Council reviews draft amendment to bar data centers from Chesapeake Beach

The council considered a proposed planning-and-zoning amendment intended to keep large data centers out of Chesapeake Beach.

Town administrator (speaker 2) said the Planning & Zoning Commission, led in recommendation by chair Cindy Gringle, forwarded suggested amendments that would be introduced at the next council meeting. Planning staff provided a working definition used by the commission: a specialized facility whose primary purpose is centralized storage, management, processing and distribution of electronic data and associated telecommunications equipment, often supported by redundant backup power, industrial cooling systems and high-capacity fiber connections.

Council members raised infrastructure concerns. A council member (speaker 3), who described himself as a third-generation electrician and said he recently worked inside data centers, warned that the town’s distribution and transformer infrastructure is not sized for continuous high loads and urged consideration of micro-size ‘‘backyard’’ units versus commercial facilities. Another council member (speaker 1, the mayor) said Chesapeake Beach’s geography and existing infrastructure make large facilities impractical.

Council members debated two implementation approaches: leaving data-center uses out of the land-use table entirely (which would make them not permitted) or explicitly listing them among the town’s Expressly Prohibited Uses. Speaker 7 urged removing data centers from the table altogether as “the most protective” approach, while other council members and the town attorney argued that placing the use under Expressly Prohibited Uses provides an extra legal layer against attempts to reclassify an application as a permitted use.

The town attorney (Karen, speaker 8) explained that section 2-90-10 of the town code governs the land-use table and that when a use is not listed it is not permitted; she said putting a use under expressly prohibited uses makes the council’s intention clearer and reduces the chance that an applicant will try to argue the activity fits another permitted category. Planning staff (speaker 6) said the commission’s modernizing code project will provide a reorganized table later, and the immediate staff recommendation aligned with placing data centers in the expressly prohibited list so the council could take a clear stand now.

Council members asked staff to refine definitions and tighten language to avoid loopholes, and several said the express prohibition can be reversed by a future council if circumstances change. Staff and the attorney agreed to return a redline ordinance for council consideration at the upcoming council meeting.

Next steps: staff will finalize ordinance language and definitions and present the formal amendment for introduction at the next council meeting; no formal vote on the amendment occurred at the work session.