Planning Commission Remands Cochran Tech Data Center to Work Session

By Katie Northcott

Citizens rallied against a proposed data center in Leesburg at a Loudoun County Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, July 23.

The proposed data center, submitted by Cochran Tech, would be built on a 17.52-acre property on Cochran Mill Road in Leesburg that is currently zoned Joint Land Management Area-3 (JLMA-3) Employment.

The applicant is seeking to rezone the property to Industrial Park (IP). Surrounding uses include residential neighborhoods, industrial properties, and several existing data centers, including Twin Creeks, Belmont Innovation, and Vantage. To proceed, the project would require a zoning amendment, a minor special exception, and four special exceptions.

The proposal first came before the Commission for a public hearing on July 29, 2025, and the Commission forwarded the application to the Board of Supervisors with a 7-0-2 vote. Commissioners Robin-Eve Jasper (Little River) and James Banks, Jr. (Algonkian) were absent.

At its business meeting on April 21, 2026, the Board denied the application with a vote of 7-1-1. Supervisor Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg) opposed the motion, and Supervisor Sylvia Glass (D-Broad Run) was absent. The Board voted 6-1-1-1 to reconsider the denial at its May 5, 2026 meeting. Supervisor Laura TeKrony opposed the motion, Supervisor Michael Turner was absent, and Supervisor Juli Briskman abstained.

As a result of the vote to reconsider, the application was remanded to the Commission for a recommendation.

During its July 23 public hearing, the Commission heard from nine speakers who opposed the application. The Commission’s chairman had to remind members of the public that no audible responses were allowed during the public comment period as comments in opposition to the application were repeatedly met with applause.

Speakers brought concerns about noise, environmental impact, strain on the electrical grid, and proximity to a residential development.

“Tonight I’m here to hold an intervention. Loudoun County has an addiction, and the data centers and their lobbies are the dealers,” one speaker said.

One speaker said his driveway was on the parcel.

“They control all of the access to my house,” the speaker said. “Whatever they do that affects my driveway, whether it’s a tree falling or rocks landing, I can’t get in and out, so it’s not a matter of inconvenience. It’s a matter of my safety and welfare.”

Emily Johnson, representing the Piedmont Environmental Council, addressed potential environmental impacts of the data center.

“The extra grading next to Goose Creek is only going to further impact an impaired waterway, and offsite contributions to trails do not account for onsite green space impacts,” Johnson said.

Since the denial, Cochran Tech has made several changes to its application. These changes included reduced size, additional grading, additional windows, additional screening, revised location, and revised configuration.

Additionally, the applicant proffered to construct or fund some bridges and trail sections of Loudoun County’s Linear Parks & Trail System.

Despite the changes, the proposed 70-foot building height exceeds the parcel’s JLMA Employment Place Type requirement of 50-foot building height limits. However, the proposed 20-foot grading would give the data center the appearance of being shorter.
County staff recommended that the applicant provide more details on elevation and its proffer to contribute to bridges and trail.

Commissioner Ad Barnes (Leesburg) made a motion to deny the application. However, his motion met opposition.

“I’m very concerned that we’re totally going rogue on this,” Commissioner Dale Polen Myers said. “We have no findings that any of us have seen for denial. We don’t know what it is. We’ve heard different comments that should be looked at [and] shouldn’t be looked at. We’ve got a lot of emotions running here. The sensible thing to do is to take this to a work session.”

The Commission ultimately voted to send the application to a work session with a 3-2-1-3 vote. Commissioners Robin-Eve Jasper (Little River) and Barnes opposed the motion. Commissioners Clifford Keirce (Sterling), Eric Combs (Ashburn), and Banks were absent. Commissioner Michelle Frank (Broad Run) abstained.