A group of Frederick County residents are concerned a bill meant to limit data center growth may have the opposite effect, as it includes a method to remove farmland from preservation.
The bill, introduced in June, seeks to prevent urban sprawl by limiting data centers to a maximum of 1% of Frederick’s total landmass, which could amount to 4,200 acres.
Earlier that month, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced an executive order, placing a six-month freeze on all future and current data center applications as the bill goes through the legislative process.
Victoria Venable, Director of Government Relations, explained the County Council plans to use the former Alcoa Eastalco Works (AEW) as the site for the zone as it is already industrial land. “It’s where the infrastructure exists,” Victoria said. “It is a way for us to ensure that we limit the development of this industry to the places that make the most sense.”
Anne Garnet, a Frederick County resident, says she remembers when the AEW was supposed to bring jobs to Frederick. But she points out the site is now abandoned. Garnet is concerned history may repeat itself. “What do you think is going to happen when the data centers go away, and you’ve created the armpit of Frederick in Adam’s Town,” Garnett asked.
Much of the land around the AEW is farmland, which could subsequently be repurposed for industrial use. The bill includes a requirement that developers must put 5 acres of farmland into preservation at their expense for every acre of farmland they would build on.
Victoria Venable says this can help Frederick continue its preservation efforts. “As we are considering land use changes, we leverage that moment in time to invest resources into those extremely successful agricultural preservation programs,” Venable said.
While land that is already in preservation cannot be built upon, the bill introduces a new way for land to be taken out of preservation.
Garnett thinks this plan is shortsighted. “I have a concern that you are not looking into the future enough and to keep the farmland that we have. No farms, no food,” Garnett said.
The AEW site consists of approximately 2,000 acres of land. The new zone could more than double that, but Venable says she expects the final map to be closer to 0.6% of Frederick’s land mass.
Betty Law, an Electrical Engineer and a Frederick County resident, says the County should wait until the current data center campus, Quantum Frederick, is full. “What we’re asking for is to hold the line at the current topography and see how this evolves,” Law said.
As the county already imports 40% of its electricity, Law questions whether Frederick can afford more data centers. “Have we got the power and have we got the water and will the data center companies come,” Law asked.
While the lines have not been drawn yet, the bill increases the distance the zone must be built from residential areas from 200 feet to 500 feet.
Law says that waiting may give the council more time to understand if data centers would be interested in investing in Frederick, with less risk of the former AEW site becoming abandoned again. “At least we haven’t destroyed all this other land, and we haven’t put data centers within 500 feet of somebody's kids bedroom,” Law explained.
Residents will have another opportunity to make their voices heard at a public meeting on July 15 at Winchester Hall.
