Hiddenwood proposal draws denial recommendation

By Katie Northcott

At its May 8 work session, Loudoun County’s Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors deny an application to re-zone nearly 30 acres of land for light industrial and commercial use.

For over a year, planning and zoning staff has been working with Hiddenwood Assemblage developers to create a workable proposal. The proposal has received heavy pushback from the community with 48 of 77 public speakers on the issue opposing the proposal at the Board’s public hearing on July 10, 2024.

The opposition is a result of the land’s proximity to Briarfield Estates, a residential area. Residents are concerned about the impact of industrial and commercial buildings like data centers on their health and on the value of their land. However, Hiddenwood Lane residents are excited about an opportunity to sell their land to developers, since their land was devalued after the approval of JK Technology Park #2 (JK2).

To ease concerns, the developers proffered out six industrial uses, including data centers. Additionally, they promised to fund landscaping that will block sightlines for residents near the northern property line and assured the Commission that the building would not be an eyesore as it would comply with architectural standards. 

Developers clarified that the buildings’ setback from the northern property line will be 110 feet. Additional changes to the proposal make further efforts to screen the development from the sightlines of current residents, commit to building a trailhead, and commit to providing electric vehicle charging stations.

“I think it doesn’t go far enough to get my vote on where we are going,” Commissioner Madhava Madireddy (Dulles) said.

Commissioner Robin-Eve Jasper (Little River) agreed.

“Clearly a serious problem was created by the approval of JK2. This would export that problem to Briarfield Estates and then also export it again potentially to other properties adjacent,” Jasper said. “I just don’t think that exporting the problem to another community is the solution.”

Commissioner Dale Polen-Myers (At-Large) presented a counterargument. She said there will be no housing stock in Hiddenwood Lane. Re-zoning would allow the county to get some commercial use out of the road while protecting Briarfield Estates, which has a buffer between the neighborhood and the development.

“When we talk about the application that is in front of us and the suitability of it and how it conforms to the zoning ordinance and everything, I think there is an opportunity to right a wrong. It just takes some willpower to stand up and do the right thing. And unfortunately, I don’t think there will be five people here to do that tonight,” Myers said.

Commissioners Eric Combs (Ashburn) and James Banks, Jr. (Algonkian) agreed. Combs addressed the planning and zoning staff’s concerns about land use and mitigation of the impact on Briarfield residents.

“In terms of mitigating impacts on adjacent residential uses at Briarfield, I don’t know what more we can do,” Combs said. “What we have is really minimal impacts over at Briarfield such that I don’t think we’re exporting the problem that Hiddenwood has.”

Commissioner Michelle Frank (Broad Run) agreed with Madireddy and Jasper that the application did not go far enough to protect Briarfield residents. She suggested that the applicant remove one of the three buildings.

Madireddy made the motion to recommend that the Board deny the application. The Commission passed the motion to recommend denial with a vote of 5-4. Commissioners Clifford Keirce (Sterling), Banks, Combs, and Myers opposed.