Sugarloaf Alliance

Data Center Legislation HEARING 3/25

Email Your Comments Opposing the Bill

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Plan to Attend the Public Hearing

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On Tuesday, 3/25, the County Council will hold a hearing on the data center legislation for Frederick County sponsored by Council Member Knapp and Council President Young. The legislation has been updated since our last posting, but we believe the changes are mostly cosmetic. The Knapp/Young bill neglects recommendations painstakingly developed by the Data Centers Workgroup (DCWG). Sugarloaf Alliance supports the DCWG recommendations.

 

In your emails to the County Council Members: 

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Tell the County Council: No Data Centers "By Right"

One of the DCWG's primary recommendations is that developers NOT be allowed to build data centers "by right" in their choice of industrial zones. The DCWG recommends a floating zone mechanism, requiring that every data center be evaluated and approved individually by the County Council. This floating zone mechanism would allow the public and county officials to undertake a more nuanced site assessment, which we think is appropriate because of the intensive nature of data center operation. In contrast, the Knapp/Young draft would allow "by right" data center development in industrial zones: if the data center applicant meets generic industrial zoning criteria, they would be entitled to move forward and build. Why was DCWG's Floating Zone idea dropped?

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Tell the County Council: No Lowered Requirements 

Further, we see that in the Knapp/Young draft, (among other things) noise standards have been watered down and diesel generator operating limits have been relaxed extensively. Why?

 

Ask the County Council: Why not consider the requirements in both the Knapp/Young and McKay/Donald bills at the same time? Wouldn't a comparison of possible options be more clear? Maybe we're getting paranoid after all these years, but doesn't this schedule suggest the expectation of a predetermined outcome?

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Tell the County Council: We Favor the McKay/Donald Draft Data Center Legislation. As we reported in our last newsletter, Council Member McKay circulated another draft data center bill, co-sponsored by Council Member Donald. This bill builds on the strengths of earlier drafts and substantively addresses most of the recommendations of the Data Centers Workgroup (DCWG), including the floating zone.

 

We would note that Council Members McKay and Donald represent the districts likely to be most affected by data center construction and operation in Frederick County. Council President Young now says that the Council will consider this draft in mid-May, a month after they vote on the weaker Knapp/Young bill.

 

Please plan to attend the 3/25 Public Hearing, 7:00pm

Meeting Agenda

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and write County Council Members NOW.

councilmembers@frederickcountymd.gov

 

More info:

New York Times on how AI is changing data centers

Data Center Noise in VA

​​RECOMMENDED READ: Data Centers and Powerlines