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County zoning work session advances data-center conditions, staff to return with refined language
Summary
Planners presented a wide package of zoning text amendments and recommended conditions for data centers (closed-loop cooling, no groundwater wells for cooling, rooftop stormwater reuse, Tier 4 generators). Commissioners asked for more detail, noted potential state preemption and directed staff to return in two weeks for additional work-session discussion.
Calvert County staff walked commissioners through a broad list of proposed text amendments to the county zoning ordinance during a Feb. 10 work session, including a focused discussion of draft conditions for data centers and a temporary family-conveyance provision.
Will Hager, a planner presenting the amendments, outlined specific proposed data-center conditions: require closed-loop water cooling when water-based systems are proposed; prohibit use of groundwater wells for cooling; require collection and reuse of rooftop stormwater runoff for cooling where applicable; require applicants to bear full costs of on-site and off-site public infrastructure improvements needed for a project; and require stationary generators to meet U.S. EPA Tier 4 final emissions standards or equivalent. "Staff has prepared this amendment, which includes the following conditions for data centers," Hager said while walking through the draft language.
Commissioners expressed a mix of policy goals and concerns: several said they want to prevent significant county-level water use for data-center cooling, to limit emissions from on-site diesel generation and to ensure the county has regulatory "teeth" where legally permissible. Other commissioners urged caution because state or federal preemption could limit local authority; one commissioner noted pending legislation and said guidance from Annapolis could materially affect local options. Several asked staff to return with pros/cons, examples and draft language that could accommodate evolving technologies such as hybrid cooling systems.
Staff also walked through a suite of other amendments: updates to align with the state’s revised forest-conservation law (reforestation ratios tied to acres removed), exemptions for county-owned properties, ADU parking-waiver language to reflect new state ADU law, a retail-accessory use for light-industrial zones, sign and sidewalk clarifications, restoration of certain setback policies, and a temporary family-conveyance allowance permitting up to two bonus family-conveyance lots per eligible parcel with a proposed sunset tied to adoption.
No formal vote was taken on the zoning changes at the Feb. 10 work session. The BOCC directed staff to continue drafting and scheduled a follow-up work session in approximately two weeks to refine the data-center conditions and other text amendments.
