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Calvert County commissioners order new rules for data‑center projects after heated public outcry
Summary
After hours of public comment opposing proposed data centers near Calvert Cliffs and the county’s rezoning actions, commissioners directed staff to draft text amendments that would apply to any unvested data‑center projects and pledged there would be no fast‑tracking while studies and hearings proceed.
Calvert County’s Board of County Commissioners responded to a sustained wave of public comment on May 5 by directing staff to draft zoning text amendments that would apply to any data‑center project that has not received final site‑plan and permit approvals and is not vested by construction. The board also recorded that staff will not be directed to fast‑track data‑center applications while those amendments and required reviews proceed.
The action followed more than an hour of public testimony from residents who said they were alarmed by partial permit filings, sudden rezoning of forested land near Calvert Cliffs and the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, and what they described as insufficient public notice. Speakers urged a moratorium while independent studies of water use, noise, traffic and grid impacts are completed and posted for public review.
“Remove all data‑center language from the 2025…
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