Prince George's County task force focuses on zoning, power and labor as data center interest grows

Prince George's County’s Qualified Data Centers Task Force met May 14 to review where data centers are currently permitted, how utilities and site size shape feasibility, and what local labor and economic impacts might follow. Planning staff, industry consultants and union representatives told the task force that zoning, power access and water availability — not simply the zoning map — are determining whether data centers locate in the county.

The work of the task force matters because data centers can produce significant tax revenue and jobs but also require large amounts of power, may need extensive new infrastructure, and can raise community concerns when allowed near neighborhood shopping centers or town cores. Task force members asked staff for details on pending applications and scheduled three countywide community meetings to solicit resident feedback.

Planning deputy director James Hunt told the task force that under the county’s current zoning ordinance “at this point in time the data centers are permitted by right in those potential zones,” and listed the zones where qualified data centers are allowed: RR (rural residential), CGO (commercial general office), IE (industrial employment), IH (industrial heavy), Neighborhood Activity Center, and Town Activity Center (edge and core). Hunt said the planning team produced three maps showing (left) every zone that allows data centers, (middle) properties that meet a 10,000-square-foot threshold, and (right) sites considered “developable” (presented as a 10-acre minimum for greenfield capacity).

Several council members and task force participants voiced alarm that CGO and Town Activity Center designations can include small shopping centers in otherwise residential areas. “I would say this is a bit concerning because, I mean, we have CGO in the middle of small communities,” said Council member Wallo Blaguey (District 6). Blaguey later told the task force she intends to introduce county legislation to pause further approvals while the task force completes its recommendations: “we will be putting legislation to pause anything going forward until this task force finishes its work.” Planning staff told members that any moratorium or zoning change would require formal action by the County Council.

Hunt said the planning department has identified “3 or 4” potential data center applications currently in the entitlement pipeline and agreed to provide the task force with a list of pending applications and whether each is being reviewed under the prior zoning ordinance or the current ordinance. He also described the entitlement steps: pre-application neighborhood meetings, public hearings, and planning-board findings to confirm use-specific development standards (setbacks, landscaping, height and other requirements) are met before a project proceeds.

Industry consultant Ben Mann (data center capital markets practice) and local contractor Andrew Mason (Power Solutions, IBEW Local 26) gave the task force practical considerations developers evaluate. Mann said developers evaluate sites on “four legs”: zoning, water, power and fiber. He emphasized power as the dominant constraint: large modern campuses often require hundreds of megawatts and either proximity to transmission lines or multi‑year timelines (and potentially a certificate of public convenience and necessity) to deliver new transmission. Mann also explained trade-offs between water and energy: “If you can use water, you use less power in the campus. If you can’t use water to cool, you have to use more power.”

Local labor leaders and contractors described construction and operations impacts. Andrew Mason said a typical large campus can involve thousands of construction workers across trades over the build cycle and that a delivered data center will still require on-site operations staff — security, facilities and network technicians — that can number in the dozens. He said many electricians from Prince George’s County travel daily to current data center work in nearby jurisdictions and that union wage packages can be materially higher than nonunion rates.

Task force members pressed planning staff and the consultants on histories in neighboring counties. Hunt said staff have arranged for Frederick County officials to appear at the next task force meeting and are pursuing tours and briefings with Loudoun and Prince William counties. The planning department also confirmed the county had retained a consultant team (Gensler) to support the study and will run three community meetings to gather resident input: July 10 (6–8 p.m., Department of Parks and Recreation headquarters — northern), July 17 (6–8 p.m., Sports and Learning Complex, Landover — central), and July 26 (10 a.m.–noon, Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex — southern).

Members summarized follow-up requests and direction: planning staff will (a) produce a list of pending data center applications with site locations and identify whether they were filed under the prior or current zoning ordinance, (b) share the county’s map layers for water/sewer and consult with utilities about power and water capacity constraints, and (c) provide the task force with examples of development standards and overlay tools used elsewhere. Several members asked the task force to consider recommending an overlay or other zoning tool that would specifically control where and how data centers locate.

The meeting opened with procedural business; the task force approved the minutes from its May 14 meeting after a motion by Council member Begay. No formal moratorium was adopted at the meeting; one council member said she would seek legislation to pause further approvals until the task force completes its work. The task force set next staff follow-ups and a next meeting on July 9 at the same location.

Members and staff emphasized the difference between what zoning allows “by right” and the practical feasibility of development: Mann and other presenters said even where zoning permits data centers, lack of nearby transmission, high power costs and water constraints often limit where operators will actually build. The presenters recommended that the county assemble site-level infrastructure data — transmission lines and substation capacity, fiber availability, water and sewer service levels, and parcel sizes — to inform any zoning recommendations.

The task force will reconvene and hold the announced public meetings to collect resident feedback before compiling recommendations to the County Council.