make this date.

[05:54:37] But again, it's the same argument that I've made before. There's a significant investment that's been made that you will still have all the requirements that are in here, the 500 feet, et cetera. But there are a few, I think there's one application I spoke to literally came in the day, I think it met approval by staff the day after the February day.

[05:54:58] And to me, when you go through all those hoops, you try to make it, and it doesn't ultimately -- because there's a lot of reasons these things get delayed. Sometimes it's staff's fault. Sometimes it may be your fault. Sometimes it's just the slowness in the process, and there's a lot of money and there's a lot of investment.

[05:55:13] And I think, again, our data center -- we're going to still have the 500-foot requirements that are going to be in the base motion. There are a couple of data centers that will fall under this that did not quite get there And quite frankly, I think you're going to have the same protections that you would.

[05:55:32] And what we're basically saying, listen, you've gone through all this process with staff. You spent all this money on the approvals. But now you're going to have to go back through the special exception process. And I think I will finish with this. This is exactly the motion that we had when we adopted the zoning ordinance rewrite. We chose the date of adoption as the date that would ultimately, I think, grandfathering would ultimately go into effect.

[05:55:53] I think to be consistent with our greatest partner in this county, we should indeed adopt this March 18th date versus the February date that we are currently having the base motion. I'm not going to support this.

[05:56:10] First of all, I think our greatest partner in this county are our residents. That's the first thing. Secondly, I think that what you're actually doing now is creating winners and losers because you actually know who's coming after this. And so there's a purpose for this, and it's like creating a winner for somebody that came in after the February date.

[05:56:26] the february date was put out there everyone knew it no matter what date we choose somebody's going to say it's an arbitrary date because kind of a little bit it is an arbitrary date but everyone knew what that date was and so i don't know what everybody else or where people are going to land but i'm not going to support i'm not going to support this i think we're going to leave it as the february date would you like a closing no okay motion may be supervisor um personer second and Supervisor Amstead. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? No. That motion will fail 7-2

[05:56:59] with Supervisors Kirschner and Amstead. Yeah, losing that motion. Okay. All right. I'm back to the original motion with, well, okay, now I've got to find it. I'm back to the original motions with all of the amendments and changes that were made to it. So I've already spoke on the original motion at least an opening on the original motion and so now we're speaking on the original motion with all of the changes that were made to that original motion would anyone else like to speak

[05:57:31] on this first motion on the second one the second half of the motion anybody anybody so what we're saying right now amongst everything else is we are keeping in place the 500 foot um um um uh Well, I was going to say setback, but difference.

[05:57:52] I would say this. First of all, I say to the data center community, let me say what I said before. The fact that we're having discussions about data centers being this close to homes in and of itself is a bit of an issue. Because for years, the kind of handshake agreement is that we would say yes to data centers all day long, as long as they weren't near residences and in kind of bucolic corridors and things like that.

[05:58:19] The board wasn't the one that kind of broke that handshake agreement. It was the data centers that broke that handshake agreement. And so I had no trouble at all leaving this in place. That's the first thing. The second thing is, and I'll say this again, we talk a lot about how much it costs for a data center to put an application in and what they do and all the things they go to.

[05:58:39] And we should talk about that. That's a lot of money. But I'm not going to value a data center over a person's home. One way or the other, I'm not going to do that. A person's home is their home, and by percentage, they probably spend just as much, if not more, of the percentage on their income on their home as a data center company does on any particular building that they have going in place.

[05:59:02] Not to mention, if you're like my house, my home to a large degree is my retirement. People are living in their retirement. We should not do anything that possibly lowers the cost of the value of their home. And you hear people say, in fact, it was said tonight, that our real estate market is doing great in Loudoun County, and it is.

[05:59:22] However, that's not the question. The question is not, is our market doing great overall? The question is, is that home that has a data center near it doing as well as that home over there that has, like, the same type of home, same neighborhood, same square footage that doesn't have a data center near it?

[05:59:39] That's the comparison you'd have to do before you know whether or not a data center near or home is actually impacting home values. And so not knowing those things, speaking of property rights, not knowing those things, I'm not going to do anything that devalues a person's home value.

[05:59:58] That is just not correct to do. So I will say one last thing. Data center community, perhaps, and I've said this to many of you individually, I'm going to send everybody together. If we don't want to keep having these discussions, perhaps police your own industry a little bit more, because someday a sentence do it absolutely spot-on correct, and others lead us to these moments. This is uncomfortable for everybody.

[06:00:23] Talk amongst yourselves and police your own community a little bit more than you have, and maybe we won't have to end up in these situations. This motion was made by me. I don't know who seconded a thousand years ago. Mr. Letourneau seconded this motion.

[06:00:39] Point of clarification, Madam Chair. Thank you. Yes, sir. I just want to clarify. The vote we're taking now is to approve the grandfathering resolution as amended. As amended. Thank you. I said that like five times. I know. I'm a guy. I don't understand that stuff that easily. And that's... I resemble that comment. And that... I didn't even make the picture.

[06:01:04] in favor please say aye opposed no okay if you i don't know what that count was if you and i please raise your hand all right that motion will pass five four with supervisors glass to crony turner and bricksman voting against the motion all right i move the board supervisors adopt cpm 2024-0001 and zoem 2024-0001 data center standards and locations phase one it's providing an attachment one two and three to the march 18 2025 board supervisors business

[06:01:43] meeting action item it's a packet motion wow okay i know you have a friendly that motion was made and seconded i don't need to do an opening on that motion but i will go to mr crony who seconded that mr crony you seconded that who did second that okay mr crony would you like to tell us you're friendly which i actually accept will accept this friendly yeah thank you chair randall so um so my

[06:02:20] friendly is to um approve motion one um except with the deletion of footnote number three and attachment three okay i need you to explain what footnote number three and attachment three are yeah um so attachment three the proposed draft footnote to table 3.02.05-1 would afford administrative applications for minor changes to a previously approved site plan for data center uses the same flexibility granted to previously approved special exception uses

[06:03:00] under section 10.11.01-H of the Zoning Ordinance, which authorizes the zoning administrator to administratively permit minor changes to previously approved special exception uses.

