Prince George’s County Council votes against data centers — for now
A bill to streamline the process for approving data centers in Prince George’s County enjoyed a relatively quiet path from introduction through committee hearings, but at a final vote last week the county council balked in the face of residents’ concerns.
The bill was proposed earlier this year by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks as a way for the cash-strapped county to quicken the approval process and begin generating tax revenue — the way local governments in Northern Virginia already do.
But speakers who turned out at last Tuesday’s council meeting, the final day of this year’s legislative session, raised concerns that a streamlined process would mean data centers could be jammed into any neighborhood with no recourse for the residents who live there.
Janet Gingold, with the Prince George’s County Sierra Club, during her Tuesday testimony, said :
It eliminates necessary public oversight and planning processes for large facilities with potential adverse environmental impacts,
“We need systems in place that will enable careful consideration of their location and design to mitigate their adverse impacts and to ensure that they do not disproportionately harm communities that are already overburdened.”
She added,
The bill eliminates the only remaining opportunity for the planning board and the public to scrutinize the proposal to ensure that [it] aligns with county goals, meets local needs and includes design features to minimize that adverse impacts,
“By curtailing public oversight for significant development projects like data centers, [the bill] undermines community involvement and government accountability,” said Fort Washington resident Ron Weiss.
Economic development deputy chief administrative officer Angie Rodgers tried to ease residents’ concerns.
She stressed,
We aren’t anticipating data centers to pop up on every available parcel,
“There are maps that show where these are likely to go.”
Locations currently under study include land in the Brandywine area, not far from an existing power plant, as well as the Konterra section of Laurel. There’s also been discussions about building a data center at the site of the old Landover Mall just inside the Beltway, although infrastructure issues might make that site cost prohibitive.
Other speakers raised concerns about the environmental impact of data centers, which consume massive amounts of energy.
Greg Smith, with Sustainable Hyattsville, said :
Data centers already are imposing massive loads on the state’s … generating capacity and transmission grid,
Some worried about the amount of energy needed to power the data centers, the impact they would have on electricity supplies and how that would impact the utility rates that local residents pay. Pollution and other environmental impacts were also brought up.
But those who supported the measure pointed to the massive budget deficit looming over the county next year, and in future years.
Alex Austin, with the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, said :
We have not seen any industry that can provide taxable revenue needed for sustainable ecosystem like data centers,
Council Vice Chair Sidney Harrison, the most vocal about the county’s budget issues, expanded on that sentiment.
Harrison said of the Northern Virginia county,
If you look at what Loudoun County has done, 42% of their local tax base is provided by data centers,
“Everyone in this room has a cellphone and a computer, that’s where your data goes to — that goes to Virginia. So you’re talking about a $1.3 billion industry that helps manage their local government.”
But Councilmember Wala Blegay countered that those benefits come from having nearly 200 data centers operating throughout the county. Right now, Prince George’s County doesn’t have any.
Blegay said,
It’s increased revenue,
“But this is not a windfall of money.”
Everyone in this room has a cellphone and a computer, that’s where your data goes to — that goes to Virginia. So you’re talking about a $1.3 billion industry that helps manage their local government.
– Prince George’s County Council Vice Chair Sydney Harrison
A majority of the council sided with her, agreeing that a different approach to changing zoning rules to allow for data centers was needed. The council voted to hold the bill from a final vote, so more work can be done next year.
Council Chair Jolene Ivey, who bemoaned the long process involved in approving any construction, said :
I believe that we will need to pass this bill eventually,
She pointed to the five years she said it took just to build a storage center in her district.
Ivey said,
But the first step would be to deal with making sure that they can get the energy that they need without it being a burden to homeowners,
She also urged the county to “do an overlay zone that includes the public in deciding where they … will go, so everyone understands. And then this bill would make the most sense, because at that point, you know where they’re going.”
– As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from John Domen. Click here for the WTOP News website.
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Prince George’s County Council votes against data centers — for now, source
