Baltimore County residents speak out against data centers at public hearing

Baltimore County residents packed a public hearing Thursday evening to oppose data centers being built in their communities.

Data centers are a hot-button issue nationally and locally. Multiple locations in Baltimore County are being considered for development, including in Essex and Woodlawn.

Baltimore County currently has a year-long moratorium on data center development. Thursday night, the Planning Board heard a presentation on a 51-page report examining the potential impact and regulation of data centers.

"The report is not intended to be read as an argument for or against data centers," said Brad Kroner, deputy director of government affairs for Baltimore County. "Rather, it's intended to share the facts, best practices and a road map for how they should be regulated if they are permitted."

The report found that data centers use significant amounts of electricity and that the tax revenue they generate could be beneficial. However, it recommends that data centers not be allowed near residential areas.

The report includes nine recommendations for regulating data center development.

Opponents held a rally before the meeting.

"We will not accept higher energy bills," one speaker said. "We will not accept depleted water, lost green spaces, broken promises in exchange for less than one permanent job per acre."

More than 50 people signed up to speak during the public comment session, which took nearly two hours to complete. Most of the speakers strongly opposed data center development.

"At what point does it stop being fiscal responsibility and become the type of greed we were warned about in the Bible?" one Baltimore County resident asked.

"It is insufficient for us to think about reform and to think that a moratorium or a community benefits agreement will be enough to stop the environmental racial injustice and labor harm," another resident said while reading from a letter she had prepared.

Only a handful of residents spoke in favor of data centers. Most represented unions and argued that data center construction and maintenance could create jobs.

"While some data centers support AI, there's still a tremendous need for basic data centers that store and process information services that we use every day," one union worker told the Planning Board.

"Our goal should be to build them with Baltimore County. Data center construction and maintenance provide jobs for thousands of electricians, plumbers, pipe benders, carpenters, equipment operators, welders and HVAC techs."

Ahead of Thursday's meeting, some Baltimore County leaders called for extending the moratorium on new data center development, which is set to expire in January 2027.

The Baltimore County Council will vote Tuesday, Sept. 8, on whether to extend the data center moratorium.

The county's full data center study is available online on the Baltimore County website here.