Data Center Zoning Conditions (Text Amendment #26-23)
Calvert County
Summary
Planning & Zoning brought forward a zoning text amendment adding conditions for data centers. A commenter criticized the county's history of granting repeated temporary permits to non-compliant businesses and urged strong enforcement tools like work stop orders rather than fines.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 16
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Sep 22, 2026.
Impact analysis
County officials say no direct fiscal impact for the county; the bigger question is whether data center load pressures residents' electric bills.
Residents near proposed data center sites would gain clearer conditions if enforcement is strong.
Weak enforcement, as critics describe it, lets non-compliant businesses operate indefinitely without consequences.
Mentions & discussions (16)
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Sep 22, 2026
The Board directed staff to pursue extending the data center moratorium, removing data centers as a permitted use, and rezoning heavy industrial properties. The incoming board sworn in December 15 will make the final calls, but the process clock is now running. Residents strongly support action.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Aug 18, 2026
The county considered pausing all data center site plan approvals for six months while it studies impacts like noise, water use, and power demands and writes new zoning rules. A large-scale data center application is already in, and more are expected.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Jul 28, 2026
Speakers pressed the board to act on the data center moratorium, with the vote scheduled for August 18. The county also confirmed AWS has no plans to resubmit its concept plan, though it hasn't officially withdrawn.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Jun 2, 2026
The board is shaping the county's rules for data centers, taking up the Planning Commission's comments on Text Amendment #26-23 and the Environmental Commission's warnings about environmental impacts. What standards get adopted will decide where and under what conditions data centers can operate here.
Planning Commission Regular Meeting Agenda - May 20, 2026
Residents are pushing hard on the pending data center zoning amendments — some say setbacks, walls, and buffers won't stop low-frequency noise and fines are too small to deter billion-dollar companies; others say the fears are overblown and the county needs the revenue. The commission is expected to forward recommendations to the BOCC.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Apr 28, 2026
SMECO was scheduled to brief the Board on how large data center customers could affect the electric grid and ratepayers. State law puts upgrade costs on the developers, not necessarily local households.
Planning Commission Regular Meeting Agenda - Apr 21, 2026
The county is drafting extra conditions for data centers after the AWS/Camp Conoy controversy. Commissioners want grandfathering to apply only when construction starts, 1,200-foot setbacks, tough noise limits (45 dBA night, 40 dBC low-frequency), berms, decommissioning bonds, and limited generator testing hours.
Joint Special Meeting of the Calvert County Planning Commission and Calvert County Environmental Commission - Apr 15, 2026
Since the moratorium failed, the fallback is text amendments — including removing data centers from I-1 light industrial. But officials warned that if data centers aren't carefully defined, they could sneak in as 'warehouses' almost anywhere, including town centers.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Apr 14, 2026
Residents from Lusby and Camp Conoy demanded answers on the Constellation/Amazon data center plans, saying the rezoning bypassed normal neighbor notification and that 400-foot setbacks are too close. Commissioner Hart's motion to explore a one-year moratorium failed, and Commissioner Hance withdrew a proposal to require developer agreements before permits.
Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Mar 26, 2026
Amazon is evaluating a data center campus next to the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant — up to eight buildings on already-zoned heavy industrial land, so no rezoning fight. The pitch: no new water demand, no new public utilities, hundreds of high-paying jobs, and tens of millions in new tax revenue. It's still preliminary — no site plans filed, no agreements signed.
Planning Commission Regular Meeting Agenda - Mar 18, 2026
The county is drafting extra conditions for any future data center — no groundwater cooling, water-use plans, applicant-paid infrastructure, cleaner generators. No project has been submitted yet, but an MDE application reveals a 500 MW, seven-building project proposed near Calvert Cliffs, and residents are worried about noise, water, and the Bay.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Mar 10, 2026
The county is considering what conditions to attach to data center development in its zoning ordinance. A resident argued the county should first complete a full lifecycle cost study and secure enforceable guarantees so residents don't absorb higher utility bills or environmental harm.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Mar 3, 2026
A resident's written comment laid out a documented timeline of county negotiations with a data center developer, including a signed non-disclosure agreement and state findings of adverse effects on historic sites. He urged the board to restore the data center conditions work session to the agenda and adopt strong water, noise, and oversight protections.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Feb 24, 2026
Planning & Zoning brought forward a zoning text amendment adding conditions for data centers. A commenter criticized the county's history of granting repeated temporary permits to non-compliant businesses and urged strong enforcement tools like work stop orders rather than fines.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Feb 10, 2026
Staff drafted first-round conditions for data centers — closed-loop water cooling, no well drilling for cooling, rooftop stormwater reuse, full infrastructure cost responsibility, and EPA Tier 4 generators. Commissioners want more options and a dedicated follow-up work session in two weeks, and acknowledged state or federal preemption could limit county authority.
Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners - Jan 13, 2026
A resident flagged a data center campus project in southern Calvert, citing an MDE permit number, concerns about the historical tobacco barns and Parent's Park, and urging the county to require on-site power generation.
Related development
Proposed Text Amendment #26-23 – Data Center
Whatever conditions end up in this amendment will shape whether and how data centers can be built in the county — a big deal for land use and the environment.
Natelli data center project
Backup generator emissions and unanswered chemical-use questions have residents worried; the vague plan makes environmental review harder, not easier.
Amazon/AWS Data Center Campus (Calvert County)
If built, the project would bring at least 250 permanent jobs at $80k–$100k, thousands of construction jobs, and tens of millions in new tax revenue, using Constellation's existing cooling water rather than new water demand.
Proposed Text Amendments #26-01 through #26-06, #26-08 through #26-22, and #26-24
These changes will shape how land can be developed countywide — from how many trees must be replanted to how many lots farm families can subdivide.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
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