[06:03:18] of this footnote would necessitate approval of a special exception for data center use prior to any changes to a previously approved site plan proposing a data center use so um my issue this is a friendly friendly i will accept the friendly ask mr sayings will he accept the friendly mr sayings will you accept this one i'm sorry read it one more oh my gosh i'm sorry you have a couple motions up here is this one here i think i just read it he's a guy too he's a guy too

[06:03:56] okay uh no i'm not going to accept it as a friendly okay but you want to make a motion that was funny uh i move that the board of supervisors adopt cpam 2024-0001 and zoam 2024-0001 data center standards and locations phase one as provided in attachments one two and three to the march 18 2025 board of supervisors business meeting action item except with the deletion of footnote number three and attachment three oh i'm sorry i should have seconded that

[06:04:32] um discussion on the motion miss mr crony now you can explain go on okay so footnote number three permits minor changes to an approved site plan for an administrative application My issue is the minor changes are significant when you apply it to an administrative application that has not received board approval or had public input.

[06:04:53] For example, an administrative data center used with up to 1 million square feet could expand 5% or 50,000 square feet without coming to the board or having a public hearing. To put this in perspective, the size of a football field is about 57,000 square feet.

[06:05:10] So my thought is this is not reasonable or modest changes to site plans. it would include an increase to the square footage of data centers by up to 5%, the addition of accessory structures, realignment of principal buildings and parking areas within an approved building envelope, minor additions to principal buildings and corresponding additions to parking areas with a cumulative total of all building additions neither exceeding 5% of the gross floor area exceed maximum permitted floor area ratio for the zoning district.

[06:05:44] Again, my concern is permitting an expansion of administrative or by-write applications that have not been reviewed by the board or the public, and I am only for referring to administrative applications. The current zoning ordinance covers special exception applications that wanna make minor changes with section 10.11.01.H, and the new footnote four covers a data center use approved by the board as part of a ZMAP, ZCPA, ZRTD.

[06:06:14] So by removing footnote three, it means any previously approved or grandfathered with this ZOAM that we just approved, site plans that were developed or are by right, would need to seek board approval for any expansion or relocation of the data center use on the property.

[06:06:32] I support this because it provides more oversight and adds public input to the process. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Letourneau. Okay, I think this discussion is getting a little bit distorted because it's exclusively focused on the 5% minor changes, but there's a lot of other minor changes, right?

[06:06:53] And the minor changes have to be within the buildable area, correct? Yes. So it does not allow for reduced setbacks. That's not correct. So removing this footnote would not impact that. You can't do that anyway. I'm really concerned about what the impact would be if we don't allow minor changes.

[06:07:12] Can you sort of explain a little bit more about what the other changes are that we typically would allow on any application? It would mean that if the building needs to get moved over 10 feet on the site, that would require a special exception. Ten feet. We're going to require a special exception if somebody needs to move something over 10 feet.

[06:07:31] Let's just say staff wants it moved over 10 feet because of some easement or some sort of future water line or something like that. They've got to go through an entire special exception. Without the footnote, yes. The footnote was put in there to provide for those. If we want to encourage complete lack of cooperation with the county on absolutely everything moving forward, then we should take out this footnote.

[06:07:49] But this is way over the top to do. I can understand perhaps if Supervisor DeCrony wanted to really narrow it just to that 5%, we could have a discussion. But taking away the ability to move things, frankly, a lot of times what we ask for, we ask for them to move things.

[06:08:06] That does not make any sense. I really encourage folks to think twice on this one. Ms. Bricksman. Thank you, Madam Chair. I did second the motion, but I kind of agree, and I would ask to make a friendly that this only applies to the 5%.

[06:08:25] Okay. So there's a motion, there's a friendly on the table that it only applies to the 5% that's been made. For administrative, yeah. For administrative, and of course, Mr. Brickson wants to seconder the motion anyway. Just to be clear, when you're saying it only applies to the 5%, you're removing?

[06:08:44] we're gonna yeah the the friendly is to only strike the five percent five percent provisions so if they if they want to increase far they have to come madam chair can we stop my time yeah we can only stop your time we can put 15 seconds back on your time and see how nice it is when I when you say can we

[06:09:14] it's not personal no it's just annoying talking amongst themselves no

[06:09:37] would you like to approach the bench okay that was like everybody that was that was that was great that was literally a long time okay so so we can just strike the five percent we would have to figure out how to reword the footnote because it's referencing that whole section but we

[06:10:16] understand the intent and we okay okay great so so in the rest of my time I will just say that um I I'm concerned about an increase in square footage of data centers that can happen without coming back to ask us and I think five percent is allowing them to go up to five percent and only coming for specs if it's over five percent it was a little bit too generous um for example the 1.3 million Belmont Innovation Campus if they came in for a five percent increase it would be 65,000 square feet zebra east i think we're going to talk about later if they came in for five percent it

[06:10:53] would be 37 almost 37 000 square feet so i think we want just to be able to monitor that a little bit um and so i will support the motion thank you support the motion as as as a friendly as friendly amended by you um mr uh rogers i just want to make sure that we're clear with the motion that it's the five percent is an expansion of the building footprint itself it's not regarding all the other items of minor exchanges that's how i understand it is that how you guys mean it

[06:11:27] that what you all mean okay mr mr um kirchner don't we need some sort of percentage on this we can't just make no percentage we have to have some sort of percentage to have some flexibility i would agree from policy standpoint i think having some sort of flexibility would make sense If we leave it, if we are silent on it, then that would mean that whatever number is, it's approved, if they reconfigure the building, expand it, change the shape, it would still have to stay at that same square footage exactly.

