DENTON, Md. — Caroline County commissioners voted Tuesday to establish a one-year moratorium on new data centers in the county's unincorporated areas.
The moratorium goes into effect today. It blocks the county from issuing new permits for data center approval or construction in unincorporated areas for one year. It also gives commissioners time to draft regulations and ordinances addressing the facilities' impact on the county.
"We passed it because we wanted to take some time to study the process and to put regulations and ordinances and any other procedures in place to control the data centers in unincorporated areas of the county," Larry Porter, vice president of the Caroline County Board of Commissioners, said
J. Travis Breeding, president of the Caroline County Board of Commissioners, said the pause will allow commissioners to gather more information before making long-term decisions.
"We owe it to our constituents to become well informed on this topic so that we can make well-informed decisions that will protect their well-being," Breeding said. "We're ready to complete that process."
Breeding added that the coming year will require significant work from both commissioners and county staff.
"This is going to start a lengthy process that's going to require a lot of work on our part as commissioners and also on our staff to research a very complicated issue," he said.
Among the concerns commissioners and residents cited are noise, air pollution, water usage and emissions associated with data center facilities.
Unincorporated areas are regions that fall outside any town or city's boundaries and are governed directly by the county or state. Once a town becomes incorporated, it functions as its own local government, and the county has no authority to regulate what happens within town limits.
Some residents from unincorporated areas attended Tuesday's meeting, including Sean Cheezum, who said he supports the moratorium.
"There's a property next to me that's up for sale now," Cheezum said. "It's 16 acres, and it would seemingly be a good place for someone that's trying to put in a data center to want to put one there. And I absolutely do not want one there."
A key point of discussion during the meeting was why the moratorium does not extend to the town of Federalsburg, which is currently considering a data center project of its own.
Because Federalsburg is an incorporated municipality, the county has no jurisdiction over what happens within its limits.
"I am completely in support of the moratorium. I am very sad it does not affect the moratorium that is proposed to the town of Federalsburg right now,” said Katie Stella-Breeding, a Federalsburg resident who attended Tuesday's meeting. “There was a town hall meeting last night in Federalsburg, with the discussion of a moratorium."
Federalsburg town leaders discussed the future of data centers during a workshop Monday night, including a possible 10-year moratorium on the facilities. The proposal is currently in the draft phase and is expected to come before the town council at its next meeting Aug. 3.
Stella-Breeding, who has organized a petition against a data center in Federalsburg, said the town's expected moratorium would also buy more time for residents.
She said she has sent the petition to Federalsburg council members, asking them to take it into consideration, and that it has gathered 2,300 signatures.
“I would just really like the town of Federalsburg to go through with a moratorium to stop the immediate building and development of data centers in Federalsburg,” said Stella-Breeding. “We need more time. We need to know what data centers actually bring. Everything that I've seen does not bring anything good. We just need time research from a third party and not from the developers themselves.”
Additionally on Monday night the town of Federalsburg discussed placing the question of data centers on the ballot for November's general election.
The moratorium also sets an April 1, 2027, deadline for commissioners to receive a report from staff in order to start drafting regulations.
