Frederick County’s Council passed a map designed to limit data center development at a meeting Tuesday night.
Spanning approximately 2,600 acres, or 0.6% of the county’s total landmass, the map constrains data center development to a single location north of Adamstown. This is more than 1,000 acres larger than the planning commission had recommended in October.
Six amendments to the original proposed map passed on a 5-2 vote, with one passing unanimously. The amendments that passed set the borders of the Critical Digital Infrastructure Overlay Zone (CDI-OZ). Rejected and withdrawn amendments to the map would have seen the CDI-OZ substantially restricted, and much closer to the commission’s recommended 1,600 acres.
The zone overlaps Frederick County’s current hyperscale data center campus, Quantum Frederick. In addition the overlay zone’s borders were drawn over the site of the old Alcoa Eastalco aluminum smelting plant. The land was chosen for its industrial zoning and due to much of the needed industrial infrastructure already being present.
This all comes as part of a bill, passed September, that served to outline the framework by which the county would govern data centers. Before which, all 5,000 acres of industrial county land was available for data center development.
The bill brought that down to 4,200, or 1% of the county’s total landmass, and created the regulations needed to create the CDI-OZ. The map further reduced the available acreage for datacenter development to the current 2,600 acres.
Supporting Argument
Council Member M.C. Keegan-Ayer supported the passed amendments, arguing the map’s current form will help protect homes. “It will increase the amount of land that’s under the overlay from what the planning commission recommended, but it will pull the areas back away from neighborhoods, which is what people were concerned about,” Kagan-Ayer said.
While residents have argued some of the land within the CDI-OZ is available for preservation, Keegan-Ayer pointed out landowners have not chosen to do so. “They do not align with the criteria of either [preservation] program, and it’s clearly not working the way it was intended in this particular area of the county,” Keegan-Ayer explained. “So let's get the money and use it elsewhere.”
The council member also argued the decision has already been made by landowners within the zone who have sold their land to developers.
Charles Seymour, President of Turning Point Real Estate, spoke of his work with the Noffsinger family, who have been trying to sell their land for years. He says they have faced great financial burdens due to the delays. “We have relocated and sold our livestock, our horses, our houses, relocated our children and grandchildren, all based on the belief that we were a data center site,” Seymour explained.
Council Member Kavonte Duckett supported the passed amendments, and pointed to a letter the council received from Quantum Frederick’s developer, Catellus. In it, Duckett says the company assured the council there will be enough electricity to power the entire facility. “They expect to be under bidding contracts with First Energy by the end of the year,” Duckett clarified.
Dissenting Arguments
Council Member Steve McKay argued in favor of the two rejected amendments which would have seen the CDI-OZ substantially restricted. He wanted to give residents more time to comment on the amendments before a final vote was held.
While his motion for a second public hearing was ultimately defeated, he pointed to the recent overturning of Governor Moore’s veto of a statewide data center study. He acknowledged the council is under a 90-day deadline to solidify the boundaries of the map and wanted the smaller borders ahead of the state’s results, due by the end of next year. “We have a legislative mandate to work through this,” McKay explained. “However…we can enact a plan that is at least as small as possible.”
McKay withdrew his remaining amendments after the first two were voted against.
Frederick County Resident Carola Saunders crossed party lines when she spoke before the council after the conclusion of the votes. As a member of the Frederick Democratic Socialists of America, she found common ground with her more conservative neighbors. “I mention this to point out how obvious it is that expanding the CDI overlay zone would be the will of the developers with deep pockets,” Saunders explained. “We do not want more data centers. We are not some luddite NIMBY’s scared of development and progress. We are either life long residents, like myself, or families who chose to make a home here.”
Council Member Jerry Donald joined McKay in arguing the CDI-OZ rewarded land speculation performed by developers. McKay pointed out that developers bought agricultural land that was not yet preserved but that was located in preservation zones. “They should have had no expectation of developing that in any way, shape or form,” McKay argued. “We have spent decades telling farmers to trust us when we designate a PPA or RLA.”
Priority Preservation Areas (PPA) and Rural Legacy Areas (RLA) are two methods Frederick County uses to protect agricultural land.
The county hopes to enter into agreements with developers, in which companies seeking to build data centers within Quantum Frederick would pay to put 5 acres of agricultural land into preservation for every one acre used for data center development.