[06:11:58] So you're saying, Mr. Kirsten, you're saying it has to be somewhere between boom and 5%? My question to staff is, there has to be a level of flexibility. As a policy issue, that is a very good idea. Am I correct? 4%? I mean, I understand what they're trying to do up here, but we're talking about the footprint of the building so if they needed to move it out slightly in order to make it work or staff ask give them you're saying give a minimum and a maximum of the maximum five well right now it's just yeah we need a number yeah this is number five percent was what was recommended by was that a staff recommendation originally well we we reference everything to the section that was

[06:12:35] already in the ordinance for easy administration and we allow that flexibility for special exceptions already so it's okay so it's already in the ordinance we're adopting what we put in the ordinance for other applications and now I think the motion on the table is to remove that which will ultimately it's almost like a poison pill essentially trying to kill what we've just already done in a lot of ways. So it's we are tying the flexibility for administrative approvals that the board has not seen generally or at least potentially to language that is made for discretion on a special exception that the board has seen. So we did that because it was easy to administer and because we're treating these as a special exception so it made a certain degree of

[06:13:14] sense, but these are large buildings, and so if 5% is too much, I do think something larger than zero would make sense, but we have not done any research into figuring out if that should be 3%, 1%. That would need to be a board decision if we're doing it tonight. So we're making this on the, I'm just talking out loud here, we're kind of making this decision on the fly. We've not had anybody here from the industry to say how this is or is not going to impact the industry. We may actually get far worse product or no product, we may get far worse product, quite frankly, because of the lack of flexibility on this, especially if moving it or expanding it slightly, et cetera, could make a better product.

[06:13:53] So we are asking -- we are eliminating any flexibility in the development and application process and without really anything to base that on is what it sounds like to me. I think this is a disaster waiting to happen.

[06:14:09] Mr. Turner. Mr. Thank you, Madam Chair. So if we pass this and remove the 5% as part of the footnote, if someone wants to increase the floor air ratio by 10 feet, it would trigger a special exception, correct?

[06:14:26] Yes. If we do away with the 5% completely, and they want to increase the floor air ratio by 10 feet, then that would trigger a special exception. Unless they reduce the other dimensions appropriately to keep it at the same. So if we agree with the concept that some reasonable amount of flexibility and adjustments to the site ought to be reasonable, then it seems to me that somewhere between zero percent and five percent, which I think is a compelling case, is probably too much, we can arrive at a number that would provide flexibility, but not all the way out to five percent.

[06:15:00] I'm happy to propose two percent, so I'll offer that as a friendly, I'll say two percent. Yeah. Yeah. So. Are you done?

[06:15:16] Thank you. Okay. Who seconds the motion? In my head, this. A by-write application, administrative application, is an administrative application. You know what it is. That's why it's an administrative application. That's why we're not looking at it in the beginning. Anything even minor that's being done more, we should see it.

[06:15:33] We should see it. Otherwise, I'm not going to call it an administrative application anymore. I have no issue with the 5% at all. And I think it actually, if the discussion is we need to give the industry clarity, the industry now has clarity. They may not like what they're clear about, but they have clarity. this is your administrative application, this is what you're doing, this is how you're doing it.

[06:15:53] Anything else, then don't do it. That's really how I feel at this point, because there's a reason it's an administrative application. And thank you for saying, I don't know who said, just 5% versus everything else, because the question did become, if they were all just minor changes, how many could we build on top of each other?

[06:16:16] and that was going to be a little confusing to me also. But I don't mind it being 5%, and I don't mind it being 5%, just period. To Mr. Kirshner's point, I do think that maybe, whether I mind it being 5% or not is immaterial.

[06:16:35] Maybe there needs to be more due diligence around these numbers. Even if I agree with it, I also agree that we can have more due diligence around this, because this is really a random number that I agree with, But me agreeing with it doesn't make it any less random.

[06:16:52] And so I'm comfortable with the 5%. I'm not comfortable with the randomness of 5%. How about 2? How about 1? But that part is not comfortable for me. So is it possible, Mr. Crony, that we can table this discussion and come back to it when we have some work done around it?

[06:17:14] Again, I don't have no issue with the 5. But I don't think we have any – the 5 is – I don't know the reasons for the 5. Point of clarification, Madam Chair. The point of clarification is going to be if we table this, will we do it with the main motion? No, the point of clarification is the friendly that was just accepted, the 5% is no longer being debated.

[06:17:32] It's 2%. She accepted the friendly. Okay, so it doesn't matter. That's my point. You're making, your point of clarification is not clarifying. You're making my point. The 2%, 5%, 1%, it's still random. It's still just kind of tossed out there, and I'm uncomfortable with that.

[06:17:50] So, Mr. Rogers, is there any way for us to pass the main motion and table this part? No, this is part of the ZOAM. It's a footnote that's part of the ZOAM. So you're either going to vote it up or you're going to vote it down.

[06:18:07] Okay. If I may, Chair Randall, the one thing that we could do is, whether we keep it at five or pick a different number tonight, we could clarify that's something we can look at in phase two. So we can put effort into it as part of phase two for sure. Okay, so if you said two, we would look at it in phase two. Yes.

[06:18:23] If you said two percent. yeah also true okay i'll go back to mr crony for a closing good idea about maybe incorporating in phase two so are you suggesting that we um just go with the original motion and that we could come back to this and change it at a later date based with some data yeah because i would agree with chair randall that you know i'm not comfortable with five percent and that's why i brought this up because it's data centers are huge and 5% is a huge amount of square footage and

[06:19:03] these applications have not come before the board and you were correct Dan that this is new for us this usually that that provision is just for special exceptions not not for administrative so this this is a new footnote for us so I think it makes sense to table it and then bring it back into phase two and see kind of what flexibility we might offer, realizing that 5% is too much.

[06:19:30] So would you like to make a motion to table for this item and send it to phase two, send the discussion to phase two? Yeah, let's do that. So I move to table the motion that deleted footnote number three and attachment three. I will second that. Motion to table has no discussion on the motion to table you can't do that um and it's because it's going back to the main motion now all in favor please say aye aye any opposed all right we'll table that motion thank you dan we'll go back um in phase two we are now back to the to the base motion is there anything

[06:20:06] else that anyone wants to add on the base motion miss umstead uh thank you madam chair i have a motion i move that the board of supervisors amend cpam 2024 0001 data center standards and locations phase one as provided in attachments one and two to the march 18th 2025 board of supervisors action item with the following revisions one the area currently designated as the urban employment place

[06:20:39] type will not be redesignated as the urban transit center place type and two data centers will be listed as a conditional use rather than a core use within the urban employment place type i further move that the board of supervisors direct staff to incorporate a study of options for the urban employment place type including land use recommendations that promote the long-term

