Fitzwater orders 6-month freeze on new applications for data centers, electric substations
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater on Wednesday issued an executive order to temporarily prevent county planners from accepting, considering or processing applications for data centers and the electric substations that help power them.
The executive order, which is in effect for six months, comes as two separate proposals to regulate data center development in Frederick County are set to either take effect or be introduced to the County Council.
The council on May 20 voted to adopt Bill 25-05, which will establish new siting and design criteria for data centers and critical digital infrastructure electric substations. That bill will take effect on July 19, according to the executive order.
Another bill that would create an overlay zone confining data center development to the area around the former Alcoa Eastalco Works site and limit how much land in the county can be used for data centers is set to be introduced on June 17, according to the County Council's meeting agenda.
The overlay bill would not take effect until Sept. 20 at the earliest, according to the executive order.
"This really is just being proactive, looking at what the next few months of deliberations will be over the overlay bill," Fitzwater said in an interview on Wednesday. "It was the responsible thing to do to include this executive order as sort of a companion to that."
Previously, Fitzwater issued an executive order preventing county planners from accepting, considering, processing or reviewing piecemeal rezoning applications seeking to have individual parcels rezoned to Limited Industrial (LI) or General Industrial (GI).
Those are the only zones where data centers and associated infrastructure can be built under the current county code.
The executive order on piecemeal rezoning applications was first issued in June 2023. Fitzwater extended it several times as her data centers work group met to develop and vote on recommendations for regulating the burgeoning industry.
In a letter to the County Council on Jan. 16 of this year, Fitzwater said she would allow that executive order to expire on April 8.
"The order has been in place for nearly two years, and it has become a barrier to investment from other industry sectors and a challenge for some residents," Fitzwater wrote at the time. "It cannot remain in place indefinitely."
On Wednesday, Fitzwater said her new executive order is more specifically tailored to the data center industry.
It does not apply to any applications for data centers or associated electric substations for which an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Letter of Understanding has already been issued.
There are multiple active projects in progress at the former Alcoa Eastalco site near Adamstown, where a campus of data centers is planned.
The Colorado-based company Rowan Digital Infrastructure has three projects — known as Bauxite I, II, and III — in development. Bauxite I and Bauxite II will each consist of four data center buildings. Bauxite III will have three buildings.
Aligned Data Centers, a Texas-based company, is also developing a project consisting of four data center buildings at the former Alcoa Eastalco site.
Fitzwater said the county has not received any new applications for data centers or associated electric substations since she and the County Council announced their intent to create the overlay zone.
The new executive order would expire on Sept. 30, unless that date is changed through a subsequent order.
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