Emergency legislation to ban data centers advances in Harford County

Harford County council members withdrew a proposed moratorium on data centers Tuesday night and instead moved forward with emergency legislation that would ban the facilities outright after a packed and often heated public hearing.

More than 40 people signed up to speak during the meeting, with residents lining up outside the building at least 20 minutes before the hearing began. Some attendees were forced to wait outside because of the crowd size.

Introducing emergency legislation

The original moratorium bill would have temporarily paused new data center development while the county studied how to regulate the industry in the future. 

Many residents urged council members to reject a pause and approve a permanent ban instead.

"I am absolutely against the data center," one speaker told the council.

Another resident voiced support for the emergency legislation, saying, "We don't want to have data centers anywhere in Harford County."

Several speakers called on the council to adopt the county executive's proposal banning data centers entirely.

"I urge the county council to approve the county executive bill banning the data centers entirely," one resident said.

Support for data centers

Not everyone at the hearing opposed the projects. Bill Vasilakopoulos, who is seeking to build an AI data center on his property in Joppa, asked locals and lawmakers to consider the economic opportunities tied to the development.

"Set strong local standards instead of a moratorium or a ban," Vasilakopoulos said. "This is the difference between panic and policy."

Other supporters also argued against banning data centers.

"Please don't ban an opportunity that delivers this much," another speaker told the council.

Still, the majority of attendees opposed allowing data centers in the county, and tensions inside the hearing room occasionally escalated as audience members loudly reacted to speakers with opposing views. 

At one point, council members warned they could clear the chamber if disruptions continued.

The next steps for the potential emergency ban are expected to take place on June 9.