[06:21:06] mixed-use redevelopment of the place type into the project plan for cpam 2025-0001 and zoam 2025-0001 data center standards and locations phase two was that the whole thing is that you're not that is it um staff dan was very good uh since the final paragraph would have dealt with supervisor turner's um grandfathering um that was unnecessary so that is it okay motions made

[06:21:44] and second by supervisor le turno mr le turno i mean i'm sorry miss um stat um i really appreciate all the all the fast work that staff did to um to get this ready uh this this is a request from the industry and the reason they are requesting it is that 82 percent of the land area of the urban employment place type is dedicated to data centers and supporting substations this amendment would

[06:22:19] protect existing campuses so we already have that particular place type fairly thoroughly covered by data centers this only impacts the area near the gateway metro station and i would just read the staff description during the board's initiation of the c pam and adoption of the roia in july 2024 the board provided direction to staff to revise the urban

[06:22:54] policy areas place types map by replacing the urban employment place type with the urban transit center place type. This place type occurs in one area of the county adjacent to the gateway metro rail station. This motion would override that element of the CPAM so the urban employment place type would remain in its current geography. However it would also redesignate data centers from a core use to a conditional use providing the board with an additional degree of discretion at the policy level to determine whether a specific data center use proposal is appropriate within this place type.

[06:23:33] It would also direct staff to consider this area more thoroughly as part of phase two of the data center standards and locations project and provide recommendations encouraging the long-term mixed use redevelopment of this area. Other discussion on the motion, Mr. Letourneau?

[06:23:53] Yeah, so the main reason that I'm supportive here is the area that is being re-designated here into the urban transit center place type is a place type that allows for residential development, and there is no way we would want that.

[06:24:11] Where it's in the LDN 65, part of it is, and the rest of it is heavily industrial. I think the macro, like, long-term intent is to try to encourage development other than data centers in the immediate area around the Loudon Gateway Metro Station.

[06:24:26] And I am complete agreement with that. However, I think we're going overboard here by trying to change the entire urban employment place type area into this urban transit center place type because that extends further east into that big core canyons of data centers that already exist.

[06:24:47] and there's just no other uses that would make any sense. I mean, we certainly went a lot residential in that area. So the other key thing here, and Supervisor Umstead read it at the end, is we're still changing it to make it a conditional use. So I think the goal was that we have more control over what's happening here.

[06:25:06] So it no longer would be a core use in the urban employment place type. So it will come to the board. We will, and it becomes a conditional use. We're getting what we need here, which is if there is a circumstance in this area that we don't want a data center, we now have the ability to say no, but we're not changing the entire place type into something that permits residential and is just going to cause confusion with really disagreement between the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan, which we've run into before and we should try to avoid.

[06:25:35] In this case, we would be sort of putting ourselves in that situation. So I don't think this particular change makes sense. and i also think having a broader discussion about what to do with this place type is also a good idea from a planning standpoint so i am supportive of this motion um i mean absolutely no disrespect to anybody sitting out there it has nothing to do with whether industry likes it or not it's it's more about the the disagreement between the residential permitted and the urban and transit place type and the area that we're talking about here which is not appropriate

[06:26:10] miss glass thank you madam chair uh i i do not support this motion so we have the comprehensive plan and that's to to guide us what we're going to have right so if we're looking to the future that is where our metro station is so if we are having nothing but data centers there you're that's just likely going to be a failing day uh failing metro station because there's nothing there and if we're talking about we're looking into the future we need to look at

[06:26:46] something other than data centers there thank you madam chair mr say i'm sorry you finish miss glass you're good you're good yeah mr saints uh thank you madam chair as i believe i asked staff about this item a little bit earlier in our discussion uh from that previous conversation i'm fine with the motion but i want to get clarity i thought mr turner's motion earlier took care of some of this in this motion can you point that out to us if i'm if i'm correct or not mr turner's motion earlier was just about the grandfather this is about the actual policy guidance in the plan

[06:27:20] itself okay so the very last part we don't need them okay sorry all right um been a long day all right so miss glasspoint uh you know i park at this metro stop loudon gateway station um i'll be honest with you unfortunately data centers are already here at this location there's one that's pretty much done there's another one that's being under construction right now they've cut down all

[06:27:54] the trees to allow two more data centers there's a substation being put in right now it's directly across street from another two qts data centers that are already established in operations there's There's another substation there. Then you have the Lifetime Fitness.

[06:28:11] Then right around the corner from that, there's another data center. You know, the outside at least done, now they're gonna be doing the work in the inside. So unfortunately, this Metro stop, you know, is gonna be a data center metro stop for a period of time.

[06:28:28] But I think we could still, as I mentioned earlier, or asked a question to staff earlier, we still could have an applicant who could come in and do some changes and do something else down the road, which hopefully that does happen but I'm fine with the with this motion as is right now thank you this miss I mean supervisor Turner yeah the we're gonna make it a conditional data centers of conditional use does that automatically trigger specs for data center application no but the zoning amendment that we're adopting would okay so we make it a conditional use and then the

[06:29:06] adoption of this motion tonight the CPM ZOAM would automatically attach a spec because it's a data center okay thank you so my problem with this motion and I understand what we're trying to do here I do and I love that we're talking about the conditional use my problem with this motion is this we all know that every piece of land is going to be a data application we just do that's what's going to happen it doesn't I mean unless we literally say that you know we will We will say all this, but the one thing we will exclude as a possibility of being here, besides housing, is data centers.

[06:29:43] It's going to be data centers. That's my issue right here. Of course, it's not a good place for housing, but we've talked a thousand times about how we need other uses, how we need flex industrial, how we need other things besides data centers. And we also know that data centers will and can buy a plan faster than anybody can any day of the week all the time.

[06:30:03] They just will. And so if we do this, even make it into the conditional use, what's going to happen is the data center is going to buy it, and then they're going to get far down the road, and then people are going to be talking about how much money they spent, and in the end, we're going to be voting on a data center here. And so I don't want it, for obvious reasons, to be homes, but I almost want to say, and I didn't put a motion together, so I'm going to vote against this and hope it doesn't pass.

[06:30:28] I almost want to say this could this almost everything else works in here, but this is set aside for blank other types of industrial use. That's not a data center, because because when we talk about trying to diversify our economy, there are things that can be even though it's in the the L.D.

