County staff outlines data-center study timeline; public input meeting planned for May

Baltimore County staff and council representatives told the Planning Board March 5 that the county has formed an interdepartmental work group to study data centers and will hold a public input meeting in late May, with a draft report expected in July.

According to the report to the Board, the interdepartmental team includes representatives from roughly eight agencies and will meet every other week. County staff said Frederick County — which the speaker said has been a regional leader on data-center approaches — will participate early in the stakeholder outreach. The timeline described by staff envisions a public input meeting in late May that the Planning Board will convene to gather public comment; staff said the May event is intended to gather input rather than serve as a report stage.

Director Laferty and other staff discussed options for making interim materials public, including meeting notes, recordings of work-group meetings, and a dedicated web page where materials and background from other counties could be posted. Staff indicated the May session will be hybrid (in-person and online testimony) to expand access, and that May 21 is the target date for the hearing, which could replace the Board’s May 21 meeting if scheduling requires.

Next steps: staff will set up a web repository for materials, schedule regular work-group meetings, and convene the public input meeting in late May; a draft data-center study report is expected to be presented to the Planning Board in July.