Updated August 30, 2024

The siting, construction, and operation of data centers have become contentious issues in the mid-Atlantic area. Northern Virginia is home to the highest concentration of data centers in the country (10 million square feet!), with residents increasingly concerned about the economic and environmental impact. Virginia lawmakers have recently hinted that the data center boom in that state may have run its course.

That has data center companies and developers eyeing the other side of the Potomac River. Two large-scale data center projects in Maryland—one in Montgomery County and the other in Frederick County—are now in various stages of development.

What is a data center?

Data center buildings contain tens of thousands of computers called servers that receive, store and transfer data. The internet could not function without data centers; they are “the cloud.” Data centers serve the needs of IT companies, tech-heavy industries and government—and everyone who uses the internet, smart phones, streaming services and the like. They are essential to the modern economy and modern life. A data center will also have sophisticated electrical, safety and cooling equipment. Data centers require an enormous amount of energy; they currently account for approximately 2% of all electricity use in the U.S. That’s expected to double by 2030, in large part due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).

Updated January 6, 2024

On December 19, 2023, the Frederick County Council voted down a once-in-a-generation proposal to strengthen conservation and agricultural zoning on 19,700 acres in the southern part of the county.

The area in question in Frederick County is contiguous with Montgomery County’s Ag Reserve.  It encompasses 3,400-acre Sugarloaf Mountain and an additional 16,300 acres to the east of the mountain all the way to I-270.  

The vote came after a three-year process, which saw the Frederick County Council approve a comprehensive land-use plan—the Sugarloaf Mountain Treasured Landscape Management Plan—for the area in the fall of 2022.  The Council struggled, however, to come to political consensus and agreement in 2022 and again in 2023 on an accompanying zoning ordinance—called an “overlay”—that would implement and enforce the plan’s land-use guidance. 

That struggle occurred despite urging by Frederick County’s own planning commission and the Maryland’s Department of the Environment to approve the overlay. 

In a nutshell, the debate pitted environmental and civic groups (including SCA) against developers, real estate interests, and business groups. The latter prevailed in a county long bent on loosely regulated growth.      

The practical upshot is that the area’s existing zoning stays in place, with no updated conservation protections for natural resources, streams, trees or natural habitat— amid the known and unknown threats posed by climate change.    

Importantly, that existing zoning largely prevents commercial and dense housing development without explicit permission from Frederick County authorities.  But the failure of the Frederick County Council to enact the overlay opens up a path for developers and landowners to apply for zoning exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

Note: A public hearing on this issue, before the Montgomery County Council, is scheduled for July 16 at 1:30pm. Anyone may testify. The hearing will be in-person and via zoom. You must register in advance to testify. The session will be held at the Montgomery County Council Building at 100 Maryland Ave in Rockville.

SCA will testify at this hearing. We would like that testimony to be as informed as possible by community opinion on the issue of overnight stays on farms. Is this a good thing? Or are you worried about it? If so, what concerns you most? Please email us at info@sugarloafcitizens.org with your thoughts.

You can also provide pre-recorded or written testimony. See the link just below.

PDF of the zoning proposal:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/Resources/Files/20240611_8A.pdf

Sign up to testify here:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html

Provide pre-recorded or written testimony here:

https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=45409&Dept=1

The Montgomery County Council this summer will consider a zoning change to allow landowners and farmers in the Ag Reserve and other rural areas to host overnight guests in what will essentially be private campgrounds.