[06:30:47] And there are things that can be there besides houses or data centers. We've gotten to the place where we've decided it's residential or business and there's nothing other options, no other options. There are other options, but if data centers are allowed there, data centers will be there.

[06:31:04] And so I get what's trying to happen. I really appreciate the conditional use, but I would like to try to have something that we can actually have as a business in Loudoun County that's not a data center. So I'm going to vote no on this. Would you like to have a closing, Ms. Umstead?

[06:31:21] Yes, Madam Chair. what what this does though is is it it makes certain that we begin to look at other uses further down the road so it recognizes a reality on the ground it actually makes certain that as as dan said with the zoning ordinance changes that data center applications will come before us for approval and i think it accomplishes uh ironically what i think sylvia uh supervisor

[06:32:01] glass is trying to accomplish um so i would just ask for the board support thank you all right most members umstead single supervisor eternal on people say aye opposed nay okay that's a note mrs change where are you not that it matters at this point because if i if it's a so it's a 4-4-1 then so then that will fail the motion 441 fails a motion yes it does if you're gonna help me you

[06:32:38] gotta help you gotta be helpful so that will fail that will fail um now i don't like doing things on on the fly but this is something we should i think talk about in in in phase two and later i think because i i understand i understand what the what the intent was and so i think that maybe maybe later okay um anybody else on the one that has any other motions or amendments or friendlies

[06:33:14] on this main motion yes you do you want to comment on the main motion okay okay we're commenting on the main motion um that has not been amended at all in any way right no it hasn't Okay, Mr. Kirshner.

[06:33:32] You made the motion. I did. Oh, you don't want to? Okay. A long time ago. Thank you for the vigorous debate and the many thoughts that went through. I want to thank my colleagues, even though I vehemently disagree with some of the things.

[06:33:49] I do appreciate, I think, the good intentions regarding the grandfathering the data center applications. And I will say the industry, quite frankly, and I think everyone up here can agree with it, has come a long ways in how they've done things and the applications we're seeing today are quite frankly very different and I think the chair and Mr. Letourneau and those who are on the board a long time ago are very different than they were in those days and so for that quite frankly the industry should be complemented and a lot of that is at the behest of this very board but and good companies have come quite frankly I feel and acted in good faith and have been some of our strongest

[06:34:28] business partners here in the county but I think under what we are doing they are being forced to play a very dangerous game of Loudoun County Zoning Roulette, and I'm concerned that they're not winning. And the problem with Loudoun County Zoning Roulette is the regulatory, and I've talked to many of them about this, and this I think is, I'm going to be a little prophetic here.

[06:34:54] When you spin that wheel, there is a level of uncertainty that permeates all businesses, not just this business, but all businesses, who are thinking and doing business here in the county. And that has huge negative effects on Loudoun County.

[06:35:12] We're going to be voting on this process here that we've gone through over the last year and a half or more, and I think it will cost a lot of businesses. These businesses, some that spoke tonight, primarily data centers, but also all those that service these data centers, some of who we heard from tonight.

[06:35:33] But it's going to impact more than that because the uncertainty is really real. I think a lot of folks came to this county. They sought to develop, they sought to use our zoning ordinance, and now they are, some of them are losing out.

[06:35:50] Some of them have had millions of dollars in investment and are going to be losing that investment, no doubt, to some degree. And quite frankly, I spoke with an industry leader recently, and he says, you know, it's not the cost of the building themselves nearly as much as the cost of what's internally in there.

[06:36:07] There's a lot of jurisdictions. We don't have the latency strategic advantage that we used to. And so I think it's just a matter of time. It won't happen next year. It won't happen five years from now. It might not even happen seven or eight, nine years from now. But I think this industry will ultimately, if we continue kind of down this path, we'll probably leave Loudoun County.

[06:36:29] And they've been such a great partner. And I feel like what we're doing here is going to have long-lasting effects. And so I appreciate a lot of the changes that were made, a lot of the improvements that were made. But I think the process itself has been flawed. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, sir.

[06:36:45] Ms. Umstead. Thank you, Madam Chair. I will be voting against this main motion for probably many of the reasons that Supervisor Kirshner outlined. I'm concerned in general about taking away by right opportunities for businesses that have invested or for homeowners who have invested. We try to treat everybody on an equal playing field. There have been millions, hundreds

[06:37:23] of millions of dollars invested in the county and the results we've seen in allowing us to lower taxes and actually this year actually lower the tax bill for the average resident when it comes to both their home for the rent that's paid, because taxes on rental properties will be on average going down as well, but also on the homeowners' cars.

[06:37:54] The data center industry, and some of us have said this to the point where I'm sure our colleagues are sick of hearing it, but the data center industry enables us to pay for mental health counseling, child protective services, law enforcement in the county, parks acquisition, historical property acquisition, schools, transportation projects, all of what makes this a great county is paid for in large part by the data center industry.

[06:38:34] And it is an industry that we, as citizens of this country and citizens of this county, and state have created the need for. So just as we expect there to be farms to provide food for our tables, the data center industry provides the kind of life we have chosen. So whenever we come out to speak and we use a laptop or a cell phone to read our speech from, or anytime up here where we

[06:39:09] all have iPads, all of that is utterly dependent on the data center industry. It is not some alien force. It is fundamentally what we want. It provides what we fundamentally want to be part of our lives. So when we speak in terms that are less than complementary towards it, or try to slap it down or try to restrict it. What we are doing is, I think what we're doing is being a bit

[06:39:45] hypocritical. We have created this and we ought to appreciate it. Thank you. Mr. Crony. Thank you, Chair Randall. I wasn't going to speak, but I'm going to now. So I appreciate the data centers and what the data centers bring to our fiscal situation data centers generate over one-third of the county's general fund revenues or 38 percent of the total general fund revenue our approach to data center revenue and our fiscal

[06:40:21] policy is to limit our reliance on data centers and to diversify our economy we have now hit the point that county administration wants to lower the tax rate on data centers, on data centers personal property tax in particular, because we're getting too much revenue from them.

