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Harford County residents urge tougher limits on data centers as council weighs moratorium
Summary
Dozens of residents told the Harford County Council they oppose a proposed Mountain Branch data center campus, citing water, zoning and transparency concerns. Council member Bennett said the moratorium was drafted proactively and called for a stakeholder work group to develop legally enforceable standards.
Dozens of Harford County residents urged the County Council to tighten restrictions on large data-center projects and to convert a temporary moratorium into an outright ban on siting such facilities on farmland and other nonindustrial land.
Public commenters criticized a developer marketing site for the proposed Mountain Branch campus and said it presented a misleading sales pitch. "Project owners know that Harford County does not enforce its own zoning code," said John Pimalamo, who urged the council to "change the way you operate." Brian Taney said the developer website presented "rainbows and dollars in your pockets" and asked the council to limit data centers to brownfields or historically industrial-zoned sites.
Residents raised environmental and resource concerns. "If something like that is built, it will drain our wells. Period," said Ryan Burby, who lives near the proposed site and told the council that private wells serving homes, schools and churches could be affected.
Other speakers framed the debate as one of trust and process. Diana Sadowski said she contacted the developer after seeing the Mountain Branch Energy Campus website and urged neighbors to attend the May 19 council meeting. Linda Stein Flint questioned whether a short moratorium might be timed to accommodate election cycles and urged voters to elect officials who oppose large-scale projects on farmland.
Council member Bennett, who is the sponsor of the moratorium measure, responded to the public’s concerns and defended his intentions. Bennett said he began researching data-center regulation long before the Mountain Branch discussions and that his work predates recent proposals. He said the moratorium is intended to buy time to form a work group that would include community members, environmental groups, volunteer fire companies and planning stakeholders to draft stronger, legally sound local standards.
"My plan is to introduce a resolution in the coming weeks... to call on the county executive to form a work group," Bennett said, adding the goal is to "be as restrictive as humanly possible on this industry and to protect our community so that we can have legislation that is legally sound and firm, before the moratorium is over."
The council did not take a final vote on any moratorium ordinance at the meeting; members discussed scheduling and charter procedures for other introduced bills. The public comment period closed with the council recording the speakers and noting plans for upcoming hearings and meetings.
