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Frederick County hears sustained public opposition as planning staff outlines data center report
Summary
Residents gave hours of public comment urging the Board of Supervisors to reject or tightly limit data centers; county planning staff summarized infrastructure, noise, water and fiscal trade-offs and said the Planning Commission asked the board to direct staff to draft policy and map potential locations. No board action was taken.
Frederick County officials heard more than a dozen residents urge caution or outright rejection of data center development at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 14, as county planning staff summarized a detailed fact sheet on the uses and recommended next steps.
Planning staffer Mr. Pearson presented a 22-page data center report that outlined two common development patterns (large campus-style and standalone structures), reviewed an April 2025 ordinance with performance standards, and highlighted likely impacts: high electrical demand, potential need for new transmission lines and substations that the county does not control, variable but sometimes substantial water use, and noise generated by cooling systems and standby generators. “This is presented only for information and discussion,” Mr. Pearson told the board. “You’re not required to take any action.”
The planning report noted data centers can generate unusually high taxable value because equipment inside buildings is taxable, and that…
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