[06:40:40] So you know, I hear Supervisor Umstead, but we've really hit the point where it's kind of diminishing returns, you know, where we gain a lot of revenue from data centers, but our policy is to limit our reliance on data centers, and when I first came into office, my goal was to stop the lowering of that data center personal property tax, because that would have happened, it would have gone down, but I held on to it, because residents need

[06:41:16] to feel the relief, and so Supervisor Kirshner and I worked on lowering that tax, but we We have hit that point, and so I know the data center industry has been great partners. I want to support the existing community, but I do know that residents are really feeling the impacts with the amount of transmission lines that we have going through this county and also the amount of substations.

[06:41:42] You know, I'm shocked to hear people say we need 50 substations. I'm going to do some research on that because 50 substation is a lot of substations for for our county residents to put up with. So I do think that, you know, we have the largest concentration of data centers in the world, and I do wanna partner with the data center industry, and I think that we're gonna be doing that with phase two, but regarding the revenue, we are over-reliant on data centers, and so that's what I've been told, and that's, you know, our approach to data center revenue is to try and meet that ratio,

[06:42:20] And, you know, I think it's become too much at this point. So I do want to make that point. I'm happy to support this data center, CPAM and ZOAM. I think it's time for us to take oversight on this industry.

[06:42:36] Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Letourneau. Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, I am disappointed with the last discussion we had on the place types to the point where I may bring something back to at least do the last part of that where we can have a better discussion about what we're trying to do in this area.

[06:42:53] And that does, you know, push me slightly on the negative on this. But ultimately, I will vote yes on the overall package. We have 400-something thousand bosses, and they've asked us to do something.

[06:43:10] Every meeting, we hear the horror story of what we're dealing with on the Marsa-Golden transmission line. and you can't just look at all these things in a vacuum we we got here we are here um i echo what my colleagues have said i'm appreciative of the amazing revenue and also i've been pretty consistent about supporting data centers that are in places that they should be but the reality is some of them haven't been some of them aren't many of us have had that experience i will just be very upfront about the fact that there was one particular data center in south riding that came

[06:43:45] in as a by right use that i tried my hardest to to go somewhere else to the point of even finding a different site and that that company wouldn't work with me wouldn't talk to me and here we are that stuff accumulates over the years and it creates resentment with residents and so at some point yeah the board has to act and i understand it's unfortunate because many companies aren't doing those sort of things but here we are um all that said i did want to offer just a few thoughts because we've we've put some things into phase two um i don't i think i think we need to take a fresh look at phase two i think we number one don't necessarily need performance standards

[06:44:24] because we've now made these special exceptions if we adopt performance standards we're going to end up making existing data centers non-conforming which i don't think is something we should do and number two i also really think we need to prioritize the transmission line corridor zoam potentially above anything else because if we you know it's easy to look at this in retrospect if we go back in time the the approach we took here whether we want to whether we wanted it or not it created a gold rush we had you know dozens of applicants coming in getting entitlements quite frankly i think some of this is inflated because i don't think all these things

[06:45:02] are actually going to develop and build for the maximum that they've been asking for but they did because they felt threatened and they came in so maybe we could have approached this differently and not had that situation be that as it may the next threat that we're going to be facing is on power lines it already is and it's not just loudon county it's power lines getting down to prince william county which has has a big expansion on this so we've got to get a handle on those corridors and i think that's just an important thing to potentially prioritize so i think we need to have a discussion around phase two what that looks like and then which of these these things need to go first because staff's time is valuable and we know how much work they've had

[06:45:39] to put into this so thank you to staff i will vote yes uh with reservations thank you uh miss um bricksman thank you madam chair um well thank you staff for for all of your work on this and thanks to everyone who uh met with me and and you know thanks for all the conversations appreciate it appreciate all the speakers um you know i i semi agree with supervisor letourneau i i'm looking at calendar here and you know we started this in uh literally in 2021 it came to tluck in april of

[06:46:14] 2022 but for some reason we only had it come to two business meetings in 2023 in february and november so um there's that's a double-edged sword right like people that maybe there was a little bit of a gold rush but also um you can't argue that people didn't know that we were going to be doing something i find it really curious that the two supervisors on this board who are the biggest advocates for data centers have literally no data centers in their districts i mean catoctin i think

[06:46:44] has zero and leesburg maybe one so no how many okay um i i'm disappointed with the grandfathering we have 41 million square feet already in the county and potentially now with grandfathering the administrative applications through here, we're going to have another potentially 61 million.

[06:47:07] So I am disappointed with the grandfathering. That's why I voted against it. I don't think data centers are going anywhere. I think the jobs are not going to go anywhere. I mean, it was such an investment in the community. I don't think they're just going to up and leave. I think that's a little bit of fear mongering. You know, yes, we need data centers in our lives, but they don't all need to be in Loudoun County they don't all need to be in Loudoun County I mean that's why I've been trying to help some of my VACO colleagues figure out how to get their zoning ordinances in line and how to work with the industry to make sure that to make sure that they have all the information and learn

[06:47:46] from everything that we've learned from in the last you know decade or so but residents have been begging us to do something I'm really proud that we're doing something I mean the visual fatigue you know they're concerned about pollution they're they're concerned about transmission lines and substations. And the fiscal reliance on the revenue is becoming almost irresponsible.

[06:48:08] So I'm really glad that we're doing this work and that we're going to pass this first phase. I would be interested in having more discussions on what we do in phase two. I don't think that's a horrible idea at this point because it's just been so long. And I think some things got put in phase one that maybe weren't initially supposed to be there. So I'm happy to do that as well.

[06:48:27] Anyway, great work, everyone, and thank you. Ms. Glass? Thank you, Madam Chair. And I just want to thank staff for working so hard on this, on the grandfathering and answering our questions. I know we had a lot of them.

[06:48:44] You know, I think one of the things that I hear mostly from my constituents are the data centers, because we do have a lot of them in the Broadburn District. And as, you know, I would go with what Supervisor Briskman said, yes, they do bring us revenue.

[06:49:07] You know, I appreciate all the work that they have done in our communities, working with nonprofits, such as the blood drives that you all have done. And I think these changes will help empower us, the board, to make thoughtful decisions regarding what data centers will be built in our communities.

[06:49:32] So I'm glad to support this motion. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Mr. Turner. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank staff. I know everybody else has, but I know the kind of work that you've been doing for the last two weeks has been crushing.

