Frederick Council Weighs Two-Year Freeze on Data Center Applications
The Frederick City Council is scheduled to vote on a proposed two-year moratorium blocking applications to amend zoning rules for data centers. The pause would allow the city to study environmental, infrastructure, economic and community impacts while a Trammell Crow zoning amendment remains under Planning Commission review.
Frederick City Council members are scheduled to vote on an ordinance introduced by Council Member Derek Shackelford that would freeze data center-related zoning amendment applications for two years. If approved and signed by the mayor, the moratorium would immediately prevent the city from accepting, processing or approving applications to amend the Land Management Code for critical digital infrastructure facilities, including applications submitted before the ordinance takes effect.
The proposed freeze would require a comprehensive study of data center impacts and could be repealed or extended by the council. Residents have questioned the length of the pause, while city officials have not explained how it could affect a Trammell Crow text amendment currently under Planning Commission review. Trammell Crow seeks to permit data centers by right in light and heavy industrial districts, while planning staff favor a floating-zone approach requiring council approval for individual projects.
The debate comes as Maryland counties adopt or consider temporary data center restrictions and await a statewide study of the facilities. Frederick County has separately paused or limited data center approvals and expanded a designated data center zone, intensifying the broader regional debate over how such projects should be regulated.