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Montgomery County hearing draws months of testimony on data‑center task force and zoning rules
Summary
Hundreds of residents, public‑health experts and environmental groups urged the County Council to tighten rules for data centers — including clean‑energy, water and noise limits — or pause approvals until a task force and state study complete. Industry representatives urged clear, predictable standards instead of a moratorium.
Council members heard more than three hours of public testimony on Feb. 18 about two related proposals to manage the county’s fast‑growing data‑center industry: Bill 4‑26, which would create a task force to study data‑center impacts, and ZTA 26‑01, a zoning text amendment that would define data centers as a conditional use and set design and operating standards.
In a series of presentations and public comments, climate, environmental and public‑health advocates urged the council to require stronger protections before approving new projects. “A 300‑megawatt facility…produces the same greenhouse gas emissions as 150,000 gasoline‑powered cars every year,” testified Prabhu Selvon, urging a task force mandate to require data centers to fund renewable infrastructure that offsets most of…
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