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Taneytown council approves snow-and-ice ordinance, budget amendment and BESS/data-center deferral; several items deferred to April
Summary
On March 9 the Taneytown City Council approved Ordinance 01-2026 (snow/ice removal), Ordinance 02-2026 (FY2026 budget amendment #2), and Ordinance 05-2026 (BESS/data-center development deferral); the council deferred Ordinances 03-2026 (bypass corridor) and 04-2026 (vehicles and traffic) for further staff edits and public-notice work.
The Taneytown City Council took multiple formal actions at its March 9 meeting.
Approved ordinances - Ordinance 01-2026 (amendment to snow and ice removal): Council moved and approved the amendment by voice vote. The ordinance was adopted without recorded roll-call tallies in the transcript.
- Ordinance 02-2026 (fiscal year 2026 budget amendment number two): Council moved, seconded and approved the budget amendment by voice vote; the transcript records no vote breakdown.
- Ordinance 05-2026 (BESS and data center development deferral): Council approved the measure to defer final action while directing Planning & Zoning to prioritize recommendations on siting, design and operational standards for battery energy storage systems and data centers before council drafts legislation.
Deferred items - Ordinance 03-2026 (bypass corridor development deferral): Council reviewed a letter from Manerbrook's attorneys and elected to defer approval until April to consider edits; staff said no public hearing was required for this zoning deferral.
- Ordinance 04-2026 (amendment to section 193, vehicles and traffic): Council discussed needed substantive changes to fines and process language and deferred the item to April while staff prepares broader code changes.
Votes and procedure: Each approved ordinance was adopted by a voice vote recorded as "aye" and "carries" in the transcript; the meeting record does not include named mover/seconders or a roll-call tally for the votes. When the council deferred items, it did so by consensus and staff direction; several items will return to the April meeting for formal action.
Why this matters: The budget amendment modifies FY2026 appropriations; the snow-and-ice ordinance changes a town maintenance standard; the BESS/data-center deferral signals council-level attention to how energy and data infrastructure should be regulated locally. The deferrals preserve council and public review time for zoning and traffic-code language.
What’s next: Staff will return to council in April with edited language for the deferred items and with Planning & Zoning recommendations on BESS/data-center standards. The transcript includes no further detail on the effective dates or vote tallies.
