PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — The Calvert Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) continued its attempts to prepare the county for possible data center development through text amendments at the June 2 meeting.
The Department of Planning and Zoning presented the recommendations put forth by the Planning Commission, first discussed at its April 21 meeting. The Planning Commission also held a joint meeting with the Environmental Commission on April 15 to inform its recommendations.
Among the Planning Commission’s suggestions were limiting generator testing, requiring submission and approval of a site decommissioning plan, setbacks of 1,200 feet and a 400-foot tree buffer, as well as requirements to comply with any third-party reviews the county deems necessary.
The BOCC continues to face the same challenges when trying to develop text amendments as they relate to data centers: Data centers are still new, and much of their impact has not yet been studied. At this point, it may be too early to even know what to study, let alone conduct studies, as new issues and concerns over data centers arise daily.
Commissioner Mike Hart suggested that the county should stop any applications it receives until the companies involved have fulfilled all third-party research requirements.
“There’s no reason to even move that permit forward until all the independent studies have been satisfied,” Hart said. Hart was likely referring to the site plan application submitted by AWS, which is different from a permit.
Some concerns, like heat islands, are “beyond the scope of planning,” according to Director of Planning and Zoning Jason Brinkley. The commissioners chose to proceed with the text amendments and return in 30 days to determine if outside studies are necessary.
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