In his February 16th article “Maryland counties to data center industry: Slow down” Jeremy Cox describes the approaches three Maryland counties: Baltimore, Prince Georges, and Montgomery, are taking to the development of new data centers.
Baltimore County, which passed zoning restrictions on data centers in 2024, has passed a moratorium on data center construction through the end of 2026 to first be able to create a planning board to study where best to construct them and how best to regulate them. They also repealed the 2024 measure which would have data centers disproportionately affecting low income and minority communities. Cox quotes Councilman Pat Young who said,
“I was thinking, like, a 1990s data center. How big could it be?”
Maryland does have “a few dozen” data centers, but none of the “hyperscale” “sprawling” “mega-centers” which have recently come under fire from residents. These are a lot bigger than those that the county council envisioned in 2024, and this is one reason for the pause and study.
Cox also quotes Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® Theaux Le Gardeur who said,
“My messaging to the council is thank you. It’s not just a high-intensity industry. It’s not just commercial. It’s really the more intensive resource needs of these sites that should prompt a different zoning code.”
Prince George’s county likewise finds themselves rethinking previous legislation: in 2020 the county passed a law to “fast-track” data centers allowing them to be constructed “by right.” This meant that data centers could be constructed without public input or specific approval by the county.
They too passed a moratorium in order to create a task force to study the issue. Their report last November recommended that data center construction be prohibited in environmentally sensitive areas and require “special exception” so that all would receive public hearings. The last is key for county residents who were largely unaware of a proposal to turn a Landover mall into a 90 acre data center which was approved before most neighbors were aware of it.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has proposed many restrictions on how and where data centers can be built, such as by requiring public input hearings for all developments and strictly relegating data centers to industrial zones. He has also asked the county council for a moratorium while they considered the changes.
Thanks to Jeremy Cox and the Bay Journal for their coverage of this issue which affects so many Marylanders and our local environment.