[06:49:48] This is incredibly complex. All of us involved here are being yelled at on an almost hourly basis by every stakeholder in this discussion, and it goes with the job. It goes with the job.

[06:50:06] In any event, it's yeoman's work. It's in many ways thankless, but when you get to an end result, it is a reasonable end result and I think that you should have some satisfaction and pride in the work you did so and and thank you for helping me specifically I've been many times I've reached out for help and you you were very kind in helping so thank you very much I really truly appreciate it I will add my voice to thanking all of you thank you staff very much and and Dan you particularly

[06:50:44] you're you're you're very very calm and I always say you have the greatest dry essence of humor So it's a pleasure working with you. I will also say thank you to Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner, you've done so much work on this issue, on these issues for such a long time.

[06:51:02] If we can go a day without you calling me about some new idea or something, that would be just fantastic right now. But you have really, really done yeoman's work. So thank you very much. Mr. Kirshner, I think you're right. I think there is a level of uncertainty. But I also think that the level of uncertainty is because we're trying to get it right.

[06:51:21] And sometimes when you're trying to get it right, it's not always pretty. And truthfully, it wasn't Mr. Turner. I mean, Mr. Turner and I. It was years ago for boards of supervisors that put these things in place. I mean, this was the 95 revised was 2003.

[06:51:37] That's before anybody on this dais was up here. And so we're trying to, I will say, I'll say the word correct. And I don't mean that to be disparaging to supervisors that came before us. I think they did the best they knew to do at that time. No one could have known what this was going to become.

[06:51:54] And so when you make data centers' uses, office use, you don't know what's about to happen. And so I don't blame them. But at the same time, there are some things that need to be corrected. We have two goals up here. One, land use and zoning, which I love land use and zoning.

[06:52:11] And two, to hear the voice of the people. and we and we have to do both and we have there we have emails almost every day I get emails about data centers when I first came on I would call people and I would say but this is what it does for your tax rate and how much it lowers it and they do this for the community and somebody would say oh I didn't know that thanks for letting me know and that be it now I say this is what it does for your tax rate and they say I don't care I have people say I will pay more stop building these. At some point, we just cannot ignore the voice of the people. And no one, no one can say

[06:52:48] that a county that has the vast majority of the world's data centers is not friendly to data centers. No one can say a county that has, that says no, almost never to data centers is not friendly to data centers. We have been very, very data center friendly and very, very data center accommodating and that's fine but that doesn't mean that that we can't at some point say yeah but this is enough to quote Miss Brixman yes we all use cell phones and iPads and all those things but the entire day the entire data center

[06:53:26] industry does not have to be located in Loudoun County Virginia it just it just doesn't and so we need to do something to try to balance out what we're doing I i do think we should do more right now with um with with with talk more about phase two that's that i'll say that no more all right i made the motion but somebody turn a little turn on that you second this motion who seconded this motion who did second this motion because it was a long

[06:53:53] time ago mr crony you have mr crony mr sayings okay who you got it was vice you guys okay we're going to give it to we're going to give it to vice chair turner i'm not sure who we did it with but i'm going to say it was vice chair turner so that's where we are right now um that's that's

[06:54:27] what we are that's the chair's prerogative that's why i made a call um all in favor say aye oppose nay that motion will pass 7-2 supervisors umstead and kirschner voting against the motion supervisors we're not finished and we can go on we have three more items two more items and a closed session um i i think actually we can go on and we can not do eight right now go on do zebra

[06:54:58] east because we can so we're going to do zebra east mr um mr saints would you like to go to a motion for zebra east which is item number six uh who took this off consent i don't know to crony or bricksman or both of them both of them took off consent mr sands would like to make a

[06:55:30] motion please i move that the board of supervisors approve ledge 2023-0077 zebra east z cpa uh dash 2023 0005 and specialist exception special exception excuse me 2023-0019 subject to the The proffer statement dated March 12, 2025, and the conditions of approval dated March 13, 2025, and based on the Foundings for Approval provided as attachments 1, 2, and 4 to the March 18, 2025 Board of Supervisors Business Meeting Action Item.

[06:56:10] Motions made and seconded by Supervisor Letourneau. Discussion on the motion. Mr. Sains. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. This application, we've worked on it and had a few edits and nips and tucks to it originally, special exception far was at 1.0 which is equivalent to 965,038 square feet they're coming in today with a 0.75 which is equivalent to 723,779 square feet so we're lowering it and we have a lot of new proffers in regards to construction a segment of future Lockridge Road from Loudoun County

[06:56:49] Parkway that extends into the subject property and let's see here we have also some right-of-ways on that various road and we where the subject is actually near the data center that's currently being built we know there's gonna be some other data centers from this applicant in the vicinity but overall it's in a good place type for data centers there's power that's currently there now so I will be supporting the motion thank you you don't support the motion you made thank you very much mr letourneau yeah just real briefly we've had a lot of discussion

[06:57:29] about lockridge on this and i i would agree that we don't need lockridge at this moment but if we ever are going to do lockridge we need to approve this application because of the way the site's configured and the amount of work that we've done to get access to it and i'm not willing to look 20 years in the future and say that we don't need lockridge it's been in the ctp for a long time for a reason. I've had extensive discussions with staff who have outlined several scenarios in which we would need Lockridge. It really depends on long-term development patterns.

[06:58:01] If we're successful, quite frankly, in doing what Supervisor Glass and I both talked about, which is improving the situation at Loudon Gateway long-term, then we probably would need Lockridge, for instance. So for that reason, and given the fact that this is an industrial site anyway um i will vote in favor of it and i think it's important that we have that lockridge potential in place in the future um to kind of protect ourselves supervisor to crony thank you chair randall so i can't support enlarging the data center building from the original 372 180 square

[06:58:39] feet up to the maximum of 723 779 square feet uh to build a segment of future lockridge road when i believe this connection east of louden county parkway may not be needed i know supervisor letourneau just mentioned that it might be but here's why i think we don't need it number one is um shellhorn road is is a short distance away it's less than a mile away from lockridge and apprentice apprentice drive both shellhorn road and lockridge drive are identified as four lane

[06:59:14] major collector roads in the 2019 county-wide transportation plan and shellhorn road provides the most direct access to the ashburn and gateway metro stations it also connects to the existing lockridge road both cross the broad run do we really need two planned crossings of the broad run north of the greenway and i think this is a situation similar to gloucester boulevard and russell branch parkway that were both planned to cross the goose creek and a cpm removed that

[06:59:46] gloucester boulevard crossing i believe the need for lockridge prentice drive east of louden county parkway needs to be studied during the countywide transportation plan review that will be started this year, but I'm not willing to approve a data center for a right-of-way and a building of a road in the frontage of a data center that I don't think we need.

