Chesterfield Board Again Blocks Data Center Permit Challenge
TL;DR: The Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-0 to reject WestDulles Properties' appeal of the county's new conditional use permit requirement for data center projects, marking the second such denial this year.
Quick facts
- Who: WestDulles Properties (Reston-based developer)
- What: Board of Zoning Appeals rejected appeal challenging data center conditional use permit requirement
- When: October 2026 (decision date Wednesday)
- Where: 1500 Battery Brooke Parkway, James River Industrial Center
The story
The Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-0 on Wednesday to reject WestDulles Properties' appeal challenging the county's requirement that data center developments undergo the conditional use permit process.
WestDulles, a Reston-based developer, had appealed a staff determination requiring a conditional use permit for its planned data center project at 1500 Battery Brooke Parkway in the James River Industrial Center. The company claimed vested, grandfathered rights to build without a CUP, citing prior county staff determinations and the substantial expenditures it had made on site work, engineering, and power arrangements with Dominion Energy.
Board Chairman John Caperton rejected the company's argument. "You're trying to hang your hat on a specific project when you have said here clearly, to me, we are proposing as our intended use data center, warehouse and office," Caperton said, noting that the broad nature of their zoning request undermined their claim to specificity.
The 2026 zoning ordinance change is the source of the dispute. Under the previous ordinance, data centers could be built by-right on industrially zoned land without going through the conditional use permit process. The new ordinance, effective this year, requires all data center developments on industrial properties to undergo the CUP process, which includes public hearings and individual approval from the Board of Supervisors.
WestDulles CEO Eric Wells announced the company is "evaluating all our legal options, including an appeal to the circuit court."
This marks the second time in 2026 that the Board of Zoning Appeals has rejected a data center developer's challenge to the permit requirement. A similar appeal was denied in June.
Key players
- WestDulles Properties: Developer appealing the conditional use permit requirement
- Eric Wells: CEO of WestDulles Properties
- John Caperton: Chairman of Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals
- Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals: County board that ruled on the appeal
Key dates
- 2026: New Chesterfield zoning ordinance takes effect, requiring conditional use permits for all data center projects
- June 2026: Board of Zoning Appeals denies first similar data center appeal
- October 2026: Board of Zoning Appeals denies WestDulles appeal
The case for
The conditional use permit requirement allows the county to evaluate each data center project individually, considering impacts on neighboring properties, infrastructure, and community character through a public hearing process rather than allowing automatic approval on industrial land.
The case against
The new requirement delays projects and adds regulatory costs for developers who made significant investments and relied on prior staff determinations and the old ordinance that allowed data centers by-right on industrial property, effectively changing the rules after they had begun work.
Why it matters: The ruling clarifies that Chesterfield's tightened data center regulations apply broadly to all projects, not just future ones, and likely signals that other developers with similar grandfathered-rights claims will face the same rejection. The decision affects the timeline and approval process for major industrial development in the county.
Places
Development timeline
- June 2026First data center permit appeal denied: Board of Zoning Appeals rejects developer appeal challenging conditional use permit requirement for data center on Old Bermuda Hundred Road [source]
- October 2026WestDulles appeal denied: Board of Zoning Appeals votes 4-0 to reject WestDulles Properties' appeal of conditional use permit requirement for 1500 Battery Brooke Parkway project [source]
Related links
- Richmond BizSense: Data center developer's conditional-use permit appeal denied
- Chesterfield County Government
- Richmond BizSense: June 2026 zoning appeals board data center decision
Read the original at Richmond BizSense →
Sources
- Richmond BizSense: Data center developer's conditional-use permit appeal denied
- Richmond BizSense: June 2026 zoning appeals board decision on data center appeal