Sugarloaf Alliance

Data Center Legislation at the Planning Commission on 4/9

Email Your Comments Opposing the Bill

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On Wednesday, 4/9, beginning at 9:30am, the county Planning Commission will discuss the Knapp/Young data center legislation and decide what their recommendation to the County Council will be. Our advice is that they should recommend against the Knapp/Young bill as it is written. The Knapp/Young bill neglects recommendations painstakingly developed by the Data Centers Workgroup (DCWG). Sugarloaf Alliance supports the DCWG recommendations. Please email the Commissioners ASAP with your comments - suggested points are outlined below. The meeting begins at 9:30am; public comments may be offered in person. See the meeting agenda here.

 

In your emails to the Planning Commission Members: 

 

Tell the Planning Commission: 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?

 

Tell the Planning Commission: Industry and some staff suggest that the Knapp/Young bill protects Treasured Landscape and other designated preservation areas. It will NOT protect the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape boundary. The county's so-called "Investing in Workers and Workplaces" plan (IW2) and the so-called "I-270 Corridor" plans will follow closely on the heels of this data center legislation. In the IW2 process, industry was invited to circle acreage they'd like to see up-zoned. County Council members and staff are on record suggesting that the Sugarloaf Plan boundary was incorrectly decided. Natelli still owns the land. Staff says "things change!" The DCWG-recommended floating zone is the mechanism that would require careful consideration of each data center siting, and that is missing from the Knapp/Young bill.

 

Tell the Planning Commission: 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?

 

Tell the Planning Commission We Favor the McKay/Donald Draft Data Center Legislation, which won't be considered until after a vote is taken on the Knapp/Young bill. The McKay/Donald 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. Doesn't it make sense to consider their legislation in the same discussion as the Knapp/Young proposal?

 

Write Planning Commission Members NOW.

Say the McKay/Donald provisions are more protective of

county environmental goals and better reflect

the DCWG recommendations. Write to:

planningCommission@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