"Don't Even Put Your Signs Out" Calvert Residents Continue Anti-Data Center Campaign With A Focus On Re-election

Calvert County residents are intensifying their opposition to proposed data center developments, directly challenging the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at a recent meeting in Prince Frederick, Maryland. Myra Gowans, representing Calvert Citizens United, warned commissioners that their stance on data centers would cost them re-election, accusing them of betraying unions and backing into agreements without transparency. BOCC District 1 candidate Patrick Flaherty criticized the current board for giving developers a "two-year head start" and proposed an ordinance to establish strong anti-data center protections and restart the approval process transparently. Residents, including a representative from Neighbors of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, expressed concerns about the environmental impacts and the lack of notification regarding zoning changes that permitted heavy industrial use near homes. The article highlights plans by Natelli Holdings and Amazon Web Services (AWS) for potential data centers, noting that neither has yet submitted a formal proposal. Speakers at the meeting also mentioned a submitted petition supporting a previously defeated moratorium on data centers, underscoring ongoing community dissatisfaction with the government's approach to these developments.