Board orders staff to draft data‑center text amendments; seeks third‑party study options
Summary
After days of public pressure and Environmental Commission recommendations, planning staff returned detailed options for draft text amendment 26‑23 that would limit where data centers are allowed, require water‑services plans, restrict certain cooling approaches, mandate third‑party review where necessary and add noise, buffer and decommissioning requirements. Staff will return with draft ordinance language in about 30 days.
Planning and zoning staff presented draft language options for text amendment 26‑23, intended to impose additional conditions on proposed data‑center uses in Calvert County. The package would: restrict data centers to I‑2 (heavy industrial) zoning, prohibit groundwater wells for cooling, require an engineer‑signed water services plan with metering and reporting, bar inefficient evaporative/once‑through cooling, demand Tier‑4 (or equivalent) generator emissions controls where available, and allow mandatory third‑party review when staff deems it necessary.
"This presentation is content neutral. It's not tied to data centers," Director Jason Brinkley said, describing the three‑stage Category‑1 site‑plan process and why the board should consider broad regulatory tools rather than ad hoc responses. Planning Commission recommendations included extending setbacks (planners suggested up to 1,200 feet with tree buffers), routine acoustic monitoring with third‑party acoustical review, limits on generator testing hours, construction traffic‑management plans, and decommissioning bonds to guarantee site restoration.
Board members directed staff to draft ordinance text and to identify independent firms that could perform third‑party environmental, acoustical and hydrologic reviews; staff estimated a 30‑day window to return with draft language and candidate vendors. Several commissioners stressed that until text amendments are in place no building permits for data‑centers will be issued.
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