Chesapeake Beach planning commission asks council to bar data centers, directs staff to study micro-units

Chesapeake Beach — The Planning & Zoning Commission voted June 24 to send the Town Council a recommendation that data centers be made an expressly prohibited use across the town’s land-use table and to include the commission’s draft definition of the term.

The motion, made by Commissioner Rachel Weaver and seconded by Chair Cindy Greengold, passed without recorded opposition after commissioners debated whether the town should carve out exceptions for small or “micro” data centers and how the land-use table should treat server rooms that support other businesses.

The commission’s draft definition, read into the record by planning staff, describes a data center as “a specialized facility whose primary purpose is the centralized housing, storage, management, processing, and distribution of electronic data, computer systems, and associated telecommunications equipment,” and notes the use “typically includes extensive infrastructure to support its operations, such as redundant or backup power generation (for example, diesel generators, battery banks), specialized environmental controls (for example, industrial cooling systems/chillers), and high-capacity fiber optic data connections.” Commissioners said they planned to attach that definition to the letter for the Town Council’s reference.

Commissioners who supported the ban cited large, campus-style facilities proposed nearby and said the physical infrastructure those projects require — generators, cooling systems, 24/7 operations — could be incompatible with Chesapeake Beach’s maritime-commercial areas and nearby fisheries. Commissioner Larry Brown and others also raised noise and wildlife concerns tied to continuous generator operation and said scale and siting mattered: they distinguished small internal server rooms that support a local business from large purpose-built facilities sited in maritime zones.

Opponents of a blanket prohibition were not recorded as voting against the motion but urged the commission to consider a more nuanced approach: one option discussed was defining a threshold (by infrastructure or impact) or allowing a special exception review so the town could consider small, low-impact facilities on a case-by-case basis. The commission ultimately voted to recommend prohibition but directed staff to research microdata centers — self-contained units sometimes described as refrigerator-sized — and return with findings and possible tailored language for the municipal code.

Votes at a glance: the motion to transmit the recommendation and proposed definition to the Town Council passed unanimously among the five commissioners present (Ellie Hahn, Larry Brown, Mary Sue Greisman, Rachel Weaver, Chair Cindy Greengold). The commission also directed staff to report back on microdata centers at a future meeting.

Why this matters: Commissioners said the land-use table update is an opportunity to set long-term expectations for waterfront and maritime commercial areas. Prohibiting data centers would remove one avenue for large-scale, infrastructure-heavy development that planners and residents worry could conflict with fisheries, coastal-resilience goals and the town’s existing character.

What’s next: Staff (Ms. Franklin) will research microdata-center technologies and impacts and present options at a subsequent meeting so the commission can decide whether to recommend a complete ban, a size-based carve-out, or a special-exception review process before the Town Council acts.