# Land use · Data Center Evidence

> Site selection and thoughtful layouts can make room for new computing infrastructure. Look at the buildings, the whole campus and the connections beyond its boundary to understand what changes.

By Nate Morton · 2026-10-08 · [Data Center Evidence](https://lfkai.town/evidence/)

Web version: https://lfkai.town/evidence/land/

Data centers take up less land than people expect. All of Virginia's operating data centers together covered land equal to about 1.4% of the farmland the state lost between 2017 and 2022 ([JLARC](https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf)). In Loudoun County, data centers occupy about 4% of commercial parcels and yield 38% of the county's general fund revenue ([Loudoun County](https://www.loudoun.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=1793)).

A site plan is an opportunity to decide how new computing infrastructure fits a place. Building locations, access roads, drainage and land set aside from construction are choices that can be examined together, before the ground changes.

[Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission](https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf), or JLARC, describes several useful tools in its December 2024 report: comparing development on new and previously developed sites, managing runoff, and studying historic resources before construction. Early studies can also help developers avoid delays and design changes from unexpected discoveries.

The useful land-use question is specific: what would this project change on this parcel and around it, and how does that fit the community's plans? A map makes that discussion tangible.

## Three ways to measure the site

The **building footprint** is the ground covered by the buildings. Floor area is a different measure: a building with several floors can have more interior space without covering more ground.

The **whole campus** includes land outside the buildings. Equipment yards, access roads, paved areas, stormwater facilities, setbacks and buffers all belong in the layout. So does land reserved for later construction. JLARC describes campuses that span multiple parcels and contain several data-center buildings.

The **supporting infrastructure** can extend beyond the campus. JLARC reports that sites often include electrical substations on or beside the property, and some need transmission lines extending from nearby main lines. Roads and utility connections also need to appear in the discussion of what is proposed.

These measures answer different questions. Building area describes one part of the development; campus acreage describes the property committed to it. The wider infrastructure map shows connections and changes outside that boundary.

A phased plan should distinguish what would be built first from later buildings and equipment. Land shown as open today may be reserved for a future phase; land protected from development has a different purpose. Reading the full layout helps keep those categories clear.

## Put statewide scale beside local concentration

JLARC found that the total land area of operating Virginia data centers was equivalent to about **1.4% of the farmland lost in Virginia between 2017 and 2022**. That compares the area occupied by operating facilities with a separate period's farmland loss; it does not mean data centers caused 1.4% of that loss.

The local picture was more concentrated. The report estimated that data centers accounted for **20–30% of land development in Loudoun and Prince William counties from 2013 to 2021**. That is a share of development during those years, not a share of all the land in either county.

The two findings measure different things. The statewide figure describes the industry's total footprint; the county figures describe where its growth has concentrated. Neither replaces the proposed site's map.

The report also notes that these are fast-growing counties: some of the land used for data centers likely would otherwise have become housing, mixed-use commercial space or distribution centers. The comparison is between plausible uses of the actual parcel, rather than a data center on one side and an assumption that the land would never change on the other.

## Read what is there now

A greenfield development uses land that has not previously been developed. Redevelopment uses a former development site. JLARC found that the vast majority of Virginia data-center development was greenfield, while some redevelopment was occurring.

The distinction helps explain why acreage alone is incomplete. The report gives a useful example: a small greenfield development can create more new impervious surface than a large redevelopment. Impervious surfaces, such as roofs and pavement, let less rain soak into the ground. The important comparison includes existing land cover and what the proposal would change.

JLARC describes stormwater systems, including ponds that slow and filter runoff, as tools for managing those changes. In the Virginia framework it examined, stormwater requirements scale with added impervious surface and land-cover changes; wetland permits apply where development affects wetlands or other waterways. A local permit record can show the drainage design, the resources affected and the conditions attached to construction.

Forests, agricultural land and historic places call for their own examination. JLARC describes avoiding or minimizing development on undeveloped and agricultural land as the primary way to protect resources that are difficult to replace. Its discussion of historic-resource studies explains how background research and site inspection can identify important places before building locations are fixed.

That is useful design information. A stream, an existing wooded area or a historic site can be placed on the same map as the buildings and roads, so readers can see what would remain and what would change.

## Conservation land is doing a job

Farmland and open land serve different purposes, too. In its [September 17, 2025 announcement](https://fsa.usda.gov/news-events/news/09-17-2025/usda-accepts-nearly-18-million-acres-2025-conservation-reserve-program), USDA reported about **25.8 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program**.

The program supports vegetative cover that improves water quality, prevents erosion and restores wildlife habitat. Its Grassland option conserves grasslands while allowing most grazing and haying practices to continue.

Those acres describe conservation enrollment, not a stock of surplus development sites. For a particular parcel, ownership, conservation restrictions, existing uses and access to infrastructure help establish which choices are actually available. Preserved land has a purpose just as developed land does.

## Follow the connections and the approval path

A campus plan and its power connections may move through different approval processes. JLARC's December 2024 account of Virginia gives an example: localities have zoning authority over substations, while most transmission-line approvals and routes fall outside their direct authority and go through the State Corporation Commission. Localities can participate in those commission cases.

For a local proposal, planning staff and the utility can identify which roads, substations or lines are included, which require separate approvals, and where their route maps and public records can be found. That joins the campus discussion to the infrastructure serving it.

The site's zoning and comprehensive plan provide another pair of records. JLARC describes the comprehensive plan as a long-term development vision and the zoning ordinance as the enforceable rules. In the Virginia framework it examines, a by-right use follows existing requirements; a special permit or rezoning involves a separate decision that can provide opportunities for additional conditions.

The applicable local rules and approval history establish what decisions remain open. A plan for the community's future and permission to build on a particular parcel are related, but they are not the same document.

## Understanding a local proposal

Start with the parcel and zoning maps, the comprehensive plan and the full phased site layout. Add stormwater and environmental permit records, any conservation restrictions or historic-resource studies, and the routes for supporting infrastructure. Planning staff can help locate the land-use records; the utility and relevant permitting agencies can identify the connected projects.

Five questions bring those documents together:

- What occupies the parcel now, and which alternative uses are plausible under its zoning and the community's long-term plan?
- How much land would be buildings, equipment, pavement, drainage, buffers or preserved areas, and what is reserved for future phases?
- What would change for farmland, trees, streams, wetlands or historic places, and which layout choices and permit conditions address those changes?
- Which roads, substations or transmission routes would change outside the campus, and who reviews those plans?
- Which decisions are already authorized, which remain open to public input, and where will approved plans and later revisions be available?

A full map and set of plans show what a project would change and what would remain. They give residents and officials a shared basis for deciding where new infrastructure goes and what to preserve.

## Sources

- [Data Centers in Virginia — Report 598](https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf) — Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, December 9, 2024 (Legislative research, land-development estimates and planning practices)
- [USDA Accepts Nearly 1.8 Million Acres Through 2025 Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment](https://fsa.usda.gov/news-events/news/09-17-2025/usda-accepts-nearly-18-million-acres-2025-conservation-reserve-program) — USDA Farm Service Agency, September 17, 2025 (Dated conservation enrollment and program description)
- [Data Centers — Tax Revenues and the County Budget (FAQ)](https://www.loudoun.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=1793) — Loudoun County, Virginia, Accessed October 8, 2026 (County land and revenue figures)