Baltimore City data center bill faces backlash from activists: "A huge red flag"
A Baltimore City Council bill proposing a pathway for data centers through conditional use permits and health equity assessments is facing significant backlash from activists. Concerns include the lack of independent health assessments and the limited scope of potential environmental impact studies. The bill is scheduled for public comment, and a rally against data centers is planned.
A proposed bill in the Baltimore City Council, Bill 26-0174, is facing strong public opposition and activist backlash. Introduced by Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, the legislation aims to establish a pathway for data centers to operate within Baltimore City by requiring them to obtain a conditional use permit and complete a health equity assessment for potential impacts within a 1.5-mile radius of a proposed site. This comes as Baltimore currently has an enacted yearlong moratorium on data center development, which took effect in May.
Local activist Hillary Gonzalez has spearheaded opposition, drawing significant online attention with a video criticizing the bill. Gonzalez, who advocates for an outright ban on data centers in Baltimore, expressed concerns that the required health equity assessments would not be independently conducted and questioned the adequacy of the 1.5-mile impact radius for environmental factors like air and water. She stated, "I do not trust the developers in this city to determine what's good for this city and what isn't."
Councilwoman Porter, a sponsor alongside Council President Zeke Cohen, emphasized that the bill seeks to give Baltimoreans a voice in development and enable the city to participate in the data center industry's economic future without sacrificing communities. The bill identifies specific zoning districts (IMU-2, I-2, MI) where data centers could be permitted, some of which are in populated areas like Curtis Bay, Canton, and Hampden. The bill is scheduled for public comment before the City's Planning Commission on August 27 and the City Council's Land Use & Transportation Committee on September 24. The People's Green Liberation Coalition, with which Gonzalez organizes, plans a rally against data centers on August 23 at Baltimore City Hall.