[07:00:13] I also think that the proffers do not include some sustainability practices that are in our comprehensive plan, such as a Tier 4 generators. And I know that the applicant did proffer LEED standards, green building standards, but there's no commitments to water usage, water conservation, and efficiency strategies.

[07:00:39] So I won't be supporting this. Thank you. Dan, how much water is this data center using? Is it using more than what the new average data centers are using today? I honestly could not tell you that. Okay, that's fine. That's fine.

[07:00:55] Don't worry about it. And it's not because of Lockridge Drive or any road, because I personally don't know that we should be saying yes or no to data centers based on proffers that are voluntary anyway. I mean, I think that gets to be real dangerous when we start requiring a voluntary proffer before we say yes to an application.

[07:01:12] That's just not a smart thing to do and for a lot of reasons. I'm going to say yes because I think this is a data center that's in the right place. We just talked about data centers that are located in the right locations that have industrial around them, that are not by residences, that are not in a bucolic corridor, that has power of generation already there.

[07:01:33] The reasons that we should say yes to a data center are wrapped up in this data center. And so that's why I'm going to say yes to this, no matter what is or is not happening with a road. And I don't believe, because I think the staff would have flagged it, that this -- data centers today, the new ones, they don't use the water that used to be -- they just don't.

[07:01:54] The water usage is not nearly what they used to be. If they were, I'd be saying no to a lot of data centers, but they're just not what they used to be. And because of this one's power is there because it's already in a site, I do feel comfortable saying yes to this particular data center.

[07:02:11] Mr. Sands, would you like a closing? Yes, I'll be very brief. Yes, Lockridge was not the issue for me on this one. As you pointed out, this isn't a proper location for data centers. It's surrounded by other data centers. There's power there already and can incorporate this use into it.

[07:02:29] But in regards to Lockridge, you know, I feel not right now, not in the next two years, three years do we need that road. But down the road, yes, because keep in mind we have Silver District West and the Claude Moor property that those are, I think, altogether probably about 5,000 to 6,000 residents that will be coming once those are fully built out.

[07:02:50] So we definitely will need some more roadways when they come online, eventually, whenever that happens. But obviously not today, not tomorrow. It's going to be further down the road. So thank you to the applicant, and hopefully this passes. Thank you. All right.

[07:03:06] Motion was made by Supervisor Sainz. Thank you by Supervisor LeTourneau. All in favor say aye. Opposed? No. That motion will pass. 6-3 with Supervisors, the Crony, Bricksman, and Turner voting against the motion.

[07:03:22] All right. going to do number eight and then we're going to take a quick break before we go to closed session because i need a quick break before you go to closed session so we're going to go to motion number eight which is also not motion number eight item number eight which is also okay i've just lost it now just give me a second today yeah yeah so the rest of the data center item yeah yeah you guys you guys forgot about this well madam chair do you think there's any chance that we could potentially take this up at the next meeting so we have time now that we know where i absolutely think we can table this to the next meeting. And actually, the next meeting is not a very heavy meeting. It's a pretty light agenda. Dan, don't ruin my life right now.

[07:04:01] Can we table it until I come back with the work plan later in April? You can table it until you come back to it with the work plan later in April. Would you know when, like second meeting in April maybe? Yes. Let's table this to the second meeting in April when the staff comes back to the work plan. Dan, you are now my favorite county employee.

[07:04:23] Mr. Hamstreet, yes? Are you having an issue with me in my favorite county? I do not. I just want to ask a procedural question. Are we to take into consideration for Fates II Supervisor McRoney's issue on the percentage?

[07:04:43] Yes, please. We tabled it as part of item 7. I just want to make sure that we catch that if that was important. Yes, that would be fine. There's a motion to table that I made. who second? Oh, Leo, I'm sorry. There is one item in this. There's a Roya that's to initiate phase two. Do you want to do that at this time? It is referenced elsewhere and the documents that we have. Do we need to? You could put it off to April. Let's do that. Okay. So I made the motion to table. There you go. Motion to table has no discussion. All in favor,

[07:05:20] please say aye. Any opposed? I'm sure that's 9-0. I do want to make one correction. Matt Rogers is my favorite county employee. Dan, you're second. Okay, you're second. Okay, let's take a five minute, let's take a five minute break before we go into the second closed session.

[07:17:14] I'm with the Board of Supervisors. Recess this public meeting and enter into closed session pursuant to sections 2.2-371187 and 2.2-371188 of the Court of Virginia to consult with legal council and staff members pertaining to actual property litigation involved in the county and the architect for the animal service facility located located in the Leesburg district.

[07:17:38] Motion to main, second to discuss on the motion. All in favor to say aye. Any opposed? That motion will pass 702? I think it's gone. Did you leave that person gone? Aren't you leaving? Wait, aren't you leaving, Matt? Hold on. Aren't you leaving, Mike?

[07:17:57] Oh, yeah, but I thought Mike was leaving too, but he's not. So, yeah, 8-0-1, you're not leaving. You're coming to this closed session. Exactly. It's going to be.

[07:23:01] Would you like to read us out of the closed session, Mr. Turner? Would you? That'd be great. Okay. I move the closed session. Wait, wait. First of all, turn your light on. Second, why are you so low?

[07:23:16] Because my seat's down. I'm too tired to raise it up. I move that the closed session be adjourned, that the Board of Supervisors reconvene its public meeting, that the minutes of the public meeting should reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed session, and further move that the resolution certifying the closed session be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting.

[07:23:37] Motion made and seconded the discussion on the motion. By the way, Ms. Bricksman did not read into closed session, did not go into closed session with us since she has left. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Um, that motion will pass 7-0, I mean 8-0-1.

[07:23:53] Miss, would you please affirm? Affirm. And I affirm as well. We are adjourned.

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